# Individual episodes of shows you normally like that you dislike **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 1, 2014, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110 "2014-09-01T04:23:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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 1, 2014, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/21 "2014-09-01T19:00:22Z")
Aside from clip shows, or episodes where the cast has to play baseball as a metaphor for life, or where they do their own version of _A Christmas Carol_ or _It’s a Wonderful Life_, I nominate: **Magnum PI** : The Kona Winds. Made ever character act out of character just so they could do a remake of \* Body Heat\* except to have the “down on his luck PI” (Magnum? Ha! ) prevail in the end and not let the femme fatale get away with it. **Wild Wild West** : The Night of the Lord of Limbo. The one where Ricardo Montalban uses psychic time travel to change the past. Not only is bringing time travel into WWW too much, it isn’t even a _good_ TT episode! It doesn’t even understand the ‘rules’ of TT. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/22 "2014-09-01T19:18:46Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Wil E: Rule of Funny. Which is what? Farts are funny? Sure, it was funny when Sheldon decided Thursday night was going to be cruciferous vegetable night and was constantly farting afterwards. But L.I. isn’t funny especially when there’s been a product on the shelves for years to help it … well, maybe it was sort of funny the first couple times they used it but that Lactose Intolerance horse has farted itself to death. And maybe it was the timing of seeing this episode again that really annoyed me because I ate a couple slices of pizza the day before and forgot to take my Lactaid and believe me, it was not funny. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/23 "2014-09-01T19:43:20Z")
The “Han” episode of _The West Wing._ Utter bollocks. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/24 "2014-09-01T19:46:11Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Two I can think of: > > 1. The “Big Bang Theory” episode when Sheldon tutors Leonard about American football. I know it’s my hang-up, but the idea of a straight American man being that ignorant of football suspends my disbelief. > > 2. The episode of “Criminal Minds” when the guy kills people by snapping their necks. I dislike it because that way of death squicks me out. Ironically saw beginning of episode other day. Pics weren’t nearly as graphic as I feared. I am a straight American man and I know very little about football. Or baseball or basketball. Never had any interest in team sports. I liked playing informal hockey on the lake behind our house but never learned the official rules, watched it on TV or followed any teams. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/25 "2014-09-01T19:46:45Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > The “Han” episode of _The West Wing._ Utter bollocks. Did it have Harrison Ford in it? ---
**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:** [September 1, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/26 "2014-09-01T20:04:22Z")
I’ve noted before that one **Columbo** episode involves a killer who struck in broad daylight, where anyone could’ve witnessed it and someone did; the killer hid the body, but so ineptly that the cops found it with no help from our hero; the bullet in said body _would_ match the killer’s gun, but – and this is the clever part, this is what we need the great detective for – said killer claims it _won’t_. I can’t enjoy watching Columbo outwit a guy like that; I doubt I’d enjoy watching him beat a little kid at tic-tac-toe, either; it’s less a murder mystery and more _“Holy crap, how does that guy not fall down more often? I’m pretty sure he should, at this point, be slurring his speech while failing to recite the alphabet.”_ ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/27 "2014-09-01T20:10:31Z")
Futurama’s _A Pharoah To Remember_ episode. I get that Bender’s supposed to be obnoxious sometimes, but in this episode he was such an over-the-top dick that I wanted to see him melted down. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/28 "2014-09-01T20:19:15Z")
The episode of _Orphan Black_ where they introduced the transgender clone was a big misstep from a show that usually cranks out one really terrific episode after another. ---
**Author:** ![Robrein](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robrein/32/6728_2.png) [@Robrein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robrein)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/29 "2014-09-01T20:26:34Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > The musical episode from Grey’s Anatomy. This 10,000%. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/30 "2014-09-01T20:26:57Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > Which is what? Farts are funny? I can’t speak as to whether this was what the poster you responded to, but I’d always heard the Rule of Funny is “it stops being funny when it starts being you.” ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/31 "2014-09-01T20:29:18Z")
The episode of _Peep Show_ where Jez accidentally kills his girlfriend’s dog and then he and Mark cook and eat it. I love _Peep Show_ with all my heart but as a dog lover and a decent human being this is just too far. Dealing with a dog getting killed is too much for me and it doesn’t get any better after that. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/32 "2014-09-01T20:38:09Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > The episode of _Orphan Black_ where they introduced the transgender clone was a big misstep from a show that usually cranks out one really terrific episode after another. I agree with this. The other example that occurs to me: going back a ways: an episode of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ near the end of the run, in which everyone turns against Buffy because they don’t like her plan for dealing with that season’s Big Bad. Her little sister orders her out of the house and they all turn frowny faces at her and she goes. A theme of ‘everyone is against me’ can work if well-written, as (after all) that _is_ a universal human anxiety. But this episode was not well-written. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/33 "2014-09-01T20:42:07Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > This is unbelievable to you? I hang around with a lot of Big Bang Theory types and there are some I wager wouldn’t even be able to tell you the correct shape of the ball. For many nerds, their ignorance of sports borders on aggressive. Hell, all of these things could have been said about this very message board up until about 5-6 years ago. I remember many loud protests about sports threads being started in The Game Room. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/34 "2014-09-01T20:45:49Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > The “Han” episode of _The West Wing._ Utter bollocks. Even worse: The “Isaac and Ishmael” episode. Yes, I understand they were attempting to respond to the events of September 11, 2001, but it was just heavy-handed and awkward. I’d have preferred it if they’d just ignored the real-life events. (It’s just a television show, after all.) ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/35 "2014-09-01T20:49:46Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > I can’t speak as to whether this was what the poster you responded to, but I’d always heard the Rule of Funny is “it stops being funny when it starts being you.” Thanks, I had no idea to what etv was referring. Yes, that’s true as I guess I proved in my follow-up post. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/36 "2014-09-01T22:05:54Z")
There are quite a few _Simpsons episodes._ The worst were the one where Bart joins a boy band as a Navy recruiting tool, and the one where they adopt the racehorse. ---
**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:** [September 1, 2014, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/37 "2014-09-01T22:14:22Z")
“Him” in season 7 of Buffy was not only one of the worst episodes of the show, but one of the worst episodes of TV ever, at least for shows that don’t normally suck. It read like a crappy amazing stories episode that would have probably been rejected. Oddly it was followed by one of their best episodes, “Conversations with Dead People.” Also, too many Simpsons to count. The death of Maude Flanders was extremely awkward, and unnecessary. (Seriously, they couldn’t have found another voice actor to do her?) ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/38 "2014-09-01T22:32:45Z")
Both the post that explains why I said what I AND my response are gone, sorry I can’t remember what Acsenray said. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/39 "2014-09-01T23:13:20Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > There are quite a few _Simpsons episodes._ The worst were the one where Bart joins a boy band as a Navy recruiting tool, and the one where they adopt the racehorse. Those are both great episodes. But the E Pluribus Wiggum episode makes me want to E Pluribus Vomit. > [@Snooooopy](#): > > The episode of _Orphan Black_ where they introduced the transgender clone was a big misstep from a show that usually cranks out one really terrific episode after another. They finally found a character that Tatiana Maslany (hope that’s at least close) couldn’t play convincingly. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/40 "2014-09-02T00:12:43Z")
The Simpsons - (from memory, many years ago). There was an episode in which they take Grampa Simpson on a car ride and won’t stop to let him go to the bathroom. At one point they even pass the world’s biggest toilet (or something). Eventually his kidneys explode (huh?) and Homer reluctantly gives Grampa one of his. South Park - the first appearance of Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo. M_A_S\*H - the already-mentioned dreams episode. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110.md?page=3)