This is one of the shows that made me want to do this blog, because I am so confident in my ability to name the key episodes and so willing to 100% disregard the rest. Most of the episodes are very "crime of the week" and not very good at that (I never notice plot holes, I notice these), but the few that deal with the central mythos of the show are surprisingly interesting. There are five episodes you need to see in order to understand all of the fan fiction, and you can ignore the rest.
Only 5 Key Episodes
1.1 "The Switchman": The pilot episode explains the backstory, gets the two leads together, lays out the exposition about the superpowers. It also melds it together with a "crime of the week" plot you don't really need to pay attention to.3.1 "Warriors": If I were going to name one key episode, it would be this one. Jim loses his powers, forcing him to confront the possibility that he actually likes being cursed with them. Blair's exploration of Jim's predicament quickly goes from sciencey to mystical, especially after he's inspired by the arrival of an old Peruvian jungle friend of Jim's.
3.23 "The Sentinel Too Part 1" and 4.1 "The Sentinel Too Part 2": A two-parter in which a second Sentinel surfaces (Jeri Ryan aka Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager). Blair tries to coach them both, leading to feelings of jealousy and primal territorial-ness from Jim. The second Sentinel quickly turns evil, using her powers to commit a heist and then to drown Blair in a fountain, for some reason. The second part of the episode starts with Jim saving Blair through the power of his love, then moves to Peru, as both Sentinels are drawn to an ancient temple where we get more improbable Sentinel mythos, a.k.a. the best part of this show.
4.8 "The Sentinel by Blair Sandburg": In the finale, Blair finally completes his dissertation, the publication of which would necessarily destroy Jim's secret identity. He has to decide what is more important to him--his dreams of academic fame (which exists in this show) or his effective crime-fighting partnership and friendship with Jim.
Bonus Episodes
There are a handful of episodes other than those five which I would actually recommend watching if you like the show. Anything not on this list can safely be ignored.1.4 "The Debt": Important episode just to prove that this is a show where the two leads move in together in the fourth episode. Introduces the running "odd couple roommate bickering" theme. Incidentally, in the main plot, also features some of the clunkiest race relations I have ever seen on a television show.
1.5 "Cypher": The boys search for a serial killer who takes the identities of his victims, leading to a climactic "shackled Blair" scene and typical white-knight heroism by Jim.
1.9 "Attraction": Jim's senses lead him to be overwhelmed with attraction to what turns out to be a female criminal due to "pheromones." I include this episode because it's an important piece of mythology, particularly for the writers of erotica.
2.1 "Flight": I debated putting this on the key episodes list, but essentially the same Jim-gets-a-change-to-renounce-his-powers story is done better in "Warriors." But this is the first episode which takes place in the jungle setting, and introduces the concept of Jim and Blair's spirit animals.
2.9 "Spare Parts": The main plot, about big rigs, is pretty silly, but this episode is notable for introducing Blair's mother, an entertaining character and key bit of character/backstory development.
2.12 "Blind Man's Bluff": One of the silliest drugs-are-bad episodes I've ever seen in a TV show, but also one of the more entertaining episodes of this series. Jim loses his sense of sight and tries to hide it from his police captain by compensating with other senses. Meanwhile, Blair eats some drug-laced pizza and freaks out.
3.17 "Remembrance": The long-awaited Jim backstory episode, featuring glimpses into Jim's life as a child and his difficult decision whether to "come out" to his father as a Sentinel.
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