It's hard to contain my love for this episode in a paragraph.  This is my favorite episode of Firefly, which is currently my favorite television show.  At its most basic, this is a flashback story that reveals how everyone came to be on Serenity.  As Captain Mal struggles to save his ship in the present, we come to understand why it is so important to him and his crew. Nathan Fillion delivers a terrific performance, but the true star of the episode is Serenity herself.  When she is revealed in the final flashback, you fall in love along with Captain Mal.

Ah, how fondly I look back on the first season of The O.C.  Its highs were as high as any television soap has risen, but unfortunately the opposite can be said of its lows. Still, this episode stands as one of the best hours of the show, and spawned the juggernaut of a holiday known as Chrismukkah.  As someone surrounded by, but not a part of either religion, this Judeo-Christian holiday is the perfect match for me.  It celebrates the driving force behind each holiday, consumerism, and it's un-American to hate that. But back to the episode itself, we have Caleb's legal troubles, Marissa the klepto AND Marissa the alcoholic, Anna's incredible "The Adventures of Seth Cohen and Captain Oats", and Summer's equally incredible Wonder Woman outfit. Additionally, Seth re-gifting the "Seth Cohen Starter Packs" to his parents is a wonderful and genuine moment, and Sandy and Kirsten come across as real parents, albeit perfect ones.

I don't think I'm alone in thinking that Kathryn Joosten should play every old lady on television.  She won America's heart on The West Wing, but I will always associate her with this brief but brilliant appearance on Scrubs.  She forces J.D. to realize that not everyone is looking for a cure, and helps him begin to understand death, which is a recurring theme on the show.  Their moments together are touching and humorous, especially when he approaches her with a bucket list of things she has already done.  Since this was early in Scrubs, we also have some excellent Carla/Elliot drama that ultimately brings them closer to being friends.

24. “Episode 3: Daniel Radcliffe”, Extras
Season 2, Episode 3 (9/28/06)

I liked almost every episode of Extras, but this was the first one that came to mind when I began compiling my great episodes list.  I don't know why, but I really enjoy celebrities playing humorous versions of themselves; it worked wonderfully in The Larry Sanders Show, and continued to work in Extras.  This Daniel Radcliffe is a snotty, perverted kid who hits on every female on set. His scenes with an old condom are incredible, especially when he inadvertently flicks it onto Dame Diana Rigg and must suffer through a painfully funny grammar lesson.

Warwick: What do you think I've got this ring for?
Andy: I don't know - you're a Hobbit?

25. "Whitecaps", The Sopranos
Season 4, Episode 13 (12/8/02)

I'm so glad Brandon finally watched The Sopranos, after years of urging him to do so.  When I said "Pine Barrens" was my favorite episode before, that was not true.  I have very fond memories of that episode, but they don't hold a candle to the season four finale.  When I convinced my friend Greg to watch the series, I touted the scene between Tony and Carmela as the greatest thing I'd ever seen on television (this was before I fell in love with SFU's finale, but not before I developed a penchant for hyperbole).  I think the first 51 episodes are wonderful, but even if they were One Tree Hill-level drama, it would be worth sitting through in order to experience the raw power of Whitecaps.  I was lucky enough to see this when it first came out, and even at the age of sixteen (when my exposure to television was still limited) I recognized the brilliance of what I had seen.  I would probably rank it among the top five episodes of television, and easily the best episode of The Sopranos.

I don't know why I even both including episodes of Seinfeld on this list, because every single episode is worthy of inclusion.  This famous episode features Jerry, Elaine, George, and Susan going to visit the titular character, who happens to be a fan of Seinfeld.  Jerry and Elaine get lost, and end up in a diner, while George and Susan try to pass the time by playing Trivial Pursuit with the Bubble Boy.  This is an extremely dark episode, showcasing the questionable morals of the gang at every corner.  George refuses to admit that Trivial Pursuit contains a typo, Jerry steals a copy of his photo after the diner won't let him change the inscription, and Kramer accidentally sets Susan's cabin on fire.

George: Oh nooooo. I'm so sorry, it's "the Moops." The correct answer is "the "Moops".

27. “I Will Remember You”, Angel
Season 1, Episode 8 (11/23/99)

This was the first episode of Angel that I really loved, thanks in large part to the return of Buffy. Angel and Buffy track a demon through Los Angeles, and Angel ultimately defeats it. Some of his blood mixes with the demon's, however, and it causes Angel to once again be human. The rest of the episode shows Angel and Buffy in absolute bliss, living as two humans in love. It's the payoff that fans had been waiting for all along, but it is ruined by the re-emergence of the Mohra demon. Angel can't defeat it as a human, and his death would cause Buffy to perish as well. In order to save her life, he makes a deal with The Oracles that turns back time and prevents him from becoming a human again. He confides this to Buffy only moments before it is going to happen, leading to one of my favorite scenes of the first season. It's an usually romantic episode for Angel, but it approaches the best of Buffy.

This is my favorite episode of the first season, but that really isn't saying much. In the episode an up-and-coming agent, Josh Weinstein, tries to woo Vince away from Ari by inviting him to a party at his boss's beach house. I honestly don't remember the majority of the episode, but two scenes stand out in my mind and make it great. First, Gary Busey on the beach talking to Vince about giving him one of his art pieces. I don't think Busey knows how to play a normal character anymore, but it works here. Second, the incredible scene in which Ari leaves his daughter's birthday party to tell off Weinstein in front of everyone. It clearly demonstrates that he knows how to play the game, and nobody is taking away Vince without a fight.

Ari Gold: "Does your boss know you're using his house for a party? Cause I just put a call in to him. Yeah, we went to school together. I helped him cheat on his economics final. That's how he got his degree, he owes me big-time. You know another class I took at Harvard? Business Ethics. I don't steal other people's mother fucking clients, but in your case I'm going to make an exception. I'm going to take everyone; your B-level sitcom stars, your reality-TV writers, when I'm done with you, you're gonna be repping sideshow freaks. You need Jo-Jo the Dog-Face-Bitch-Boy? Call Josh Weinfuck, the lightweight pen-stealing fuckface."

It amazes me that Ben Affleck is not asked to host SNL more often. Evidently Brandon and I are the only people who think he's great, judging from the 5.8 rating this episode has on IMDb. Oh well, I'm okay with that. This episode is filled with brilliance, whether it's "Ben Loves Mango", "Who Wants to Be Groped by an $11,000-aire", or P.T. Anderson's incredible episode of Fanatic. Of course, there's also the underrated "Trilocaine" commercial, which clearly influenced this year's brilliant "Annuale". I love it now as much as I did when I was 14.

"You try to scream, but only blood pours out, coalescing into the visage of a hideous infant smoking a long pipe. His rage...is blinding."

This early episode of The Wonder Years perfectly captures the absurdity of junior high relationships, in which no person would ever initiate something directly, but instead use their friends as messengers.  The four way love story between Kirk, Winnie, Kevin, and Becky works well, and ultimately brings the viewer closer to Kevin-Winnie bliss.  It also features one of my favorite exchanges on the show, between Kevin and Kirk, the older jock who likes Winnie:

Kevin: She's not mad at you. She likes you. She's not sure if she likes you likes you, but she likes you. When she first liked you, she liked you liked you...unless she just thought she liked you when she really just liked you. But she likes you.

I feel like I'm back in 7th grade all over again.