Paid Members ShortOrderCook Posted June 23, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted June 23, 2013 I say hour, but really I mean episode. As the one I've referenced in the sub heading is over an hour itself. In the James Gandolfini thread, Arch mentions an episode of The Sopranos being the finest hour of television he's ever witnessed and it got me to thinking what I'd consider mine to be and then what you lot would say for yours.Please be sensible in this thread and take any potential spoilerisms into consideration for other posters. With that being said if you ever plan on watching Lost and haven't already or haven't reached Season 3, don't read the rest of this post.Mine would indeed most probably be the explosive Lost season 3 finale 'Through the Looking Glass'. It's got to be the most blown away I've ever been from an episode of television. I adore the flash-forward twist. At the early stages of season 3, I was losing faith in the show and its direction (that would later happen) but from around 'Enter 77' onwards it had me back and this episode made me fall in love with it completely again. I'm a sucker for any kind of programming that features a story where you're not quite sure what's going on but then something happens and it all makes sense and falls into place and you realise it's genius and demands repeat viewing. This episode is one of the finest ever examples of that when Kate comes into focus. Most people disliked the Jack character but I loved it, although it was only really here where I did realise how great the character was. The twist of Jack always appearing to be our hero, but in reality his obsession with being the hero and 'fixing things' was his curse, his downfall and deep down he 'doesn't have what it takes'. That his persistent insistence to achieve his ultimate goal of getting off the island caused his life to fall apart and bring him deep unhappiness. The twist that Jack actually needed the island was masterful.The on island timeline stuff was incredible also. The big Others - Losties showdown finally came to a head. Sayid busted out his breakdancing, neck breaking ninja skills. Hurley got his big hero moment with the Dharma van (a great reference to an earlier episode which seemed like filler). The scene with Ben and Jack is fucking powerful. The heartbreak in hearing the gunshots on the walkie...then Jacks retaliation pounding the hell out of Bens face, I bought into that emotion massively, incredible scene. They finally reach the radio tower and appear to have rescue, only for fucking Locke to come back to life and foil those plans yet again! And the ending mirrored contrast between Jack on the island insisting he's getting these people off that Island and his fury at Locke for trying to prevent it with Jack off the island and his emotional insistence that they must go back to the island. It changed the scope of the Lost story completely, always seeming that the end conclusion was the Oceanic 815 passengers getting off the island to rescue, this threw a major spanner to that and changed the game completely and in true Lost fashion answered some questions but opened up much, much more intriguing ones. It was Losts absolute peak. Edge of your seat, roller coaster of emotions stuff and just incredible television. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted June 23, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted June 23, 2013 Great idea for a thread, Freddie. I'm going to cheat and nominate one comedy and one drama, though.* THE FIRST EPISODE OF TWIN PEAKS - Only the first episode of The Wire comes close to being the best start to a drama series that I have ever seen. The first episode of this packs in so much and establishes so many characters on a basic level without losing its plot or being overtly bizarre that is a genuine feat of genius. You get introduced to almost all the main characters that would be integral to the first series. You are immediately plunged into the main plot. You already get given hints about what could have happened to Laura Palmer and who may have been involved. You get lashings of the humour and a little hint of the supernatural and sinister undertones. And everyone is on their game as well so you immediately know who you will like and who you will hate. It's an amazing piece of television.* PORRIDGE - A NIGHT IN - The third episode of the first series. This is the one that is entirely set in Godber and Fletcher's cell during the night and is almost exclusively based around their exchanges. It's a brilliant episode. It's everything that made Porridge our greatest ever sitcom - it's funny, it's touching, it's brilliantly acted, and it has all of the chemistry between Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale that would run through the whole run. It's all done in the confines of that cell as well and it is an episode I can watch over and over again and not get bored of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Endorphin Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 Has to be the 'Fly' episode from the third season of Breaking Bad. The writing and acting is just unbelievably brilliant. No explosions, no gimmicks, no action at all - just two masterful performances from two of the greatest, most complex television characters created. The way they ratchet up the tension with tiny little details is amazing."We have a contaminate in the lab." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Thunderplex Posted June 23, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted June 23, 2013 Excellent choices up to now. Twin Peaks is the show that really got me and wifey together. In the pre-courting chatty stage when I mentioned that I loved it, she looked shocked as she only knew a couple of other people who watched it, and we went from there. As for Lost, an excellent show. First time I had ever seen the Flash Forward gimmick in a show and it threw me completely, in a good way. Never get tired of explaining the ending to morons.I'll do the comedy/drama split too.Comedy. Father Ted, Speed 3. Just an excellent display of wonderful actors using the characters they had down to perfection performing an impecable script. The sillyness of the Milk Cart that cant drop under 5mph, the stack of boxes that appear in the middle of the road, Mrs Doyles make up, Hairy babies and Dougals revelation that "Those women were in the nip" just have me howling every time I watch it.Drama. This would have been either an episode of the Soprano's or Boardwalk Empire until I saw the Red Wedding episode of Game of Thrones. The comedy of the pre wedding meeting combined with what happened at the actual wedding just left Wifey and myself in stunned silence. Can't say too much due to spoilers, but it was incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Astro Hollywood Posted June 23, 2013 Moderators Share Posted June 23, 2013 Kill Them All, the S1 finale of Spartacus. It's the most insanely gripping, cathartic, hypnotic hour of television ever. It lives up to its title, as it's absolute wall to wall fucking carnage, all in that brilliantly choreographed and creative Spartacus way, with all the requisite twists and emotion packed in there too. I was physically