TV Guide's Top 100 Episodes

TV Guide completed their list of the Top 100 Episodes (According to them at least) and here it is:

I've marked in bold all the ones I've seen. There's a little discussion afterwards as well.

• 1. Seinfeld: "The Contest"
• 2. The Sopranos: "College"
• 3. The Mary Tyler Moore Show: "Chuckles Bites the Dust"
• 4. I Love Lucy: "Lucy Does a TV Commercial"
• 5. Lost: "Pilot"
• 6. ER: "Love's Labor Lost"
• 7. The Honeymooners: "Better Living Through TV"
• 8. Mad Men: "Nixon vs. Kennedy"
• 9. All in the Family: "Cousin Maude's Visit"
• 10. 24: "Season 1: 11PM-12AM"
• 11. The Twilight Zone: "Time Enough at Last"
• 12. SNL from 4/22/78
• 13. The Dick Van Dyke Show: "It May Look Like a Walnut"
• 14. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: "Once More With Feeling"
• 15. The Cosby Show: "Goodbye Mr. Fish"
• 16. The Fugitive: "Judgment"
• 17. South Park: "Trapped in the Closet"
• 18. The Andy Griffith Show: "Opie the Birdman"
• 19. The Office: "Diversity Day"
• 20. MASH: "Abyssinia, Henry"
• 21. Friends: "The One with the Embryos"
• 22. Six Feet Under: "Everyone's Waiting"
• 23. St. Elsewhere: "Time Heals"
• 24. The Simpsons: "Krusty Gets Kancelled"
• 25. Homicide:Life on the Street: "Subway"
• 26. The Wire: "Final Grades"
• 27. Curb Your Enthusiasm: "The Special Section"
• 28. 30 Rock: "Black Tie"
• 29. Cheers: "Show Down"
• 30. NYPD Blue: "Hearts and Souls"
• 31. Frasier: "The Ski Lodge"
• 32. Arrested Development: "Development Arrested"
• 33. Roseanne: "A Stash From the Past"
• 34. Thirtysomething: "A Second Look"
• 35. The X-Files: "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose"
• 36. Star Trek:TNG: "Best of Both Worlds Part 1"
• 37. The Bob Newhart Show: "Over the River and Through the Woods"
• 38. The Shield: "Possible Kill Screen"
• 39. The Wonder Years: "Pilot"
• 40. The West Wing: "Two Cathedrals"
• 41. Freaks and Geeks: "Carded and Discarded"
• 42. Everybody Loves Raymond: "Marie's Sculpture"
• 43. Battlestar Gallactica: "Blood on the Scales"
• 44. My So-Called Life: "Self-Esteem"
• 45. General Hospital: "Luke and Laura's Wedding"
• 46. Ellen: "The Puppy Episode"
• 47. CSI: "Grave Danger"
• 48. Moonlighting: "Atomic Shakespeare"
• 49. Dexter: "The British Invasion"
• 50. The Larry Sanders Show: "Flip"
• 51. Taxi: "Reverend Jim: A Space Odyssey"
• 52. Damages: "Because I Know Patty"
• 53. The Carol Burnett Show: "Went With the Wind"
• 54. Twin Peaks: "Pilot"
• 55. Desperate Housewives: "One Wonderful Day"
• 56. How I Met Your Mother: "Slap Bet"
• 57. Hill Street Blues: "Freedom's Last Stand"
• 58. The Odd Couple: "Password"
• 59. Alfred Hitchcock Presents: "Lamb to the Slaughter"
• 60. The Big Bang Theory: "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis"
• 61. L.A. Law: "Good to the Last Drop"
• 62. Law and Order: "Life Choice"
• 63. Grey's Anatomy: "Losing My Religion"
• 64. Murphy Brown: "You Say Potatoe, I Say Potato"
• 65. WKRP in Cincinnati: "Turkeys Away"
• 66. House: "Three Stories"
• 67. Dynasty: "The Threat"
• 68. Heroes: "Company Man"
• 69. Dallas: "A House Divided"
• 70. Sex and the City: "Pick-a-little, Talk-a-little"
• 71. Little House on the Prairie: "I'll Be Waving as You Drive Away"
• 72. Batman: "Better Luck Next Time"
• 73. The Outer Limits: "Demon With a Glass Hand"
• 74. Will & Grace: "Home for the Holidays"
• 75. Gilmore Girls: "Raincoats and Recipes"
• 76. Family Ties: "The Real Thing (Part 2)"
• 77. The Waltons: "The Easter Story"
• 78. Angel: "I Will Remember You"
• 79. Charlie's Angels: "Angels in Chains"
• 80. Star Trek: "City on the Edge of Forever"
• 81. Smallville: "Rosetta"
• 82. Farscape: "Revenging Angel"
• 83. Good Times: "Black Jesus"
• 84. Alias: "The Telling"
• 85. Melrose Place: "The Bitch is Back"
• 86. Scrubs: "My Musical"
• 87. Happy Days: "Fonzie Loves Pinky"
• 88. Magnum, P.I.: "Did You See the Sunrise"
• 89. Beauty and the Beast: "Orphans"
• 90. Malcolm in the Middle: "Bowling"
• 91. Beverly Hills 90210: "Spring Dance"
• 92. Party of Five: "Intervention"
• 93. Big Love: "Come, Ye Saints"
• 94. Ally McBeal: "Cro-Magnon"
• 95. Supernatural: "No Rest for the Wicked"
• 96. Rescue Me: "Baptism"
• 97. Mary Hartman: "Chicken Soup"
• 98. Breaking Bad: "Peek a Boo"
• 99. Family Guy: "Blue Harvest"
• 100. The Brady Bunch: "The Subject Was Noses"

