TV Episode for the Holidays

"What's your favorite holiday movie?" is probably a more likely question than "What's your favorite holiday TV episode?". Movies get all the limelight, and it's no different this holiday season. But most TV shows do a Christmas-themed episode, and there have been many memorable ones over the years ("The Gift" from ER Season 1, "Christmas Party" and "A Benihana Christmas" from NBC's The Office, and of course the Christmas special from BBC's The Office, which provided such a perfect conclusion to the series).

But my personal favorite is probably "In Excelsis Deo" from the first season of "The West Wing", an episode which won the Emmy for Best Writing. The central plot concerns Toby being notified of a homeless veteran who had passed away over the previous night due to exposure, sleeping on a park bench. Toby had donated his coat to the YMCA and the coat had subsequently been passed on to the veteran, and the police had found Toby's card in the coat. Toby proceeded to use his position as a senior staffer in the White House to arrange a military funeral for the veteran. Highlights of the episode: (1) The selfless act by Toby; (2) the juxtaposition of the choir at the White House singing "Carol of the Drums" with the funeral taking place; and (3) Mrs. Landingham's heartbreaking account that she had lost her two sons in Vietnam on Christmas Eve, in a scene as powerfully moving as it is quiet and understated.

The following video is the "Carol of the Drums" scene. I really love the beautiful editing job done here, where the music of the choir perfectly paces the scene.

Top 10 Episodes

hey folks, tis the time for year-end top 10 lists. Here's 10 of the most memorable TV episodes I've seen in 2007, in alphabetical order of episode title:

“Blue Comet” (The Sopranos) Season 6 Episode 20

Tension mounts to breaking point as the feud between the New York and New Jersey mobs reaches a head. Tony’s close aides Bobby and Silvio are killed or incapacitated, as he flees for his life. Powerful conclusion with Tony falling asleep in the safehouse with a shotgun in his hand, in fear for his life. No rest for the wicked, indeed.

“Bon Voyage” (Gilmore Girls) Season 7 Episode 22

News that the show won’t be renewed were only confirmed after filming for the season had wrapped, so there were genuine concerns the show won’t have a proper send-off, but all fears were allayed by this utterly satisfying series finale. We got our answers to Lorelai and Luke, and Rory and Logan, but the true heart of the show has always been the Lorelai/Rory mom-daughter relationship, and the curtains rightly closed on that perfect ending scene with the two of them in Luke’s diner, a call-back to the series premiere. Rory’s “Mom, you’ve given me everything I need” to Lorelai made my cry like a baby. Thanks for 7 great years, Gilmore Girls, I will miss you.

“Chuck vs. The Truth” (Chuck) Season 1 Episode 8

One of Chuck’s strengths is showing how being a spy has affected Chuck’s personal life, and this episode is the perfect example. Chuck, Sarah and Casey try to recover the antidote to the deadly truth serum affecting Chuck’s sister Ellie. What a moving scene in the hospital between Chuck and Captain Awesome by Ellie’s bedside! And to top it off, that heartbreaker of a final reel when Sarah, presumably (but not really) under the effects of the truth serum, told Chuck she didn’t love him. All together now…aww!

“Crossroads” (Battlestar Galactica) Season 3 Episodes 19 – 20

BSG comes to a close in a terrific finale with the conclusion of the Balthar trial, and a wicked gem of a cliffhanger with the revealing of the identities of 4 of the final 5 Cylons. But wait….there’s another cliffhanger coming up! Goodness…the heart isn’t meant to take such shocks. It’s gonna be a long wait till the start of the 4^th season.

“Five Years Gone” (Heroes) Volume 1 Chapter 20

Hiro travels 5 years into the future to meet Future Hiro, who turns out to be so lame (ha!) compared to awesome Present-Day Hiro (geez, what happened to you in the interim, Hiro?). Check out the amazing battle between Future Peter and Future Sylar, and watch for that great twist in the scene between Future Claire and Future Nathan. Yes, Future Me will not use the prefix “Future” ever again.

“Greenzo” (30 Rock) Season 2 Episode 5

Guest-stars galore as David Schwimmer (Ross from Friends) and Al Gore (yes, Al Gore of the Vice Presidential fame) shows up in one of the most hilarious episodes of any show of the year. Schwimmer plays jerks extremely well, and he’s on top form here as a pro-environmental mascot (the eponymous Greenzo) gone overboard.

