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Thirty Days of Television: Day Six
Feb. 14th, 2013 07:33 amDay 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show
As detailed here, I can't narrow it down to one favourite show, only one per genre. Favourite episodes are similarly difficult, but with an heroic effort, I can come up with:
Babylon 5 and Buffy: Dust to Dust and Restless, for reasons explained in more detail here.
Angel: Either Darla or Deep Down, when I'm in a noir mood; if I want to be cheered up, why, Smile Time, of course. :) (Despite the fact Gunn essentially makes the classic Faustian deal from hell in that one.)
I, Claudius: tricky, tricky, very hard to choose, but it's probably Queen of Heaven. Mostly for the two stunning Livia scenes; first the birthday dinner with Caligula and Claudius, and at the end of the episode her death scene, again first with Caligula, then Claudius. They accomplish to much. In the long term narrative, this is where the role of main villain gets handed over from Livia to Caligula (while various Little Bads abound; at ths point, it's Sejanus, played by Patrick Stewart), but that's the least of it. The dinner is the one and only time where our hero and narrator, Claudius, and Livia who was the main antagonist for most of the show until this point speak completely honestly to each other; it's a mutual revelation scene and the emotional build up which makes it possible is so wonderfully done. (Also, Caligula is around for a while being incredibly creepy, setting himself up as the next main antagonist.) The death scene accomplishes something very very few stories ever manage. Livia has committed various murders and ruined lives of people the audience cares about. She's not repentant about any of this. (Though she'd rather not pay for them in the afterlife, hence the importance to her to be declared a goddess once she's dead, as the gods can commit any crime they want.) And yet, when she dies, both the audience and Claudius, who has hated and feared her through his entire life, feel intensely sorry for her - again, without diminishing or prettifying any of her previous acts. Part of it is, again, Caligula, and the way he takes his leave of her, but it's also the acting and the state Rome is in at that point and - well, everything.
Six Feet Under: Again, very tricky, but I think I'll go with the s1 finale, Knock, Knock. Various themes of the first season (and some overall themes of the show) get a great showcase here, it has some of David's best scenes (and one of the show's most famous visual gags), the screwed up family dynamics (the Fishers among each other, Federico and the Fishers, Brenda and Billy) each get showcases, and it conveys that "life is a mess, but there is hope" atmosphere of the show so well.
( The rest of the days )
As detailed here, I can't narrow it down to one favourite show, only one per genre. Favourite episodes are similarly difficult, but with an heroic effort, I can come up with:
Babylon 5 and Buffy: Dust to Dust and Restless, for reasons explained in more detail here.
Angel: Either Darla or Deep Down, when I'm in a noir mood; if I want to be cheered up, why, Smile Time, of course. :) (Despite the fact Gunn essentially makes the classic Faustian deal from hell in that one.)
I, Claudius: tricky, tricky, very hard to choose, but it's probably Queen of Heaven. Mostly for the two stunning Livia scenes; first the birthday dinner with Caligula and Claudius, and at the end of the episode her death scene, again first with Caligula, then Claudius. They accomplish to much. In the long term narrative, this is where the role of main villain gets handed over from Livia to Caligula (while various Little Bads abound; at ths point, it's Sejanus, played by Patrick Stewart), but that's the least of it. The dinner is the one and only time where our hero and narrator, Claudius, and Livia who was the main antagonist for most of the show until this point speak completely honestly to each other; it's a mutual revelation scene and the emotional build up which makes it possible is so wonderfully done. (Also, Caligula is around for a while being incredibly creepy, setting himself up as the next main antagonist.) The death scene accomplishes something very very few stories ever manage. Livia has committed various murders and ruined lives of people the audience cares about. She's not repentant about any of this. (Though she'd rather not pay for them in the afterlife, hence the importance to her to be declared a goddess once she's dead, as the gods can commit any crime they want.) And yet, when she dies, both the audience and Claudius, who has hated and feared her through his entire life, feel intensely sorry for her - again, without diminishing or prettifying any of her previous acts. Part of it is, again, Caligula, and the way he takes his leave of her, but it's also the acting and the state Rome is in at that point and - well, everything.
Six Feet Under: Again, very tricky, but I think I'll go with the s1 finale, Knock, Knock. Various themes of the first season (and some overall themes of the show) get a great showcase here, it has some of David's best scenes (and one of the show's most famous visual gags), the screwed up family dynamics (the Fishers among each other, Federico and the Fishers, Brenda and Billy) each get showcases, and it conveys that "life is a mess, but there is hope" atmosphere of the show so well.
( The rest of the days )
