This American Life (Radio)

This American Life (1995-present, creator Ira Glass) is a public radio show. There is a TV series also, but I'm more familiar with the radio show, and I'd like to make a case for talking about it here. It's long-running, has a lot of episodes, and is great, so it's something you might want to introduce people to, but be overwhelmed about where to begin. I'm here to help!

Key Episodes

175 Babysitting This is what TAL is all about: taking some ordinary aspect of life and examining it through little, surprising momens. All the stories in this episode are solid, but the story about the boy and girl who made up a family to baby-sit is probably one of the best TAL has ever done; Myron Jones, the interviewee, is so interesting and warm and delightful.

220 Testosterone This is a good example of the show taking on the human side of a science topic, as interviews with a man who lost his testosterone and a trans man just beginning to take testosterone illustrate the effect the hormone can have on people's personality and experience. Also, there is a fun behind-the-scenes throughline as the producers of the radio show have their testosterone levels checked and try to guess who will be the highest. This may be more fun if you listen to it later after getting to know the various producers better, but it's also a pretty good introduction to them.

328 What I Learned from Television I'm not sure if this is a legit best episode or just the best one for followers of this blog. In this live show recording from 2007 features fun TV stories from an all-star roster of regular contributors: witty David Rakoff learns to embrace reality TV; history geek Sarah Vowell describes a short-lived Puritan-themed sitcom; host Ira Glass gets emotional eulogizing The O.C.; sex advice columnist Dan Savage examines the bizarre worldview of his son's then-favorite show, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Maybe it's because I love TV so much, but there are no bad moments in this episode.

Bonus Episodes
The TAL staff has put together a pretty good list of fan favorite episodes, which is a good place to continue your (or your friend's) journey. I've tried to stray off that list for some of my personal favorite episodes.

65 Who's Canadian? CANADA PRIDE WHOOOO ahem. David Rakoff explains to Ira Glass what happens when he hears the name of someone he knows to be Canadian.

88 Numbers: Notable for containing the Best and Worst songs in the world. I also like all the stories about measuring love with Excel.

190 Living the Dream: The story about transsexual prostitute teenagers is awkward listnening these days, I think, but John Hodgman's story about Bruce Campbell describes his appeal 100% accurately, plus Adam Davidson's hilarious childhood diary about becoming the next Prime Minister of Israel.

226 Reruns Another episode I love for its TV references: Starlee Kine explains why she loves Boy Meets World, and Sarah Vowell talks about people comparing themselves to Rosa Parks (including the great scene from Sports Night). Plus, Robert Krulwich and John Hodgman telling stories with their wives.

268 My Experimental Phase: Three stories, each great in their own way: producer Nancy Updike talks to Ira Glass about convincing herself she was a lesbian (I love when the staff talks among themselves, and this is a good introduction to Nancy); a totally quintessential TAL story about a punk rocker and a Hasidic Jew who form an unlikely friendship and musical partnership in Williamsburg; and a strangely hilarious live stage recording of a woman reading from her 8th grade diary.

293 A Little Bit of Knowledge: Nancy explains the concept of "Modern Jackass"--this show is worth it just for that--plus stories about those childhood misconceptions we don't bother re-examining until well into adulthood, and Dan Savage's story about his six-year-old son's opposition to gay marriage.

323 The Super One of the most memorable TAL stories ever, I think, is Jack Hitt's amazing tale of the super in his old building.

339 Break-up: My favorite story in this one is the one where Starlee Kine gets advice from Phil Collins on how to write a torch song and how to get over a break-up.

355 The Giant Pool of Money: I'm not sure how well this one would hold up, but this contemporary plain-language explanation of the global financial crisis of 2008 was impressive and eye-opening at the time (critically, and to me).

379 Return to the Scene of the Crime: I saw this in theaters as the live show, but it's also fun on radio, with Mike Birbiglia's non-Sleepwalk with Me story and Joss Whedon performing his song about DVD commentary from the DVD commentary of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Good First Episode

I don't have time to do the full Key Episodes treatment of Buffy the Vampire Slayer at the moment, but last week I introduced a new person to the show and the episode that I chose to introduce him turned out to be a good one. Remembering that season one can be off-puttingly low-budget and nineties for some modern viewers, I skipped to 2x3 "School Hard," the episode which introduces fan favorite villain Spike. In addition to setting up the season 2 big bads, this is an episode that gives every recurring character at least a little something to do, from Willow and Xander and Cordelia's comic relief, to Giles's portents of doom, to Angel's confusing ally-or-not/boyfriend-or-not status, to Buffy's mother's warm but concerned parenting, to Principal Snyder's suspicious interference.

It's also an episode that focuses on the central conflict of the show: Buffy's struggle to balance her roles as teen girl and Chosen One vampire slayer. She actually has to be in two places at once in this episode, hosting a school event while preparing for an apocalyptic vampire feast, plans which are disrupted when the vampires literally come and invade her life. Buffy's friends, family, and assorted schoolmates at first seem like liabilities, causing her to worry and to have more people to protect, but ultimately help and save her, readily participating in plans at their own risk and coming to her rescue when she's down. To me, that's the message of the whole series, right there. A loving, supportive team of allies is always more powerful than any one person working alone, no matter how much of a superhero she may be.

Finally, when you come down it, this is a fun Die Hard type adventure with lots of crawling around ducts and getting increasingly dirty, and who doesn't like that?

The Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory (2007-present, creators Chuck Lorre & Bill Prady) is a sitcom about what happens when nerds meet sex, wholeheartedly designed to appeal to and capitalize on geek culture. With its four-camera filming, laugh track, misunderstanding-heavy episodes, and perennial sexism, it has an old-fashioned feel which juxtaposes oddly with its up-to-the-minute geeky pop culture references.

The show originally focused on put-upon "nice guy" Leonard (Johnny Galecki in a much less appealing role than David on Roseanne) and his attempts to date the much cooler but airheaded aspiring actress next door, Penny (Kaley Cuoco). The show quickly realized its fan favorite character was Leonard's irritable roommate, Sheldon (Jim Parsons), and basically ran with it. Nowadays, with the welcome addition of female brains (and the gradual geekifying of Penny), the show basically follows the formula of a group of six friends, some of whom are coupled, all of whom are nerds.

Key Episodes

1.4 "The Luminous Fish Effect": Sheldon darts manically from project to project after he is fired, prompting Leonard to call in the big guns: Sheldon's mother (Laurie Metcalf, another Roseanne alum). I love Metcalf's warm performance as a Christian mom full of homespun wisdom, and it's fun to learn about Sheldon's surprisingly down-to-earth background.

1.6 "The Middle-Earth Paradigm": Leonard and Sheldon fundamentally misunderstand Penny's invitation to her Halloween party, asking about the costume parade, etc. Leonard is proud of his Frodo costume until he meets Penny's musclebound ex-boyfriend. After he leaves, humiliated, Penny follows him and gives him a drunken kiss, in the first actual sign that Penny is interested in Leonard and it's not just going to be a weird unrequited thing forever. Even though it mostly is.

3.23 "The Lunar Excitation": Howard (Simon Helberg) and Raj (Kunal Nayyar) create an online dating profile for Sheldon, and everyone is surprised when it turns up a perfect match--the equally nerdy Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Byalik, TV's Blossom). Bialik's performance is delightful and her addition to the show really kicks things up in the next few seasons. Meanwhile there is some other business with Penny and Leonard, as usual.

Bonus Episodes

1.5 "The Hamburger Postulate": Leonard is used for casual sex by his ex, the extremely logical Sheldon rival Leslie Winkle (Sara Gilbert, in another bit of amusing Roseanne reunionry).

1.11 "The Pancake Batter Anomaly": The guys get sick and Penny takes care of them; a standard sitcom plot notable for the first signs of a surprising amount of warmth between Penny and Sheldon.

1.17 "The Tangerine Factor" & 2.1 "The Bad Fish Paradigm": A two-part episode flirts with the idea of putting Leonard and Penny together, but although they enjoy dating briefly, Penny is hurt when Leonard says she isn't smart.

2.8 "The Lizard-Spock Expansion": Leonard has a relationship with a non-Penny woman, a likeable doctor (Sara Rue), and Sheldon comes up with an expanded version Rock-Paper-Scissors.

2.11 "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis": Sheldon goes nuts trying to think of a Christmas present for Penny, and Penny gets him the perfect one. Am I Sheldon/Penny shipper? Should I be?

2.15 "The Maternal Capacitance": Leonard's mother turns out to be the kind of brilliant, cold, neglectful scientist that we all expected Sheldon's mother to be, which sort of explains a lot about why Leonard is so subtly messed up.

3.1 "The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation": The guys return from an arctic expedition from the end of season 2 (don't worry about it), and Penny and Leonard get together.

3.5 "The Creepy Candy Coating Corrollary": One of the things TBBT likes to do is to have geeky guest starts. In this episode, Sheldon sparks up a rivalry with Wil Wheaton. In another important deveopment, Penny introduces Howard to a friend, Bernadette (Melissa Rauch), who will become a major character, and sleazy Howard's first real girlfriend.

3.6 "The Cornhusker Vortex": I'm including this episode with Raj and Howard flying kites together because I remember it being pretty gay. Raj/Howard is second only to Sheldon/Penny in the fanfic grand prix.

3.9 "The Vengeance Formulation": Howard tries to decide between Bernadette and all the other theoretical girls he might like, including Battlestar Galactica's Katee Sackhoff, who appears in a fantasy sequence.

3.19 "The Wheaton Recurrence": Penny and Leonard break up because Penny can't say "I love you" and something to do with Wil Wheaton.

4.10 "The Alien Parasite Hypothesis": On a girls' night out, Amy Farrah Fowler develops a crush on Penny's ex, which leaves her flustered and overanalytical. Here, Amy, introduced as the female Sheldon, begins developing her own traits, notably her libido, which more-or-less-asexual Sheldon definitely doesn't share.

4.20 "The Herb Garden Germination": Sheldon and Amy's experiment in gossip results in the reveal that Howard and Bernadette are engaged.

And now it's season five.

Roseanne

Roseanne (1988-1997) was a family sitcom, originally structured around Roseanne Barr's comedy act, notable for focusing on a struggling blue-collar family and for its increasingly serious and frank treatment of issues such as unemployment, teen sexuality and abusive relationships. While the VSEs could get cheesy and soap-opera-ish, the show was generally grounded with Roseanne's (Roseanne Barr) snappy wisecracking and the essentially good and stable relationship with her stand-up guy husband, Dan (John Goodman).

