# Episode titling question (how many series did these things?) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 12, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549 "2012-03-12T13:59:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/1 "2012-03-12T13:59:19Z")
How many series of the past have used a key word/phrase to define all of the outings thereof on a series basis? I’ve counted at least 4: _Friends_: “The One With \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_” (except for the pilot, which was simply called “The Pilot”) _Seinfeld_: “The \_\_\_\_\_\_” (except for the pilot, simply known as “The Seinfeld Chronicles”) _Perry Mason_: “The Case of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_” _The Man from UNCLE_: “The \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Affair” Also, how many have used this for specific seasons/episodes and not series-wide? One that I think was like this was _Hart to Hart_, in which #2 (1980-81) had “Murder” in all the titles, and #3 (1981-82) had “Hart” in all the titles. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/2 "2012-03-12T14:13:43Z")
Big Bang Theory always gives every episode a scientific label’ i.e. the ones from this season: “The Skank Reflex Analysis” “The Infestation Hypothesis” “The Pulled Groin Extrapolation” “The Wiggly Finger Catalyst” “The Russian Rocket Reaction” “The Rhinitis Revelation” “The Good Guy Fluctuation” “The Isolation Permutation” “The Ornithophobia Diffusion” “The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition” “The Speckerman Recurrence” “The Shiny Trinket Maneuver” “The Recombination Hypothesis” “The Beta Test Initiation” “The Friendship Contraction” “The Vacation Solution” “The Rothman Disintegration” “The Werewolf Transformation” “The Weekend Vortex” “The Transporter Malfunction” ---
**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:** [March 12, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/3 "2012-03-12T14:15:56Z")
If I remember correctly, _Soap_ just used episode numbers as titles. Recent sesasons of _Robot Chicken_ have had “themes” for its titles; for one season, the titles could be put together to form two messages, and in another, each title was a combination of two famous movie titles. Also, had _Emily’s Reasons Why Not_ not been cancelled after airing its pilot, each episode would have been titled “How Not To \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_”. (Also, a number of _Friends_ episodes began with “The One Where” and not just “The One With”; there was also “The One Hundredth” and “The Last One”.) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/4 "2012-03-12T14:17:05Z")
[Previous thread on subject.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=558637&highlight=episode+titles) ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/5 "2012-03-12T14:18:17Z")
News Radio used Led Zepplin album titles for a great many of their episodes (Wikipedia tells me it was just the last 9 episodes of season 2). ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/6 "2012-03-12T14:30:41Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [Previous thread on subject.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=558637&highlight=episode+titles) Didn’t realize that there was a duplicate thread WRT the same thing! Silly me. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/7 "2012-03-12T14:31:52Z")
Every episode of \*Cougar Town \*is named for a Tom Petty song or album. ---
**Author:** ![ekweizn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7c8e57/32.png) [@ekweizn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekweizn)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/8 "2012-03-12T15:34:07Z")
> [@bmasters1](#): > > Also, how many have used this for specific seasons/episodes and not series-wide? Breaking Bad: Four of the season 2 episode titles are Seven Thirty Seven/Down/Over/ABQ, which foreshadowed the end of the season. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/9 "2012-03-12T16:13:22Z")
Chuck does “Chuck vs. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_” ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/10 "2012-03-12T16:16:23Z")
_Leverage_ I think still uses “The \_\_\_\_\_ Job” for all their episodes. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/11 "2012-03-12T16:40:45Z")
Although I stopped caring about Desperate Housewives about 5 years ago, I did learn somewhere that its episode titles come from Stephen Sondheim lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/12 "2012-03-12T16:50:39Z")
The exception in Seinfeld is “Male Unbonding” and maybe the Clip Shows possibly. All of Community’s episodes are names of classes. The long gone show Boston Public named each episode a Chapter (Chapter 1, 2 etc.). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/13 "2012-03-12T16:54:11Z")
The second season of Aqua Teen Hunger Force had a string of episodes that were titled “Super” something: Super Birthday Snake. Super Hero, Super Bowl, Super Computer, etc. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/14 "2012-03-12T16:55:52Z")
The excellent Showtime series “Brotherhood” did something different each season with their episode titles. The first season were references to Bible passages (“Mark 8:36” was the pilot), the second season used Bob Dylan lyrics, and the third season were paraphrased Shakespeare quotes. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/15 "2012-03-12T17:00:43Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Also, had _Emily’s Reasons Why Not_ not been cancelled after airing its pilot, each episode would have been titled “How Not To \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_”. The short-lived _100 Questions_ centered around a woman answering – what else? – a hundred questions at the dating service where she’s putting in her application. So the pilot episode, _“What Brought You Here?”_, was followed by _“Are You Open Minded?”_, and then _“Are You Romantic?”_, and then _“Have You Ever Dated a Bad Boy?”_; it was canceled after _“Have You Ever Had a One-Night Stand?”_. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/16 "2012-03-12T17:03:16Z")
_Two and a half men_ used a funny sounding quote from the episode as its title. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/17 "2012-03-12T18:17:38Z")
_Scrubs_ used a variation of “My \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_”, except for episodes that focused on other characters, which used “His Story,” “Her Story,” etc. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/18 "2012-03-12T18:22:32Z")
The episodes of Season 5 of “That 70s Show” were all named after Led Zeppelin songs. For Season 6, episodes were named after songs by The Who, Season 7 episodes were named after Rolling Stones songs, and Season 8 episodes were named after Queen songs. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/19 "2012-03-12T18:24:36Z")
“Two and a Half Men” always uses a phrase from somewhere in the show as the show’s title. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549/20 "2012-03-12T21:01:10Z")
> [@bmasters1](#): > > …_Friends_: “The One With \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_” (except for the pilot, which was simply called “The Pilot”)… **Joey** did the same thing; all the episodes were titled along the lines of “Joey and the \_\_\_\_\_\_” or “Joey \_\_\_\_\_s”. The writers of **Family Guy** originally tried to work a reference to death in every episode title, but abandoned it before the first season was over because it was getting too difficult to keep the scripts straight. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/episode-titling-question-how-many-series-did-these-things/615549.md?page=2)