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Day 01 - A show that should never have been cancelled
Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of one of your favorite shows
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of one of your favorite TV shows
Day 08 - A show that's had a significant effect on who you are today
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death
Now I'm immediately disqualifying anything that's part of a season premiere or finale. We're talking just great moments in the natural course of a television program. Which excludes a whole bunch of ZOMG moments, I know, but I don't think that's what this entry's after.
But you also have to weigh the dramatic against the comedic against the simply profound -- so we'll try to cover all our bases here. First up, in the classics category: the grisly fate of the Pinedale Shopping Mall in WKRP in Cincinnati.
The entire (well, aside from scenes excised due to music licensing issues -- I doubt Johnny and Mr. Carlson talk about Pink Floyd anymore) episode's on Hulu here.
Honorable mention: after three years of toil and sacrifice in defense of Sunnydale High School -- often at enormous personal expense -- and reeling in her recent dumping by the undead love of her life, Buffy Summers gets her one perfect moment at the prom in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Finalist, dramatic monologue: Jeremy tells Natalie why she's about to lose her hand of poker and why she needs to trust him from Sports Night.
Finalist, comedic sequence: Dan has writer's block and Natalie is bound to cure him from Sports Night.
But for me, the winner's always going to be this clip below.
Up to this point, Star Trek: The Next Generation's always suffered in the shadow of its predecessor. It's still struggling to find its own way and its own weight. A guest appearance from Mark Lenard, playing Spock's father Sarek, provides an ample opportunity. Lenard (at the time) was the only man who'd played a Klingon, a Vulcan and a Romulan, (hey, William Morgan Sheppard is 2/3rds through the Lenard trifecta!), so most of his notable acting roles were playing stoic, calm, even-keeled characters. In his appearance on TNG, Sarek's alleged to be losing control of his emotions -- taboo and anathema to a Vulcan, let alone a revered and critical figure in Vulcan society -- and worse, is projecting his repressed emotions throughout the ship, causing widespread havoc.
It's up to Captain Picard to confront Ambassador Sarek with his findings and allegations in a desperate attempt to save the delicate peace process Sarek and the ship are currently undertaking. Watch the shift in power in the scene, the struggle of wills -- Lenard gets very little credit for his acting, but he holds his own with a legendary actor here, and indeed, makes what should be a boring, monotonous role really alive (see also Star Trek III and his final deathbed appearance in "Unification I"). It's amazing.
This is the moment when TNG became its own entity, fully addressed its heritage and asserted its -- perhaps not superiority, but its capacity to approach it as a peer. And it was the moment I stopped watching Star Trek for the shiny explosions and sci-fi plots and realized that just two exceptional actors sparring with each other -- no special effects or hamhanded plots -- could be absolutely riveting.
Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of one of your favorite shows
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of one of your favorite TV shows
Day 08 - A show that's had a significant effect on who you are today
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death
Now I'm immediately disqualifying anything that's part of a season premiere or finale. We're talking just great moments in the natural course of a television program. Which excludes a whole bunch of ZOMG moments, I know, but I don't think that's what this entry's after.
But you also have to weigh the dramatic against the comedic against the simply profound -- so we'll try to cover all our bases here. First up, in the classics category: the grisly fate of the Pinedale Shopping Mall in WKRP in Cincinnati.
The entire (well, aside from scenes excised due to music licensing issues -- I doubt Johnny and Mr. Carlson talk about Pink Floyd anymore) episode's on Hulu here.
Honorable mention: after three years of toil and sacrifice in defense of Sunnydale High School -- often at enormous personal expense -- and reeling in her recent dumping by the undead love of her life, Buffy Summers gets her one perfect moment at the prom in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Finalist, dramatic monologue: Jeremy tells Natalie why she's about to lose her hand of poker and why she needs to trust him from Sports Night.
Finalist, comedic sequence: Dan has writer's block and Natalie is bound to cure him from Sports Night.
But for me, the winner's always going to be this clip below.
Up to this point, Star Trek: The Next Generation's always suffered in the shadow of its predecessor. It's still struggling to find its own way and its own weight. A guest appearance from Mark Lenard, playing Spock's father Sarek, provides an ample opportunity. Lenard (at the time) was the only man who'd played a Klingon, a Vulcan and a Romulan, (hey, William Morgan Sheppard is 2/3rds through the Lenard trifecta!), so most of his notable acting roles were playing stoic, calm, even-keeled characters. In his appearance on TNG, Sarek's alleged to be losing control of his emotions -- taboo and anathema to a Vulcan, let alone a revered and critical figure in Vulcan society -- and worse, is projecting his repressed emotions throughout the ship, causing widespread havoc.
It's up to Captain Picard to confront Ambassador Sarek with his findings and allegations in a desperate attempt to save the delicate peace process Sarek and the ship are currently undertaking. Watch the shift in power in the scene, the struggle of wills -- Lenard gets very little credit for his acting, but he holds his own with a legendary actor here, and indeed, makes what should be a boring, monotonous role really alive (see also Star Trek III and his final deathbed appearance in "Unification I"). It's amazing.
This is the moment when TNG became its own entity, fully addressed its heritage and asserted its -- perhaps not superiority, but its capacity to approach it as a peer. And it was the moment I stopped watching Star Trek for the shiny explosions and sci-fi plots and realized that just two exceptional actors sparring with each other -- no special effects or hamhanded plots -- could be absolutely riveting.
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