Topic: Favorite episodes

[Blair]

Guess what this topic is about


Not every episode of a show is great, and many can be very good, but there are always that one or two that stand out. What are yours and why? You can name favorites of all times or favorites of a specific show even if favorites of another show far surpass them.

A summary is recommended, but spoilers should be hidden as usual.

[Blair]

Two of the first come to mind right off for me are in Star Trek: The Next Generation:

The Inner Light -- Picard sees a flash of light from a probe that instantly knocks him out. A few moments later he wakes up in another place with a woman standing over him claiming to be his wife.

The ending, particularly, was very touching for this episode. You weren't focused on a mission, you were spending more time getting to know specific characters, and the ending is very touching.


Cause and Effect -- In this episode, you want a series of events that lead quickly to the Enterprise exploding. After the break, you return and hear the same lines being repeated, events are shown from a slightly different perspective eventually leading to the destruction of the Enterprise. After the next break, you return and hear the same lines again...

The episode on its face might sound rather boring, but it was a bold and uniquely attempted idea for any television episode. I found it interesting in part due to the ability to repeat the time frame such that even though you heard much of the same dialog several times, you also saw different views of events occurring at that time. That this keeps the episode from making the loops boring made it all the more amazing to me.


The Best of Both Worlds -- This is a two-part Borg-related episode that ends a season in one of the most memorable cliffhangers of which I have ever heard. It is actually the cliffhanger alone and not the whole episode that makes me mention it here. I was 13 when this episode aired. The anticipation is building... you are waiting for the big event, and then......... TO BE CONTINUED.

I can remember this stomach-dropping "Nooooo!" go through my mind, which is very rare. Years and years of watching the series I can still recall that moment so clearly, and then one day I was watching some special of the Star Trek tv/film franchise that included cast and crew interviews. Eventually, as they were going through Next Generation episodes, they got to this one. Marina Sirtis was talking, they show the episode event and the cut to black, then switch back to Marina saying, "Noooooooooo!" and describing the feeling. . . even though she was a part of the production. I then realized I wasn't alone in how frustrating it had been. To this day I have rarely seen any cliffhanger that compares.

[Blair]

From Law & Order: SVU:

911 -- Practically every episode of the Special Victims Unit series follows one of similar formats. This is one of the very rare exceptions. The episode begins with a call to 911 from a little girl who needs saving from from a child predator, but she doesn't know where she is as he has her locked in a room with no windows. Each time the police think they are close to finding her, something new occurs to bring growing doubt as to if the call isn't just a prank.

Unlike all other episodes where the detectives talk with the victim and suspects and do general detective work which requires acting by several actors and moving about the city, almost all of this episode occurs inside of Olivia Benson's precinct as she talks with the girl for hours trying to find her. This "one on one" approach, focusing on the two characters, gives a much more personal perspective, as if you are going through the events instead of just wanting them. Mariska Hargitay (Benson) received a well-deserved Emmy for her role.

[lovemunkey187]

Nice topic.

Babylon 5, quite a few stand out episodes, but for me these were the best. and I don't care what sheldon thinks.
GROPOS - In this episode Dr Franklin's Father comes aboard with 25,000 troops.
Grey 17 is Missing - Garibaldi investigates the disappearance of a crew memeber in Grey sector and stumbles onto something unexpected.
A View From The Gallery - A day in the life of the station, but from the perspective of 2 normally incobsequential characters.
Day of the Dead - A portion of the station is leased to one of the alien races for a religious ceremony, where the deceased reappear.

Quantum Leap
The Leap Home, pt1 & 2 - Sam leaps into his younger self and then in part 2 he leaps into the body of a SEAL who is a member of his brothers' squad.

There's some more, but these were off of the top of my head.

[Blair]

Code Lyoko is an animated series about a group of friends who enter a virtual world, battling monsters within a supercomputer in an effort to stop the main evil entity (a program called Xana) within the computer from escaping to cause havoc in the real world. It's hard to explain in short since there is more to it than that, but the idea isn't difficult if you watch just one of any of the episodes.


Marabunta -- This episode focuses on one of my favorite episode themes because it has to be designed so differently from other episodes: the collaboration of the good guys and bad guys against an even deadlier threat.

While most of the friends always go into the world for battle, another friend, a computer genius who discovered the supercomputer, stays behind and helps them by monitoring the area, programming necessary equipment for them, etc. In his off hours, he works non-stop trying to come up with new ways to defeat Xana and destroy its monsters. He finally designs a program that, looking like bubbles of oil that continue to multiply, seeks out the monsters and easily overwhelms and destroys them. Unfortunately, when the friends go to see how well it's working, the marabunta program begins at attack them as well. It's only by the two groups working together that this "virus" gets destroyed. Afterward, the friends, waiting for the monsters to take advantage of the situation and attack, are surprised to see the monsters approach a respectable distance, bow to them as a thank you, and leave.

[Blair]

Generator Rex

Out of the main group of bad guys, in this series, most are easily defined (leader, aggressive fighter, henchman, etc) But there is one character named Breach who is shrouded more in mystery. While she is devoted to her leader, you never really get to know anything about her at first. She has the ability to open portals and transport people and things anywhere in the world instantly and she will suddenly show up as needed, aiding whether in combat or retreat, and then goes away saying nothing. In the few episodes where she speaks, she is cryptic and odd. Her hair covers almost her entire face so that you only see her smirk-like smile.


Lions and Lambs
This is the second episode devoted almost entirely on her. While the previous was focused on fighting against her, this one is the opposite. The hero, Rex, attempts to sincerely gain her trust. As actions happen that physically hurt her, she makes comments such as, "It isn't real; it can't hurt you if it isn't real" showing how she shuts herself off from reality in times of pain. What I began to believe through this episode, as well as bits and pieces from the other, is that due to her powers she sees everything happening in the entire universe all of the time, which tortures her soul.

As the episode continues she begins to open up a little more, each time whether though the angle of the camera or via a breeze, her hair pushes away to see a little more of her face. Near the end of the episode, in both the most sad and most happy moment for her, you see her cry as the wind brushes her hair completely to the side reveling her entire facial profile for the first and only time followed by actions unbecoming of her.

So much care was taken through different forms of imagery (many more than I mentioned here) to focus on who she is, putting a much sadder but more meaningful tone on the episode than all of the rest.