best-crafted hours of television
0 Comments Published by ginny on Saturday, February 24, 2007 at 2:42 PM.
Some of the best hours of television I have ever seen, inspired by having just watched the one at the top of the list:
There are, of course, a lot of other episodes of other shows I've loved -- almost none of these listed here actually feature my favorite characters, and one (The West Wing) is from a show I didn't even watch regularly. You'll also notice that everything but the West Wing episode is from a sci-fi show and everything is a dramatic, rather than comic, episode. Neither of those elements reflects a larger artistic philosophy – I do love shows that aren't sci-fi (though I really like good sci-fi television) and I think comedy can be just as well-crafted as drama. This is sort of a partial and debatable list. But it's what I came up with today. Does anyone else have a list like this?
- Battlestar Galactica 2.04, "Resistance." Oh my god. There is not a single second of this episode that is not pure, beautiful craft. I mean, not a second. This is an absolutely perfect hour of television. My heart still hasn't calmed down.
- The West Wing5.17, "The Supremes." The one where Glenn Close is a supreme court nominee. One of the most beautifully intricate pieces of television writing I've ever seen, coupled with desperately stupendous acting from the guest stars. Changed how I feel about my country.
- Deep Space Nine 4.02, "The Visitor." This episode is remarkable for a number of reasons, but the most striking is the almost total absence of any of the regular cast. The episode centers around two of the actors I like least on the show (though of course I love everyone)and is nonetheless absolutely heartrending, due largely to Tony Todd's spectacular acting. It's...well...novelistic, which is appropriate since it's about a novelist.
- Deep Space Nine 4.03, "Hippocratic Oath." Seasons three and four of this show are my favorite seasons of any show ever. "Hippocratic Oath" does Star Trek's type of moral and philosophical investigation absolutely flawlessly. Star Trek is, of course, usually noted for its optimistic take on humanity and for a commitment to fairly broad moral platforms. This episode doesn't lose the outlook that makes Trek fans love the show, but it's more nuanced than almost any other, and it does something extraordinary as well in using that nuance to shape two of the characters -- O'Brien and Bashir -- in wholly new ways.
- Next Generation 5.03, "Darmok." The writing and the acting, certainly, but also because this is simply one of the most useful television episodes ever. Its exploration of what makes language, communication, and culture is solid, concrete, and consistently interesting. "Darmok" helps with everything.
- Next Generation5.25, "The Inner Light." A given. This one's all about the acting. It makes everybody cry. Actually, though, it's the perfect example of something that makes almost all of these episodes as strong as they are, and which makes television different from all other media: almost all of this episode's strength comes from its skillful use of the background regular viewers already have with the show. It's allusive, really (look -- back to "Darmok" again!), and that allusion acts as a shorthand to emotional intensity. Which is a great thing to be able to do. Television shows can function the way coterie culture or a shared genteel education used to: they give experienced viewers (or readers) a shared set of knowledge that can then be reassembled or referenced to make the piece...well...intertextual, I guess. Or do I mean intratextual? It's a way to compress the experience of multiple texts in one. Everything, of course, does this to some extent (genre, I beleive, acts in just this way, if it acts at all), but some things have more of this sense of instrumental intertextuality than others. "The Inner Light," and usually really good television in general, is particularly notable for it.
There are, of course, a lot of other episodes of other shows I've loved -- almost none of these listed here actually feature my favorite characters, and one (The West Wing) is from a show I didn't even watch regularly. You'll also notice that everything but the West Wing episode is from a sci-fi show and everything is a dramatic, rather than comic, episode. Neither of those elements reflects a larger artistic philosophy – I do love shows that aren't sci-fi (though I really like good sci-fi television) and I think comedy can be just as well-crafted as drama. This is sort of a partial and debatable list. But it's what I came up with today. Does anyone else have a list like this?
Labels: nerd power, tv
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