The Best of The Best: An Introduction

About a month ago, in conjunction with TV Guide's 65th Anniversary, the publication did a variation on a theme that it's done about every ten years or so. Rather than try to determine which are the 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time, they decided to settle on the 65 Greatest Episodes of the 21st Century. Apparently, having considering in a permanent position the great moments of Hill Street Blues and Homicide and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, they felt that since the 20th century is pretty much locked and loaded, it made a certain amount of sense to go in the new century. They also conceded, considering how rich the Golden Age of Television has been, its time to start considering what the new age will present us with.

This led to a certain level of reflection on my part. About ten years ago, I wrote my own list of the 50 greatest episodes of the last twenty years. Done in the early stages of my professional criticism, there was a certain level of amateurism to it. I didn't include Breaking Bad, for one thing, I had issues with series like ER and The Sopranos, which I had never made an emotional connection with, and I'm pretty certain my decision on Fringe was premature. But I did have a certain level of foresight that I will admit. No less than five episodes that I considered among the best were listed among TV Guide's most recent selections.

Unfortunately, the remnants of the lists have been lost, not only to history, but also to me - somehow I never had the foresight to keep track of that long essay. So, using the TV Guide Article as an impetus, I've decided to follow up with some of my own choices for the 50 Greatest Episodes of the 21st Century.

But first, a few provisos. Don't consider this a mathematical ranking - to try and figure whether a series is 43rd rather than 41st includes a level of madness that I'm not prepared to go down, and I can be quite anal in my calculations. Second, there are going to be some noted gaps in what I consider 'great' - I've never watched Game of Thrones or Walking Dead, I haven't gone around to Handmaid's Tale,  I've never been a fan of Law & Order SVU or any of the CSIs. In their places, I intended to try and put a couple of episodes that might not make the cut for series that were either ignored or never quite got their due. And third, in order that my choices don't completely curtail with TV Guide, I'm going to look for some alternate choices within the TV series that they've listed. Fortunately, a lot of them have more than a few options when it comes to among the greatest ever.

Finally, I want the average reader to consider this a listing for series that are among the greatest ever made. Some will be obvious choices. Others may be ones that I really hope that the average viewer will seek out on their own. They may not be everyone greatest hits, but in  my mind, the list starts here.