15. Parks
& Recreation - 'Leslie & Ben' -
5.14
Trying to choose the best episode
of Parks & Rec is incredibly
difficult - it's one of the rare comedy series that actually got better with
each successive season. But its funniest moments were also included in its most
sweet, when Leslie and Ben finally decided, on the spur of the moment to get
married. The comic gold - Ron making wedding rings out of household objects -
was mixed with unusual bittersweetness - when Chris told Ben about how happy he
was that they'd found a home in Pawnee. And of course, the most wonderful
moment came at the end when, after it seemed their plans had been Jammed, their friends did what they always did and
brought them together. Their wedding vows are really their finest hour.
Considering how busy everyone on the series is, I'd be shocked if they got back
together. But I can hope.
14. Fargo - The Castle - 2.9
Trying to choose the best moment
from this incredible anthology series is always going to be difficult - there
have been so many great heroes and villains throughout the series run that to
choose one season out of the other seems unfair. In the end, I must go back to
the past - Season 2. The long struggle between the Gerhardt family, the Kansas
City mob, and Ed and Peggy, finally climaxed in the
key moment in the series mythology - the Sioux Fall Massacre. And unlike so
many series where the great moments are anticlimactic, this one surely wasn't.
As the Gerhardt family was betrayed by one of their most loyal soldiers, who
climaxed his fighting by slaying family matriarch Floyd, the series erupted in
one of the bloodiest massacres this side of Sam Peckinpah. (Though as far as I
know, Peckinpah never used a literal deux
ex machina to save anyone). It's more bloody and real than anything you see on Game of Thrones, mainly because the
buildup has been leading to this, and even though we know Lou will survive, we
sure are terrified while its going on. One never knows just how Noah Hawley
will top himself. Season 4 can't come fast enough.
13. Mad Men - 'Shut The Door, Have A Seat' - 3.13
Though I feel that this AMC
series was often overrated, that certainly wasn't true in the first four
seasons. There were a lot of incredible moments throughout the series, and it
is tempting to consider 'The Suitcase' their finest hour. But I'm equally fond
of the third season finale. When it seems like Sterling Cooper is about to be
swallowed whole by a bigger agency, Don and Roger reunite after a season of
disagreements to do the equivalent of a heist. Many of Jon Hamm's finest
moments are in this episode - when he finally admits that Pete has a better
handle on the voice of the country than he does, when he persuades Joan to come
aboard, and in his finest moment, when he tells Peggy that he can't imagine
working without her. It's a brilliant moment, particularly considering
simultaneously his marriage finally collapses and two seasons of trying to hold
it up. Most of the ensemble does their best work in collaboration. The fact
that the series basically ended with them throwing it all away doesn't do
anything to diminish it.
12. Battlestar Galactica - Crossroads
- 3.20
It's always difficult trying to
figure out which of these episodes is the greatest. TV Guide flip-flopped,
going with 'Blood on the Scales' in their last list, and '33' in this one. Last
time out, I remember I chose Kobol's Last Gleaming. All of them are remarkable
episodes, but in the end, I think the series finest hour is one of the few that
the Emmys actually recognized with nominations. There's so much going on - Apollo deciding to state quite clearly the
hypocrisy of Baltar's prosecution, the verdict that nearly tears the fleet
apart (with Adama casting the deciding vote), and the reappearance of Starbuck
in the final moments. But by far, the greatest moment was one of the biggest
shocks of all time: when we learned who four of the Final Five were. The fact
that the characters were just as appalled (including, understandably, Saul Tigh)
as the audience was, wasn't nearly as shocking as how they were turned on - the
lyrics to 'All Along the Watchtower'. Its still one of the biggest stunners in
the history of TV. The fact that the series ultimately couldn't quite measure
up to in its final moments doesn't change the fact as to how brilliant a moment
it was.
11. The West Wing - 'Shibboleth'
- 2.8
Technically, this one may not fit
on the calendar here as, technically speaking, it aired in November of 2000. In
this case, however, to quote Mulder in a similar context, "Nobody likes a
math geek'. Besides, this is still one of the most incredible moments in the
history of television. It features the series high point in comedy (and
considering how brilliant The West Wing was
in the Sorkin years, that's saying a lot)
as Allison Janney is forced to decide between two turkeys to receive the
traditional pardon. Watching her dealing with it hysterical, watching her react
when the other is about to be sent pack is comedy gold. But amidst all the
comedy gold, there are truly great moments as the Bartlet White House tries to
deal with the issue of Chinese stowaways claiming to be Christians, and how to
figure out to grant them asylum, and the wonderful business as the Bartlet
forcing Charlie to get him a new carving knife, which seems to be more comic
business, until it leads to one of the most moving moments in the series
history. This episode is required viewing in my family's household every
Thanksgiving. It should be for everybody. All year.
No comments:
Post a Comment