“The Job” (The Office) Season 3 Episodes 24 – 25

Cynics said it couldn’t be done, but the writers have crafted a finale as pitch perfect as the peerless “Casino Night” of Season 2. Jim, Karen and Michael compete for the corporate job in New York, as Dwight takes over the office, to great comedic consequences. Who ultimately got the job? Look for that awesome twist in the tag at the end. But the highlight of the episode was the wonderful conclusion to the Jim/Pam storyarc that the show had been patiently building towards for 3 whole seasons, that had me literally in tears (yes, I’m mushy like that). What a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful ending!

“Nixon vs. Kennedy” (Mad Men) Season 1 Episode 12

Against the backdrop of voting night in the Nixon-Kennedy Presidential race of 1960, the backstory of Don’s real identity is revealed, as weasly Pete tries to expose him to Cooper. The confrontation in Cooper’s office is absolutely riveting, topped off with Cooper’s indifference of the fact that Don is a fraud. The filming of the debauchery of the staff as they waited through the night for the results of the election is technically impressive, and the real highlight of the episode for me was the scene at the train station, as Don, on the cusp of his new adopted life, looks impassively on at his former adopted family as the train pulls away.

“Slapsgiving” (How I Met Your Mother) Season 3 Episode 9

The hilarious return of the slap-bet (poor Barney) is coupled with Ted and Robin reconciling how to remain friends in the aftermath of their breakup. The “Major Buzzkill” scene is an absolute gem, and cannily set up. Not a lot of shows do a Thanksgiving-themed episode, but this is a winner from start to finish. Added bonus: Marshall sings!

“Through the Looking Glass” (Lost) Season 3 Episodes 22 – 23

A slow start to the 3^rd season of Lost picked up steam over the back half, culminating in this game-changer of a finale, with that jawdropper of a cliffhanger. Charlie, Hurley and Desmond all got their moments to shine, the face-off between Jack and Locke as they called each other’s bluffs is simply compelling, and I hope to goodness the enigmatic Juliet (is she good or bad?), one of the best cast additions to the show, will be back next season. Oh, did I mention the cliffhanger was awesome?

ER's 300th Episode

Oops, I haven't been able to keep up with the blog work as often as I'd like (thus the grand total of...::drumroll::...one entry since the blog got started!

"ER" just aired its 300th episode tonight, so it's as good an opportunity to add to my blog as any. At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, "ER" was the show that opened my eyes to the wonderful world of american scripted TV. Sure, "The X-Files", "NYPD Blue" and a myriad other shows probably paved the way, but "ER" really was the show that threw the door open for me. It was the first show that I fell in love with on the very first episode I watched, and followed faithfully thereafter. I haven't been following it as closely in its latter years, as inevitably for a show that's been on for as long as it has been (14 years long), storylines start getting repetitive, and lags in quality start appearing. But I thought last season (its 13th) was consistently watchable and workmanlike in its consistency. But it's nice to see that the old warhorse has got some legs left.

So...the 300th episode. The NBC promos made it seem like it's going to be another disaster-based episode, but it turned out (in a nice welcome surprise) to be quite understated. I like the main Abby-Luka storyline. Goodness, is Abby messed up right now. Her using Neela's apartment for her drinking was bound to be found out sooner or later, and it led to a compelling confrontation between Neela and Abby. Neela's offer of friendship and support to Abby was met with (expectedly) Abby evading the fact that she needed help, and Abby saying those horrible things to Neela. I love that even though Julia didn't know Abby well (and Abby practically trying to wave her off), she persisted in trying to help her, and Julia's efforts (plus Abby seeing Luka's pain in her earlier refusal to tell him what was wrong with her) probably nudged Abby towards confiding in Luka that she had fallen off the wagon.

The 300-patients subplot, which turned out to be played for comic effect in the form of a bet between Morris and Frank/Gates/Pratt that the ER would get 300 patients for the day. It felt a bit too staged with Morris 1 patient away from winning the bet and then having him hit Frank on the hand with the book just to get the final 300th patient. Still, seeing that this could easily have been an "event-scale" storyline, I'll take this approach anytime.

I really liked the main patient storyline (with Peter Fonda)...it's been done on "ER" before, but still very powerful to watch, and probably made more effective because of the quiet way in which it was told. It also provided some nice moments for Morris and Pratt. I love that the episode ended with the memorial ceremony in the lounge (after it had been interrupted once by an incoming trauma). It was an understated and affecting way of showing the patients affect the lives of the ER staff who made it their life's work to be healers.

So, all in all, a very nice episode for "ER" to celebrate its 300 milestone. It's likely the show will end within the next two seasons, and I will miss it when it's gone. Thanks for all the memories, "ER".