Big Love is in italics because I'll be watching it later this week.

101 Was the Pilot Episode for Friday Night Lights (which I've seen and loved).

First of all I absolutely agree with Six Feet Under's entry; the finale "Everyone's Waiting" is one of two episodes which battles it out whenever I try to decide which was the best finale I've ever seen. (The second one doesn't make an appearance on this list). Likewise the entries for The Shield, Supernatural, Arrested Development, Rescue Me, Family Guy, The West Wing, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Buffy, Freaks and Geeks, My So Called Life, How I Met Your Mother and Twin Peaks are all greatly deserving. I'd even give a nod to House's "Three Stories" (but only after I went away and reminded myself what it was about).

The Homicide episode "Subway" was a real pleasure to see on the list, Homicide: Life on the Streets is a show which just needs more exposure in my opinion and Subway is a seriously powerful episode amongst a whole battalion of amazing stories.

Call me a cynic, but I'm not surprised TV Guide went with Seinfeld as a winner; The Contest is a great episode, possibly the best Seinfeld episode (not my favourite mind you) but there are better episodes on this list.

Dexter, Heroes, Lost and Damages all have their entries marred somewhat by what followed after them, both episodes are superb when you look at them in the context of what came before, but let down by what followed afterwards. In every case it's the season after the one which the episode appeared in which sucked somewhat.

I'm rather surprised to see My Musical in there for Scrubs, that was an episode which really didn't impress me and felt like a bit of an attempt to cash in on "Once More With Feeling". Scrubs has provided a lot of more moving and funnier episodes.

"Bowling" from Malcolm in the Middle was a surprise entry, I'm not sure it really deserves to be in there, but it's split story showing the difference between each parent supervising the boys bowling (like Sliding Doors) was certainly memorable. I don't think Malcolm in the Middle would have made it onto

There are a few noticable abscences; there seems to be no non-American shows at all, and there's a glaring abscense where Firefly should be present (which episode, is a different matter for debate) and there are a few other shows with episodes I can't help but feel should have made it on there; The Dead Zone "Precipitate", Futurama's "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings", Doctor Who's "Blink" or "Family of Blood" and I'm sure shows like Boston Legal, Justice League Unlimited, Nip/Tuck (Season One or Two) and Deadwood have at least one episode strong enough to make an appearance.

Still, agree or no. This has inspired me enough to consider sitting down and writing up the ten or twenty best episodes I've ever seen. That will turn up later this week. With possibly a top five finales list as well because I've been mulling that one over for some time.

Edit: Probably a little late to add this in, but a warm hello to those of you visiting my little site from Brazil and South America!