I think it's exceedingly hard these days to find episodes of TV shows (live-action and animation) which are really touching. I'm not talking about shorts or TV movies, just plain average half-hour or one-hour-episodes. In fact, I can only name four episodes of different TV shows that have made a profound impression on me as far as writing and storytelling is concerned. They are:
The Storyteller - "The Heartless Giant"
Last one of the classic "Storyteller" episodes and one of only two directed by Jim Henson himself. Even though it is based on an age-old fairy-tale, I think the adaptation is astoundingly atmospheric.
Star Trek Next Gen - "Darmok"
To my mind, one of the best Star Trek episodes ever. Picard telling the story of Gilgamesh to the dying alien captain who feels its meaning rather than understanding the words is a magical moment. The whole episode captures the essence of the Star Trek philosophy brilliantly.
Scrubs "My Screw-Up"
I was amazed at how that "Sixth Sense"-twist at the very end of the episode turned the whole mood totally around within seconds. First time ever a sitcom made me feel a huge lump in my throat.
Futurama - "Luck of the Fryrish"
Loved how the flashbacks advanced the plot and established a relationship between two characters a millennium apart. Great ending!
So which episodes of which TV shows impressed you? I'm especially looking for eps of animated shows as "Luck of the Fryrish" is really the only one I can think of off the top of my head.
I have to agree with you, but all of the Storyteller's were good are great.
No way can I agree with you on this one. One big complaint from inside the ranks of the Star Trek people is that the alien language was overly simple. There are later epsiodes that have a whole lot more subtance.
Having not seen but a hand full of the Scrubs show I would have to bow to your opion.
I am not totally sure but there are some stinkers in the Futurama series as well some gut busters.
I am going to have to take a day to form my thoughts on a personal list of show titles. So it is off to www.tv.com to do reasearch.
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I enjoyed the episode of Scrubs with the epifany(sp) toilet. for the first time someone brought to light the phenomina i've known for years.
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I have a bunch of The Storyteller episodes on DVD, but I have yet to remove the celophane. It's a sin, I know, but there's only so much time in the day.
You absolutely nailed "Darmok." I didn't know the name for the longest time, as I had it written on the side of the VHS tape "The Beast At Tinagra." There were a few episodes in those middle couple of seasons that were insanely good. "Family" was one. "Best of Both Worlds I and II," of course. And one other I can't remember by name, where Picard lived the lifetime of an alien husband and father in 20 minutes while unconscious. Brilliant writing.
I could put 100 Buffy episodes down here, but "Once More With Feeling" and "Hush" have to rate with the best of anything ever shown on television.
I watch more animated movies than television. The only episode that really knocked my socks off was "Boogie Nights" from The PowerPuff Girls. I've heard that "Meet The Beat-Alls" deserves legendary status, but I have yet to see it.
I've got a collection of movie and classical soundtracks on CD which have that effect on me. I just pop in the right piece of music for the right mood and the ideas start flying. But say, you - don't go to the loo for that, do you? ;)
I used to really like the TV series as a kid. Amazing how one and the same scene of a Cylon ship getting hit by laser blasts and exploding could be exciting in almost every ep. :D
I like M*A*S*H, too - snappy dialog and no canned laughter. Speaking of which, I thought the Futurama parody ep of it was pretty neat.
The X-Files: "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" and "Home" (you'll never listen to a Johnny Mathis song the same way again)
Carnivale: "The Day that was the Day" and "Babylon" (a different take on the ghost story)
The entire first season of Lost (sorry, folks, but it's kind of appointment television :D )
The Twilight Zone: "I Am the Night, Color Me Black"
And then there's this series about some Mafia guy and his dysfunctional family who live in New Jersey... :rolleyes:
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Firefly had a bunch of good episodes, but Out of Gas was one of my favorites.
If anybody remembers Nowhere Man, that had a lot of good episodes but I think the first one was probably the most interesting.
As for animation...how about the classic Looney Tunes What's Opera Doc? :)
Being a HUGE Futurama fan (I have one more box set to go and I'll have all four) I'd say the two that stick out most to me are both in season four:
Episode 12: The Sting
And the last episode of the series Episode 18: The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings
Both of these stories developed the relationship between Fry and Leela and left me a little teary eyed. Wonderful writing there.
I completely agree Krazyeebean. This episode really showed how the ship, was just as much a character as any of them. And also opened up the character Mal for the audience to connect with. Which brings me to this point: GO SEE SERENITY!
