#110. All Good Things, Part 1
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 7, Episode
25 |
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I will never forget watching
this, the episode that was for me (and many based on an old magazine
poll I have) the best episode of the entire series. I'm not sure
it's still my favorite, but it is certainly an incredible finale, as Q
reveals to Picard that the trial never ends and humanity is again at
risk for nonexistence. He helps his friend by forcing him to shift
through three time periods, giving even old friends something cool to do
and hinting at a sweet future. As fun as it was to see the future
versions of everyone, and to see Picard working with Tasha, Troi, and
O'Brien at Farpoint, the lynchpin of the episode (and perhaps series) is
the relationship between Picard and Q, and the 10 questions scene that
ends Part 1 is one of their best.
Geordi: Captain Picard to the bridge!
We've got a problem with the warp core, or the phase inducers, or some
other damn thing. |
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#109. A Lie Agreed Upon,
Part 1
Deadwood, Season 2, Episode 1 |
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Season 2 develops Deadwood by
bringing in even more immigrants, the cast increasing by the episode.
The premiere brings us Maddie and her whores, and Martha and her son,
all in the same stagecoach. Bullock greets them bloodied from a
fun little fistfight with Al, who awesomely mocked him from his balcony.
Cy Tolliver doesn't take kindly to Maddie's arrival, nor to Eddie's
departure, Eddie having stolen from him and funded Joanie, and spends
the episode in a sarcastic storm of rage. And at the end, Bullock
effectively chooses Alma over Martha, for now at least, and the fight
with Al bubbles over into Part 2. Deadwood's charm is in its
characters and language, and the season 2 opener is a stunning example
of both, giving all our favorites something to do and introducing a few
more.
Al Swearengen: Welcome to fucking Deadwood.
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#108. My No Good Reason
Scrubs, Season 6, Episode 14 |
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Zach Braff's directorial outing
in Season 6 is the start of the Laverne's Death arc, and it's a great
one, if less showy than his previous episodes. The Dr. Cox vs.
Laverne (on the topic of the nature of the universe) is a great dramatic
subplot, and it's counterbalanced by the hot nanny plot. The Nanny
Can awesomely reveals that she's a racist thief, and it gives way to a
hilarious scene of the men banding together to form an elaborate cover
about Mexican football in the Spring. Meanwhile, Elliot gets Dr.
Kelso a replacement dog for Baxter, and we get a visual fantasy of how
Turk sees all of JD's exes as unattractive (highlighted with a guy
playing Turk's version of Elliot). But of course, it all comes
down to Laverne in a car accident (just like Mrs. Landingham), launching
us into the better half of the two-parter.
Nanny: You know, for a half-breed baby, your
parents have some pretty nice stuff. |
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#107. Serenity, Part 1
Firefly, Season 1, Episode 1 |
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A perfect introduction to one
of the best sci-fi shows of all time. We open establishing Mal's
war background, then we flash to Serenity stealing some Alliance goods,
both scenes riveting and comedic, making us invest in the characters.
Trying to unload the goods proves difficult, but they pick up four
passengers along the way to augment the story: Simon, River in a
box, a Shepherd, and a Fed. Of course it all builds to a
pulse-pounding finale wherein Mal confront Simon and the Fed surprises
them both, and then he shoots Kaylee and they take him in custody as
Simon leverages her life against his sister's security. I don't
know what FOX was thinking when they decided this wasn't a suitable
pilot, because I was blown away by how much I loved the show already.
Mal: Jayne, your mouth is talking.
You might wanna look to that. |
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#106. Through the Looking
Glass, Part 1
Lost, Season 3, Episode 22 |
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I don't know, the Lost two-part
finales all feel a bit lame compared with the others. They all
have cool gimmicks (Walt, the purple sky, the flash-forwards) but
otherwise feel like elaborate set-up for those gimmicks. And while
I immediately guessed (without believing it, but still) that they were
flash-forwards, I still thought they were quite well-done. In
present-time, Charlie gets interrogated, Jack prepares a trap for the
Others on the beach with Juliet, and Sayid, Jin, and Bernard stay behind
to set off the dynamite. In the future, Jack gets depressed, and
while Matthew Fox is on the other side of the field from good acting, he
was better than ever here. Part 1 on other shows is always the
best part, putting the characters in a major downfall for Part 2 to
resolve, but with Lost, Part 1 is a big stall, and all the coolness took
place in Part 2.
