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Your SINGLE favorite TV episode from any series (just one!) (1 Viewer)

Carabimero

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What is your single favorite TV episode of all time?
Let's see who accepts this challenge. A single dramatic episode of a TV series. Your favorite hour or half-hour of television. And why.
Mine?
The Doomsday Machine from the Original Star Trek series. Why? Because it simply builds drama and satisfies better than any dramatic TV episode I have seen. It has great performances, a moral argument, terrific writing and directing, nice cinematography, terrific special effects (both versions) and an absolutely crucial score--the music makes it.
 

SimonTemplar

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The Forms of Things Unknown from The Outer Limits. It has levels of avante-garde wonderfulness and an atmosphere I have never felt in anything else. Amazing cinematography, fabulous music and a great cast.
 

Ockeghem

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It's very interesting to me that my three favorite television series of all time are mentioned in the first four posts of this thread. These are TOS, TOL, and Dark Shadows.
The TOS and TOL episodes mentioned above are great choices, and I do love both of them very much. This is quite a difficult question for me to answer, but I will go with episode no. 70 from the original Dark Shadows television series. This episode marks the first time we see a ghost (Josette) in the series. The way that the viewer is introduced to the first ghost is chilling, is IMO done brilliantly, and it's the reason it makes my number one choice.
The episode builds up very nicely with David telling Victoria that there are ghosts at Collinwood, and of course she does not believe this to be true, telling him that there are no such things as ghosts. David insists that he has seen them, and that one of the ghosts is a pretty woman dressed all in white. He tells her, "I'll draw you a picture of her!"
Matthew Morgan has attempted to kill Burke Devlin at the Blue Whale prior to this, and he is still a bit agitated from that experience. In the drawing room at The Great House, he is seen being questioned by Elizabeth for his actions. Victoria sees the drawing of The Old House by David, and she asks about it. Matthew tells her that The Old House is dangerous, and he also suspects that someone (David) has again been playing at The Old House.
Victoria stares at a picture (from the "Collins Family History") of Josette Collins, opened up to that page by Elizabeth. Carolyn (at Burke Devlin's insistance during a meeting that they had in a previous episode) is trying to convince Elizabeth that they should hire a house keeper -- Sarah Johnson. Of course, Sarah used to be the housekeeper of Bill Malloy, whose death is one of the other ongoing stories at this point of the series.
David and Victoria travel to The Old House so that David can show her that ghosts do exist. While at The Old House, David tells Victoria an abbreviated version of the legend of the women whom have jumped to their deaths from Widow's Hill. He tells her that Josette was destined to remain at Collinwood until a third girl falls to her death at Widow's Hill, and he also tells Victoria that she will be the third person to die after jumping from there.
David and Victoria hear sounds coming from outside of The Old House. We hear footsteps and see feet making their way toward The Old House. The dark scenery -- lit only slightly by a hand-held lamp -- and the foreboding footsteps (the viewer is uncertain who this is at this point) add to an already chilling atmosphere. We eventually learn that it is Matthew Morgan.
Matthew Morgan eventually makes his way to The Old House, suspecting that there are people there who ought not to be there. He is angry that they are there, and tells them that they ought to leave. David is disappointed that Josette has decided not to show herself tonight, and he blames Matthew for this, telling him that the ghosts don't like him. (Interestingly, this will eventually come back to 'haunt' Matthew in a later episode when several ghosts appear to him, and as a result he will meet his demise.)
The three of them leave the house, and the camera fades to black. But then -- we have the final scene, a scene which is magical and compelling on a number of levels both aural and visual. We see a freeze frame as Josette walks down out of the glowing portrait while Cobert's macabre ghost music (this is but one of several themes he uses for ghosts throughout the series) accompanies her descent. This is for me one of the greatest moments of the entire series.
 

Richard V

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Love's Labor Lost - ER, is for me one of the most powerful episodes EVER shown on TV in my lifetime. It is actually more of a love/hate relationship with this episode. I love how they dramatize the intracacies of diagnosing medical issues, and the fallout for all involved, but I hate how they sensationalized what could almost surely NEVER happen in a major medical center. And I speak from experience, as I am a practicing physician. I recall my sister calling me in tears, immediately after the show, for fear of ever getting pregnant, and I cursed the show's writers for scaring the living daylights of all women of child bearing age. Yet, I recognize great drama when I see it, however misguided (imho) it is.
 

progrocktv

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I'd have to agree with The Judgement (The Fugitive). A&E re-ran the series when I was in college and we watched it daily. By the time they ran part 2, we had a living room full of people and by the climax of the episode we were cheering like it was the friggin' Superbowl! (this was pretty much pre-internet so it was pretty easy to stay spoiler-free:D
 

Carabimero

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I'm going to check out all the selected episodes. Of course I have seen THE JUDGMENT. I am currently on episode #51 of DARK SHADOWS so I don't have far to go to get to #70! Looking forward to that as well as LOVE'S LABOR LOST and THE FORM OF THINGS UNKNOWN. Thanks everyone!
 

Ockeghem

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Carabimero said:
I am currently on episode #51 of DARK SHADOWS so I don't have far to go to get to #70!
Carabimero,
You might also pay close attention to episode no. 63, especially the dialogue between Elizabeth and Matthew Morgan, right after he says "That happened later...". I don't want to give anything away, but let's revisit this (if you wish) once you've seen that episode and heard that dialogue a few times.
 

