The only episode of Doctor Who I ever watched was “Blink”. I heard so much about it so one day I found it on Netflix and watched it. It was indeed great. I am sure I missed much because I didn’t know the ongoing stories or the characters all that well, but the story worked fine as just a short film as far as I’m concerned.
One of these days I will go back and watch more but to date that is the only one I have seen. Any shows where you can say you’ve only seen one episode (for any reason; could also be because you hated it)?
I saw only one episode of “Ellen” (the coming-out one.)
It’s not a show I normally watch, but at the time that episode aired, I was in a hotel room on a school field trip with my class. My friends were watching it, so I watched it too.
One episode of Copper. I loved it, and would love to see it again, but I was at my M-I-L’s house (she has satellite) at the time; now I’m at my own house and I’m on over-the-air TV.
One episode of Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23. Just didn’t get into it.
I’ve only seen one episode of The Simpsons. It’s the one where Maggie says her first word. IIRC, Elizabeth Taylor did the voice, and it got so much publicity that I decided to tune in. It just seemed very strange and cartoony to me, and I didn’t really get it, and I’ve never tried to watch it again.
Of course, this means that many, many references on the SDMB go over my head, although I do get some that have been explained.
I’m pretty sure I’ve only ever seen one episode of Star Trek, although it would have been so long ago (I couldn’t even tell you what episode it was), that I can’t swear it wasn’t actually 2 episodes. Just didn’t interest me.
Like SpoilerVirgin above, it means I miss a lot of references that people just assume everyone knows.
Lost. Watched one episode when my (ex) wife decided to get into it. It didn’t work for me and watching everyone else torture themselves with it for years, I’m glad I didn’t stick with it.
30 Rock. I really don’t like Tracy Morgan. Everyone tells me to just get over it and watch the show. I watched one episode and it actually was really funny, but I still haven’t bothered to watch it. Maybe someday.
Actually, “Blink” is a really good episode to watch if you’re only going to watch one. Besides being easily the single scariest episode of NuWho, the main character (Sally Sparrow) isn’t attached to the show’s continuity almost at all. She’s pretty much a one-off.
Friends. Really. The wife and I were staying in the hotel that was inside the old train station in Kuala Lumpur in October 1999. Late one night, we finally watched an episode after hearing rave reviews from friends for years. But then the TV blew up shortly after that. Literally a small explosion took place. We called the desk clerk, someone came and took it away, and we never got a replacement, so could not watch it on subsequent nights. (They were showing old reruns locally each night.) Have not seen it again. But I recall the episode we watched was pretty funny.
Ooh, that reminds me, I too have only seen one episode of 30 Rock. It was the one with Alan Alda. The humor didn’t work for me. I will watch almost anything with Alan Alda, though, which explains the 5 episodes of ER that I’ve seen.
No matter which episode I have only seen once, if I catch another broadcast of the same show five years later, it is guaranteed to be the same episode.
What’s that new show on TNT about the guy who hallucinates people while helping a far too attractive young FBI agent solve crimes? Perception? Yeah, only saw one of those, not the worst show I’ve ever seen but the big twist that a certain character was being hallucinated was just too stupid (not to mention obvious) that I didn’t bother with it after the first episode.
I’ve also only seen one each of Go On and Animal Practice, new NBC sitcoms, but they’ve only aired one each so far.
To this day the only episode of Babylon 5 that I’ve seen all the way through is “Infection” - season one, episode four - which had David McCallum in it. I can’t remember a thing about the story. I do however remember reading about the show’s well-developed arc plot, and deciding that unless I watched every episode in order from the beginning it wasn’t worth it, so that was that.
There’s a whole alternative history where I made the decision to continue watching Babylon 5, and the 9/11 attacks didn’t happen, and the 2000s are now remembered as a golden age of economic prosperity and peace. Alas, I gave up on it, and the world went to pot.
Too many to remember. I will have a a look at many shows that I hear are good. Often I will only make it through part or all of one episode. Recent examples have been Revenge, Bones and Castle. I only watched the first episode of Lost and Heroes so I am starting to see a trend here - it’s the one word names. Even the show where the only episode I saw seemed to consist of Kiefer Sutherland and another actor calling out “Jake” alternately for 5 minutes, is called Touch. But years ago I remember watching the pilot of Desperate Housewives after a rave review on the radio and, as I say, I’m sure there are plenty of others.
I’ve only seen one episode of NCIS, but I’ve seen it three times, at three different doctor’s offices.
I’ve only seen one episode of The Simpsons as well, the one where Mark Hamill is in a dinner theater production of Guys and Dolls. I was in rehearsals for our junior high’s production of the musical, and when my friend (a huge Simpsons fan) found out that it was going to be playing in syndication that night, she made me come over and watch. It was okay, I guess. I’ve never really had the urge to watch another episode, though.
Prime Suspect. I just found out yesterday that my local library has seven seasons, so I checked out the first season and watched the first episode last night.