# Name the single best episode of a series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171 "2014-01-07T21:51:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/141 "2014-01-09T19:24:45Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > **Bewitched** - Speaking of her, the time Endora split Darrin in two ‘selves’ - the serious Darrin, and the fun-loving Darrin. Endora actually did this twice, but Dick Sargent “split” better than Dick York. Watching this show as a grown-up, I still think Darren is a jerk but have come to appreciate Dick Sargent’s comedic abilities when he was called to do something ridiculous under the influence of some spell or another. ---
**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:** [January 9, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/142 "2014-01-09T19:27:28Z")
THAT '70s SHOW: the _Star Wars_ episode. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/143 "2014-01-09T19:51:34Z")
The best “Bewitched” episode was the one where Uncle Arthur convinced Darrin that he could learn to do magic. “Yagga-zuzi, yagga-zuzi, yagga-zuzi, ZIM!” Nowadays I don’t really get many laughs from that show, but that episode never fails. The best of 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?' is without question the Richard Simmons episode. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIscLaYnECs) ---
**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:** [January 10, 2014, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/144 "2014-01-10T06:18:06Z")
Twilight Zone: “Eye of the Beholder” All in the Family: Archie trapped in the basement MASH: “Abyssinia, Henry” or the final episode. Frasier: “Flour Chiild” or Niles’ scene in “Three Valentines” Mary Tyler Moore: Chuckles the Clown’s funeral Everybody Loves Raymond: “P.M.S.” or the cookie war with “Peggy Hitler” ST:TNG: “The Measure of a Man” or “The Inner Light” ST:Voyager: The one with “Hugh” Seinfeld: Soup Nazi Dick Van Dyke: Rob tries to write a novel. NYPD Blue: Bobby Simone’s death Whose Line Is It Anyway: Richard Simmons ER: “Love’s Labor Lost.” (My grandmother died that way.) ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/145 "2014-01-10T07:14:02Z")
Get Smart - that “clip-clop” sound coming from a girl’s castanets, the captain’s prosthetic leg, and the man on a wheel chair. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/146 "2014-01-10T07:22:55Z")
30 Rock - Apollo, Apollo (#3.16) (because…Muppets!) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/147 "2014-01-10T07:57:55Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > _The Rockford Files_ - “So help me God” - Rockford goes in front of the grand jury, led by the really obnoxious D.A. played by William Daniels. Hard to pick a favorite, but I’d have to go with _Irving the Explainer_. ---
**Author:** ![toast\_pakora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@toast\_pakora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toast_pakora)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/148 "2014-01-10T09:14:19Z")
**Red Dwarf:** the one where they discover that the whole series had actually taken place within a virtual reality game and they hadn’t managed to get out of Level 1. Or the one where they time travel and end up in Dallas in November 1963 looking for a curry shop. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/149 "2014-01-10T16:09:05Z")
Father Ted: “Good Luck, Father Ted” (the one with the fun fair) Muppet Show: The one with Alice Cooper ---
**Author:** ![Art\_Rock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/art_rock/32/525_2.png) [@Art\_Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Art_Rock)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/150 "2014-01-10T16:13:39Z")
> [@toast\_pakora](#): > > **Red Dwarf:** the one where they discover that the whole series had actually taken place within a virtual reality game and they hadn’t managed to get out of Level 1. Definitely a strong candidate. I remembered literally laughing out loud the first time I saw that one. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/151 "2014-01-10T16:47:23Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Disagree on Buffy. I’d say\* Once more with feeling\*. Gotta agree with this one. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/152 "2014-01-10T17:37:07Z")
Breaking Bad: I’ll also go with Dead Freight (the train robbery) MST3K: Space Mutiny, although Werewolf and Prince of Space are also very strong contenders. Frasier: the one where Frasier sings “Buttons & Bows” on the PBS fund-raiser. Perhaps not the best episode, but that scene may be the funniest scene in any sitcom. Friends: the one with the contest (“Miss Chanondaler Bong”) Seinfeld: The Contest (ie, “are you master of your domain?”) X-Files: Home Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror III (evil Krusty doll, King Homer, zombies) ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/153 "2014-01-10T18:26:02Z")
I’m someone who has difficulty picking a favourite anything. And surely one of the hardest series to pick a favourite from must be The Simpsons. But the only episode of any series I can think of that I’d have to call a favourite (not exactly the same as “best” I know) is Sweet Seymour’s Badasssss Song (The Simpsons, obviously). I might also pick Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose from the OP, although it faces competition from the also-mentioned Jose Chung’s From Outer Space, which was my first thought for The X-Files. I love the unreliable narration (especially the portrayal of Mulder as a real dick) but Clyde Bruckman must be the better episode. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/154 "2014-01-10T18:52:57Z")
Picking a best MST3K episode is a pointless task since ther are so many great ones. But I think I will go with “The Final Sacrifice.” Really, how can you say, “Zap Rowsdower” with a straight face? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/155 "2014-01-10T19:30:15Z")
Twin Peaks: The reveal of Laura’s killer and the killing of Maddy. Dick Van Dyke: Where the writers have to sing the “Alan Brady” song. Are You Being Served?: German Week Wings: Where they play Trivial Pursuit with Roy. Andy Griffith: The Loaded Goat All In The Family: Edith goes through menopause. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/156 "2014-01-10T19:34:42Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > I might also pick Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose from the OP, although it faces competition from the also-mentioned Jose Chung’s From Outer Space, which was my first thought for The X-Files. I love the unreliable narration (especially the portrayal of Mulder as a real dick) but Clyde Bruckman must be the better episode. It really says something when the top two choices on (almost) everyone’s list were written by the [same guy](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0604587/?ref_=tt_ov_wr). ---
**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:** [January 10, 2014, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/157 "2014-01-10T20:33:04Z")
[QUOTE=Infovore;16999914\The best of ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ is without question the Richard Simmons episode. > **[\- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIscLaYnECs%5B%2FQUOTE%5D)** > > Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. I think that’s the funniest TV episode that ever aired 3rd Rock from the Sun: William Shatner’s first appearance as The Big Giant Head ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/158 "2014-01-10T21:02:34Z")
I can definitively state that the single greatest episode of “Heil Honey, I’m home” is the pilot episode. I can also definitively state that that same episode was the worst episode of the entire series. How many other shows can claim _that_ honor! ---
**Author:** ![Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Methyl_Ethyl_Death)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/159 "2014-01-10T21:20:22Z")
The Three Stooges - A Plumbing We Will Go, runner up - Boobs in Arms ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171/160 "2014-01-10T21:31:23Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Picking a best MST3K episode is a pointless task since ther are so many great ones. But I think I will go with “The Final Sacrifice.” Really, how can you say, “Zap Rowsdower” with a straight face? Personally I like the non-Sci Fi ones the best. It’s hard for me to pin down why though. Maybe because the Sci-Fi ones look cheap, (except the movie natch) have Mike (I love Mike but favor Joel just a teeny bit more) have Pearl and have the different voice for Crow. Every time I try and watch a late run Sci-Fi ep, I end up not making it. I made it through Manos fine though. I thought that was a classic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-single-best-episode-of-a-series/678171.md?page=9)