TV Shows Best Episodes: Part 1

With the number of television programs available to us nowadays we are bound to have a few favourites. Here are a select few...

The Office (U.S.) S4E9 Dinner Party

The Office is one of the most beloved shows in television history, and one of the best episodes, by far, is the Dinner Party. Starting with a cold open, where Michael cleverly tricks Jim and Pam into coming to his home for a dinner party, the episode is almost entirely set in Michael’s condo, where his colleagues get a shocking insight into his dysfunctional relationship with Jan. The episode is revered as one of the best of the series and was the first episode they filmed after the Writers Guild of America strikes ended, resulting in the shoot having a very relaxed and laid-back atmosphere, and had the actors breaking down in laughter from the constant hilarity of the episode (see link below for blooper). There are many funny moments in this episode, and most of them were improvised by the actors. Some of the best moments include Jan attempting to dance with Jim, and playing a song performed by her old assistant on repeat; Michael dipping his meat into his wine glass and telling Pam that he thinks Jan has been poisoning him; and Jan throwing a Dundee at Michael's puny flat-screen TV.

Blooper from Dinner Party Episode - Folds right into the wall

Parks and Recreation S3E13 The Fight

Parks and Recreation is one of the funniest and most wholesome shows on television, with every character not only being funny and incredibly entertaining, but also very loveable. The Fight is definitely in the top 10 funniest episodes, all because of Snake Juice. In this episode, Tom asks his colleagues to help sell Snake Juice, a brand of alcohol that he invented, at the Snakehole Lounge, a club that he has invested in. Everyone from the parks department attends and they all get hammered on Snake Juice, causing Leslie and Ann to have their first fight. The best part of the episode is the montage scene which shows how drunk each character is, from Leslie spewing utter nonsense to April speaking aggressively in Spanish.

You can see that moment here from 3:18 - Snake Juice | Parks and Recreation

Brooklyn Nine-Nine S5E14 The Box

The Box is Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s magnum opus and the series’ highest-rated episode. This bottle episode revolves entirely around one interrogation of a successful dentist (played by Sterling K. Brown) and the death of his business partner. In addition to Andy Samberg's oozing charisma and his amazing comedic chemistry with co-star Andre Brauer, Brown gives an outstanding performance as the prime suspect, Phillip Davidson. Despite the episode taking place almost entirely in one room, there is never a dull moment. It is structured flawlessly, striking the perfect tone throughout, and builds an interminable tension that yields fantastic results in the episode's conclusion, where Jake finally manages to coerce a confession from Phillip by playing on his own insecurities and dumbing down his meticulously planned murder.

You can watch the brilliant ending here > Jake Tricks Phillip to Confess | Brooklyn Nine Nine | The Box

Friends S3E2 The One Where No One’s Ready

Friends is one of the most popular television shows ever. There were several memorable episodes throughout the 10 seasons, but the one that always comes to mind is The One Where No One’s Ready. This episode was the first of 11 bottle episodes, and the only one to play in ‘real time’. A bottle episode is essentially when a tv show produces an episode as cheaply as possible, minimising the number of actors, extras, sets, etc. They did this to save money for more ambitious episodes at a later time. The episode revolves around the 6 main cast members as they get ready for an event at the museum. The entire episode takes place in Monica and Rachel's apartment, other than a brief end-credit scene where they finally make it to the event.

Ross desperately tries to rush everyone to get ready when he notices that none of them are dressed, while Chandler and Joey fight over the armchair and Monica obsesses over a message on her machine from Richard, her ex-boyfriend. There is a moment in the episode where Matt le Blanc runs to the chair to get there before Chandler and he actually dislocates his shoulder when he lands, which is why Joey has a cast on his arm in the next episode.

Blooper Clip - The one where Joey dislocates his shoulder

Archer S2E9 The Placebo Effect

Archer, the world's most dangerous spy… until he is diagnosed with breast cancer. Archer is an adult animation sitcom with the titular character Sterling Archer, created by Adam Reed. In The Placebo Effect, Archer goes on a rampage after finding out that he has not been receiving his medication, and has been instead treating himself with counterfeit chemo drugs. He hunts down the people involved, one by one, until he finds Delany, head of the Irish mob. In this hilarious rampage, we watch Archer slowly get weaker and weaker after finding the real chemo drugs and immediately treating himself with them. One of the more entertaining scenes of the episode is where Archer ties up the workers responsible for swapping out the drugs and plays his own sadistic game of Family Feud.