Two issues make Key Episodes difficult here: the long run of the show and the incredibly weird final season. Roseanne is famous for its crazy ending. In the final season, the family wins the lottery, essentially rejecting one of the central issues of the show (money problems) and totally changing the dynamic. Then, in the final episode, Roseanne (in character) reveals that the last year or so of the show has been fictional, a story she wrote to distract her from her sadness; the family never won the lottery, and Dan is dead. Overall, I find this experiment in meta-fictionality hollow and unsatisfying, and I consider the final season or so non-canon, which is why you won't find the ending in my key episodes even though it is arguably culturally important and I just explained it here in detail.

Key Episodes

1.1 "Life and Stuff": This is a show where I think the pilot sets everything up pretty well, a sort of slice of life episode with a strong focus on my favorite character, tomboyish middle kid Darlene (Sara Gilbert).

4.1 "A Bitter Pill to Swallow": Eldest daughter Becky (Lecy Goranson) asks Roseanne to take her to a gynecologist to get on the pill and Roseanne and Dan fight about what to do when a child asks for birth control, standing in for parents everywhere and probably making the network groan, "I thought this was a comedy." This aired in 1991 and I have a feeling it would still count as edgy now.

5.1 "Terms of Estrangement Part 1" & 5.2 "Terms of Estrangement Part 2": Becky and her boyfriend Mark (Glenn Quinn) run away together, while Dan's business goes under.

5.19 "It's a Boy!": When Darlene asks if her gentle boyfriend David (Johnny Galecki) can move in, Roseanne laughs it off, but when she visits David's house and realizes his mother is abusive, she finds herself welcoming David to the fold.

Bonus Episodes

1.19 "Workin' Overtime": Roseanne's job is one of the things that changes most in the show. This episode is a good slice of life of her season one job, the assembly line of a factory supervised by a young George Clooney.

2.2 "The Little Sister": Roseanne's sister Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) applies for police academy, a decision which Roseanne mocks relentlessly until she breaks down in tears, afraid for Jackie's life. An emotionally strong Joss Whedon-written episode.

2.14 "One for the Road": The VSE in which Becky and a friend experiment with alcohol. Wheee!

2.16 "Born to Be Wild": Roseanne and Dan's old friend Ziggy (Jay O. Sanders) blasts into town, revealing their biker pasts.

3.4 "Like, A New Job": This is one of Roseanne's employment turning points as she gets a job as a waitress at a diner in the mall, and one of Darlene's as she stops sharing Becky's room and moves into the basement, but really, I'm key episoding it because Alyson Hannigan (Buffy, How I Met Your Mother) is in it briefly.

3.25 "The Pied Piper of Lanford": Ziggy reappears, convinces Roseanne and Dan to leave their jobs to start a bike shop, then disappears again.

4.3 "Why Jackie Becomes a Trucker": Another job change for Jackie as she's drawn to a new butch career--truck-driving--and the show attempts to up its edginess quotient again by revealing that Roseanne's boss Leon (Martin Mull) is gay.

4.4 "Darlene Fades to Black": Darlene leaves her tomboy stage and enters her dark goth stage in an episode that is actually about as sensitive, frustrating and realistic about depression as you can get in 22 minutes.

4.18 "This Old House": Roseanne and Jackie visit their childhood home, revealing backstory about their abusive father.

4.23 "Secrets": Dan, until now Mark's biggest opponent, feels sorry for him when he sees how upset he is about the break-up and ends up defending him.

5.3 "The Dark Ages": The electricity gets cut off when Roseanne can't pay the bill. Darlene spends the night at David's and gets upset when everyone assumes they had sex.

5.8 "Ladies' Choice": The episode where we find out that Roseanne's friend Nancy (Sandra Bernhardt) is a lesbian. Personally, I was always rooting for Darlene, but I'll take what I can get.

5.13 "Crime and Punishment": Roseanne discovers bruises on Jackie's back and realizes she's being beaten by her boyfriend. Meanwhile, youngest son D.J. (Michael Fishman) gets in trouble for bringing obscene material to school, which turns out to be a comic book Darlene is making with David.

5.22 "Promises, Promises": I love a sex on prom night episode called "Promises, Promises." Classic 90s.

5.25 "Daughters and Other Strangers": Darlene wants to go to art school in Chicago, to the dismay of Roseanne, Dan, and David. D.J. has a new friend nobody likes (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

There might be some stuff in season 6, but that's as far as I got in the rewatch before Netflix took it away.

Red Dwarf

Red Dwarf (1988-present, creators Rob Grant & Doug Naylor) is an English sci-fi comedy about a group of ragtag misfits living on a spaceship 3 million years from Earth. It's basically a surreal yet mundane, darkly funny, sci-fi-flavored version of the workplace/boredom comedy.

With soon-to-be ten series spread over its 24 year run, Red Dwarf is wildly inconsistent in tone. To me, series 1 and 2 (1988) are classic Red Dwarf--these are the ones with the lowest production values and highest incidence of long, talky, bored-guys-in-space dialogue scenes. With increases in budget, the series became increasingly focused on sci-fi adventures of the week, and in season 7, the introduction of a not-terribly-well-realized girl character, obviously for romantic tension purposes, turned it into something of a soap opera.

Key Episodes

As a fan of the earlier versions of the series, I'll focus my attention on them, especially since they introduce many of the mythos elements that became famous among fans. While later episodes introduced game-changing plot elements at a fairly high rate, I consider season 7+ "for diehards only."

1.1 "The End": The pilot easily sets up the plot which sounds rather convoluted to explain. After a nuclear accident kills everyone on board the mining ship Red Dwarf, the only survivor is ultimate slob Dave Lister (Craig Charles), currently in stasis as punishment for smuggling a cat on board. The ship's computer Holly (Norman Lovett) releases Lister only after it's safe to emerge, 3 million years later; he is likely the last human alive, and as the kind of guy who paints in the holes in his pants and can't find a shirt without curry stains, he's a poor example of the species. Keeping him company is a hologram representation of his irritating bunkmate Arnold Rimmer (Chris Barrie), chosen by Holly because he is the person who Lister exchanged the most words with (all of them quibbling); and the Cat (Danny John-Jules), a humanoid creature evolved from Lister's cat. Lister is depressed that his five-year plan--marrying his crush, the engineer Kristine Kochanski (C.P. Grogan), starting a farm, and having twin boys--is probably not going to happen now, since she is dead and so is everyone else. But he's cheered up to discover the Cat's religion is based on him, and he decides to turn the ship around and head back to Earth, even though it will take 3 million years and who knows what he will find there.

2.2 "Better Than Life": The crew plays a "total immersion" virtual reality game in which anything they wish for comes true, but Rimmer's imagination is so self-destructive that he only creates horribleness. This is a fun insight into the psyches of the characters. The VR game concept appears in future episodes, and a more complex story about the game is told in one of the RD novelizations, also called Better Than Life.

3.2 "Marooned": In one of my favorite, even-more-than-usual bottle episodes, Lister and Rimmer crash-land on an ice planet on the away ship and must wait for help. Rimmer, as a hologram, is unaffected by the conditions, but Lister is slowly freezing and starving, and their conversations as Rimmer tries to distract Lister and keep him sane are both ridiculous and somehow poignant.
Focusing on the series-fundamental Lister and Rimmer relationship, this is a great, boiled-down essence of what Red Dwarf is, at its best: two guys who both hate and, in a weird kind of grudging way, love each other, chatting and bickering and purposely ignoring the immensely crushing obstacles around them. Includes the stories of how both Rimmer and Lister lost their virginities.

4.5 "Dimension Jump": Red Dwarf is visited by Ace Rimmer (still Chris Barrie, of course, having a lot of fun in a Tom Cruise wig), a super-cool parallel-universe-hopping version of Rimmer, who is more utterly confused than disappointed with the priggish and incapable version of himself that he encounters. This is a key episode not just because it reveals a lot about Rimmer (and the show's mythos surrounding parallel universes), but because Ace is such a great, fan-favorite character.

5.6 "Back to Reality": The crew discovers that they have been playing a VR game called "Red Dwarf" all this time and their real identities are not at all what they'd expect--particularly the Cat, who is a bowl-cutted dork called Duane Dibley (also a quick fan favorite.) This episode is notable not just for Duane's introduction, but the way it uses a number of previously established RD plot and character elements together to build to a cool twist.

Bonus Episodes

1.2 "Future Echoes": As Holly pushes the ship past the speed of light, the crew experiences weirdness with the timeline, and see versions of themselves from the future, including Lister's twin baby sons Jim and Bexley. But how...?

1.3 "Balance of Power": Lister takes the chef's exam in order to technically outrank Rimmer, and we learn why Lister can't just switch the hologram tapes and have Kochanski instead of Rimmer.

1.4 "Waiting for God": Lister explore the Cat's religion and tries to convince Cat that he is his Jesus. We learn what happened to the other cats.

2.1 "Kryten": This episode introduces a new character who will join the main cast in series 3 (here, he's played by David Ross; in future episodes, he'll be Robert Llewellyn). The crew finds another drifting ship, but the only survivor is the pathetic service hologram Kryten (David Ross), who has been tending to his now-skeletal crew for the last 3 million years. Rimmer is delighted to take advantage of the situation, but Lister teaches Kryten how to rebel.

2.5 "Queeg": After another mishap, Holly is shut down and replaced by Queeg, a computer personality who is competent but mean. The guys wish they had their old useless Holly back.

2.6 "Parallel Universe": The crew accidentally transports into a parallel universe where they find female versions of themselves. While the idea that female is opposite is inherently sexist, the episode mostly makes fun of Rimmer's sexism, and the actresses Angela Bruce and Suzanne Bertish do a great job of nailing Craig Charles and Chris Barrie's character mannerisms, respectively. The episode ends with a shocker when Lister sleeps with his counterpart and discovers that, as he was in the parallel universe at the time, he is now pregnant. (A super-fast crawl before 3.1 explains that the twins went to the parallel universe to live with their father(?), the female Lister, so they don't appear in future episodes, but their existence is canon.) This episode contains the amazing music video "Tongue Tied."

