049. The Debate (The West Wing)

"So when you try to hurl the word 'liberal' at my feet, as if it were dirty, something to run away from, something that I should be ashamed of, it won't work, Senator, because I will pick up that label and wear it as a badge of honor."

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 6th November 2005
EPISODE NUMBER: Season 7, Episode 7
WRITTEN BY: Laurence O'Donnell Jr

The Debate was a special live episode of The West Wing that mimics the real live Presidential debates. They really couldn't have chosen a better subject matter. It's that air of authenticity that is it's biggest asset - it feels like a real debate.

For one night only, Presidential candidates Matt Santos and Arnold Vinick are put under the spotlight to answer questions from the public. The two actors prove more than capable of carrying the episode on their own. They tackle issues like immigration, education, taxes, healthcare and jobs. They're able to cover more ground than any other West Wing episode.

Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits both have a history on Broadway, and so the two actors are well in their element with the small-scale, one-take nature of the show. With the focus on the performance, they create some great scenes. The Debate keeps it simple, and watching the two Politicians spar enthusiastically is a lot of fun. It's like a tennis match, with the debate very even between both sides.

Although it may only be fiction and the fate of the country is not at stake, I guarantee this episode is as entertaining as anything Obama and Romney can produce in this campaign.

048. The Girl Who Waited (Doctor Who)

"I don't care that you got old. I care that we didn't get old together"

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 10th September 2011
EPISODE NUMBER: Season 6, Episode 10
WRITTEN BY: Tom MacRae

Karen Gillan's tenure on Doctor Who may have just ended, but here's a look back at one of the strongest episodes from the Moffat era, the Amy-centric The Girl Who Waited, which was really driven by a great performance from our favorite Scot sidekick and one of her best contributions to the series.

Waiting has been a recurring theme for Amy and Rory throughout the series. Amy had to wait years for the Doctor to come back. Rory had to wait even longer to get Amy back when he was a Roman Centurion. And now it's Amy's turn to wait again, as a time travel glitch means that when the Doctor and Rory leave Amy behind, they only manage to catch up to her 36 years later.

Karen Gillan gives a great performance as the bitter and bedraggled older Amy, the make-up effects really helping to sell it. But The Girl Who Waited also uses time travel paradoxes as a way to introduce a complex moral dilemma. If Rory saves the younger Amy, the older Amy will cease to exist.

The set design for this episode is also really great, with the bare white walls of Apapucia' kindness centres creating a very futuristic look in a minimalist way. Amy also has some great fight scenes with the roots. But what sends the episode over the top is the extremely emotional ending which will move you to tears.

047. Out Where The Buses Don't Run (Miami Vice)

"If you don't beat it pal, you might get to Heaven right now"

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 18th October 1985
EPISODE NUMBER: Season 2, Episode 3
WRITTEN BY: Joel Surnow & Douglas Lloyd McIntosh

This is the first entry from the 1980s on my list and it could hardly be more representative of the era. The opening features a rollerskater, set to a song by The Who. He then gets busted by cool guys in suits with very fashionable haircuts. Miami Vice is unapologetically full of excess, and is great fun because of it.

When former cop Hank Weldon turns up out of the blue to give information on a case, Crockett and Tubbs rightly begin to suspect his motives. Crockett's sixth sense shows why he makes such a great cop. So the pair set out to do what they do best - dig up clues. The erratic Weldon, played by Bruce McGill, is a great guest star and welcome addition to the cast.

But in between all the detecting, there's still time to watch stuff get blown up - this is a cop show, after all. There are plenty of great action scenes this episode, and that's what keeps it interesting. One great set piece takes place out on the water and involves speedboats.

The mystery of Hank's past is finally uncovered in a dark and creepy scene in a warehouse, which does well to highlight not just the corruption on view but the cop's increasingly deteriorating mental state. Out Where The Buses Don't Run manages to deliver on action, intrigue and strong character work.

046. Paradigms Of Human Memory (Community)

"A leprechaun took our clothes!"

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 21st April 2011
EPISODE NUMBER: Season 2, Episode 21
WRITTEN BY: Chris McKenna

Remember the Community episode where Troy broke the group's raft on St Patricks Day? Or Mexican drug runners almost executed Pierce for being a racist? Of course not, because although Paradigms skewers conventions of the clip show to great effect ("Just give him some examples, Pierce"), the episode is entirely new footage. A clip show without the clips. Once again, the show cannot resist playing with the meta. Troy's reaction to the flashback-within-a-flashback series is hilarious, as the constant jumping through time begins to wear on him. They even take aim at fandom culture - a Troy and Pierce montage set to slow, sappy music making fun of shipper videos.

