What is the single best episode of any TV series that you have ever seen?

[rah]

The Newhart finale ranks right up there.

Another favorite is the Simpsons episode with Sideshow Bob and his brother Cecil. Great stuff.

The second act opens with a title, just like an episode of Fraisier:
In Cecil's apartment, and he offers Bob a choice of wines.
"I've been in prison, Cecil. I'll be happy just as long as it doesn't taste like orange drink fermented under a radiator." Surprisingly, Cecil is able to rule out one of the wines based on that comment.

or

Bob replies, "Cecil, no civilization in history has ever considered Chief Hydrological Engineer a 'calling'."
Cecil glares at Bob, and clears his throat.
"Yes, yes, the Cappadocians, fine."

or
Cecil is preparing to blow up the dam, running through a checklist. Bart jumps on him, and says, "Guess who!"
"Maris?" asks Cecil.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Richelieu
John T: on your synopsis!

Thanks!

Originally posted by Starchild
JohnT, a Buffy fan after my own heart. Could your wife and I work out some sort of timeshare? I'm getting Season 5 (faux sisters who open the doors of reality for insane biatch gods!) on DVD soon.

I also have the OMWF CD, complete with liner notes and lyrics... not that we needed the lyrics, having already memorized them all.

Appreciate the offer, but I don't do guys and Laura's not the sharing type.

Season 5! Season 4 is just about to be released here in the states.

You did catch my thread about our family trip a few weeks ago to Cleveland for the BuffyCon, didn't ya? Sophie really charmed Iyari Limon (Kennedy) and James Marsters (Spike) - Mr. Marsters so much that he asked to sign Sophie's Barney doll.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Rufus T. Firefly
Best episode of an American series: the episode of "The X-Files" in which Peter Boyle plays a life-insurance salesman who can forsee the deaths of the people he meets. The best writing I've ever seen on American TV.

Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose. Good ep!

But even better, imho, was Jose Chung's from Outer Space. Man, everybody got mocked in that one!

[SlowwHand]

Final episode of M*A*S*H.

[Ubergeek]

The X-Files episode "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" was, IMO, the best single hour of television I've ever seen. All these wild, Rashomon-esque POV stories, each one more wildly impossible than the one before, the lovely and bizarre trifecta of guest stars (Charles Nelson Riley, Alex Trebec and Jesse Venture), the Sheriff who said "bleepin'" instead of swearing, Mulder's hoot-scream of delight when he spots the dead alien, the guy who decided that Scully was a Man In Black because "her hair was red...but a little TOO red, you know what I mean?" It was a beautifully crafted episode that played off of all the standard bits of all the other X-Files episodes.

Another candidate would be the B5 ep where the Shadow-Vorlon war ended with Sheridan kicking all the First Ones out of the galaxy. B5 was the best sci-fi show I've ever seen, and that episode was the climax of the entire series.

My third choice would be the finale of the first season of 24, with Jack going nuts because he thought his daughter was dead, ripping into the terrorists with a blazing gun in each fist in the most adrenaline-soaked two minutes of television I've ever seen, the sublime look of resignation on Dennis Hopper's face right before Jack shot him (Hopper's only good moment on the entire show), and of course the best and most devastating kick-in-the-gut moment of TV I've ever seen when Jack finds the body of his murdered, pregnant wife. I still get chills thinking about it.

Whoever said the final episode of Newhart made an excellent point too -- that's one of the boldest and cleverest moments in TV history.

[rah]

FirstSeason 24 final, Yes, that was one of the great ones. Too bad season 2's final was not as good.

[The diplomat]

For me it would be "sleeping in Light", the series finale of Babylon 5. It was superbly written, and for those who had watched the entire show, it was the most heart-wrenching moment ever. The episode simply swept you away in a torrent of emotions.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by rah
FirstSeason 24 final, Yes, that was one of the great ones. Too bad season 2's final was not as good.

You have to admit that it was a hell of a hook to get you to watch season 3 though.

[Ubergeek]

Diplo, that was a great episode. Part of the problem for me was that all of season five was so anticlimactic that I no longer had the emotional investment in the show that I had during season 4, so the series finale didn't have the impact it should have.

[TheStinger]

The last episode of Eldarado was superb

[Ubergeek]

Originally posted by rah
FirstSeason 24 final, Yes, that was one of the great ones. Too bad season 2's final was not as good.

That's true, but I honestly don't know what they could have done to make the second season finale live up to that level. I suppose they could have had a second bomb suddenly flatten LA, or actually have Jack die, but barring that I have no idea how they could have hit the same level as Jack cradling his dead wife in his arms. Even killing Kim wouldn't have done it because nobody actually LIKES Kim the way we liked Teri.

[SpencerH]

Originally posted by mindseye
All in the Family.

Archie's life is saved by a woman who gives him mouth-to-mouth resucitation. Imagine his reponse when he discovers that the woman is in fact a tranny.

The woman goes on to become a close friend of Edith's. Later, Edith is decimated when the woman is murdered in a gay-bashing incident.

Now that boys and girls, was powerful television.

I find it impossible to choose a single show but my first thoughts on this matter were about All in the family though.

[Ubergeek]

I know it's been said before, but no television network nowadays would touch All In The Family with a 29 1/2-foot pole. It just goes to show how much safer, blander and more contemptible television has become over the last 30 years.

[The diplomat]

Originally posted by Ubergeek
Diplo, that was a great episode. Part of the problem for me was that all of season five was so anticlimactic that I no longer had the emotional investment in the show that I had during season 4, so the series finale didn't have the impact it should have.

I know what you mean. S5 was a bit anti-climactic compared to S4. My biggest problem with S5 was the telepath arc, that just did not catch my interest. But S5 did did have a few amazing eps ("The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari", "And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder" and "The Fall of Centauri Prime").

The problem was that JMS was not sure whether the show would end after 4 seasons or 5 because of decisions by TPTB. SiL was made so that it could have been shown at the end of S4. When the suits decided at the last minute to extend the show to 5 seasons, JMS had to come up with one more season.

[Garth Vader]

From TNG "Best of Both Worlds" Part 1. Mostly because when I first saw it they didn't show the second part for like 8 months, so it was a real cliffhanger.

From B5, "Face of the Enemy" the scene with Garibaldi and Bester in the tube on Mars is just incredible. Although this episode demands that you have seen a large number of episodes before it.

From DS9 "Way of the Warrior" for some good space combat action!