3.3 "Polymorph": The crew accidentally rescues a genetically engineered lifeform--a monster, basically--which can take the form of any object and which survives by drawing out, and feeding on, negative emotions. The moral of this episode--that people need their worst traits--is interesting, and it's fun and character-revealing to see the creature drawing out whatever negative emotion comes most easily to each crew member, leaving him without that trait. Therefore, we get an out-of-control, fearless version of Lister; a dirty, prideless version of Cat; a calculating, guiltless Kryten; and most entertaining of all, an anger-free, hippie version of Rimmer, calling town meetings to discuss strategy, treating everyone's insane ideas with kindness and respect, and outlining his own plan for a leaflet campaign.

4.1 "Camille": In another sci-fi contrivance designed specifically to draw out character, the crew encounters another genetically engineered lifeform, this one a "pleasure GELF" designed to appear as the perfect mate to whoever looks at it.

4.3 "Justice": In yet another sci-fi contrivance designed specifically to draw out character (I'm not complaining, I like those: these are my choice episodes!), the crew is trapped on an old prison colony where the sentencing and punishment is automatically decided based on the subject's own feelings of guilt and shame.

5.1 "Holoship": A great Rimmer episode. Rimmer is intrigued by a ship manned entirely by holograms. It's a complete meritocracy based on intelligence, which is both Rimmer's perfect dream and his worst nightmare. After cheating his way onto the ship, Rimmer is driven by love and a rare flash of honor to do the right thing.

6.2 "Legion": The crew visits a space station inhabited only by the apparently awesome creature Legion, who seems to share all their interests and to be able to cater to their every desire, but who seems to become increasingly unstable. This episode also has some character-revealing elements, and is notable for leaving Rimmer as a "hard light" hologram, finally able to touch things and experience pleasure and pain. I guess they were sick of paying lip service to him being incorporeal.

7.2 "Stoke Me a Clipper": Chris Barrie's exit from the show (temporary as it turned out to be) was regrettable--the show really suffered when it lost the Lister/Rimmer love/hate friendship that grounded even the most ridiculous scenes with a solid level of normal Earth humor and the occasional real character moment. Still, the way he left was oddly tender and inspiring, one of the most genuinely emotional accomplishments of the show: when Ace Rimmer returns, dying, it's up to our Arnold, the most cowardly and ill-equipped person imaginable, to take on his heroic legacy. And yet, as Ace reminds him, they are the same person, so a hero is lurking even in him.

7.3 "Ourobouros": Lister and the others meet another parallel version of the ship where the sole survivor of the human race is not Lister but Kochanski (Chloe Annett). This episode is undoubtedly important, but it's not actually good, relying on a version of time travel and universe-hopping that makes much less sense than the rules established in previous episodes. I'm also not a fan of the Kochanski character reboot, which seems to introduce her as a humorless mom type character come to keep the boys from getting up to any fun, but I guess I'm not really here to editorialize.

7.5 "Blue": Lister misses Rimmer, prompting Holly to create him a theme park called the "Arnold Rimmer Experience." An episode notable for its tenderhearted nod to the solid Lister and Rimmer friendship, as well as the slashiest scene in RD history.

8.1 "Back in the Red Part 1": This episode establishes the series 8 semi-reboot--rogue nanobots have created the original Red Dwarf to exact specifications, including its crew. Lister is shunted back into his season 1 role as bottom of the totem pole, working under an annoying Rimmer. That's right, Chris Barrie is back, and it's the old Rimmer, the really annoying one, before he became kind of cool. If I could pick one word to describe season 8, it would be "hijinks", as the new/old populated ship, chain of command, power structures and consequences for insubordination create new opportunities for crazy mishaps.

Glee

Glee (2009-present, creator Ryan Murphy) is an over-the-top goofy high school melodrama about the unpopular misfits in the Glee Club. Put down and bullied, the kids sublimate their sadness into SONG!! Each episode is musical-style containing production numbers of several songs, usually covers of pop songs from the 70s to today. Smarmy teacher Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) is especially fond of Journey.

We're well into the third season as the time of this writing, and many of the original cast are seniors getting ready to graduate. I imagine there will be some key episodes coming up, but I'm not known for my patience.

Key Episodes

The challenge in choosing Key Episodes for Glee is that each episode usually advances some kind of plotline, that important characters and plotlines rotate (the star of one episode will be standing in the background in the next), and that the characters' plotlines rarely interact much with each other. Except for the basic "we're preparing for a contest!" structure (and the contest episodes rarely advance other plotlines much), it's hard to identify one plotline as being more important than another.

Therefore, instead of choosing several key episodes for the story, I'm choosing one key episode for each character. (Episodes presented in chronological order and do not reflect the importance of the character; Rachel, for example, is probably the main character and appeared in a prominent role in many episodes before the one I chose for her.)

Will
1.1 "Pilot": Will takes over coaching the Glee Club; Rachel (Lea Michele) shows off as self-assured star; Finn (Cory Monteith), a shower-singing quarterback, resists joining the loser club. Notable music: The pilot is just packed with songs. Much of the cast sings audition songs that quickly sketch in their vocal talents and to some extent their personal arcs. Rachel belts "On My Own" from Les Miserables, Kurt also goes Broadway with "Mr. Cellophane" from Chicago, Mercedes sings "Respect" by Aretha Franklin, etc. The episode concludes with the iconic group performance of "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey. I'm also a fan of rival club Vocal Adrenaline's ridiculous show-choired-up performance of "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse.

Quinn, Kurt
1.4 "Preggers": Head cheerleader and celibacy club president Quinn (Dianna Agron) discovers she's pregnant; Kurt (Chris Colfer) comes out to his father Burt (Mike O'Malley) and turns the football team into a bunch of fabulous dancers!! Music: Kurt teaches the football team to move to Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)."

Artie, Tina
1.9 "Wheels": Artie (Kevin McHale) is uncomfortable with the Glee Club's efforts to raise money for a wheelchair-accessible bus so that he can go with them to Sectionals; on a date with Artie, Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) reveals a secret about her stutter; Will is suspicious of villainous cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) when she invites Becky (Lauren Potter), a student with Down syndrome, to join the Cheerios; Kurt and Rachel compete for a solo. Music: Artie does a great poignant "Dancing With Myself" by Billy Idol, and Kurt and Rachel's cut-together one-on-one fight for "Defying Gravity" from Wicked is not to be missed.

Sue
1.15 "The Power of Madonna": One of several episodes with the "Sue's Diary" conceit, this one also ends with a rare musical performance from Jane Lynch: a shot-for-shot remake of Madonna's "Vogue" video. Music: All Madonna, all the time.

Rachel
1.18 "Laryngitis": Rachel freaks out when she gets laryngitis and can't sing. Finn introduces her to a permanently injured friend to give her perspective. For various contrived reasons, Kurt briefly dates Brittany and Puck briefly dates Mercedes. Music: Because Rachel is currently dating a guy called Jesse, Finn gets to sing Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl." I like Puck and Mercedes singing Frank Sinatra's "The Lady is a Tramp." Kurt does kind of a bad job at John Cougar Mellencamp's "Pink Houses" in an attempt to appear manly, and it's adorable.

Brittany
2.2 "Britney/Brittany": Delightful idiot cheerleader Brittany (Heather Morris) has Britney Spears-themed hallucinations while under dental anaesthetic. John Stamos guest stars as the dentist. Music: Mostly Britney Spears (including "Toxic" and "Slave 4 U").

Finn
2.3 "Grilled Cheesus": Finn questions his beliefs; Burt has a heart attack. Music: Finn's sensitive performance of "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M. is at the heart of this episode. Mercedes also gets to sing with a church choir, and Puck was born to sing Billy Joel.

Santana
2.15 "Sexy": Substitute health teacher Holly (Gwyneth Paltrow) encourages Santana (Naya Rivera) to express her love to Brittany, while the others learn important sex ed lessons. Music: Santana is visibly moved while singing "Landslide" by Dixie Chicks with Holly and Brittany.

Mercedes
2.17 "A Night of Neglect": Mercedes tries acting like a diva to gain respect from the Glee Club. Meanwhile, the Academic Decathlon team, which Brittany is somehow on, is raising money, and Will wants to perform songs by "neglected" artists.

Sam
2.19 "Rumours": Sam reveals that his family has been living out of a motel after their home was foreclosed on. Sue's new gossip rag spreads rumors about all the Glee Club members. Music: All of the music is from Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" album, which actually works pretty well.

Mike, Emma
3.3 "Asian F": Mike's (Harry Shum, Jr.) father doesn't want him to dance; Emma's (Jayma Mays) parents, "ginger supremacists," visit, revealing the backstory behind her OCD; Mercedes feels unappreciated when she's asked to share her West Side Story role with Rachel. Music: Mike's dancing during "Cool" from West Side Story makes me want to stand up and cheer, while Will serenading Emma with "Fix You" by Coldplay makes me want to barf.

Puck
3.6 "Mash Off": Semi-reformed bully Puck (Mark Salling) falls in love with Shelby (Idina Menzel), the adoptive mother of his and Quinn's baby. Meanwhile, things heat up in the simultaneous and ridiculous student council president and state congressman race plots, and Santana is angry at Finn, who knows she's a lesbian. Music: Puck brings it as usual with Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher," and the two glee clubs battle with a bunch of mash-ups, notably "One Way Or Another"/"Hit Me With Your Best Shot."

Becky
3.10 "Yes/No": In the first and only episode with Becky voiceover--which switches from Lauren Potter's voice to Helen Mirren's--Becky has a crush on Artie and asks him out. Meanwhile, Finn finds out the truth about his father's death, and Will proposes to Emma. Music: Nothing very memorable, although I kind of like Sam and Mercedes singing "Summer Nights" from Grease.

Blaine
3.15 "Big Brother": Ex-private-school-boy and Kurt boyfriend Blaine (Darren Criss) is annoyed when his older brother Cooper (the ridiculously handsome Matt Bomer of White Collar) sweeps into town and charms everyone. A subplot has Quinn in a wheelchair or something, I don't know. Music: Blaine and Cooper have some good duets, particularly their Duran Duran mash-up of "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Rio" (I love Rock Band), though I have to agree with A.V. Club's Todd VanDerWerff though, when he says, "Blaine has exactly one singing mode, and that’s needlessly confrontational, though smiling."

Bonus Episodes

1.5 "The Rhodes Not Taken": Entertaining guest spot by Kristen Chenoweth as a former glee club star whose life has only gone downhill. Music: Anything Kristen Chenoweth sings is great, but I'm especially fond of her Cabaret duet with Rachel.

