Top 30 Television Episodes of 2007: 20-11
Posted on January 16, 2008
20. Gilmore Girls – To Whom It May Concern (Season 7, Episode 12)
I’m going to risk being mobbed by all the fans here and say that I never really got into Gilmore Girls. Too many annoying minor characters to take the show seriously. It probably isn’t a coincidence that one of the rare few episodes that I loved saw no Lane, Michel, or Kirk. Then again, it might have been the fact that Christopher finds Lorelai’s character reference for Luke, the one that had her spewing all the qualities she sees in Luke that she wishes to see in her husband. A heartbroken Christopher quite rightly states that it read “almost like a love letter”. In addition, “To Whom It May Concern” achieves an unprecedented first for the show by making the wait for next week’s episode excruciatingly slow after Richard’s unexpected collapse during one of Rory’s lectures.
19. Smallville – Freak (Season 6, Episode 15)
A lot of people have been raving about “Justice” being the highlight of Season 6. While I agree it was a terrific hour of entertainment (with the Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg, Green Arrow, and Superman all banding together to take down 33.1, how can it not be awesome?), my personal highlight was “Freak”, Michael Rosenbaum’s debut as a director and a Chloe-centric episode in which she discovers that she’s the very thing she used to document on her very own Wall of Weird: a meteor freak. Better paced and filled with more tension – Clark heat-visioning you? Triple ouch – “Freak” serves as key groundwork for the season finale at the dam. It’s also an increasingly rare episode where Lana Lang becomes surprisingly likeable for one week. Rosenbaum, sir, you are a genius.
18. How I Met Your Mother – Spoiler Alert (Season 3, Episode 8 )
Remember when I said “Showdown” (#22) didn’t quite reach the level of “Slap Bet”? That missing ingredient can be found right in “Spoiler Alert” – an episode about bad habits and how you generally don’t notice them until someone points it out to you. Though this particular half-hour may not have mustered as many laughs as Barney’s foray into The Price Is Right did, it doesn’t rely on Neil Patrick Harris. It’s an impressive ensemble episode that is very reminiscent of “Slap Bet”. Everyone has their moments – from Marshall singing to Lily inexplicably and ridiculously loud munching with candyfloss (and Ted’s priceless irritation) to Barney being Barney – and it’s episodes like these where I absolutely love the show. To me, How I Met Your Mother is much more than how Ted meets his future wife. It’s about a group of close friends living their lives together, and “Spoiler Alert” demonstrates this perfectly.
17. Grey’s Anatomy – Haunt You Every Day (Season 4, Episode 5)
By far the best episode of Grey’s since mid-Season 3, and one we’ve been waiting for an incredibly long time. Folks, this was the moment when the show regained its mojo and came close to achieving the same standard as they did with Season 2. (We still miss you, Denny.) The way Meredith put her mother to rest with the Chief at the end of the episode by rinsing her ashes down an OR sink was incredibly moving and the perfect farewell to Ellis Grey. Couple that with some great humour (Olivia forming a “Nurses United Against Mark Sloan” club – haha), and yeah, I stand by my initial comment and believe that this compares to Grey’s sophomore season. Even the subplots pack plenty of drama and laughs, from Ava’s bittersweet return to George and Izzie’s drunken sex finally made public. The show just needs to be a little more consistent now.
16. Scrubs – My Musical (Season 6, Episode 6)
“My Musical” doesn’t come anywhere near to Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s “Once More, with Feeling”, an episode that I regard as one of my favourites of all time. But to compare the two is like apples and oranges, and anyone who watched this expecting it to be on the same ridiculously high level should be more aware how different these two musical episodes are. Put simply, Scrubs makes up for the lack of depth, emotion, and storytelling by providing half an hour of pure entertainment. It’s just great, mindless fun that you can watch over and over again without getting bored. It does border on being outrageously silly at times with “Ev’rythin’ Comes Down to Poo”, but the third act really does steal the show with the hilarious “Guy Love” and the upbeat group finale “Friends Forever”. Fantastic performance by Stephanie D’Abruzzo as the lead patient, and kudos to writer Debra Fordham for making the daring project a success.
