# Best Written Episodes of a Series you Love **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 24, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180 "2009-04-24T03:24:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/1 "2009-04-24T03:24:36Z")
Obviously inspired by [these](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=515066) [threads](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=515160), what are the best written episodes of some of your favorite TV series’ ever. You can list multiple (but it’s more fun if you list your all time faves) I shall get the ball rolling: Futurama: Godfellas (from a comedic standpoint the super hero ep, but I love Godfellas) Sports Night: Six Southern Gentlemen of Tennessee: Both pieces of the episode are just written beautifully, the southern football player and Casey’s tie situation Quantum Leap: I dunno the name, but Sam leaps into a black man who is dating a white woman in the midst of a terrible riot. I was on the edge of my seat for practically this whole episode. CSI Vegas: The Strip Strangler: There are a lot of good episodes, but I just remember the excitement I had throughout this one. I am sure there are others, I’ll prolly post them eventually, but for the rest of you, have at it! ---
**Author:** ![PaperBlob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@PaperBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaperBlob)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/2 "2009-04-24T03:29:33Z")
Star Trek, TOS: Balance of Terror Doctor Who (new): Blink ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/3 "2009-04-24T04:39:34Z")
For Arrested Development, I think it boils down to **Amigos** and \*\*The One Where They Build A House. \*\*I have a lot of love for those two episodes. ---
**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:** [April 24, 2009, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/4 "2009-04-24T05:07:15Z")
Buffy: **The Body** ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/5 "2009-04-24T05:15:34Z")
I’d say that my favorite episode of **Homicide** is “Black and Blue”. It can be watched as a standalone episode, and you can hear the room go quiet (if you watch it with multiple people) when Pembleton really digs into a guy in the box. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/6 "2009-04-24T05:28:49Z")
Twilight Zone: “Eye of the Beholder” Star Trek TNG: “The Measure of a Man” ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/7 "2009-04-24T05:31:01Z")
X-Files: Jose Chung’s From Outer Space. Futurama: Parasites Lost MST3K: Space Mutiny Simpsons: Homer Badman Supernatural: Tie: Mystery Spot/The Monster at the End of This Book Lost: Walkabout Buffy: Restless ---
**Author:** ![Anduinel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Anduinel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anduinel)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/8 "2009-04-24T05:37:21Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I’d say that my favorite episode of **Homicide** is “Black and Blue”. It can be watched as a standalone episode, and you can hear the room go quiet (if you watch it with multiple people) when Pembleton really digs into a guy in the box. Absolutely. I actually heard people start breathing again when Frank walked back to give Gee the confession. **Rome:** A tie between “How Titus Pullo Brought Down the Republic” and “Kalends of February” ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/9 "2009-04-24T05:39:02Z")
## I am going to have to step in here, and provide the following. Reasoning for why I put this in this thread after. Sonic Drive Ins There is one commercial advertising a 100% apple juice drink. There is a series of Sonic Commercials in which a main character, (Do they have names?), the driver, always makes comments about the food offerings at Sonic. I find the commercials more funny than not. Usually, the main character makes an obviously stupid comment, that implies he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed. In the apple drink comemrcial; The main character (MC) “This drink has 100% Apple Juice, That’s more than in a real apple!” Female Passenger (FP) “I don’t think that is quite right…” MC : “No, of course it is, I mean, with a real apple you have the stem, and the leaf, that takes up what, 5% of the apple, right?” FP: “You know something? I think this is the best conversation you have ever had.” * * * Sonic cashed in ALL of their chips with the series at the time this one came out. (The still have the same guy, with different passengers, in later commercials) And it worked. Perfectly. It assumed that watchers of the commercials had a viewing history of the older commercials. Definately a had to be there moment. BUT. This was the BEST WRITTEN EPISODE of the Sonic Drive in Guy commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/10 "2009-04-24T05:52:10Z")
Battlestar Galactica. There are a ton of great ones, but I’m gonna have to go with “33”. That was my first real exposure to the series, though I caught the miniseries on one of the reairings afterwards. And it still stands out as excellent. There’s palpable tension and fatigue, tons of action, the start of the impossible situations that humanity will have to face, and the unexplained menace of the Cylons who just keep coming and coming and coming. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/11 "2009-04-24T05:58:28Z")
I fully agree with you on that commercial **Meeko** good job bringing that in the thread too, if anyone else has anything else on TV that they feel is well written, more power to ya ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/12 "2009-04-24T06:02:51Z")
South Park: “The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers.” “Jews can’t be Paladins” “Tallengar the black” “We’re playing Harry potter” “That’s Butters; he’s been following us for the past hour” “We have to put it in context” “It’s like a fun tickle” “Sixth graders can’t stand water” Followed by… “Dude I don’t want to get wet” So funny… ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/13 "2009-04-24T10:29:26Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I’d say that my favorite episode of **Homicide** is “Black and Blue”. It can be watched as a standalone episode, and you can hear the room go quiet (if you watch it with multiple people) when Pembleton really digs into a guy in the box. For me it has to be the episode “Subway”. Vincent D’Onofrio is brilliant as the murder victim that isn’t dead yet. He was able to make a character that was both unlikable and sympathetic at the same time. And of course the work of Andre Braugher was great as usual and made better by playing off of another great actor. When I finished watching that I sat back and knew I had just watched what might have been the best performances ever on TV. The series Frank’s Place died way too soon. It was different every week. Sometimes it was quite serious and other times it was funny as hell. But what stands out for me is the episode with the wake and the dead body. Although it borrows from what was done previously in other shows (Fawlty Towers), the way it was put together made it maybe the funniest half hour show I have seen tied with.. Basil the Rat on Fawlty Towers. From beginning to end the perfect sitcom episode in a classic series. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/14 "2009-04-24T12:14:06Z")
Seinfeld: The Contest, with Keith Hernandez/JKF a close second Mary Tyler Moore: Chuckles bites the dust Three’s Company: John Ritter’s dancing in a tux. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/15 "2009-04-24T12:41:42Z")
Dr. Who (new): Blink Dr. Who (original): The Talons of Weng-Chiang. My So-Called Life: So-Called Angel (best Christmas episode in the history of TV). ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/16 "2009-04-24T12:49:30Z")
The West Wing had plenty of terrific episodes, at least during the Sorkin years, but I’d have to go with “Two Catherdrals”, if only for [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FScv89J6rro&feature=related)scene. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/17 "2009-04-24T12:54:46Z")
Buffy: Hush, The Body, and Once More with Feeling. ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/18 "2009-04-24T13:23:38Z")
Veronica Mars – “Ain’t No Magic Mountain High Enough” I bet most people would pick a different episode (probably one from the first season), but this one is my favourite. I think Ruggiero wrote the best episodes, and this one is the pinnacle. Also, the “Cheater Girls” episode of Sonny with a Chance – “Check out my weightlessness!!!” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/19 "2009-04-24T14:03:07Z")
Star Trek, TOS. I gotta go with most fans and say _The City on the Edge of Forever._ BSG: I’m in denial. Nikita: the first one I saw, _Catch a Falling Star._ ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180/20 "2009-04-24T14:05:04Z")
\*\*Quantum Leap: \*\* The Leap Home, Part II Despite its name, a standalone episode (though Part I is connected) with a great triple twist ending. **Star Trek: TOS** : The Trouble with Tribbles **Star Trek: DS9** : More Tribbles, More Troubles. **Dick van Dyke Show** : A Show of Hands – Very funny and a surprisingly strong message for the time. (Rob and Laura end up dyeing their hands black). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-written-episodes-of-a-series-you-love/494180.md?page=2)