020. Milf Island (30 Rock)

"If you decide to sue, I know a good Lawyer. Took me to the cleaners last year"

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 10th April 2008
EPISODE NUMBER: Season 2, Episode 11
WRITTEN BY: Tina Fey & Matt Hubbard

What started out as a throwaway joke becomes a backdrop for an entire episode. Show-within-a-show "MILF Island" is a clever parody of Survivor that's almost trashy enough to exist one day, and the brief scenes it shows up in are all very funny. But the best part is that it's used as a way to parallel the events of the episode.

It starts off as a mystery about who made the anonymous comment about Jack, with the show staff held hostage until the culprit confesses. Later, when they reveal it was Liz, it focuses on her reluctance to admit it despite her increasing guilt.

Tracy is used only in moderation, but his scenes are all great. Liz mimicking a Kathy cartoon is a perfect example of the show's absurd humour. Pete Hornberger also has an amusing subplot where he's trapped in a vending machine and there's no-one around to free him.

In the end, Jack uses his master manipulation skills to get Liz to own up and write a show for a "MILF Island" contestant, even though he already knew it was her. MILF Island is a clever, funny, interesting and even quite tense episode of comedy, and demonstrates Tina Fey's ability to take a small joke and just run with it, tapping its unseen potential.

019. It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year (Six Feet Under)

"I'm looking for clothes so expensive only an idiot would buy them"

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 21st April 2001
EPISODE NUMBER: Season 2, Episode 8
WRITTEN BY: Scott Buck

Christmas is a special time for the Fisher family, not just because it's a holiday, but because it marks the anniversary of major events at the start of the show, such as the death of Nathaniel Sr and the first meeting of Nate and Brenda.

The stiff-of-the-week is a biker named Jesse, who hits a truck dressed as Santa Claus, no doubt traumatising the onlooking children. It's a darkly funny scene up there with Six Feet Under's best openings. The Bikers were pretty awesome in this episode, creating many comic moments as the eccentric group take over the house for an extravagant Christmas day funeral in order to send their buddy out in style.

It was good to see Nathaniel Sr reappear in flashbacks, as every character remembers their last interaction with him. None of the scenes are particularly spectacular on their own, but that's the point that the episode was trying to make - we never know when our last moments with people will be, and so we take them for granted. David brushed off the chance to have a real conversation with his dad. Claire opted out of accompanying him to the airport, but in doing so avoided the car crash that killed him. Little moments like this that seem insignificant have such a dramatic effect on the rest of our lives.

Brenda's crazy brother Billy also returns for an awkward Christmas reunion where he finds out about Nate and Brenda's engagement. Nikolai becomes an unwanted guest in the Fisher household following his injury. It was nice to see so many people at the Christmas dinner - it's the biggest the family has been in a long time.

Ending this episode with Nate going for a ride on the dead biker's motorcycle was great, and could not have made a better song choice than "Don't Fear The Reaper".

018. A Lie Agreed Upon (Deadwood)

"Welcome to fucking Deadwood! Can be combative!"

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 6th/13th March 2005
EPISODE NUMBER: Season 2, Episode 1
WRITTEN BY: David Milch & Jody Worth

No disrespect to the rest of the brilliant Deadwood cast, but Ian McShane is in a league of his own. Al Swearengen is one of TV's all-time best villians. Seeing him finally go head-to-head with good guy Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) is a moment we'd been waiting for for a long time.

Al being beaten up by Bullock is the first time we've seen him humbled. He's such a dignified character, so for him to confront the reality that he's not untouchable is interesting. This later becomes a bigger theme with the storyline of Al's kidney stones over the next few episodes. It's also interesting how Al chooses not to kill Bullock when he had the choice after seeing a child and getting an attack of conscience.

The child belongs to Bullock's wife, and their arrival this episode is a game-changer for Bullock. It leads to him breaking off his relationship with Alma in order to take care of his family. Other storylines include Joanie Stubbs opening her own brothel (much to Cy Tolliver's dismay), Calamity Jane returning to camp (she begins the season with an amusing scene where she drunkenly yells "cocksuckers!" at the new arrivals), and Sol Star taking a bullet for Seth.

The final confrontation between Bullock and Swearengen, where Al finally swallows his pride and gives Bullock his badge back, is brilliantly tense. The intensifying of the rivalry between two great characters is what makes this particular two-parter worthy of representing the show on the list.

017. Top Banana (Arrested Development)

"There's always money in the banana stand"

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 9th November 2003
EPISODE NUMBER: Season 1, Episode 2
WRITTEN BY: Mitchell Hurwitz & Jon Levenstein

Some people aren't sold on Arrested Development at first. I was not one of those people. To me, the first two episodes are two of the strongest of the show's entire run and I loved them straight away. Let me remind you of all the classic moments in Top Banana.