15. CSI: NY – Snow Day (Season 3, Episode 22)
Let’s get this out of the way: I don’t watch a lot of crime procedurals. Yet somehow, CSI: NY blew me away with its surprisingly action-packed Die Hard-esque season finale. That’s right, I said “action-packed”, and yeah, I likened it to Die Hard. When drug lords infiltrate the entire building with guns galore and when it becomes Mac’s job to save the day almost single-handedly, how can you not make that comparison? The most impressive thing about this episode, though, is that it still manages to keep the CSI element amidst all the action, investigating who these men are and what they want. Add that to the fact that it doesn’t turn into Rambo and cleverly uses the whole scenario to sensibly develop characters and relationships, and you have one stellar episode that ultimately converted me into a regular CSI: NY viewer. A special mention goes to CSI’s seventh season finale, “Living Doll”, but it didn’t quite get my heart pumping as much as New York did.
14. Dexter – There’s Something About Harry (Season 2, Episode 10)
As if our favourite serial killer, Dexter Morgan, didn’t have enough worries on his mind, what with the whole Bay Harbour Butcher investigation going on and, of course, him holding the persistent Doakes captive in a cage after he discovered his secret. So, to find out gradually over the episode that his father had committed suicide because of his guilt in channelling Dexter’s dark tendencies into killing those who deserve it and in the end “creating a monster” must have been damn devastating for the antihero. James Remar really shines in his small recurring role as Dexter’s father. His shocked reaction when he came upon his son gleefully cutting up one of his earlier victims said it all. So did the puke that followed. (Ew.) It is during this episode that we are reminded that Dexter isn’t a normal person. He doesn’t have genuine feelings like the rest of the characters do, and this is not only supported by the suicide of Dexter’s father, but also by Doakes becoming completely unresponsive towards him when he kills someone practically in front of his eyes.
13. Supernatural – All Hell Breaks Loose, Part I (Season 2, Episode 21)
Hell doesn’t literally break loose in the first part of Supernatural’s season finale (that comes in the second!), but the cliffhanger of this otherwise transitional episode had me completely stunned: they freakin’ killed Sam Winchester. Of course, we know Eric Kripke doesn’t have the stones to permanently bid farewell one of the two brothers that make the show, lest the ever-so-rabid fanbase send death threats and whatnot to his mail (and I’m not exaggerating when I say that Supernatural has by far the most loyal, vocal, and crazy fans I’ve seen this decade, despite its modest viewing figures). But no one – no one who watched the trailer prior to the episode, of course – expected at all to see Jake actually deliver that killing blow. I’ve got to admit, Jensen Ackles had my throat dried up when his character was begging Sam to hang on. He never really stood out during his brief stint on Smallville, but he’s perfect here.
12. Lost – Greatest Hits (Season 3, Episode 21)
I’ve never really cared much about Charlie since mid-Season 1, so for one episode to come along and make me sympathise with him is definitely noteworthy. His admirable decision to accept his fate for Claire and the rest of the survivors was touching and towards the end of the episode when he swam into the Looking Glass, I was scared he was going to get killed. I was scared he would drown right at that point unceremoniously. That’s powerful television. A friend said to me right after the airing that Charlie’s main flaw prior to this sequence of events was failing to accept responsibility, and I couldn’t agree more. From drug addict and has-been rock star to one heck of a brave saviour, his journey on the island is now complete. Regardless of what happens in Season 4, Charlie will always be a hero in my eyes.
11. 24 – 9:00AM – 10:00AM (Season 6, Episode 4)
The fourth and final part in the two-hour season premiere back in January should have been in my top five. Curtis dying wasn’t a huge shock (the omission of the actor’s name from the main cast didn’t go unnoticed), but the fact that it was Jack who had to pull the trigger left quite a large impact on myself. Then, less than ten minutes later, there was the ultimate “holy fucking shit” moment, the moment that all of a sudden made me silent: a nuclear bomb actually went off in the middle of a populated area. And then, we were thrown another curveball, that there were four more of these motherfucking nukes out there. So why the heck did it miss the top ten? Retrospection. Instead of being a jaw-droppingly awesome episode that set the scene for a great season of 24, it became a jaw-droppingly awesome episode that led to mediocrity and the show’s worst season yet.
By Ben Lee
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