The formula of the episode is reminiscent of a sketch show. The "clips" are all very short, very different scenes, meaning the episode moves at past pace - and thus the joke come thick and fast too. It gives the show a creative freedom to drop in whatever jokes they want. Better yet, some of the clips intertwine and overlap.

But to say this episode doesn't further the plot is inaccurate. The group - and audience - are given the major revelation that Jeff and Britta have been sleeping together all year in a secret friends-with-benefits arrangement. And it's a storyline that has actually been set up throughout the season.

The episode visits many memorable locations - a haunted house, a camping trip in the wilderness and an insane asylum. Many of the scenes could've made great episodes on their own, but despite only giving us an abbreviated version, we do not feel shortchanged. The sheer amount of effort that must have gone into making this episode is mindblowing.

045. One Minute (Breaking Bad)

"Ever since I met you, everything I ever cared about is gone. Ruined, turned to shit, dead, ever since I hooked up with the great Heisenberg!"

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 2nd May 2010
EPISODE NUMBER: Season 3, Episode 7
WRITTEN BY: Thomas Schnauz

Although One Minute is mainly remembered for its pulse-pounding ending, to reduce the episode to one scene does it a disservice. The episode is excellent throughout, right from the very first scene, a flashback here uncle Tio teaches the twins a lesson in family values, Salamanca-style.

Hank also kicks off the episode with an emotionally-charged beatdown of Jesse, which has serious repercussions for his career. The threat of Hank losing his jobs leds to some of the Agent's best scenes. The hospitalised Jesse has two greta speeches in the episode, one about his hatred for Hank, another about how much he's lost since Walt came into his life. Both are well-acted and very powerful.

What's also powerful is the ending. It's a thrilling showdown full of tension, as the twins' storyline reaches its explosive conclusion. The scene is directed superbly, with not a second of the action going to waste.

044. Home (The X Files)

"I can tell you don't have no children. Maybe one day you'll learn the pride...the love...when you know your boy will do anything for his mother"

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 11th October 1996
EPISODE NUMBER: Season 4, Episode 2
WRITTEN BY: Glen Morgan & James Wong

Loosely based on a story from Charlie Chaplin's autobiography, Home is an episode that takes The X-Files to extremes it's never been to before. Every taboo is shattered - incest, disfigurement, dead children. It's certainly not light viewing.

The villains of the story are the Peacock family, a group of hillbillys who go on a murder rampage after being suspected of kidnapping. What's great is that the kids may look (and even act) like monsters, but they're still very much human. When you see it from their perspective, they're just a family that want to be left alone and allowed to do things their way.

The scenes where Mulder and Scully investigate the house are gold. The Sheriff bites it in a gruesome manner, and it becomes a difficult obstacle for Mulder and Scully to safely navigate the deathtrap that is the Peacock house. There's a lot of tension when they enter the creepy-looking house, and find inside various unsettling sights.

Shocking, provocative and brutal, Home gets under your skin and still manages to be incredibly entertaining. Morgan and Wong deliver a story that's the closest to a horror movie The X Files has ever been.

043. A Hole In The World (Angel)

"Please Wesley, why can't I stay?"

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 25th February 2004
EPISODE NUMBER: Season 5, Episode 15
WRITTEN BY: Joss Whedon

Only Joss Whedon could follow up the funniest episode of the series (Smile Time, reviewed earlier on this blog) with the most heartbreaking. And that's no understatement with A Hole In The World. It is utterly heart wrenching. Joss' reputation for being ruthless in killing off characters is legedary, but this shocked everyone.

Fred Burkle was the nicest, sweetest, most adorable character on the show.  She'd been a pleasant presence for over 3 seasons. And for this, she is rewarded with the most brutal, painful and agonizing death possible, which she did nothing to deserve. She goes out terrified, and it's really hard to watch. The point is to inspire emotion in the audience, and it certainly does that. This is true for the team too. Angel simply has to say Fred's name to motivate his team into working to stop her from succumbing to the goddess Illyria. All of them loved Fred, even hardass rogue Spike.

Of course, Wesley loved Fred the most. Their relationship was a slow burning one, and barely even got going before it was taken away. It all started off so well for them, but the romantic kiss they share at they start of the episode would be the last time they were truly happy.

No-one could have expected the episode to be so emotionally powerful, and the intensity is upped at every opportunity. Angel and Spike are given the tough decision to let Fred die, knowing the alternative was worse. Gunn is feeling really guilty about his part in Fred's condition. Whedon sure loves to make his character suffer. And the acting is just fantastic every step of the way.

The titular scene is a surprisingly profound moment when Spike looks down into the emptiness below and muses that there's a hole in the world. A great metaphor for the hollowness of life.