Rose: If you say the words, "Live
together, die alone" to me, Jack, I'm going to punch you in the face. |
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#105. In Purgatory's
Shadow
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 5, Episode 14 |
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Season 5 is when DS9 got
heavily serialized, and while the Dominion War doesn't officially start
until the finale, they spend more than a season prior setting everything
up, like the run up to WWII during appeasement and whatnot. In a
way, this is the followup to the premiere Apocalypse Rising as well as
key episodes before that, as the intrigue is bumped up to the highest
yet. Worf and Garak travel to the Gamma Quadrant to try and
intercept a Cardassian message, but instead they find the real General
Martok and get trapped at Internment Camp 371, where they also stumble
upon someone else they didn't know was replaced back on the station.
And at the very end, passing the point of no return, Dukat reveals that
he has negotiated for the Cardassians to join the Dominion.
Worf: At the first sign of betrayal, I
will kill him, but I promise to return the body intact. |
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#104. Altar Egos
Arrested Development, Season 1, Episode 16 |
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Everything about Maggie Lizer
is amazing, including her fake blindness, her glasses, her incredibly
bad blind acting, and her "I'm blind!" Also: "You're not one
of those silly men that's dressed as a woman," all the Captain Hook's
trial stuff, Chareth Cutestory, GOB gets married on a dare, the series
of pictures of them daring each other, "But he really didn't," Wife of
GOB's seal deal, sonsummated the marriage, the introduction of Surely
Funke, Barry not reading the plea ("It's very long."), Cindi
Lightballoon, Henry Winkler doing "ehhhh" in the mirror, Maggie's
cornballer, "I will pack your sweet pink mouth with so much ice cream,"
Maeby hiring George Michael to do her homework for her, and the gold
medal at the sexual special Olympics.
Barry: I could kiss you on the nuts. |
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#103. The Best of Both
Worlds, Part 1
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 3, Episode
26 |
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The cliffhanger of cliffhangers
takes our hero and has him become the enemy's biggest asset. That
final moment of Part 1, where Locutus tries to intimidate Riker and
Riker orders the Enterprise to fire on the Borg ship is pulse-poundingly
awesome. And then we had to wait three months to find out what
happened! Of course, Part 1 also built up the Borg menace by
showing us some attack sites of theirs, and it continued the subplot of
Riker's ambition. He's offered three command positions over the
series and turns them all down, but come on. Wouldn't you?
Lt. Shelby arrives as his foil here, and she is one of the greatest
memorable non-Enterprise Starfleet officers in all of Star Trek.
To be continued... Locutus: I am
Locutus of Borg. Resistance is futile. Your life, as it has
been, is over. From this point forward, you will service...us. |
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#102. Occupation
Battlestar Galactica, Season 3, Episode 1 |
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Occupation and Precipice (or
Occupice as RDM calls them) comprise what is probably my all-time
favorite two-parter ever, and it's got everything from emotionally
gripping drama to cool, suspenseful action, and it's all set amidst this
occupation and resistance. The opening montage intercuts
beautifully between one-eyed Tigh, Kara at dinner, Tyrol/Anders prepping
a bomb, Adama useless in CIC, and Ellen and Cavil. We get updates
on everyone, no storyline less than perfect, and we explore the
resistance movement: Duck preparing to suicide-bomb, Gaeta the
informant, Tyrol the go-between, Tigh the Machiavellian commander, and
Tory updating Roslin. I'm limited by room, but Occupice is one of
the most powerful episodes of TV. Tigh:
I know you're wondering, so I'll save you the trouble. The eye's
gone. They ripped it right out on the floor and showed it to me.
Looked like a hard-boiled egg. |
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#101. The
Menagerie, Part 1
Star Trek, Season 1, Episode 16 |
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This may be the episode that
has inspired me the most in all of my television-watching. The
original Trek pilot starred Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Pike, but they
recast for the second pilot, and the series turned that first pilot into
a two-part episode beautifully, investigating a past mission to Talos IV
that is now confidential. I think the Talosians and the Guardian
of Forever are the only sacred cows in Star Trek, used perfectly for one
great episode (or two in this case) and never brought back to do lesser
work. Anyway, as a kid I loved the fantasies--the Talosians have
the power to induce illusion--especially the battle on Rigel VII and the
green Orion slave girl. Those four words conjure up a whole
history to me, it's incredible. But now, seeing the dramatic
referent of the story--choosing to live in a fantasy world--it's even
more powerful. Kirk: A Vulcan can
no more lie than he can exist without breathing. |
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