1.6 "Vitamin D": The boys vs. the girls in "mash-ups." Will's insane/stupid wife at the time, Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig), gets the girls high on amphetamine pills and they deliver a delightfully manic performance. Music: Both mash-ups are good--the guys sing "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi mashed with "Confessions Part II" by Usher, and the girls sing "Halo" by Beyonce mixed with "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves.

1.11 "Hairography": The club tries to learn showy tricks to gain an edge over their Sectionals competition, and Quinn brings Puck on a baby-sitting job to test if he would be a good father. Music: Quinn sings the eerily appropriate "Papa Don't Preach." The club abandons "hairography" when they're reminded about heart by the School for the Deaf's moving sign language performance of "Imagine" by John Lennon.

1.13 "Sectionals": The club competes in their first event and has to create a whole new setlist at the last minute when the other teams steal their best songs, in one of the most exciting and solid episodes. Music: Rachel's (Lea Michele) almost-not-at-all-autotuned performance of "Don't Rain on My Parade" is particularly exhilarating.

1.20 "Theatricality": It's the girls vs. the guys as the club explores two artists who exemplify "theatricality," Lady Gaga and Kiss. (Kurt joins the girls' side.) Finn is mad at his mother for dating Kurt's father and takes it out on Kurt, leading one of the many Burt-emotionally-defends-Kurt moments. We learn the identity of Rachel's birth mother. Music: The guys sing some Kiss songs which I guess are fine. I don't really know Kiss. The girls-and-Kurt's "Bad Romance" is great, but Rachel and Shelby's "Poker Face" is just weird.

2.5 "The Rocky Horror Glee Show": It's a pretty bad episode, plot-wise, but all of the music is from Rocky Horror!!!1

2.8 "Furt": Finn's mother and Kurt's father get married; Sue marries herself; and Kurt leaves McKinley for the boys' prep school, Dalton Academy, because the school board refuses to discipline a boy for bullying him, and because Blaine is sooo cute. Music: This is not one of the episodes to watch for the music. There's a bunch of Bruno Mars.

2,14 "Blame it on the Alcohol": Blaine thinks he might be bisexual and kisses Rachel at a party. Kurt is upset. All the kids get to have fun playing drunk. Music: Various alcohol-themed songs, plus Rachel's stirring original composition, "My Headband."

2.20 "Prom Queen": Who doesn't love a prom episode? Music: Features a fairly decent all-guy rendition of "Friday" by Rebecca Black, and a sadly not-all-guy rendition of Abba's "Dancing Queen."

3.5 "The First Time": Rachel and Blaine star in the school's performance of West Side Story and Artie freaks out as director of the show; at a gay bar, former Dalton classmate and out-and-out villain Sebastian tries to win Blaine away from Kurt; Blaine and Kurt and Finn and Rachel consider having sex (I mean, not all together). Music: Mostly songs from West Side Story. Rachel and Blaine are both solid Broadway singers.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2010-present, creator Lauren Faust), a reboot of the 1980s My Little Pony series/product line, is a cartoon aimed at 7- to 10-year-old girls in which a diverse group of ponies with various personalities, interests, and powers learn lessons about friendship. With its character-based humor and precisely-timed physical comedy, the show has attracted a huge audience outside its target age group.

Key Episodes

I'm writing this just after the conclusion of season two. A third season has been confirmed, so these picks are subject to change.

This is actually remarkably easy, because most of the main magic plot happens in the two-part episodes.

1.1 "Mare in the Moon" & 1.2 "Elements of Harmony": The two-part pilot has main character Twilight Sparkle (voiced by Tara Strong), an introverted academic who rejects other ponies as a waste of time, socializing with the rest of the cast under orders from her boss, Princess Celestia (Nicole Oliver). Cooperation and respect of the other ponies' different talents turns out to be key when an evil pony, Nightmare Moon (Tabitha St. Germain), attempts to create eternal night and the ponies must defeat her by combining the Elements of Harmony, jewels which represent qualities that they have. An allegory for the entire series.

2.1 "The Return of Harmony Part 1" & 2.2 "The Return of Harmony Part 2": The two-part opener of Season 2 has a new baddie, Discord (John de Lancie, a.k.a. Q from Star Trek: The Next Generation) stealing the Elements of Harmony and forcing the ponies to work through his twisted labyrinth where he psychologically manipulates each pony into betraying her friends by appealing to her deepest desires. Episodes like this are always great for character development. Also, Q!

Bonus Episodes

1.5 "Griffon the Brush-off": The first episode to feature fan-favorite Rainbow Dash (Ashleigh Ball) as well as the equally entertaining Pinkie Pie (Andrea Libman) and a delightfully badass griffon.

1.7 "Dragonshy": Scaredy-cat Fluttershy (Andrea Libman) is the reluctant key to a mission involving a dragon.

1.15 "Feeling Pinkie Keen": Twilight is skeptical of Pinkie's inexplicable future-predicting power in an episode that raises questions of science vs. faith.

1.16 "Sonic Rainboom": Rainbow Dash's biggest episode, including elements of her backstory, a totally sweet and awesome new power, and the amusingly terrible Wonderbolts flying team.

1.23 "The Cutie Mark Chronicles": Backstory for all six lead ponies and a cool intricate-flashback structure reminiscent of How I Met Your Mother.

1.26 "The Best Night Ever": The ponies go to the big, hyped-throughout-the-season Grand Galloping Gala expecting to have the best night ever, but end up having the worst, because they are not together. A nice full-team episode and I do like a party.

2.3 "Lesson Zero": A milestone change from season 1, the show discards the previous structure of having each episode end with a letter from Twilight Sparkle to Princess Celestia explaining the friendship lesson of the week (likely to increase focus on the ensemble) in an amusing episode in which nerdy Twilight freaks out because she has not done her assignment of learning a friendship lesson this week.

2.4 "Luna Eclipsed": The not-so-triumphant return of my favorite pony, Princess Luna (the "nice" reincarnation of Nightmare Moon), who frightens the villagers until Twilight realizes she's just a pony who needs love. Her awkward, used-to-being-evil attempts at making friends are genuinely hilarious.

2.9 "Sweet and Elite": Rarity (Tabitha St. Germain) is tempted away from her old ragamuffin friends by the movers and shakers of the Canterlot social scene.

Bonus Observations

Many of the MLP:FIM episodes use music to advance the plot. This would be my dream team celebrity cover album.

• "Laughter Song" (Pinkie Pie in "Friendship is Magic Part 2"): Kristen Chenoweth
• "Winter Wrap Up" (Cast in "Winter Wrap Up"): Broadway cast of Rent
• "Rarity's Dressmaking Song (The Art of the Dress)" (Rarity & Ponies in "Suited for Success"): Glee Cast (with Rachel as Rarity and Puck as Rainbow Dash)
• "Hush Now, Quiet Now" (Sweetie Belle in "Stare Master"): Adele
• "Gala Song" (Cast in "The Best Night Ever"): Broadway cast of Sweeney Todd
• "Heart Carol" (Cast in "Hearth's Warming Eve"): Mormon Tabernacle Choir
• "The Flim Flam Brothers" (Flim Flam Brothers in "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000"): Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane seem obvious for this, but I'm going to go with David Bowie and Bing Crosby
• "My Big Brother Best Friend Forever" (orig. Twilight Sparkle in "Royal Wedding"): Morrissey
• "Cadence's Aria" (Cadence & Evil Cadence in "Royal Wedding"): Madonna
• "Love's in Bloom" (Twilight Sparkle in "Royal Wedding"): Lady Gaga

and of course

• "Theme Song": Cake

Sports Night

Sports Night (1998-2000, creator Aaron Sorkin) was a half-hour comedy/drama that's not really about sports--it's about the personal and professional lives of the witty jackasses behind the scenes of a late-night sports news show. The witty wordplay comes fast and furious in the quick patter of Sorkiny conversation, but overall, the show is serious and dramatic for a purported comedy. The season 1 laugh track really has no idea what's going on.

Watch out for: the deep and abiding love between co-anchors Casey (Peter Krause) and Dan (Josh Charles); incidental evidence of Dan's shoe fetish; allll the Shakespeare references.

Key Episodes

1.2 "The Apology": Dan gets in hot water for pro-legalization-of-marijuana comments in a magazine interview. Only gently authoritative managing editor Isaac (Robert Guillaume) can convince him to swallow his pride. A climactic final monologue sheds light on Dan's backstory. "No rich young white guy has ever gotten anywhere with me comparing himself to Rosa Parks."

1.16 "Sally": In a key episode for the show's central will-they won't-they pair, Casey and producer Dana (Felicity Huffman), Casey realizes that Dana's boyfriend (Ted McGinley) is cheating on her.

1.22 "Napoleon's Battle Plan": Dana finds out about Gordon's infidelity, but is more bothered by how Casey knows. "Actually he was murdered on Elba. That's just one of the many things I know that most people don't."

2.3 "Cliff Gardner": Early season two has two main storylines: the staff bucking under notes from network higher-ups and tinkering by ratings expert Sam Donovan (William H. Macy); and Dana's plan to make Casey date around for six months before they can be together. This episode contains the most transparent meta-allegory about the criticism of this show for being "too smart," and Sam, until now treated with suspicion, gets a heroic climactic scene. Casey and Dana are annoying as is their wont.

2.21 & 2.22 "La Forza del Destina" & "Quo Vadimus": The team worries about their jobs when the network is sold, a meta-episode about the show's cancellation that ends on a sweetly optimistic note.

Bonus Episodes

Sports Night episodes build on each other with a fair amount of arc advancement in each episode and they are all pretty good, so this is a good show to just marathon. Here are some fairly randomly chosen highlights!

1.4 "Intellectual Property": The Casey/Dana plotline kicks off as Casey passive-aggressively hates Gordon. More importantly, after getting in trouble with accounting (Yeardley Smith, better known as the voice of Lisa Simpson) for singing "Happy Birthday" to Casey, Dan assigns everyone a public domain song. "It's against the law to be vaguely gay?"

1.8 "Thespis": An even-more-bottley-than-usual episode taking place behind the scenes of a single episode in which everything seems to go wrong, which Jeremy attributes to haunting by an ancient Greek spirit of theatrical mischief. Isaac worries about his pregnant daughter, and we learn about Dan and Casey's backstory.

