# Shows with episode-naming conventions. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 4, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164 "2011-02-04T16:18:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/1 "2011-02-04T16:18:58Z")
For instance, the title for every episode of _[Friends](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Friends_episodes)_ begins with “The one with” or “The one where” (or occasionally something else along those lines). For instance, “The One Where Rachel Quits.” Obviously this is a take-off on the way people actually refer to episodes, since hardly anyone remembers more than a few titles. _[Community](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Community_episodes)_, which takes place in a community college, names each episode as if it were a college class (e.g., “Basic Genealogy” or “Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples”). This one might be a stretch, but: _[Seinfeld](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Seinfeld_episodes)_. Each episode title is structured as a simple “The [noun].” Sometimes it’s “The [proper noun],” sometimes it’s “The [noun+modifier],” but a solid majority of episodes don’t even get that outlandish, and stick to the simple two-word formation. The only exception, apparently, is the 4th episode of season 1, “Male Unbonding.” What else? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/2 "2011-02-04T16:23:28Z")
Big Bang Theory always titles episodes “The Adjective Noun,” where the noun is usually a scientic term or reference. Last night’s episode was “The Thespian Catalyst,” for example. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/3 "2011-02-04T16:28:41Z")
That 70’s Show did (off the top of my head) Led Zeppelin songs for a season, Who songs the next season, then Rolling Stones, then Queen. Scrubs episodes were almost all My \_\_\_\_\_. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/4 "2011-02-04T16:46:07Z")
Mr Monk and the […] _Spaced_ was always a single word, being the general theme for the episode - _Beginnings, Art, Mettle, Back, Change_… _Bones_ - The [something] in/on the [something]. Sometimes pretty irrelevant in describing the contents of the show. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/5 "2011-02-04T16:46:20Z")
All episodes of Chuck are titled Chuck vs. “the something.” So, Chuck vs. The Crown Vic or Chuck vs. The Push Mix, etc. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/6 "2011-02-04T16:53:35Z")
I swear I only know this from browsing the TV listings, but Hannah Montanah’s episode titles are take-offs on popular song titles, eg: “You Give Lunch a Bad Name”. And just to be a little more respectable, the old Wild, Wild West show episode titles were all of the form: “The Night of…” ---
**Author:** ![susan\_foster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/7 "2011-02-04T16:55:03Z")
The first La Femme Nikita series had the same # of words in the title as the season #. So season 1 was one word, 2 was two, you know the rest. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/8 "2011-02-04T17:05:31Z")
_[Family Guy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Family_Guy_episodes)_ had an abortive episode-naming convention. According to the DVD commentaries, the original intent was to name each episode as if it were a (fairly cheesy) old-style noir-ish detective story. So, the first four episodes are titled (apropos nothing): “Death Has a Shadow,” “I Never Met the Dead Man,” “Chitty Chitty Death Bang,” and “Mind Over Murder.” They discontinued the practice because, they said, it was a lot of work coming up with jokes that most people would never see, let alone understand. ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/9 "2011-02-04T17:08:38Z")
Every episode of The Wild Wild West began with “The Night-” for example “The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth.” ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/10 "2011-02-04T17:13:52Z")
All of the episodes of Degrassi are named after songs. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/11 "2011-02-04T17:19:43Z")
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. had “The \ Affair” for their episode titles. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/12 "2011-02-04T17:20:04Z")
The original _Star Trek_ used a lot of abstract-sounding titles that would have been improved with _Friends_-style naming, so that for example “Patterns of Force” would be “The One With Nazis.” ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/13 "2011-02-04T17:23:44Z")
_NewsRadio_ had a run of episodes in the second season named for all of the Led Zeppelin albums. In the third season they added “Led Zeppelin Box Set.” ---
**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:** [February 4, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/14 "2011-02-04T17:27:14Z")
Going back, **Burke’s Law** episodes (while it was a cop show, not a spy show) were titled “Who Killed \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_?” Jim Hutton **Ellery Queen** episodes (other than the pilot) were "The Adventure of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ " **The Man From U.N.C.L.E** and **The Girl From U.N.C.L.E** used “The \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Affair.” **Blackadder** (other than the first series) used themed episodes: **Blackadder II** were single words; **Blackadder the Third** used “\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ and \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_,” where the second word shared the first few letters as the first (e.g., “Dish and Dishonesty”); **Blackadder Goes Fourth** used a term that began with a military rank (“Corporal Punishment”) (Except for the final one). ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/15 "2011-02-04T17:31:38Z")
This isn’t consistent, but The Simpsons episode titles are usually puns off of movies, TV shows, songs, or other stuff in popular culture. For example, titles from the current season have been “Loan-a-Lisa,” “Money Bart,” “The Fool Monty,” “Donnie Fatso”, etc. Also, this is boring, but (since season 4) Law and Order SVU always has had one-word titles (if you allow abbreviations under your definition of “one-word”). ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/16 "2011-02-04T17:33:07Z")
> [@Meltdown](#): > > “Donnie Fatso” I was really disappointed that this episode turned out to have no references to _Donnie Darko_. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/17 "2011-02-04T17:38:51Z")
**Leverage** is usually “The \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Job” **Scrubs** was usually “My \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_” but on episodes that were told from someone else’s point of view (not JD’s) the episodes were “His Story,” “Her Story,” or “Their Stories” **CougarTown** uses Tom Petty song titles ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/18 "2011-02-04T17:45:36Z")
_Covert Affairs_ used Led Zeppelin song titles. (If not for the Internet, I would not have figured this out until well into the season, because they used what I would call some fairly obscure selections early on). I just tracked down an interview with Christopher Gorham, one of the show’s stars, and he said that the idea is to use a different band each season. I’m personally rooting for R.E.M. – plenty of titles to choose from there! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/19 "2011-02-04T18:02:34Z")
I’m going to quote myself from a [similar thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=558637&highlight=dick+solomon) we had last year: **Third Rock From the Sun episodes commonly had the word “Dick” in them, referring to the name of John Lithgow’s character, Dick Solomon. Examples include “I Enjoy Being a Dick,” “You Don’t Know Dick,” “Assault With A Deadly Dick,” “Will Work For Dick.” It seems the more outrageous, the better. The writers seemed determined to see what they could get away with in terms of “Dick”-themed episode names.** ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164/20 "2011-02-04T18:17:14Z")
“The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd:” “Here’s [something about the episode]” “Jenny” (Jenny McCarthy’s short-lived series): "A Girl’s Gotta [do something related to the episode] “Lou Grant” typically had one-word episode titles. Many of the “Wagon Train” eps were just called "The [guest character of the week] Story. Gene Roddenberry’s characterization of “Star Trek” being “‘Wagon Train’ to the stars” was pretty accurate. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-with-episode-naming-conventions/570164.md?page=2)