TV: monorails, robots and schoolground homicide

[sigma7]

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, seriously, I couldn't possibly list all the episodes of every series I've watched more than five times. Tons. I'm that kinda guy; I go back to the well for my comfort food. (Also, I mix my metaphors.) I probably would've picked "Marge vs. the Monorail" -- my favorite Simpsons episode -- based on its pleasant surreality, sheer number of wonderful quotes ("Think harder, Homer") and comfortable familiarity rewatching it engenders. I adored the Conan episodes, but this one still stands out in my memory. But I can't find an embeddable version of it that isn't dubbed in Russian.

My second thought was to jump to Buffy's "Intervention," an episode that not only moves the season arc story along a bit but introduces a few very important story ideas and has, at its core, one of the show's most implausible yet hysterical concepts, that someone could build a robotic version of Buffy capable of mimicking her physical form (and, as Spike is all-too keen to discover, all of her physical form) and abilities, yet is woefully inept at the most basic of conversations or even knowing how to pronounce her friends' names. But even better, when the Scoobies see the Buffybot together with Spike (yes, like that), and even after their conversations with her are hysterically disjointed by her non sequiturs and baffling pronouncements, they fail to notice what the real Buffy points out immediately upon meeting her: no, she's a robot, and how did none of you notice this? It's stupidly ridiculous, but it a really great way, with a perfect ending. But Hulu only has season three in its current online stash, so I can't embed that either. (Well, the Russians have it here, but be prepared to wait.)

So let's fall back on a S3 Buffy we can all share. "Earshot" deals with Buffy gaining telepathy from a demon and quickly finding out how a blessing can turn to a curse:

...and that final bit of "overheard" dialogue is the impetus for the rest of the episode -- who said it, and how do they stop them? (Watch the rest of the episode. It's not very continuity-heavy and quite a bit of fun in spots. There are worse ways to spend 44 minutes.)

Problem is the episode was originally supposed to air on April 27, 1999, and the Columbine shootings happened the previous Tuesday. "Earshot" wasn't aired in the US for almost half a year afterward. Funny thing is, Buffy's revelations while bearing the weight of every voice in the school speaking into her mind simultaneously are more or less timeless. And Jonathan...well, that would be telling.

And I'm incessantly amused that I never would've picked which two actors from the library scene would marry each other.