Summary

Some TV shows acquire such distinctive style that they become inimitable , and their most iconic episode work as example of their theme song flair . These episodes are n’t necessarily the show ’s best , but they are an indispensable distillate of everything that makes the show great . Sometimes , a single installment can be so rotatory that it influences the show ’s intact style move forward , and it mark a cleared turn point . In short , if a person try out one of these episodes and does n’t care it , they in all probability wo n’t like the show as a whole .

To sum up up a show in just one episode is n’t always leisurely , peculiarly when a show changes its cast and its setting relatively frequently . Often , episode which break the mould are a great mode to see things from a different linear perspective , and it helps that these experiments incline to stick out out from the pack . mass remember season finales , bottle episode , and other bold narrative structures the most . These are the episodes which are often held up as smoothen examples of a show ’s define trait , specially because they can be delight out of context .

The best TV show of all fourth dimension will be debated forever , but there are clear contenders . These are the very best TV shows of all time , grade .

Collage with characters from I Love Lucy, Breaking Bad, BCS, The Office, Seinfeld, Friends, Doctor Who, Star Trek, Simpsons, and Stranger Things

10"The Chinese Restaurant" - Seinfeld

Season 2, Episode 11

Seinfeldfamously describe itself as a " show about nothing"and " The Chinese Restaurant " is the pure crystal of this concept . Jerry , George and Elaine spend the full installment await for a table at a chinese eatery before they go to the movie theater of operations . Even for a nursing bottle episode , " The Chinese Restaurant " is a sheer experimentation , but it works because of the oustanding cast , and the path they are capable to bounce off of one another . In trueSeinfeldfashion , there are no lessons learned or excited journeying , but " The Chinese Restaurant " is one of thebest episode ofSeinfeld .

9"The Reichenbach Fall" - Sherlock

Season 2, Episode 3

Sherlockbrought Arthur Conan Doyle ’s popular Victorian - era tec novels into the 21st Century , and its dependable sequence manage to put a fresh twist on the familiar tales . " The Reichenbach Fall " is ground on the showdown between Sherlock Holmes and his nemesis Moriarty , which takes place in the book in Germany , but in the show in London . The episode makes habit of its twenty-first - Century mount , with Moriarty assassinating Sherlock ’s character by manipulating the spiritualist with digital technology . It also delivers on the premise ofSherlock , a cerebral thriller that entice its audience to figure out a cunning puzzle .

8"22 Short Films About Springfield" - The Simpsons

Season 7, Episode 21

Although it breaks from the usual recipe ofThe Simpsons,“22 Short Films About Springfield " showcases the show ’s tight - paced humour and its huge cast of fantastic eccentric . It ’s one of the longest - run jest on the show that the real location of Springfield is never bring out , and this allows it to stand in for any small townsfolk in America . The focus of " 22 Short Films About Springfield " travel all over the town , giving more attention to someunderrated character onThe Simpsons . Even if the instalment had only give the earthly concern " steamed hams,“it still would have been a classic .

7"Shut The Door. Have A Seat.” - Mad Men

Season 3, Episode 13

demented Menreally hit its stride in time of year 3 , and the time of year finale remains one of the just sequence of all . In " Shut the Door . Have a Seat . , " Don Draper and his associates find out that their company is about to sold out from under them , so they decide to surreptitiously lay out up a new company by salvaging as many contracts and personnel as possible , all in one weekend . basically , they steal their own society , and the episode has all the sly charm of a heist movie , with ' 60s style in abundance .

6"Remedial Chaos Theory” - Community

Season 3, Episode 4

Long beforeRick and Morty , Dan Harmon explored alternate timelines and the multiverse withCommunityseason 3 , installment 4 , " Remedial Chaos Theory " . At Troy and Abed ’s housewarming political party , Jeff lets the roll of a die decide who should go downstairs to get some pizza . Abed imagines the six unlike timeline that this event creates , and each one is a miniature instalment showing how the dysfunctional group fall apart even more when one member is missing . Communityoften plays around with plot construction , and it uses its more experimental episodes to deconstruct traditional narrative conventionalism .

residential district is finally generate to fulfill its " 6 seasons and a movie " promise . Here ’s everything we know about its release and cast .

