The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time
From the staff at Rolling Stone, a list of the all-time best 100 episodes of TV. The rules: 1 episode per show, no reality (or talk shows or news or sketch comedy), and it’s mostly American shows (but, come on, no episodes of Fawlty Towers?)
I cannot help it, I love lists like these; here are a few of my favorites from the larger collection:
86. Black Mirror, “San Junipero” (Season 3, Episode 4)
83. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, “Papa’s Got a Brand New Excuse” (Season 4, Episode 24)
73. The Good Place, “Michael’s Gambit” (Season 1, Episode 13)
53. Six Feet Under, “Everyone’s Waiting” (Season 5, Episode 12)
50. The Last of Us, “Long Long Time” (Season 1, Episode 3)
38. The Bear, “Forks” (Season 2, Episode 7)
31. Deadwood, “Sold Under Sin” (Season 1, Episode 12)
25. Homicide: Life on the Street, “Three Men and Adena” (Season 1, Episode 6)
24. Fleabag, “Episode 1” (Season 2, Episode 1)
20. The Americans, “The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears” (Season 4, Episode 8)
14. Succession, “Connor’s Wedding” (Season 4, Episode 3)
12. The Wire, “Middle Ground” (Season 3, Episode 11)
6. Mad Men, “The Suitcase” (Season 4, Episode 7)
5. Seinfeld, “The Contest” (Season 4, Episode 10)
2. The Simpsons, “Last Exit to Springfield” (Season 4, Episode 17)
So much to agree and disagree with here. Thoughts? Also: television!
Discussion 16 comments
OMG just thinking about certain episodes of Fawlty Towers makes me laugh
So many classic lines.
i wish a streaming service would come out with playlists so we could just put on a list like this in the background...
I wonder why the streaming platforms haven't done this? Too much turnover in titles? (Like, your Bingeworthy Comedies playlist on Netflix might initially have 20 films in it but be nearly empty 9 months later.)
Rdio's short-lived TV/movies service Vdio had playlists.
You can do this with a Plex playlist and connected streaming services (or sailing the high seas).
Jason, I think you're right — also, a lot of the libraries are country-specific, so sharing might be hard if you have an international audience. But I think Disney would have a hit with this by letting people do Star Wars watch order playlists with all the shows in between, or a series of Halloween episodes of kids shows, or certain kids' comfort shows all lined up for a spin on movie night where you don't have to touch the remote at all or navigate menus on TV screens.
Oh man, we started watching The Good Place during the COVID lockdowns. "Michael's Gambit" was pure escapist JOY when there a lot to be joyful about.
My question is: Can these episodes be watched on their own as standalones, without having the context of the other episodes leading up to them? Will they be as good?
This probably works for the episodic shows (Simpsons, Seinfeld, I Love Lucy) and standalone episodes like Black Mirror but less well for the serial shows, esp the dramas. Fleabag is mostly a serial but I think you could drop into the first episode of the second season and get it.
It's really impossible to tell how much the surrounding episodes in a longer series contribute to the quality of a single episode. I would argue that the "filler" stuff usually written by the minor writers often provide the relief from which single climactic or significant episodes (usually written by the heavy hitters) stand out. If anything, if you watch a cherry-picked "great" episode and it doesn't quite land, maybe it'll have enough to inspire you to go back and watch everything leading up to it.
Now, we need to make a list of best anime episodes of all time...
"This is a love story."
"You can't take a picture of this. It's already gone." 😭
Some good sci-fi in there.
43. Star Trek TNG: The Inner Light
Star Trek at its best when it’s less pew-pew and more think-think.
28. Battlestar Galactica: 33
Taut & fraught, alone in the cold dark. The only light is glowing red.
No episode of Nathan For You on this list is a huge miss. Either Finding Frances or Smokers Allowed should be on here.
And come to think of it... the last episode of The Curse also deserves a mention.
I'm surprised Chernobyl doesn't have a feature. I remember watching it when it first premiered and feeling like it was some of the best TV ever, but it doesn't seem like its kept up in the "great TV" conversations.
Yeah, you're right. I've been watching it again this summer and it's amazing.
Hello! In order to leave a comment, you need to be a current kottke.org member. If you'd like to sign up for a membership to support the site and join the conversation, you can explore your options here.
Existing members can sign in here. If you're a former member, you can renew your membership.
Note: If you are a member and tried to log in, it didn't work, and now you're stuck in a neverending login loop of death, try disabling any ad blockers or extensions that you have installed on your browser...sometimes they can interfere with the Memberful links. Still having trouble? Email me!
In order to leave a comment, you need to be a current kottke.org member. Check out your options for renewal.
This is the name that'll be displayed next to comments you make on kottke.org; your email will not be displayed publicly. I'd encourage you to use your real name (or at least your first name and last initial) but you can also pick something that you go by when you participate in communities online. Choose something durable and reasonably unique (not "Me" or "anon"). Please don't change this often. No impersonation..
Note: I'm letting folks change their display names because the membership service that kottke.org uses collects full names and I thought some people might not want their names displayed publicly here. If it gets abused, I might disable this feature.
If you feel like this comment goes against the grain of the community guidelines or is otherwise inappropriate, please let me know and I will take a look at it.
Hello! In order to leave a comment, you need to be a current kottke.org member. If you'd like to sign up for a membership to support the site and join the conversation, you can explore your options here.
Existing members can sign in here. If you're a former member, you can renew your membership.
Note: If you are a member and tried to log in, it didn't work, and now you're stuck in a neverending login loop of death, try disabling any ad blockers or extensions that you have installed on your browser...sometimes they can interfere with the Memberful links. Still having trouble? Email me!