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WKRP was classic, I have to agree.
How about the Tick, I loved that show. SPOON! I miss it.
And so many of the early I Love Lucy shows could have you laughing out loud and thinking about that episode for years.
I've also grown pretty fond of the Simpsons, and the King of the Hill bunch. And when I had cable I enjoyed Rocket Power and the Wild Thornberries. Rocket Power because it addressed issues that I know todays kids are faced by in a fun kind of hip way, and the Thornberries because of the animal issues they addressed. Hey Arnold has addressed some really big issues with caring and skill also. I also think the writing on As Told By Ginger is pretty good stuff, although I didn't watch that many of it's episodes.
Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.
I think the writing in What's Opera Doc? was okay, but I can think of better.
In this order:
One Froggy Evening
Duck Amuck
Robin Hood Daffy
Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century
Bully For Bugs
Feed The Kitty
For Scent-imental Reasons
-buzz- No shorts!
I'm not wearing any shorts.
Oh, you meen cartoons. Gotcha.
Besides, he started it.
Ken Davis mentioned some good Simpsons episodes and I was reminded yesterday that I rather liked "Bart Sells His Soul". Really loved the play between Bart and Milhouse in it.
I agree, but since he was looking for "touching", I figured the death of bugs bunny is about as touching as Looney Tunes ever got.
The river Temarc in winter! ;) I find the concept of that alien language no more or less convinicing than the idea of a lapel pin enabling the wearer to speak and understand the languages of most aliens they come across. Besides, it's not about the language as such which is a symbolic storytelling device. It's about the idea of them being at their wits end relying on technology, and going back to the most archaic of methods to fulfill the great Star Trek mission of finding new life and boldly going where no man has gone before. Sokath! His eyes open!
Try to catch "My Screw-Up" sometime, and be sure to watch "My Occurrence" and "My Hero" first which introduces Brendan Fraser as Ben Sullivan. That guy's great as a TV actor!
@Spaceghost2k: Yes, the ones you mentioned are pretty neat, too. I also like the beginning of what I call the "Klingon Saga" (Worf's dishonouring and the rise of Gowron) - too bad it ends in Worf's son turning out to be a Klingon dork and all that pseudo-political squabbling. That's Deep Space Nine for you. Ach!
Star Trek's best: The Inner Light--where Picard lives another life.
City On the Edge of Forever.
Episode from Third Watch regarding 9/11
First episode of the regular season for the new Battelstar Galactica series. Incredibly taught drama--takes place right after the mini-series, wherein the fleet has been forced to lightjump every 33 minutes because the Cylons are dogging them--to the point that they have done 237 light jumps in 5 days and NO-ONE has slept.
It get's worse when one ship with 1300 people gets left behind, then reappears later.
The fleet becomes suspicious of the late ship and they have to make a hard choice whether its been compromised or not..........then the Cylons show up again.
The episode in Stargate SGI where Doctor Frasier dies.
The Simpsons has had it moments.
The epsiode from Batman the Animated series where Batgirl dies.
MASH--Col. Blake's last day.
WKRP In Cincinnati--when they learn that turkeys can't fly.
I guess most folks would include Sienfeld--but I'm not a fan.
"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)
I was going to say that one, too! The flute melody stuck in my head and left me feeling nostalgically sad/happy for years. The implications of living an entire life and then living with that memory for the rest of another life is much deeper than most shows ever manage to go.
And yeah, Scrubs manages to hit that heartbreaking note that most dramas don't even come close to, ESPECIALLY "My Screw Up." Seriously, almost broke down into tears after seeing it. The counter point between humor and tragedy in almost every episode is really well done (although I haven't seen the last two seasons :( )
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It wouldn't have worked if all the elements hadn't fit together so well. Brendan Fraser, John McGinley - and J. D.'s final line, "Where do you think you are?" - and suddenly it hits you! Wow.
At first, I could hardly believe Scrubs was done by that guy who'd written Spin City before. Spin City is good, no doubt, (especially when Michael J. Fox was still on board) but written more like your "average" sitcom to my mind.
Absolutely. "Spin City" was much better than your average sit com, but no where near the quality that Scrubs has every time.
Scrubs reminds me of Parker Lewis Can't Lose. I know not the same emotional intensity, but similar Non-sequitor, cartoon like writing. Kind of like checking up on Parker after he went through med school.