5"The Castle" - Fargo

Season 2, Episode 9

There will always be a debate overwhich time of year ofFargois the upright , but season 2 is still a top contender . With tons of sorcerous seventies particular , time of year 2 postdate an ordinary duet accidentally becoming dishevel up with the mob . One of the family ’s main enforcers is the enigmatical Hanzee , who habituate his skill as a tracker to hunt down down the family ’s enemies and link up up loose ends . " The Castle " changes his character in an instant , with bestial bloodshed to complement some spectacular storytelling . The episode also brings back the mysterious UFO , perhaps as a judge from the beyond .

4"The Marshal" - The Mandalorian

Season 2, Episode 1

As the first live - actionStar WarsTV show , The Mandalorianfaced the hard task of abide by the legacy of the franchisewhile also bringing something unused to the table . " The Marshal " is a great model of howThe Mandaloriansolves this problem . It ’s connected to the independent story that run throughout the series , but it tells a compelling account that can be bask without any context . The plot borrows a lot more from the westerly writing style than sci - fi , as Din Djarin forms an uneasy alliance with a humble - townspeople marshal to take down a common foeman .

3"Nosedive" - Black Mirror

Season 3, Episode 1

Thebest installment ofBlack Mirroruse sci - fi technologies to comment on the current state of society . " Nosedive " takes a swipe at the gig economy by applying evaluation systems to everyone , based not only on intellectual nourishment saving or drive , but on every minute societal interaction they have . It ’s a brilliant deconstruction of the thin veneer of polite high society , and its sci - fi premise never outshines the human drama at the heart of the installment . In " Nosedive , " as in life , some masses are seen as less than others , and they are treated as such .

Black Mirror time of year 7 marked the return of Charlie Brooker ’s anthology series , and here ’s everything you require to know about the late set of ep

2"The Rains Of Castamere" - Game Of Thrones

Season 3, Episode 9

Game of Thronescould merge political machination with shocking wildness . This was never more apparent than during the most infamous upshot in the show ’s history : the Red Wedding . The blooming revenge game was the culmination of three seasons ' worth of slow climb tensions , and it all unravel in prominent style . Among thedeaths atGame of Thrones’Red Weddingwas Robb Stark , the King in the North . His death would have far - reaching impacts on the full bow of the show , but " The Rains of Castamere " is n’t just of import for game reasons . It ’s also a brilliantly drop a line and directed dramatic event .

1"Downer Ending" - BoJack Horseman

Season 1, Episode 11

" Downer Ending " was an former indicant of just how recondite and darkBoJack Horsemanwas willing to go . In a drug - induced delusion , BoJack cipher with his laundry list of personal demon . Chief among them are his loveless relationship with his parent , his unfitness to reserve a steady relationship , and his ever - shifting sense of self . Somehow , this is all good fun . The funny brainiac ofBoJack Horsemanis that it can juggle heavy themes with jovial , empty-headed humour , andthere are plenty of laughs to brighten up BoJack ’s dark night of the soul .

A composite image of Donald Glover as Troy Barnes smiling toward the camera and an image of the cast of Community posing together

A composite image of Bryce Dallas Howard in a bathrobe with characters from Black Mirror season 6 behind her

Moriarty (Andrew Scott) smiling at a serious Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) in Sherlock season 2 episode The Reichenbach Fall

Elaine, George, and Jerry talk to the maître d’hôtel of a chinese restaurant in Seinfeld

Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) falling to his death from St Bart’s Hospital in Sherlock season 2 episode The Reichenbach Fall

Roger, Don and Burt sitting in Burt’s office in Mad Men

An image of Troy carrying a pizza box into the apartment in Community

Cobb Vanth and Din Djarin in The Mandalorian.

Bryce Dallas Howard as Lacie in Black Mirror episode Nosedive, holding a mic and smiling.