exhausted by the time the credits rolled. The actual series finale, 3 years later, was just as great, but the rising up of the slaves against their masters, while superb TV, was such a monumental plotline that it completely changed the genre of the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 The Wire - Middle Ground Season 3 Episode 11Totally stunned me. I will keep it spoiler free but that link has the synopsis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted June 23, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted June 23, 2013 Great picks from Lost and Spartacus. The flashforward twist broke my brain on first viewing. Like it literally gave me a headache because I was so confused and what the fuck was going on. While Lost ultimately went completely to shit in season 6, leading up to that it had some of the best twists and cliffhangers ever. "The Incident" is a fine example of everything that made Lost great. I think "The Constant" from season 4 of Lost is really incredible. The closest thing to Slaughterhouse 5 ever done in TV. It's just a incredibly difficult concept that could have easily turned out shit but is done so masterfully it makes it look easy. And it has one of the best feel good moments in TV history at the end with that phone call.And it's not an hour but "The Contest" in Seinfeld is just the perfect episode of comedy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted June 23, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted June 23, 2013 The Shield "Postpartum" (episode 5.11), it's towards the end of season 5 and features the most shocking act of betrayal ive ever witnessed in a TV or movie, it chilled me to the bone. I had to go out for a walk after it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator Onyx2 Posted June 23, 2013 Awards Moderator Share Posted June 23, 2013 Great summary of the Lost episode. Looking back it probably never reached that high again.I'd vouch for Once More With Feeling, Season 6 of Buffy. Oh look, it's the musical episode that everybody did around this time, how original. No, look again.HONKING GREAT BUFFY SEASON 5 AND 6 SPOILERS AHEADOne of the themes of Buffy is friendship, but with secrets. So often the characters are burdened with secrets that they cannot possibly tell the rest of the group. By the start of season 6 Buffy has a weird relationship with Spike and can't bring herself to admit it to anyone. She's also figuratively lost since being brought back from the dead and can't find a place in this world. Meanwhile Xander and Anya are in a long term relationship but kinda hate each other at the same time. Giles is trying to distance himself from Buffy to let her go but just can't do it. Tara distrusts Willow's overuse of magic and Willow keeps this habit to herself. All these secrets are piled on top of each other and whilst on the surface everything is fine massive cracks are under the surface threatening to destroy the group.The trope of musical characters singing their feelings comes into play, where in turn everyone expresses themselves. Often this appears to be unbidden, as confusion dances across their faces while the truth bleeds everywhere in song. The songs themselves are technically very accomplished, and even if the musical style isn't to your taste it's incredible for an amateur to compose melodies of this complexity, with counterpoint and reprises employed effectively.By the end of the episode all the secrets are out and the musical spell is lifted, having been placed by a temporary demon of the week. It's masterfully done. The entire series pivots around this episode, as everything before has now been brought out and governs the direction of everything that follows.The closing line is perfect. "Where do we go from here?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted June 23, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted June 23, 2013 And it's not an hour but "The Contest" in Seinfeld is just the perfect episode of comedy.Yep. It's almost perfect. When you consider the restrictions on what they could do or say in that episode and yet they still managed to make it so funny, it's remarkable. The best bit is when Kramer is watching the nude woman across the street and then absent-mindedly wanders off to his apartment. Only a few people in the audience get what's going on but it's subtle and fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted June 23, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted June 23, 2013 It's still this for me. I won't go into detail, because others have already done so (and better than I could have) in the James Gandolfini thread:  The Sopranos- Pine Barrens   "You're not gonna believe this. He killed sixteen Czechoslovakians. Guy was an interior decorator." "His house looked like shit." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Astro Hollywood Posted June 23, 2013 Moderators Share Posted June 23, 2013 And it's not an hour but "The Contest" in Seinfeld is just the perfect episode of comedy.Yep. It's almost perfect. When you consider the restrictions on what they could do or say in that episode and yet they still managed to make it so funny, it's remarkable. The best bit is when Kramer is watching the nude woman across the street and then absent-mindedly wanders off to his apartment. Only a few people in the audience get what's going on but it's subtle and fantastic.A scene which ends with arguably the single greatest visual punchline ever.(Just pretend there's a gif here of Kramer slamming the money on the counter with "I'm out!" as I can't get the fucking thing to link or upload anywhere) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator Onyx2 Posted June 23, 2013 Awards Moderator Share Posted June 23, 2013 Comedy. Father Ted, Speed 3. Just an excellent display of wonderful actors using the characters they had down to perfection performing an impecable script. The sillyness of the Milk Cart that cant drop under 5mph, the stack of boxes that appear in the middle of the road, Mrs Doyles make up, Hairy babies and Dougals revelation that "Those women were in the nip" just have me howling every time I watch it.That is just a sensational half hour. I was in tears the first time I watched it, and played it back last year and it's still hilarious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted June 23, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted June 23, 2013 A scene which ends with arguably the single greatest visual punchline ever.(Just pretend there's a gif here of Kramer slamming the money on the counter with "I'm out!" as I can't get the fucking thing to link or upload anywhere) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted June 23, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted June 23, 2013 The final episode of season 1 of Deadwood is really great. You have the season long build up of Seth Bullock becoming sheriff, him shagging Alma Garrett and beating the absolute fuck out of her slimy arsehole father ( ) and Al Swearengen finally becoming likeable. For such a grim show it also had a really sweet ending with Jewel and Doc Cochran dancing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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