Carabimero

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Thanks for the heads-up. I seem to watch DS in spurts...I watch a lot of episodes all at once, then don't watch any for a while...once I get there, I will come back to this thread and post.
 

Ockeghem

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Carabimero said:
Thanks for the heads-up. I seem to watch DS in spurts...I watch a lot of episodes all at once, then don't watch any for a while...once I get there, I will come back to this thread and post.
Carabimero,
Same here. I can go days without watching it, and then I'll watch a half-dozen (or more) episodes over a few nights. Tonight, I'm thinking of watching episode no. 70 just for fun. :)
 

Roy Wall

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I stand by my selection of "The Judgment" but there were several that were (to me) close to the neighborhood.....
Star Trek TOS: City On The Edge Of Forever
Thriller: Pigeons From Hell
The Twilight Zone: Time Enough At Last
Gunsmoke: Mannon
The Andy Griffith Show: The Pickle Story
Have Gun Will Travel: El Paso Stage
The Wild Wild West: Night of the Puppeteer
The Outer Limits: OBIT/The Sixth Finger
Mission Impossible: Operation Rogosh/The Mind of Stefan Miklos
I Love Lucy: Tennessee Ernie Visits
Naked City: The Deadly Guinea Pig/Prime Of Life
 

Hollywoodaholic

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"Architects of Fear" from the first season of the original Outer Limits series. Robert Culp plays a scientist who draws the short straw in a scheme by a group of scientists to create an artificial alien that will return to Earth as an invader, address the United Nations, and scare all the Cold War countries of the world into unifying in the face of a common threat. Of course the plan goes disastrously wrong. But the story is brilliantly humanized by Culp's acting as he is transformed into a monster, and by his wife's (Geraldine Fitzgerald) psychic pain when she is told he is dead (to cover the story), but can't accept quite it. Add to the melodrama a beautiful score by Dominic Frontiere and you have a perfect storm of story, acting, music, makeup and visual visceral impact. Nothing in my childhood viewing of television showcased the full potential of the medium to me as much as this single episode. I picked up a pen and began writing stories after that moment (at eight years old), and haven't put it (figuratively) down since.
"The Watchmen" graphic novel obviously copped this plot. And I truly believe Al Gore was trying to do the same thing with "An Inconvenient Truth" and global climate change - use scientists to build the case for a common threat to the planet that would unite countries to put aside their petty political differences for a greater good. Oh well, so much for that idea, right? At least their (and the 'architects of fear') hearts were in the right place.
Most television viewers will always associate the late great Robert Culp with his turn as Trent in another classic episode of The Outer Limits, "Demon with the Glass Hand" by Harlan Ellison. Or as Kelly Robinson in the great spy series, I Spy. But I will aways remember the pathos he brought to his ultimate sacrifice in this masterpiece of the medium.
 

Rick Thompson

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For me it was "Gertrude," the first episode of Harry O. It had me from the first line as the phone was ringing: "Where I really wanted to be was Idaho Falls, Idaho, because that's where the circus was in town."
A close second: "Did You See the Sunrise?", the third season opener of Magnum, P.I. with its shocker of an ending.
 

bretmaverick2

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MAVERICK - Shady Deal At Sunny Acres. Showcases Bret, Bart and a lot of supporting characters from season 1 in a single great episode.
 

mattCR

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I can't come up with one. Just can't. But I can come up with a short list: But I'll pick a few I keep going back to for their writing.


The (new) Outer Limits: Stream of Conciousness
Watch Here: http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi2220819225/

It's funny. A few years ago, someone introduced me to this episode and I liked it. But as time has gone on, and technology advanced I have really come to LOVE this episode for everything it says. The scary nature of using the "network" to change and alter the way we see the world.. some creepy stuff.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine "In the Pale Moonlight". What would you do to win a war? Would you betray some of your values for a chance to win, to change the dynamic? Would you lie, engage it deception? Are a few deaths justifiable if they save a civilization? Such a great episode full of a ton of moral questions that don't easily solve themselves. Great stuff. IT'S A FAKE!!

Angel "A Hole In The World". There will be a lot of people who will bitch about including this. I was mad and furious when I watched. But it's also a show that belongs on a real short list of episodes of any show that put me on the verge of tears. Amy Acker owns this episode, and it's a devastating punch to the gut.

The X-Files: Clive Bruckman's Finale Repose - such a great script, with such a solid touching moment. Great stuff. Worth the watch.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Once More, With Feeling.. frankly, Season 6 of Buffy (really 6 & 7) are not my favorite things. But OMWF is such fun, such great entertainment that it has to be included here. Every so often, I go back and watch.

BattleStar Galactica: Someone to Watch Over Me. I don't give a darn that the show creator came out and said "NO, stop, Daniel is NOT Starbuck's dad.." Look, lots of writers have written something, and have others interpret it totally different. For me, I will always believe that to be true; it adds such a level of poetry to the show that in every way I find it improves my enjoyment of it. I'm OK with believing in a non-cannon interpretation of the work. Break out the episode on your bluray. Go to 34 minutes in (exact) and prepare for 2 minutes of insane greatness. The look on Michael Hogan's face is INSANE stuff

ER = :Love's Labor Lost Great stuff

South Park: Trapped in the Closet

WKRP - Turkey's Away .. I HAVE to watch this every thanksgiving. Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without it.
 

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