1.12 "Smoky": Dan wants Casey to start dating, until Casey goes off on his own and flirts with rival showrunner Sally (Brenda Strong); Isaac grooms Dana for his job. "Natalie's my second-in-command, she's the only one I told." "Jeremy's my boyfriend, hes the only one I told." "I told many, many people."

1.19 "Eli's Coming": Dan worries that the girl he likes will go back to her ex. A sense of building dread characterizes this episode which ends with everyone's trivial problems put on hold when the news comes in that Isaac has had a stroke.

2.6 "Shane": In classic goofy-turns-suddenly-serious Sports Night fashion, Dan experiences "some kind of nervous collapse" when he can't pronounce the name Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

2.8 "The Reunion": Dana's pro-football player brother is involved in a drug scandal, Natalie asks Dan's advice going for a co-anchor job, and Casey is Isaac's Secret Santa. "Almost anything that would summon the energy for me to speak is more important than your cheese grater experience."

2.19 "April is the Cruelest Month": Casey and Dan's relationship is tense in the wake of the otherwise boring two-part "Draft Day" episode, in which Dan spitefully goes off-script to make Casey look dumb on air; Dana worries about job cutbacks after a meeting with finance (John de Lancie, aka Q from Star Trek: TNG); the staff recommits to teamwork. Highlights: the control room rehearsing Jeremy's Passover pageant.

Mad Men

Mad Men (2007-2015, creator Matthew Weiner) follows the hard-living employees of a Madison Avenue ad agency in the 1960s, particularly the dashing and mysterious Don Draper (Jon Hamm). Widely regarded as one of the best shows on television right now, Mad Men is well-known for its suits-and-scotches stylishness, as well as its attention to historical detail, its sometimes-subtle symbolism, and its slow, careful, character-based storytelling.

The challenge in "Key Episode"ing Mad Men is that it's basically the go-to example of a modern show which is structured like a series of novels (seasons) divided into chapters (episodes). Each episode of Mad Men contains arc advancement, and the episodes must be watched sequentially in order to be fully understood. Rather than watching an episode here or there, the best thing to do is just to start watching, give it until episode 5 or so, and see if you're hooked. If so, keep going in order.

That said, I like a challenge, so let's do this thing.

(Note: this article was written in 2012, after four seasons had aired.)

Key Episodes

The show just entered its fifth season as of this writing, so I'll be focusing on seasons 1-4. My goal here is to pick episodes that reveal important secrets or contain iconic scenes which will enable you to understand references. Note: I should probably note this for all of my entries, but if you haven't seen the show, the descriptions here might spoil you somewhat. I try to talk around the major plot points.

1.5 "5G": This is where the series really started to pick up for me, and it's really where the main plot starts. (If you haven't seen previous episodes, it will feel like you missed something. Don't worry, you didn't.) Don's tidily compartmentalized life is challenged when a man from his past comes into town. This is also get a good introduction to slimy Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) as he attempts to whore out his wife to one-up rival exec Ken (Aaron Staton)'s writing career. "5G" features what I believe to be the first truly captivating scene of the series (the final sequence), as well as the first legitimately entertaining one, in which Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) confides to Joan (Christina Hendricks) that she suspects Don is having an affair because he comes back to the office "all greasy and calm."

It is also acceptable to start with 1.4, in which we get our first look at the intricacies of Sterling Cooper office politics, but it's a little too heavy on the Pete Campbell for my tastes. In my experience, episodes 1.1 through 1.3 tend to dissuade new viewers; they're slow, sometimes heavy-handed, set-up-y mood pieces which are mostly only interesting after you are already a fan.

1.12 "Nixon vs. Kennedy": Against the backdrop of the nailbiter of a presidential race--which Don casts as "silver spoon" (Kennedy) vs. "self-made man" (Nixon)--Pete attempts to blackmail Don. Maintaing his cool on the outside, Don privately freaks out. In a powerful series of flashbacks, we learn the details that the season has been hinting at.

1.13 "The Wheel": If you've ever seen a Mad Men parody (such as the one they did on SNL), it's probably based on this episode, which contains Don's most inspired (and over-the-top) nostalgic ad pitch. In other news, Betty (January Jones) begins to suspect Don of cheating, Pete gets Trudy's (Alison Brie) father's business and HOLY SHIT PEGGY WHAT.

3.6 "Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency": Sterling Cooper employees clash with the presumptuous Brits from the new parent company, leading to HOLY HELL WHAT THE CRAP.

3.13 "Shut the Door. Have A Seat.": In my favorite ever most exciting episode, the core team, assured the company is about to be sold, scrambles around trying to steal clients from a sinking ship so that they can start a new agency.

Bonus Episodes

Reiterating the caveat that if you like the show it will make more sense to watch them all in order, etc.

1.1 "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes": I'm not a big fan of the early episodes, which lean a little heavily on the "It's not like there's some magic machine that makes exact copies of things" factor, but the pilot is solid, and features some nice pulled-out-of-his-ass pitch magic from Don.

1.6 "Babylon": The A-plot for this one is reflections on the meaning of being Jewish, while in ongoing storyline news, Freddie (Joel Murray) discovers Peggy's knack for a turn of phrase during a focus group on lipstick, and she is offered copywriting work.

1.8 "The Hobo Code": This episode has everything. Don gets high with his bohemian girlfriend and flashes back to his not-so-glamorous past. Sal (Bryan Batt) is hit on by a man. Peggy's first copy is pitched, and Don sells it by pulling out bizarre nonsequiturs about kabuki and Jesus. Pete is insufferable.

2.2 "American Airlines": Pete's father dies in a car crash and he just keeps on sellin'.

2.4 "Three Sundays": Told in three Sundays: Sterling Cooper employees work overtime; Peggy resists the cute new pastor's imploring to confide in him; Don refuses to spank his son and confesses to Betty that he was abused as child.

2.8 "A Night to Remember": This is the episode where Joan (Christina Hendricks) briefly gets a fulfilling job.

2.12 "The Mountain King": Don, on a weird spiritual trip to California, visits a woman who knew him in his Secret Past. Meanwhile, back home, Joan's failure of a fiance is a terrible person.

2.13 "Meditations in an Emergency": Various people tell other people about babies they had, will have, are having, etc.

3.1 "Out of Town": Don and Sal bond on a business trip on which they both (try to) get laid. Back home, a British company is taking over Sterling Cooper, restructuring and forcing Pete and Ken (Aaron Staton) to compete for the same job, which Ken finds exhilarating and Pete predictably finds lemonsourbitchfacey.

3.9 "Wee Small Hours": Sal is fired for not taking one for the team when a major client hits on him.

3.11 "The Gypsy and the Hobo": Betty forces Don to tell her his secrets. Joan's failure of a husband joins the Army.

4.6 "Waldorf Stories": Peggy is upset when Don wins an award for her work. Don appears to be slipping when, drunk after the ceremony, pitches a lame idea he inadvertently stole. Peggy trades banter with the sexist new art guy.

4.7 "The Suitcase": Don and Peggy stay way late at the office, Don because he has nowhere else to go, Peggy because (though she complains) there's nowhere else she'd rather be. After elements of their personal lives blow up around them, they go to a diner together in one of the most genuinely friendly scenes in the show.

4.12 "Blowing Smoke": The new company's imminent failure leads Don to take some creative steps.

4.13 "Tomorrowland": Don brings his new secretary Megan (Jessica Pare) to Disneyland with him to help take care of his kids and while there, they WAIT I WASN'T EXPECTING THAT PART.

Scrubs

Scrubs (2001-2010, creator Bill Lawrence) was a manically-paced half-hour comedy set in a hospital, blending wacky comedy--mostly in the form of fast-paced, funny dialogue and quick-cut dream/fantasy sequences--with dramatic storylines about the stresses of becoming a doctor. The theme song "I can't do this all on my own, I'm no Superman" states the show's central message: in order to get through tough times, you need to lean on your friends.

Scrubs is one of those shows whose quality varies a lot by season. The first four or five seasons are consistently great. You could watch any random episode from these seasons. Season six is truly awful. Avoid it, even if you are a fan. Seasons seven and eight are tired and clearly post-shark-jump but watchable, and nine is really a different show, with a mostly different cast and mostly different setting. We don't consider this canon. For these purposes, I'll focus on the good seasons, which are among my favorite TV. I've seen them all a lot of times.

Key Episodes

1.1 "My First Day": J.D. (Zach Braff) is overwhelmed on his first few days working as a medical intern. One of the coolest things about this episode is how totally consistently in-character both Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) and Dr. Kelso (Ken Jenkins) behave, but J.D. still manages, understandably, to get the complete wrong impression. Favorite quotable moments: I still say "Why not? Whynot!" in J.D. voice in my head at least once a day.

1.22 "My Occurrence" & 1.23 "My Hero": In part 1, J.D. likes Dr. Cox's best friend Ben (Brendan Fraser) and attempts to prove that his leukemia diagnosis is a mistake. In part 2, Dr. Cox disappears when Ben begins chemotherapy, and J.D. loses respect for his mentor. Meanwhile, Turk (Donald Faison) is distraught to discover idiotic The Todd (Robert Maschio) is the best surgical intern. "Dum-da-da-dum-da-da-dum-dum shiny scalpel..."

2.22 "My Dream Job": An old college friend of J.D. and Turk's visits and can't believe how jaded and dark their jobs have made them. Dr. Cox discovers he is going to be a father and stands up for Elliot (Sarah Chalke) with Dr. Kelso. "I've come a long way. For instance, I used to be afraid of you, and now I can talk to you about anything - like how your hair has been looking particularly springy lately. And not like the season, but more like the inside of a mattress."

Bonus Episodes

Oh, they're all good.

1.4 "My Old Lady": Starting from a serious premise--the statistic that one in three patients die in the hospital, over a split-screen of J.D., Turk, and Elliot introducing themselves to patients--Scrubs proves itself to have real heart underneath its frenetic patter of jokes. Favorite non-quotable moments: the Janitor (Neil Flynn) and J.D. have a silent conversation in mime.

1.5 "My Two Dads": Dr. Cox and Dr. Kelso battle for J.D.'s soul. Elliot thinks she has magic breasts. "How many has she had?" "Almost one."