Many characters have some of their best moments. From Tobias' fire sale audition, to GOB killing a Dove, to George Michael's incorrect usage of the word "Mr Manager". GOB feeling useless and asking his brother for jobs that he doesn't even want is a great subplot, and similarly a lot of gags come from Tobias' insecurity over his failure to find an acting job. Both are down to nuanced writing and dedicated performances from the actors.

With so much of the show's humour revolving around running gags and callbacks, the first few episodes had to stand on their own, and that they do. Although they do still find room for callback jokes within the episode itself. Who knew that "there's always money in the banana stand" could be such a great punchline?

At the end of the day, despite the Bluth family's wacky antics, the show still has a heart. Michael realises what's important: his relationship with his son.

016. Final Grades (The Wire)

"This game is rigged, man"

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 10th December 2006
EPISODE NUMBER: Season 4, Episode 13
WRITTEN BY: David Simon

The season 4 finale to The Wire clocks in at a 72 minute running time, second only to the season 5 finale as the longest episode. That gives you a sense of just how large the show's ensemble has grown, and how complex the storylines have become, that it takes over an hour to wrap everything up satisfactorily.

One thing to love about this episode is that it features Omar at his most audacious. After stealing a stash from Marlo as an act of revenge, he quickly realizes he has no use for the merchandise, so decides to sell it back to Prop Joe, the guy he stole it from. It's a classic Omar move that only he would have the chutzpah to pull off. The entire scene is hilarious, not least for Cheese's livid reaction.

McNulty and Bodie's last conversation is an outstanding scene. It's amazing how far he's come from the little punk on the corner in season 1. You can tell that McNulty kind of respects Bodie, and it's Bodie's death that motivates McNulty to get back to real policework. Bodie goes out on a high note, defiantly standing his ground and going down fighting.

If McNulty and Bodie seemed on odd pairing, there's another great and extremely underrated scene between and even more unlikely couple. It's the scene where Colvin convinces Wee-Bey to let him adopt his son, talking about how the two of them come from the same world, and that's not where Namond belongs. It's a great scene, detailing the brutality of Baltimore street life and humanizing the so-called "bad guys".

There are many other plots I haven't mentioned: Bubbles' suicide attempt, Carver's attempts to get Randy on the adoption list, the reappearance of the Greek, and Michael becoming a killer. The small scene where Marlo notices the ring Michael has, assuming he took it from Omar, is great. The ring had changed hands many times across the season, representing the circular nature of life. And now, a new generation of drug dealers are being born, repeating that process too.

The musical montage (Paul Weller's "I Walk On Gilded Splinters"), a trademark of The Wire, wraps up the season and starts setting up the next one. Few shows can do finales as effectively as The Wire can.

015. Fly (Breaking Bad)

"If I had just lived right up to that moment, and not one second more, that would've been perfect"

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 23rd May 2010
EPISODE NUMBER: Season 3, Episode 10
WRITTEN BY: Sam Catlin & Moira Walley-Beckett

Some people didn't like this episode. I almost don't blame them. 40 minutes of two people in one location trying to catch a fly? Sounds terrible. But this was definitely one of, if not the, best episodes to date. There wasn't much action, and there wasn't much plot. But that didn't stop it being amazing television.

Rian Johnson (Brick) directed this episode, and makes no effort to hide his style. The quick cuts and unique camera angles are definitely not like anything the show has ever done before. But this is fitting, considering the episode's entire concept is similarly fresh and unique.

There is more humour than usual in this episode, mainly derived from the absurdity of Walt scrambling around in a slapstick fashion trying to catch a fly, like Wile E. Coyote tries to catch the Road Runner. The amount of effort he spends on such a minor problem is obsessive, and it quickly becomes more about principle for Walt, rather than stopping the "contamination". The dialogue is also more humourous than usual. Jesse's observation about the word "Possum" changing to "Opossum" is a very subtly witty scene.

The dialogue has more to offer than just humour, however. Walt's monologues about his family and coincidences are great. For all the unrealistic slapstick, we also get Walt at his most human. We see the Walt/Jesse relationship at its best and at its worst. The climactic scene at the end is tense not just because Jesse is hanging precariously off a step ladder, but because Walt is on the verge of telling him what really happened during Jane's death.

I love the last shot, of the fly still tormenting Walt as he goes to bed. It's definitely not your typical Breaking Bad episode, but it's a rewarding experience that puts action aside and takes a look at what really makes the characters tick.