So we have a lot of "best of" threads, but there isn't a "best TV moments" thread. This isn't entire episodes, it is just moments from episodes of TV shows that stuck with you, for whatever reason. A good example: In Futurama, the end of "The Luck of the Fryrish." The entire episode builds around Fry thinking his brother stole his name, identity, and his lucky 7 leaf clover to become a major star. But in the final moment, you find out that Fry's brother had a son, and named him "Philip J. Fry." It could be that, when I have a son, we're naming him after my wife's brother (who passed away a few years ago) but that moment gets me every single time. I've got more, but I figured I'd throw this idea out there. Focus: What are some of your favorite TV "Moments?" The first time Ross and Rachel hooked up? The final moments of Season 4 of Breaking Bad (Those who watch it know what I'm talking about)? Have at it.
Two moments in season 1, episode 4 of Mad Men come to mind; -The incredible scene where Sterling dresses down Pete while informing him he is still employed. The man he should thank for this act of kindness? Don Draper. -When Don Draper and Sterling go to the main boss to ask for Pete to be fired. Said boss has decorated his entire office with various Japanese historical affects. In the background, you can faintly see a reproduction of The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife, drawn by Hokusai, the same artist who did the Wave over Mount Fuji.
Stringer Bell being shot by two of TV's biggest badasses. Watching the Trinity Killer give Dexter a visit at work.
Futurama is a great series for those kinds of moments. In similar vein, the ending montage of Jurassic Bark kills me. Babylon 5 has a ton of great moments. One of them is during the final battle for Earth when Sheridan has to destroy the space platform before it kills millions. That sequence to ram it, the ship emerging from the fireball, the death of Clark... epic. Another great B5 moment is when Sheridan calls out "Delenn, I need you" as EarthForce cruisers are about to blast the station and she replies "I am there" and jumps in with three huge cruisers. I love that show.
ENTOURAGE: Ari Gold - 'Get the fuck out scene' featuring Bryan Callen Scene MAD MEN: Don Draper - 'Kodak Pitch'
I'd have to say, these scene is still probably the far and away best scene the show has ever done. A lot of shows and movies create characters that are the coolest/best/"the man" at any given storyline with out any quality clear cut examples of what make them this way. They are, simply, because the show just says they are. I'd say Mad Men kind of fell into that, Don was supposed to be this genius wunderkind going into the show. I'd say 95% of the pitches or ideas he comes up with are good, they aren't close to what the show makes him out to be. This one on the other hand was a brilliant idea that was conceptualized brilliantly by the writers and executed perfectly tying it in with some of the emotional peaks the show was going through that season. While some scenes are pay offs to big story lines and are great in their own way, like the scene where he breaks down to Peggy about the death of the original Mrs. Draper, this one stuck out as a stand alone. Truly great scene. I'd say for my favorite drama of all time, The Soprano's, it'd be hard to nail down since there were so many. I think the scene that resonated the most with me was an early season episode was a simple scene at a funeral when AJ looked at his dad for the first time after realizing that his dad was in the mafia. One of the major themes of the show was Tony's balancing acts between his two "families" and protecting his blood relatives from his business. Tony himself had had a traumatic event finding out what his father did and had been shielding his son from it. AJ with the innocence of youth had before the scene believed his dad to be a faultless protector of the family. They'd never have the relationship Tony had really had wanted.
Here were a few more I thought of (here there be spoilers for a few shows): How I Met Your Mother: the end of the Episode "Bad News." The episode is about Marshall and Lilly having trouble conceiving a child, and there is a countdown throughout the episode. At the end, Lilly meets Marshall and tells him that his father passed away, and Marshall breaks down. It was one of those moments that made you realize how much you care about those characters. Those kind of sad moments tend to stick with me. Not sure why. Rescue Me: Series Finale, "Ashes." This moment happens early. In the second to last episode, the entire crew gets trapped in a stairwell, and this is followed by a huge explosion. The moment is when Tommy is recalling what happened in the aftermath of the explosion. He calls for the other crew members, and one by one they all emerge, until Tommy sees Lou. Tommy turns Lou over to reveal his very, very burnt body. First off, it was a fucked up visual. They lingered on it just long enough to see how fucked up he was, and you knew SOMEONE would die (and going into it, everyone thought Tommy would die), but Lou was one of those characters that stole the show, so him being the one that died was kind of a gut punch. 24: Season Two, episode one. They call Jack Bauer back into CTU to go undercover, and Jack requests they bring in a witness to give him information. As soon as they bring in the witness, Jack calmly pulls a gun and blasts the guy in the chest (much to the shock of everyone else), and asks for a saw, to hack the guy's head off. It was the first time they portrayed Jack as a broken guy who would do literally anything to accomplish his goals, and it was played perfectly, with Jack being borderline sociopathic about it, while everyone else looked on in complete shock. Just a fucked up moment that I dug about that series and stuck with me.
A favourite of mine has definitely been from Oz. To set things up, Tobias Beecher, a lawyer sent to prison for drunk driving resulting in the death of a teen, had been living in fear from his cell mate Vern Schillinger for weeks. Beecher was raped, branded, and forced to dress up as a woman by Schillinger. The big moment was when Beecher finally stood up for himself and publicly humiliated Schillinger, which sparked a vicious war between the two that lasted for the entire series. The only video I could find was flagged by Youtube for adult content and requires an account to be viewed. NSFW http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V68OUdXSD50 On a lighter note, a funny moment I liked was the episode of Kenny vs Spenny where the competition was ‘first guy to get a boner loses’. The sudden death boner competition where the boys choose strippers for each other still makes me laugh. It starts around 1:35 NSFW
Season Finale of Lost season 3, when you realize that this drunken mess of Jack Sheppard that has been cut into the last two hours is Jack in the future, after they get off the island.
It's impossible to pick one "best moment" from the TV version of Friday Night Lights. I'm not an emotional guy, and FNL made me shed a few tears at least twice a season. No other show in recent memory was packed with so many powerful moments featuring characters I legitimately cared about. Off the top of my head... Spoiler 1. The entire episode "The Son." 2. When Coach Taylor was watching game tape of Smash succeeding in college. 3. Anytime Julie Taylor wasn't on screen. 4. Riggins going to jail for his brother and how it shaped his character. His parole hearing was just...wow. 5. Vince's story arc with his parents, particularly his mother.
The Wire Episode 1 Season 4 "Old Cases" When Bunk and McNulty go and check out this crime scene and piece together everything. The dialogue makes the scene because in any othershow, they'd be narrating every thought. In this one they just say the word fuck and variations of it. You can sit there and write the dialogue they're so good with it.
I didn't watch it but I honestly hope this isn't some huge spoiler for the series since I haven't seen it yet.
Nice thread idea, but please please PLEASE for the love of god: Put the SERIES NAME and SEASON/EPISODE in your posts and put the actual moment in SPOILER TAGS. dammit!
Final season of NYPD Blue, Sipowicz is going through a lot and his old partner, Bobby, who was killed a few seasons earlier, shows up as a kind of guardian angel. Great, unexpected moment. At least for fans of the show. Show's been off air for seven years, shouldn't be a spoiler by now.