1.12 "My Blind Date": Dr. Cox mentors Elliot as she helps him try for a "perfect game." Turk and Carla (Judy Reyes) reach a decision point in their relationship. J.D. has to decide whether to ask out a girl he can't see. "Help me help you help me help you help me help you!"

1.15 "My Bed Banter and Beyond": J.D. and Elliot finally get together in a heartbreaking episode which intercuts scenes of their happy first day in bed together with the grinding deterioration of their relationship over the next few weeks. "White boys." "You too!"

1.19 "My Old Man": The parents are in town: J.D.'s flaky dad (John Ritter), Turk's eerily Carla-like mom, and Elliot's overly critical parents. "You definitely need something. Maybe a backbone, or perhaps some testicles. At the very least, a pillow that you could carry around the hospital and just cry your sad eyes out into whenever drama occurs."

1.21 "My Sacrificial Clam": When J.D. is stabbed with an infected needle and may contract hepatitis, Turk can't find time to exercise, and Elliot has to choose between studying for rounds and hanging out with her adorable new boyfriend (Scott Foley, aka Noel from Felicity), each of the young doctors has to decide how much they are willing to sacrifice for their all-consuming job. "You know, Freud said that ninety percent of all human behavior is motivated by sexual impulses, but come on, give me some credit. I'd say at least thirty percent of my behavior is motivated by advertising, and the rest by violence in film!"

1.24 "My Last Day" & 2.1 "My Overkill": As they finish their first year, J.D., Elliot and Turk feel guilty about how jaded they've become and team up to go the extra mile for a patient. Then Jordan (Christa Miller) shakes things up by bringing every one of the season's secrets out into the open. After the season jump, everyone is mad at each other; Turk is sleeping with J.D. when Carla kicks him out, Elliot is freaking out, and worst of all, Dr. Cox is being nice to J.D., having given up on him. J.D. tries to force fix apologies, but when he accidentally treats a patient by doing nothing, he realizes that sometimes emotional problems just blow over with time. "We were head-to-foot, there was no way to lock in!"

2.8 "My Fruit Cups": Dr. Cox's new relationship is complicated when Jordan shows up pregnant. The rest of the gang has money problems due to their student loans and low resident salaries. "Bidet to you, sir."

2.13 "My Philosophy": J.D.'s theory about the "circle of life" in a hospital leaves the viewer to guess which of his likable patients will survive the episode, while Turk's attempts to wow Carla with a fancy proposal end up with a hasty question in the parking lot. Ends with a big Broadway-style production number. "I feel I would be more productive if my phone dialed out."

2.15 "His Story": Dr. Cox's interior monologue, rather than J.D.'s, narrates this episode, and we get to see his side of the J.D. relationship. Turk catalogs his own faults to figure out why Carla can't say "yes." Elliot dates a male nurse (Silver Spoons alum Ricky Schroder). "Elliot, what I do for a living doesn't make me feel like any less of a man. Neither does my love of baking, or gardening, or the fact that I occasionally menstruate."

2.17 "My Own Private Practice Guy": J.D. meets a former mentee of Dr. Cox (Jay Mohr), and we learn what happened between Dr. Cox and Jordan. Elliot realizes the Janitor is a nice person. "Oh, Ms. Pac-Man, I would sex that bow right off your head."

3.4 "My Lucky Night": Dr. Cox makes an uncharacteristically genuine attempt to get a promotion, and J.D. considers telling Elliot about his rekindled feelings for her. "I am a sex camel!"

3.12 "My Catalyst" and 3.13 "My Porcelain God": J.D. shifts his mentorly attention from Dr. Cox to the new visiting superstar doctor/surgeon Dr. Kevin Casey (Michael J. Fox), but learns that Casey's skills come at a price. "Form of...an ICE MENORAH!!"

3.14 "My Screw Up": Dr. Cox's best friend is back in the hospital and Dr. Cox renounces J.D. after a minor error in his care. "You have slept with both of my sisters, and that means you and I have something in common."

4.1 "My Old Friend's New Friend": J.D. and Elliot, enemies since J.D. tried to date Elliot again and then told her he didn't love her (a contrived season 3 finale plotline), compete for the position of Chief Resident, and we meet the surprisingly hilarious season-4 recurring guest star, psychologist Dr. Molly Clock (Heather Graham). J.D.: "Why do you hate me when I show you nothing but love?"

4.13 "My Ocardial Infarction": Several important plotlines dealt with here--J.D.'s insufferable condescension when Elliot begins surpassing him as a doctor (I swear he becomes more immature in every season); Turk fails to take his recent diabetes diagnosis seriously; and a good example of one of the always entertaining "The Janitor Loves Elliot" runners.

4.17 "My Life in Four Cameras": A well-known experimental episode in which J.D. imagines what his life (i.e. the show) would look like in a traditional four-camera sitcom format. This is necessarily a slower-paced, slightly less funny episode than normal, but it's evident that everyone involved was having a ton of fun.

5.11 "My Lunch": J.D. feels guilty about missing warning signs that a patient is a drug addict, and in a twist the creators had previous assured us would not happen until the series finale, The Todd realizes he is bisexual... and is exactly as much of an overly sexual jackass hitting on men.

Boy Meets World

Boy Meets World (1993-2000, creators Michael Jacobs & April Kelly) was a family sitcom and mainstay of ABC's "TGIF" lineup. Each week, neurotic Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) learned life lessons from his family, including big brother Eric (Will Friedle); his next-door neighbor and teacher Mr. Feeny (William Daniels); his adorable trailer-trash best friend Shawn (Rider Strong); and the girl of his dreams, straight-A student and sometime-hippie Topanga (Danielle Fishel). The show followed Cory from sixth grade through his sophomore year of college, and we don't think about how that only took seven years.

I'm on record as loving this show way more than I should. For years I curated (okay, 90% wrote) a loving episode guide which included such goodies as the Shawn Cuteness Chart.

Boy Meets World is stealth funny: a wacky, increasingly surreal comedy in the sheep's clothing of a bland, gentle family sitcom. But the gentleness is still there. It's that edge of oddness and occasional moments of legitimate laugh-out-loud humor that make the show one of the most watchable in history. At least for me. It is very much a comfort show.

The challenge in identifying key episodes of Boy Meets World is that the best and funniest episodes often are not the ones in which plot-central changes happen. The show seems like it wants the Cory and Topanga romance to be its central story, but if I were to list all of the episodes in which Cory and Topanga broke up or got back together, we'd be here all day. More interesting is the character development of Shawn, whose easy flirtations with the ladies mask a troubled family life. Unintentionally interesting is the arc of Eric, who starts out a standard cool big brother type, quickly becomes impossibly stupid, and winds up carrying the most bizarre, different-plane-of-reality storylines in the show.

Fairly Arbitrarily Selected Key Episodes

2.22 "Career Day" & 2.23 "Home": In the season 2 finale, the "Shawn is abandoned by his family" storyline takes off, as Shawn stays with Cory's family indefinitely, revealing the differences between his lifestyle and theirs. Am I really going to declare such a Cory-light two-parter the first "Key Episode"? Yes. Yes, I will. Look, it's the first major, memorable, multi-episode storyline, other than the Cory/Topanga romance, which hasn't really gotten off the ground yet. To get a feel for what the show is typically like, maybe watch any random episode from season 2 before this; see "Bonus Episodes" for suggestions.

4.2 "Hair Today, Goon Tomorrow": Topanga gets a haircut. Trust me. Trust me. Trust me. It's important.

5.23 "Things Change" & 5.24 "Graduation": The kids graduate and make big decisions about what to do after, as Topanga considers leaving Cory for Yale; Shawn considers going to work instead of college; and change-averse Cory is disturbed by everything. My theory, developed just from picking out these key episodes, is that this is a show about endurance vs. change, specifically the power of friendship, family, and true love to withstand changes in age/time of life, personality, setting, and genre. I'm not sure I agree with this thesis, but I like it, in the context of the show. We might progress from gentle sitcom to farcical comedy; from elementary school show to college show; from Weird Topanga to Smart Topanga; from Cool Eric to Dumb Eric; from Bad Boy Shawn to Poet Shawn; from childhood to adulthood; but the heart of the show, specifically the relationships between Cory, Topanga, and Shawn (and to a lesser extent: Eric and Mr. Feeny) never really change. It's comforting. And that is what this show is about.

Unnecessarily Long List of Bonus Episodes

Boy Meets World has a lot of mediocre episodes. You can kind of watch any of them and get a decent feel for the show, particularly if you stick to the golden age of seasons 2 through 5. The episodes listed here are either above average in quality or advance a memorable plot arc.

1.4 "Cory's Alternative Friends": In her first appearance--as one of the "weird nerds"--Topanga, apparently meant to be a one-shot throwaway character, gives Cory his first kiss. I'm not a big fan of season 1, which adheres much more strongly to the gentle-family-sitcom mold than the rest of the series, but this episode has interesting historical value.

2.7 "Wake Up, Little Cory": Typical of season 2, the plot comes from a story--in this case, "Much Ado About Nothing"--as Cory and Topanga are rumored to have slept together. It's a surprisingly adult rumor for a mainstream show about seventh-graders, even though everything is handled euphemistically, and it mildly advances the Cory and Topanga storyline, which is mostly dormant in season 2.

2.11 "The Beard": Shawn can't decide between two girls, so he asks Cory to date one for safekeeping. A fairly typical, maybe slightly above average season 2 episode, which confirms Cory's role as nonthreatening goober and Shawn's as seventh-grade Casanova.

2.12 "Turnaround": This is just a classic episode of any high school sitcom, I think. Cory and Shawn give Cory's date for the Turnaround Dance a makeover, and she turns from nerd to hot and becomes too good for Cory. I'm always referencing this episode, at least, the part where Shawn is always up to the moment on Cory's romantic mishaps because "I'm tapped into the Girls Network."

3.1 "My Best Friend's Girl": Cory finally asks out Topanga out of spite after Shawn inspires his jealousy by asking her out himself.

3.9 "The Last Temptation of Cory": The first (but not last) official Cory and Topanga breakup occurs when they both secretly flirt with other people who, of course, turn out to be each other.

3.15 "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter": For the first time, Shawn's tender feelings are involved in one of his love affairs. Guest-starring Larisa Oleynik.

3.20 "I Never Sang For My Legal Guardian": Just as Shawn is wavering about whether to make his arrangement with Mr. Turner official, his father talks him into coming back home, mostly concluding the "homeless Shawn" subplot.

