# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/41 "2014-09-02T00:39:09Z")
**Andy Griffith Show** , where Gomer joins the Marines as the spinoff for the **Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.** show. Instant channel changer. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/42 "2014-09-02T01:23:52Z")
The Musical Episode. The show doesn’t matter. At no point have I ever watched a TV show and thought, “You, know these folks should do a musical episode”. ---
**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:** [September 2, 2014, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/43 "2014-09-02T01:46:25Z")
**Babylon 5** has a few, with many in the first season. I skip over a lot of the first season. The show was still coming together. \*\*Battlestar Galactica \*\*- the black market episode was subpar. Even Ronald Moore has said the final cut of the episode was a mess compared to what they had thought. The racists doctor episode was also a bit of a letdown. **X-files** - I won’t mention season 8 or 9. In the prime of the show, they still had Space and First Person Shooter, terrible episodes. > [@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’ll fourth or fifth this one. Wow, it was terrible. > [@Wolf333](#): > > The Musical Episode. The show doesn’t matter. At no point have I ever watched a TV show and thought, “You, know these folks should do a musical episode”. It can feel forced, but I like Buffy’s a lot. And Scrubs was fun. Even Lexx’s was kind of cute. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/44 "2014-09-02T01:51:35Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > 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. FWIW, I’m a straight American man, and I know zilch about football. Nor have I ever been moved to fill that gap in my knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/45 "2014-09-02T01:59:23Z")
> [@Wolf333](#): > > The Musical Episode. The show doesn’t matter. At no point have I ever watched a TV show and thought, “You, know these folks should do a musical episode”. “Once More with Feeling” being the exception that proves the rule. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/46 "2014-09-02T02:02:22Z")
Granddaddy of them all: “Plato’s Stepchildren” on _ **ST: TOS** _. Most of the third season is terrible, if not virtually unwatchable, but this one takes the proverbial cake! For me, it’s a lot easier to list the few good episodes of _ **TNG** _ than it is to pick out ones I dislike. Also, any episode of _MAS_H\*\*\* where Hawkeye is the focus. I can’t stand Alan Alda! I don’t _hate_ them, but I really don’t care for any episode of _ **MTM** _ where the focus was on Mary and her so-called love life. Why a woman like that would date guys who looked like they just walked off the set of a third-rate porn flick is beyond me. The show was much funnier when it focused on other characters in her ensemble. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/47 "2014-09-02T02:29:00Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > FWIW, I’m a straight American man, and I know zilch about football. Nor have I ever been moved to fill that gap in my knowledge. The SDMB is not a message board where one would respond “+1” but I agree here. What casts me in a more unusual light is that I am a straight male from Nebraska, where Husker Football is the unofficial state religion, who knows or even cares anything about football at all. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/48 "2014-09-02T02:34:33Z")
> [@Wolf333](#): > > The Musical Episode. The show doesn’t matter. At no point have I ever watched a TV show and thought, “You, know these folks should do a musical episode”. I’m very fond of the Buffy one. Otherwise, ugh. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/49 "2014-09-02T03:29:02Z")
The episode of “All in the Family” where Edith gets raped. I saw it once; there’s no way I’m ever watching it again. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/50 "2014-09-02T04:29:16Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > The episode of “All in the Family” where Edith gets raped. I saw it once; there’s no way I’m ever watching it again. Is it a case of "that was good but I NEVER need to see it again? ---
**Author:** ![Zyanthia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Zyanthia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyanthia)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/51 "2014-09-02T11:51:15Z")
The entire last season of Psych. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/52 "2014-09-02T14:38:25Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > “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.” True enough, but it did have the really funny bazooka gag. > [@terentii](#): > > I don’t _hate_ them, but I really don’t care for any episode of _ **MTM** _ where the focus was on Mary and her so-called love life. Why a woman like that would date guys who looked like they just walked off the set of a third-rate porn flick is beyond me. It was the '70s. ALL the guys looked like that. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/53 "2014-09-02T16:41:44Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > It was the '70s. ALL the guys looked like that. Yeah, but some were a lot seedier than others. Those were the ones she almost always ended up dating. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/54 "2014-09-02T17:04:20Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > “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.” Ohhh, I like “Him.” It was a goofy season 2 style episode with some great bits in it. “Conversations with Dead People” is good except…it needed to be Tara and I’ll never forgive Amber Benson for refusing to play it. Venture Brothers “What Goes Down Must Come Up” (the M.U.T.H.E.R episode). It has some of my favorite lines “Have you got any pants…like any extra pants?” and includes just about all my favorite characters but over all its a dumb episode that requires the tag at the end to explain anything that happened. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/55 "2014-09-02T17:09:29Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > The episode of “All in the Family” where Edith gets raped. I saw it once; there’s no way I’m ever watching it again. > [@etv78](#): > > Is it a case of "that was good but I NEVER need to see it again? For the record, she avoids being raped by throwing (boiling water? hot casserole?) something off the stove at her assailant as he backs her towards the stove. But I agree that it’s not an episode I’d ever need to see again. It’s not “bad” but it’s not what I watch the show for, either. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/56 "2014-09-02T17:14:07Z")
The episode of Louie where he goes to Afghanistan, the whole thing is so embarrassing, from it’s cheezy production values that make a MASH episode look like Ben Hur, to its vaguely racist paternalism to the Afghans, to its lazy final lesson whereby Americans and Afghans find peace through a baby duck. Yuck. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/57 "2014-09-02T20:24:56Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > While that’s true, the absolute BASICS of football are really simple to explain and understand. Anyone that wanted to learn about the game would only have to watch a single game to get the gist of it. Any geek that would be satisfied with the extremely tiny bit of information from watching the game should probably turn in his geek card. No, the real problem is that no self-respecting geek would need a tutor. You want to know about football? You look it up online. You read how it works and them maybe watch a game to see if you get it. You especially don’t ask Sheldon, the type of geek who, if he knows about the game, will only know about it from a technical perspective. ---
**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 2, 2014, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/58 "2014-09-02T20:43:19Z")
Just to continue the hijack about nerds and football, I learned the essentials from playing a [handheld electronic football toy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handheld_electronic_game#mediaviewer/File:Coleco_Electronic_Quarterback.jpg) as a kid. (Looking it up online wasn’t an option back then.) ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/59 "2014-09-02T20:45:08Z")
Might be sacrilege to say anything bad about _Firefly_, but of the episodes that aired I always thought _Heart of Gold_ (the one where they go to defend the brothel from a shootout) is a pretty weak entry. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110/60 "2014-09-02T20:49:53Z")
Furthering the hijack: I must be a lot less geeky than the typical Doper. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individual-episodes-of-shows-you-normally-like-that-you-dislike/697110.md?page=4)