# Best scene in Television **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [August 30, 2024, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483 "2024-08-30T19:14:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/144 "2024-09-05T19:09:36Z")
Standard disclaimer - this is subject to change 10 minutes from now. That being said, it’s one of two: 1. This one has been mentioned at least twice: the final scene from the last episode of _Blackadder Goes Forth_ 2. From _Star Trek: The Next Generation_ - Riker, knowing that Picard is on a Borg cube being targeted: “Mister Worf…Fire!” ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/145 "2024-09-05T20:23:49Z")
My favorite Babylon Five scene is when Londo tells Refa to stop dealing with the Shadows. “Why would I do that?” "Because I have asked you to do so. "Because you value the good of our people above your own personal ambition. “And because I have poisoned your drink.” ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/146 "2024-09-05T20:40:28Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > I was trying to think of some from the Wire. I don’t think it’s a good scene show especially compared to Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul. I liked the scenes with Fuzzy Dunlop and McNulty confessing that the one place he wouldn’t want to work is on the police boat. ---
**Author:** ![Gig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gig)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/147 "2024-09-05T22:05:50Z")
Absolutely! The death of Henry Blake in M_A_S_H episode 72, titled `“Abyssinia”` immediately came to mind when I saw this topic, Best scenes in television. Colonel Blake’s death was deeply affecting; I sobbed all afternoon. The scene was well written, and well acted. Having been a baby/toddler during the original airing of the M_A_S_H series, I caught the reruns in 1988. It quickly became, and still remains, one of my favorite shows. (and I finally understood why my dad wore a maroon bathrobe to neighborhood BBQs). ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/148 "2024-09-05T22:14:48Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > As far as butt-clenching tension goes, I submit the scene in _ **Danger: UXB** _ where Brian Ash and an Australian naval officer are trying to disarm an enormous parachute mine that’s crashed through the roof of a flat. A lot of good stuff in **Danger: UXB**. I watched it when I was a kid on Masterpiece Theatre. The first episode is quite harrowing too, when Ash disarms his first bomb. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/149 "2024-09-05T22:22:24Z")
Hands down: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/EtVca4XV4_U/maxresdefault.jpg "Why "The Body" is the Perfect Episode | Buffy the Vampire Slayer") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtVca4XV4_U) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/150 "2024-09-05T22:25:29Z")
[As God Is My Witness, I Thought Turkeys Could Fly. {LINK}](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf3mgmEdfwg&ab_channel=EpicHouston) ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/151 "2024-09-05T22:29:54Z")
Another one from The Wire: McNulty twists the knife while telling Brianna what happened to D’Angelo: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/jHuCn34NMl8/hqdefault.jpg "The Wire - Brianna Confronts McNulty About D'Angelo") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHuCn34NMl8) ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/152 "2024-09-06T00:46:57Z")
The opening scene of the series, with McNulty investigating the death of Snot Boogie. I’ve never seen one scene so perfectly encapsulate all the major themes of a whole show. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LYgKmOJT_gM/hqdefault.jpg "The Wire - Season One Opening Scene") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYgKmOJT_gM) ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/153 "2024-09-06T15:43:40Z")
I was going to mention the ST one. It was the last line of the last episode of season 3 (?) and so we didn’t get see the results for like six months. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/154 "2024-09-06T15:46:17Z")
The famous courtroom scene from _The Odd Couple_. The back story is that Felix (the guy in the suit) tried to sell his extra opera ticket at face value but was wrongly accused of scalping. He was his own attorney: [Felix Unger Assume (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEP1acj29-Y) I still quote this scene to this day, although a lot of people don’t know what I am talking about. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/155 "2024-09-06T15:55:12Z")
The scene in _Buffy The Vampire Slayer_, Season 3, Episode 20, “The Prom” in which the graduating class surprises Buffy with an award for saving so many people’s lives at the school. The look on her face as she realizes that she’s actually been recognized and appreciated always makes my heart swell. I also sobbed like a baby during the finale of _The Good Place_. So many brilliant moments. “Keep it sleazy.” ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/156 "2024-09-06T16:23:16Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > nd so we didn’t get see the results for like six months. And then, nothing happened. The writers had no idea what they were going to do with the cliffhanger, and it showed. I’m more impressed by the end of pt 2, Riker is ready to ram the Borg cube, “Mr Data, your final report!” My vote: when Maude called Arthur a “son of a bitch” on network TV. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/157 "2024-09-07T03:42:30Z")
Angela confessing to Father Marcus in the TV series **The Exorcist**. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/158 "2024-09-07T08:57:01Z")
I loved _The Odd Couple_. One of my favorite episodes was when Oscar brought an acquaintance to their apartment who was a famous opera singer. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/159 "2024-09-07T13:42:59Z")
They did some very funny stuff on The Odd Couple: [Felix does a little person photo shoot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGI9vFheRCE) [Felix and Oscar go on the game show Password](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-bQ5nDY4kM) I can’t find clips, but there were also great episodes about Felix buying new furniture for their apartment. And another where Rob Reiner guest starred as Penny Marshall’s whiny boyfriend. I think the OC is underrated, and one of the better sitcoms of its era. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/160 "2024-09-07T13:57:05Z")
The [showdown](https://youtu.be/xXJJKq2v4d4) with Chang in the first season paintball episode of _Community_. “You had the drop on me. I lost. Let me do this for you.” Trope city. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/161 "2024-09-07T14:17:17Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > As God Is My Witness, I Thought Turkeys Could Fly. When I was a biology undergrad, I had a part-time training position in a turkey physiology lab at the USDA. When I interviewed, I told the PI about this scene since he was unfamiliar with it. I like to think it helped get me the job. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/162 "2024-09-07T14:55:16Z")
This thread is not “The Funniest scene in Television” but I’m surprised we’ve got to post 161 without mentioning: [Mary Tyler Moore Show - Chuckles Bites the Dust](https://youtu.be/1a7DO0cF-aM?si=mPrVuuTmhEY5Dzr1&t=394) [Carol Burnett Show - Tim Conway Elephant Story](https://youtu.be/-2OkR35ketA?si=B1ljqs3YUkUDtfB8) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483/163 "2024-09-07T19:10:18Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > Felix does a little person photo shoot I remember that one too. The couple’s son was regular height, correct? And the guy himself was that most dreaded of all professionals, an insurance salesman. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scene-in-television/1006483.md?page=9)