4.11 "An Affair to Forget": Shawn's girlfriend wants him to drop Cory, forcing him to decide what's more important to him--romance or friendship.

4.15 "Chick Like Me": The classic "Shawn in drag" episode.

4.16 "A Long Walk to Pittsburgh Part 1" & 4.17 "A Long Walk to Pittsburgh Part 2": Topanga's family moves away, a major and memorable plot development which many kids who grew up on this show might be surprised to realize was resolved in a two-part episode. She wasn't gone for more than an episode. I know, it's a mind eff.

5.1 "Brothers": In a contrived plot twist, Eric's new roommate Jack (Matthew Lawrence) is Shawn's long-lost half-brother.

5.3 "It's Not You... It's Me": Cory and Shawn's relationship faces its biggest trial yet when Shawn picks a fight in order to detach, assuming Cory will get into a better college than he will. Not necessarily a key episode, but one of my favorites.

5.7 "I Love You, Donna Karan": Shawn falls in love with a girl based on her purse. The first episode featuring Shawn's first longterm girlfriend, Angela (Trina McGee-Davis).

5.13 "The Eskimo": Mr. Feeny assigns Cory, Shawn, and Topanga apparently impossible tasks to shake them out of senior slump. A solid episode with important character moments for all three.

5.14 "Heartbreak Cory": Cory kisses another girl at a ski lodge, ushering in the biggest Cory and Topanga estrangement plot of the series.

5.17 "And Then There Was Shawn": A horror movie parody I'm only recommending because it was kind of surprisingly hilarious.

5.19 "Eric Hollywood": Eric becomes an actor and goes on the set of a parody version of the show. One of the show's sillier episodes, but also one of the funniest; you really feel like you get a sense of the behind-the-scenes dynamic through the send-up.

5.20 "Starry Night" & 5.21 "Honesty Night": Cory and Topanga reaffirm their love for what one hopes is the last time.

5.22 "Promises, Prom-ises": I love a sex on prom night episode called "Promises Promises." Classic 90s.

6.3 "Ain't College Great?": In the slightly rebooted, college-years version of the series, Cory worries about failing out, and Eric remakes himself into a "sensitive guy" to flirt with his new girl roommate (Maitland Ward).

6.9 "Poetic License: An Ode to Holden Caulfield": College Shawn is a poet. While he's quite different from his season 1 or 5 self, it feels like a natural progression, and perhaps a case of the character becoming more like the actor.

7.7 "It's About Time": Cory and Topanga's wedding--a fairly hyped television event, if I recall correctly--has its fair share of humorous disasters, and ends, fittingly, with Shawn standing at the altar between the two of them.

7.23 "Brave New World Part 2": (I'm not including part 1 because it's a clip show.) The sentimental final episode of the series, notable for the oddly satisfying ending in which Topanga and Cory move to New York City for Topanga's job--and Shawn goes with them. Confirms my belief that the core of the show is about Shawn's search for a family.

Coupling

Coupling (2000-2004, creator Steven Moffat) was an English sitcom sometimes described as an English version of Friends because of its focus on six early-30s single friends living in the city (London, in this case), hanging around on couches in an eating establishment (a bar rather than a coffee shop), and pairing off in various combinations. But Coupling had a goofier and more frank "anything goes" style of humor. Episodes often culminated with main character Steve delivering increasingly manic, aggrieved rants about the awkwardness of sex or the differences between men and women in couples.

A friend recently pointed out to me that Coupling is just about the most heteronormative show ever and nothing they discuss really applies to me. Even though, if I think about it, I find the attitudes about gender and sexuality obnoxious, this is still one of my "comfort shows" and I've seen the first season or two more times than I care to count.

An important caveat when watching Coupling is never to watch season 4.

Top 3 Key Episodes

1.2 "Size Matters": While the pilot is funny, I think the second episode--in which Steve (Jack Davenport) and Susan (Sarah Alexander) have a second date at Susan's and the guys and girls separate to give each of them advice beforehand--gives a better introduction to the chemistry of the various groups (Steve and Susan as a couple, the girls, and the guys), all of which will be at the heart of the rest of the show. The main subplot has Sally (Kate Isitt) attempting to flirt with Patrick (Ben Miles) after finding out he's huge, only to be put off that he's a Tory, a conflict that will define the rest of their relationship. From the even-more-comic-relief characters, we get Jeff's (Richard Coyle) "Sock Gap" theory and Jane (Gina Bellman) insisting that she has a shot with a gay man: "I'm bisexual!"

2.9 "The End of the Line": By this time, Steve and Susan live together and they've fallen into a rut, but neither of them is making any real moves toward marriage. Each attempts to flirt with other people on the phone, but for complicated reasons, they only end up talking to each other in silly accents. This starts out among the most farcical episodes ever, just an escalating series of prank calls between the girls and the guys, but it concludes with a punch to the gut as the main couple realizes they are at a decision point: commit or break up.

3.1 "Split": The resolution of the breaking-up cliffhanger after 2.9, a concept episode which spends almost the entire 22 minutes in split screen showing how each of the main couple deals with the breakup. Precisely timed with interesting juxtapositions and a play-like feeling with a lot of quiet stage business from one side while the other riffs. Experimental episodes like this are cool, although the moment-to-moment concern with the format has arguably detracted from the story a bit--I'm still not sure why they (spoiler alert) got back together.

Bonus Episodes

There are only a total of 22 non-season-4 episodes, so it's not a huge commitment to watch all of them. But here are some of the more crucial ones, from a plot standpoint as well as an understanding-references-to-this-show standpoint.

1.1 "Flushed": The pilot centers around Steve and Susan's disastrous first date, which, for various tenuous reasons, everybody ends up attending. The central message, that friends and exes are inevitably part of any relationship, is important to the show, and the episode's final date scene, while incredibly cringeworthy, also includes some of the snappiest jokes.

1.3 "Sex, Death, and Nudity": The gang attends a funeral and tries very, very hard not to laugh at an inopportune moment. I like this episode because it suggests at an early stage that the show will be open about a variety of taboo topics, not just sex but also mortality, etc., even though most of the series is really just about sex. Includes Jeff's "Giggle Loop" theory.

1.4 "Inferno": Susan holds a dinner party and various increasingly ridiculous misunderstandings--including Steve trying to figure out if Susan found his porn, Jane giving the impression that her therapist is her date, and Patrick unintentionally giving the wrong impression with his gay haircut--builds to a group argument in which Steve's taste in lesbian porn is put on trial. Probably one of the most memorable episodes of the series.

2.3 "Her Best Friend's Bottom": Steve accidentally sees Sally naked, but Susan is more upset that Steve can't form an opinion about how to decorate their apartment (the closest he comes is asserting that he is "undecided about spots"). This Coupling in its purest form--dealing with serious anxieties about monogamy and commitment through a series of extremely trivial arguments. Again, it culminates in one of the biggest and best Steve rants, complete with a live-audience-pleasing Dr. Who reference.

2.4 "The Melty Man Cometh": This is a key Patrick and Sally episode, as they finally decide to go on a date. Super-confident Patrick is uncharacteristically affected by his neurotic friends' predictions of failure, leading them to question whether his feelings for Sally are more tender than he realizes.

2.6 "Gotcha": Steve and Susan's friends freak them out by convincing them that their one-year anniversary dinner is the proper time for a marriage proposal. This episode gets to the heart of Steve's intense, plot-central resistance to marriage, and features a rare moment of insecurity for Susan as she worries that Steve was more attracted to Jane.

3.4 "Remember This": Another key Patrick and Sally episode, as well as a great one for everyone's backstory, as the story of how Patrick and Sally met at Susan's office party is told through a series of flashbacks.

3.7 "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps": This last episode of season three--effectively the series finale, from my point of view--centers around a rather tired "whose pregnancy test is it" plotline, but nicely wraps up various central storylines (such as the question of whether and when Steve and Susan will commit to each other and whether and when Patrick and Sally will get together), while introducing enough new complications for you to feel that the characters have a future. Contains Jeff conservatively refusing to talk up an apple.

Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey (2010-present, creator Julian Fellowes) is a British period drama taking place in the 1910's and centering on the lives of all the occupants of a large English manor house, from the Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) and his family to the servants and staff members. It feels very much like a classic novel adaptation, only it's an original story. The major themes are the end of an era and the changing of the times as World War I and the changing technological landscape of the 20th century push aside the family's rather Victorian way of living.

The story opens in 1912 when the heir to the estate dies in the Titanic disaster, and a distant relative, Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens), becomes the new heir. (The Earl only has daughters.) Nobody likes the arrangement at first--Matthew would rather continue being a lawyer than get mixed up in upper-class politics--but as the family endures hardship together, they are brought closer together. Romantic tension between Matthew and eldest daughter Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) is one of the major centerpieces of the first two seasons (all that have aired as of this writing), and the two are constantly coming up with reasons it would not be honorable to be together. Remarking on all this with her trademark wit is the Earl's mother, the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith). On the servant side, the first episode also introduces a new valet for the Earl, the mysterious Mr. Bates (Brendan Coyle), who seems to have enough secrets from his past to fill as many seasons as necessary, and who spurs the ire of the fan-favorite scheming butler Thomas (Rob James-Collier).

Downton is a difficult type of show to "Key Episode," as it's a slow-moving, character-centric, episodic soap. Episodes are not so much self-contained story units as installments, and each one is designed to contain a fair amount of story and to be watched sequentially. Many episodes contain time skips. Because time and pacing are major elements of the show, the most honest way to get a taste for it would probably be to watch any three episodes in a row, rather than skipping around.

However. I have a job to do. And I am here to do it.

Top 5 Key Episodes (So Far)

1.3 "Episode Three": The first two episodes set up important story elements, particularly w/r/t the central Matthew storyline, but most of what you need to know is in the above summary. This is the first episode in which major, surprising events happen which set in motion the conflicts and scandals that will be hidden, uncovered and referenced throughout the rest of the series. Lady Mary becomes involved with a dashing Turkish visitor; modern-girl-stuck-in-the-past Lady Sybil (Jessica Brown-Findlay) encourages a maid to become a typist; Mr. Bates tries to cure his own limp.