Phacker, with out a doubt "I Love Lucy" is still fantastic. I'd put "The Andy Griffith Show" right up there, too. There aren't too many shows that still remain funny, laugh out loud funny, nearly 50 years later. That's true comedy (and probably where PDI/Dreamworks is ultimately failing horribly, Shrek is already horribly dated, as is Shrek 2, and A Sharks Tale was dated before it was released, in my opinion).
And yeah, The Tick (along with Family Guy and Futurama) was cancelled way before it's time. I heard it was because it didn't test well with 4-8 year olds. Hey, Fox morons! My entire dorm was getting up early on Saturday morning to watch it! If you can get a bunch of hung over college kids out of bed early on a weekend to watch your show, you have something real special. Bah! Producers are just lawyers with a different title!
I think Recess is (was? are they still making new shows?) a fantastic show. They deal with simple kids matters, but the whole scheme of the playground hierarchy is hysterical. They wrote a show that isn't how it actually was, but in many ways how we remember it. And they do a nice job with the parodies on there (the dodge ball/Clint Eastwood parody was fantastic).
Filmore is another fantastic show. If you loved (or even just like) the hard police dramas of the '70's, and '80s you'll dig Filmore. Very simple, yet very smart show.
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Ah, Disney's Filmore - difficult case. In my opinion, too reliant on innuendos and nods to those 70s and 80s crime dramas to really appeal to their target audience. I mean, how many fourteen to sixteen-year olds today know (or care a lot) about those 70s shows? I think in terms of playing with over-the-top stereotypes, Disney's Recess was a lot more likeable (and accessible).
True, if you're talking target audience then Filmore may have been a failure, although I think it's well written enough that most kids would get the overall premise (even if they don't get the references). Same with The Tick, most of the humor is way over kids heads, but it's wacky enough to appeal to many kids. Kind of like how Loony Tunes are great when you're a kid, but when you 'grow up' they're funny on a whole new level. Filmore isn't quite in the same league as Looney Toons, but it isn't trying to do the same thing either (just plain wacky humor vs. pseudo kid drama).
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Well yes, the plots as such don't totally rely on those innuendos. Even kids who don't know Kojak, Streets of San Francisco and Starsky & Hutch can make heads or tails of them. Plus, it's got that middle school background. But still, those who know which stereotypes and shows get parodised can get more out of it. Trouble is, I did get the parodies but wasn't too tickled by the whole concept to stay with it.
Damn, I was going to say that one. Bestest episode EVER!
On the Star Trek note. I always loved the episode where Picard is being tortured into believing five lights, or was it three, where there was really only four. "There are four! Lights!" So good because he actually gets broken.
Pick any episode from "Firefly" and you'll get a good one. The one where Mal's old war buddy comes back is a particularly good one.
Oh and any episode from "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart." :D
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...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."
And another Star Trek one. The episode where Picard get's his heart fried, and Q gives him a chance the do things differently. I really liked it because Q and Picard seem alittle more human. You find out Picard actually regrets some of his actions, and Q is actually simpathetic and helps Picard grow in his own strange way.
The Simpsons episode where Homer is made Union Rep and Lisa needs braces. One of the few episodes where the main story line and the underlying story parralle each other and converge.
Aloha,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."
Don't most of The Simpsons' two storylines converge at the end? Like the grease thieves and the school dance. I'm drawing a blank, but I think most of them do, some more substantially than others.
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(...no one's mentioned All in the Family. Odd. :confused: )
-There's the ep where Archie saves a drag-queen w/ mouth-to-mouth
-One with a whole Rashomon thing involving two repairmen (one white, one black)
-The ep where Arch gets kissed by Sammy Davis Jr.
-A Jewish activist gets car-bombed right in front of 704 Hauser St.
-There's also an episode where Edith outsmarts a would-be rapist...
...And those are just the ones that jump out at me. There's tons of others...
In the spin-off, Maude, the title character goes through menopause and gets an abortion.
Then there was Soap, which featured a religious cult, an exorcism, UFO abductions, infidelity ad nauseum, politically incorrect humor, a gay man fighting for custody of his kid. And one of the funniest ventriloquist acts ever televised.
"...It is a foolish mistake to even try to second-guess the public. Make things for yourself and if by chance someone agrees with you, it's coincidental."
--Julian Schnabel