Best ever

[altariel]

iainjcoleman muses about the best episode of anything ever.

Hm, tough choice. Objects in Space? In the Pale Moonlight? Intersections in Real Time?

Yes, I'm kidding. It is, of course, Animals.

Comments

[kathyh]

Yes, I'm kidding. It is, of course, Animals.

LOL. Don't make jokes like that in this temperature. For one terrible moment I thought you were serious!

I suppose it has to be Blake she mutters reluctantly, but I'm still very fond of Star One.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Have you read my pathetic utterly convincing attempt to redeem Animals?

[kathyh]

No, I hadn't, but having done so now I'm forced to confess you make some very good points. If I'm being honest I will admit that I dislike Harvest of Kairos rather more than Animals because it comes in Season 3 which I mostly enjoyed rather than Season 4 which I mostly didn't. In some ways picking out individual episodes of B7 as bad is a bit unkind as a large number of them had something ridiculous about them. I always think of B7 as being greater as a whole than the sum of its parts (or something like that).

[manna]

I started off thinking that the whole idea was hopeless, and I'd never be able to choose, and then snowgrouse suggested it was the one you watched most often. And then it all got very easy, although also a little odd in places.

Blakes 7 = Deathwatch. (Sarcophagus runs it a very close second.)
Doctor Who = Enlightenment (Although this is actually 'best episode of Dr Who featuring Turlough', which narrows the field somewhat.)
Babylon 5 = Severed Dreams
Pros = Involvement

[snowgrouse.livejournal.com]

Did I suggest that? *scratches head*

I still couldn't decide. Damn. Hell, my most-watched B7 eps are probably Horizon and Space Fall, but those are only thanks to good character bits. And Who is just impossible. Although I do like Enlightenment. Especially with the Doc leaving Turlough in a hold full of sailors. WTF was he thinking?;)

[manna]

Did I suggest that? *scratches head*

Oops! No, sorry -- it was the poster below you. It's hot here! I'm all confused!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

'best episode of Dr Who featuring Turlough'

Doesn't he have skimpy little shorts on in Planet of Fire?

[manna]

Yeah, he does. And Planet of Fire has all his angsty backstory too, and it has The Master. *And* it's filmed on Lanzarote, which is one of my all-time favourite holiday destinations.

However, I still watch Enlightenment more. I love Turlough when he's all tortured, plus I love the Eternals, and the ships, and the race, and the sad little Tegan love story. And Valantine Dyall with a chicken on his head.

And I completely forgot my fav Buffy ep, which by the 'most watched' criteria is The Pack, by a clear margin. And my fav Angel episode is therefore {facepalm} I Will Remember You, despite the fact that the plot is rubbish and naked DB traumatises me badly. But I love the ending, and I don't rewatch the rest of it much of it at all, so it wins.

[executrix.livejournal.com]

I, too, would have to vote for "Once More With Feeling," although I gave some thought to the possibility of "Blake."

"Wacky fun. Plus, we don't all die."

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think that has a strong claim to Best Episode of Anything Ever. I must get it on DVD at some point...

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

If it's the one you watch most often, then Blake's almost at the bottom of my list (beaten by Animals, sorry). I love B7 despite it--it's just so cynical, cruel, and utterly nihilistic. I think City's my favourite, though overall I watch S1 and S2 more than the rest.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

City would be very, very high in my list of B7 favourites. It also has the wonderful nostalgia value of being able to remember watching it and loving it when I was a kid.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Bayban's wonderful and I love seeing Vila prove just how good (and brave!) he is, and the others realise they care even though they can't bring themselves to say anything nice to or about him. I could do without the very last line though. It's not as cringy as the 'tinkly bits'™ at the end of 'Breakdown', 'Trial' or 'Children of Auron', but it weakens Vila's obvious emotion just before that. A bit of a cheap shot.

(I named those moments 'tinkly bits' as a teenager when watching old ST:TOS reruns; they were always signalled by tinkly music just to let us know this bit was funny.)

[redstarrobot.livejournal.com]

I think "Blake" gets its prominence from its spectacular bang of an ending; let's face it, the rest isn't terribly memorable, or particularly re-watchable (and S4 in general transfered all its sparkle from the scripts to the chrome on the sets). I'm not sure that's enough to match it against the best episodes of of S1-S3.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I think lots of 'Blake' is memorable: "thieves, killers, mercenaries, psychopaths", Soolin's story, Scorpio crashing, the scenes with Blake and Arlen, and then Blake and Tarrant. Also it all moves so fast: one minute they're blowing up Xenon base and legging it, next minute they're all dead.

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

::scratches head:: Well, if we're going by most watched, mine has to be Killer. Though I actually think Shadow is the best.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Shadow is high on my list. What in particular makes it 'the best' for you?

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

Basically, it seems very well balanced, with more than usual packed into its forty-odd minutes. It has a meaningful plot that has something to do with Our Heroes' goals. It has guest characters that clearly have lives and goals of their own. It's very grayish--it has Blake performing not just one, but two morally questionable acts. It has the rare good use of Gan (questioning one of those acts). It has a proper usage of Cally's telepathy. It has Cally being clever (telepathy) and tough (threatening Space City). It has some tragedy (Hanna's and Petey's deaths). It has Blake inspiring a new rebel (Bek). It has snappy dialogue (I particularly like Avon and Jenna gently snarking at each other on the planet). It has those snazzy white jumpsuits. In fact, the only thing that I find genuinely bothersome in it is the Cally vs. the Alien subplot--but there's so much other stuff going on, I tend to forget that when it's not actually on the screen.

And, you know, Boucher script.

[cdybedahl.livejournal.com]

I'll have to add a vote for Once More With Feeling as best episode of anything ever. Going by how many times I've watched stuff, either Adventures in the Sin Trade and/or The Ides of March from Xena probably comes second.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

OMWY does seem to be inching ahead. I don't have it on DVD, but have listened to the CD an awful lot.

[manna]

I finally saw OMWF at my sisters, after hearing about it from loads of people. I was so disappointed. It was okay, but it was like seeing Why I Stopped Watching Buffy set to music. Which, I suppose, I should have expected given that it was a late-series episode. Maybe it was simply because I had such high expectations.

[melinafandom.livejournal.com]

In the Pale Moonlight is totally brilliant, but for DS9, I have to go with The Visitor, because it can still turn me into a sobbing, incoherent mess even when I watch it now for the 15th or 20th time. The story was a great idea, the performances were so lovely, and the dynamic between Jake and his father was just so powerful. I know, it's a tearjerker, and I admit to being a soft touch, but there you have it.

My second choice would probably have to be Xena's The Ides of March. The last act of that episode just stunned me the first time I saw it, and it just isn't that often that TV actually surprises me that way. It had incredible emotional resonance -- Gabrielle's journey from village girl to killing machine, Callisto's presence and Xena's conscious choice, the emotional and spiritual connection between Xena and Gabrielle as they faced their fate, and the constrast with the events in Rome. Aesthetically, it was beautiful -- the snow, the surreal blue-gray color palette of the mountains contrasted with the realistic Roman setting.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I think people are often torn between IPTM and The Visitor.

I have to admit I've never seen Xena (well, I've watched an episode or two). You're making me wish I had.

[archbishopm.livejournal.com]

Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space' is the best episode of anything ever.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Is that X-Files?