1.6 "Episode Six": Everyone seems to have something character-typical to do here. An important Matthew and Mary episode, as they finally bond after episodes of hating and snubbing each other, but rumors about the scandal from episode 3 abound. The Dowager Countess and Mary's mother Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) form a rare alliance to try to convince Mary to entrap Matthew before he finds out, but this goes against Mary's conscience. Meanwhile, Sybil gets involves in a women's suffrage demonstration which turns violent; overlooked middle daughter Edith (Laura Carmichael) flirts with an older man; Thomas schemes and schemes.

2.5 "Episode Five": Everything turns upside-down in season 2 as World War I transforms the world. Most of the young men go off to war and return in various states of ill health (one servant has PTSD; Thomas purposely gets himself shot to come home) and Downton is turned into a temporary convalescence home. Lady Sybil becomes a nurse, Lady Edith becomes a tractor driver, and everyone else pitches in in their own way. This is the episode in which Matthew and batboy William (Thomas Howes) return in terrible condition. This is a tear-jerker episode, one of the most melodramatic ever. Meanwhile, Mr. Bates's evil ex-wife tries to prevent his remarriage by blackmailing him with Mary's scandal, and Mary begs for help from a powerful ally (Iain Glen, aka Ser Jorah from Game of Thrones).

2.8 "Episode Eight": In the season 2 finale, almost all the major plotlines from the first two seasons are wrapped up in one way or another. I'm not a fan of all the plot twists, but I'll refrain from editorial comments. Matthew's fiancee is ill; Lady Sybil runs off with the chauffeur; and Mr. Bates is suspected for the murder of his evil ex-wife.

"Christmas Special": Occurring after season 2, the special further wraps up the season with tense courtroom drama involved Mr. Bates and a cheesy beyond-the-veil reaction to Matthew and Mary's continued I'm-convinced-it's-wrong-now flirtation. Plus, a Christmas dance!

Bonus Episodes

The rest of them. There are only sixteen total episodes so far, and they all move along the plot at a pretty rapid pace.

The Mighty Boosh

The Mighty Boosh (2004-2007) was an extremely bizarre comedy series borne from a longstanding partnership of semi-scripted, semi-improv comedy and music live performances by Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt. Fielding plays Vince Noir, a cheerful, vain, glam-rock superstar (well, he wants to be) and Barratt plays the intense and pretentious Howard Moon. In the first season, the two of them are zookeepers, and in later seasons they run a magic shop. The framing setting doesn't really matter. Every episode they're drawn into twisted storybook worlds for their adventures. The opening for the show aptly invites you to "come with me now on a journey of imagination."

When I love this show, I really really love it, but it's extremely uneven, so it's easy to pick out the highlights. Actually, this was mostly "Key Episode"d for me. My brother originally found this show late, late at night on BBC America and later DVR'd all eight episodes of season 1 (which were all that existed at the time); of those, he showed me two, promising that these were more amazing than any television he'd ever seen, but that the others were kind of meh. I'm sticking with his judgments here.

Key Episodes

1.4 "Tundra": Howard and Vince adventure to the tundra to seek a priceless gem. Just an enjoyable episode with a lot of highlights (including Vince's glam snowsuit, his friendship with a polar bear, and Howard's dramatic tape-recorded monologues). A good example of what the show is all about.

1.7 "Electro": Vince starts a glam band. Howard refuses to play music because of a mystery in his past which is revealed when he is visited by the Spirit of Jazz. With its focus on music (an important part of the series), a top-notch opening monologue about "Lady Fame," and the demented dream-logic that holds it together, "Electro" is, to me, THE episode of Mighty Boosh.

3.5 "Party": I'm not as big of a fan of seasons 2 and 3 as I am of one (in part because only season 1 had the hilarious, casually riffing opening monologues that I could listen to all day), but this is one of my favorite episodes of all time, and I'll justify making it key by pointing out that it focuses on the central Vince and Howard relationship and the key elements of their characterizations. Howard feels jealous and hurt when Vince takes over Howard's birthday party as an opportunity to show off his new glam jumpsuit, and Howard realizes everyone is there to see Vince instead of him. Complete with awkward revelations, sexual tension, and over-the-top slash, it's like this episode was written for me.

Bonus Episodes

1.6 "Charlie": Howard and Vince write stories. Noel Fielding's casually incoherent way of storytelling is just delightful.

1.8 "Hitcher": Creepiness is a major element in The Mighty Boosh, even if it's not my favorite. This is one of the more nightmarish episodes in which Howard and Vince find themselves lost in a creepy wood and tormented by the evil Cockney monster "The Hitcher". It's important to know about this fan-favorite character, especially if you are going to watch the live show. The monologue is great on this episode--Howard gets pretentious about Acting, and Vince just tosses it off.

2.3 "Nanageddon": Howard and Vince pretend to be goth to get girls, accidentally unleashing a curse on the grandmas of the world. This one is good if only for the incidental characters, a group of shaman called into help control the damage; these include recurring character Naboo (played by Noel Fielding's diminutive brother Michael), exasperated leader Dennis (Julian Barratt), snarky Tony Harrison (a disembodied head played by Noel Fielding), and adventurer Saboo (the always delightful Richard Ayoade, best known as Moss from The I.T. Crowd).

2.5 "The Legend of Old Gregg": Another one of the creepier but mythos-important episodes, this one has Howard captured by a creepy merman who is always talking about his vagina. Not my kind of humor exactly, but another fan favorite.

How I Met Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother (2005-present, creators Craig Thomas & Carter Bayes) describes a "love story in reverse": a father in the year 2030 telling his kids the story of how he met their mother. In excruciating detail. Essentially, it's a Friends-like sitcom about a group of late 20s/early 30s friends in New York City, looking for love and settling down into adulthood. There's also a tantalizing mystery element as the future narrator drops hints about the identity of the mother. While most episodes are pure sitcom fun, a few advance the "mother" storyline (more and more slowly as the show is continually renewed).

Because this show is currently on, all Key Episodes are provisional. While I do think the show's best days are behind it, I suspect that this is a show where the ending has already been planned, and one or more episodes in the endgame will end up being key.

This is actually show where I have done the "key episodes" thing in practice--picking out episodes to try to get people hooked. I thought you might like to benefit from my wisdom.

Top 3 Key Episodes

1.3 "Sweet Taste of Liberty": Dragged along on a crazy night when all he wants to do is stick to his familiar rut, Ted (Josh Radnor) wonders why he hangs out with immature Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), until he realizes Barney's adventures constitute all his best stories. I start with this one when showing it to new people instead of the two-part opener in which Ted meets Robin (Cobie Smulders) and decides she is the one for him. Although the Ted story is more central, arguably, to the main plot--setting up his "hopeless romantic" personality and his obsessive desire for a mate--it's a cringeworthy storyline which tends to put people off more than it draws them in. Anyway, the writers themselves seem more interested in Barney these days, and I don't think it would be too far off to suggest that the Ted and Barney friendship is more central to the heart of the show than Ted's MacGuffin-like quest for love.

2.9 "Slap Bet": I can't tell if I'm confusing favorite episode for key episode here, but I do think this is an episode which originates the most well-known references which people might make to HIMYM, so it's important. The Slap Bet between Barney and Marshall (Freaks and Geeks alum Jason Segel) becomes a recurring storyline on the show; Robin's backstory is revealed; Ted and Robin click as a good couple in this episode, and everything is just on, firing on all cylinders. The jokes are great. If you only see one, see this one.

2.22 "Something Blue" The season 2 finale--Lily (Alyson Hannigan) and Marshall's wedding--is a good example of HIMYM at its building-storyling playing-with-timelines best, as Robin and Ted's "big news" keeps getting cut off by wedding antics.

Bonus Episodes

1.8 "The Duel": Ted worries that Marshall and Lily will take over the apartment when they get married, leading to a sword duel with Marshall. It's a fun episode that takes on one of the central issues of the show--Ted and Marshall's relationship and his fear that Marshall and Lily are maturing faster than he is.

1.14 "Zip, Zip, Zip": Ted goes on a typical romantic quest to find a girl he met at a wedding the night before, while Robin wingmans Barney, setting up her most badass personality traits and the manly chemistry between the two of them.

1.15 "Game Night": Barney's backstory is revealed.

2.10 "Single Stamina": We meet Barney's brother (Wayne Brady), get some fun night-out hijinks, get a deeper understanding of Barney's attitudes toward marriage and kids, and top it off with a cool flash-forward hint-at-what's-to-come in classic HIMYM style.

2.16 "Stuff": A medium Ted and Robin plot (helped by a fantasy sequence in which Robin's dogs are played by puppy-like men) and a delightful Barney plot in which he tests Lily's assertion that friends should support each other unconditionally by putting on a dreadful one-man play.

2.17 "Arrivederci, Fiero": A series of flashbacks about what Marshall's car meant to each character reveals a number of hilarious backstory elements, including Pretentious College Ted.

2.20 "Showdown": Nice buildup to the Lily/Marshall wedding and some tender romance between them, but what makes this episode important is Barney's belief that Bob Barker of The Price is Right is his father. Introduces daddy issues we'll see explored in later episodes.

3.8 "Spoiler Alert": The group spoils each other by revealing annoying traits they had all been able to ignore about each other until now, leading to a huge argument which is undercut by Marshall finding out his bar results. This is a good example of several things the show does well--goofy, trivial problems which mask real, deep conflict, and real earned tenderness. A group love story.

3.9 "Slapsgiving": While it feels a little like this holiday episode is trying to rehash the popularity of "Slap Bet," it's also a pretty good episode, focusing on the post-breakup relationship between Robin and Ted and including one of my favorite joke sequences as Ted riffs on the appetizers.

3.16 "Sandcastles in the Sand": The group interact with people from their past who make them act like past versions of themselves; more Robin backstory; and an important relationship milestone.

4.21 "The Three Days Rule": One of my favorite post-golden-age episodes, if only for its slash content. Trying to save Ted from over-texting a girl he's just met, Barney and Marshall text him posing as her.

5.12 "Girls Vs. Suits": Barney has to choose between his two great loves. A slightly above average episode jazzed up by a big-budget musical number.

6.14 "Last Words": An island of real emotional heart in a somewhat silly season, the friends try to help Marshall deal with the death of his father.

6.19 "Legendaddy": Continuing the daddy issues theme of season 6, Barney spends time with the man he's just discovered is his real father (John Lithgow) and is disappointed that he is a suburban driving instructor and not a badass rock star.

7.12 "Symphony of Illumination": In a cool concept episode, Robin, fresh from a pregnancy scare, tells a story to her own future children.