Watch the scene here > Archer - Placebo Effect - Family Feud - Vincent Van Go Fuck Yourself , Archer Rampage

Merlin S4E6 The Servant of Two Masters (close second is S4E12 The Sword and the Stone: Part One)

Anyone who is a fan of Merlin will know it for its perfect blend of dramatic adventure and comedy. The bond between Merlin (Colin Morgan) and Arthur (Bradley James) is both the sweetest bromance and the most entertaining friendship, as they constantly throw shade at each other throughout the series.

The Servant of Two Masters begins with Arthur, Merlin, and his knights of the round table traveling through the forest when they are suddenly ambushed by mercenaries. Merlin gets injured during the attack and is taken away by the mercenaries, who turn out to be Morgana’s men, the main antagonist of the series. Instead of killing him, Morgana uses Merlin as her assassin, by using magic to force him to do her bidding. When she releases him, he has only one task; to kill Arthur. With Merlin under the magical influence, he takes on the task more than willingly. And it’s hilarious.

Unfortunately for Morgana, Merlin turns out to be the worst assassin, comically failing at every attempt he makes on Arthur’s life. With poison, a crossbow, a scolding hot bath, and a good old sword, Merlin becomes more and more agitated with every failed attempt. His odd behaviour attracts attention and speculation among his friends who try to stop the magic that is controlling him, resulting in a lot of hilarity, especially when you add in a clueless Arthur who is kept in the dark about what is happening to his friend.

Colin Morgan plays the part brilliantly and has you laughing from start to finish. It is definitely one of the best episodes of the series, with The Sword and the Stone: Part 1 as a close second.

Clip of Merlin attempting to poison Arthur - Merlin gets jealous - 4x06 A Servant of Two Masters

Glee S2E14 Blame It On the Alcohol

I feel like Glee is a show people either love or hate, and even the people who love it can agree that a lot of it is problematic. Other than some of the show's problematic storylines, it is an incredibly funny and entertaining show.

One of the best episodes for me was Blame It On the Alcohol. Principal Figgins wants the glee club to perform a song about underage drinking, meanwhile Rachel is struggling to write an original song for Regionals. In an effort to “live a little”, she has a party with everyone from the glee club, and they all get wasted. There’s a lot to love about this episode. My favourite part is when Finn breaks down the different kinds of drunks to Rachel, and as he explains each one we see members of the glee club as prime examples. On top of that, you have Rachel wearing a dress that makes her look like a cast member from Little House on the Prairie.

Finn explains the different kinds of drunks Glee - The Rachel Berry House Party Train Wreck Extravaganza (part 2) 2x14

Californication S3E8 The Apartment

Californication is a comedy-drama starring David Duchovney which ran for 7 seasons. The show depicts the wild and restless antics of Hollywood's talented residents, with Hank (Duchovney), a writer from New York, trying to get used to life in L.A. and show business. Hank is a very endearing, albeit flawed character who has a habit of instigating his own self-destruction, which is exactly the reason for everything that happens in this particular episode.

After a torrid night with one of his college students and a couple of her stripper friends, Hank is woken up by his friend and agent, with an angry Rick Springfield. Soon after, he receives a house call from one of his colleagues - who he has been sleeping with - and then from his boss - who he has also slept with - and then a surprise appearance from his daughter who is supposed to be at school. As each arrives, Hank tries his best to keep them all separated in different rooms of the apartment so they don’t find out about each other, but as the episode progresses the situation becomes harder to control and eventually blows up in Hank’s face. In fairness, it was his own fault, but regardless, you are rooting for him throughout the episode.

Sadly could only find one clip of the episode on youtube > Hank Moody - Copy that motherfucker

Have any other best episodes of television? Let me know in the comments!