Hey, everyone. Inspired by dtewi’s thread on Top 10 TV shows (http://www.vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=80696&page=1), I decided to create one too.
Here, you don’t have to make a list and decide between shows you love. Here, you talk about episodes on these shows that moved you in any particular way.
I suggest that you use the system I use below, but if you just want to say that episode X of show Y rocks , it’s ok too. 
However, if you do give a nice explanation, you might convince other people to try to watch that show.
PS - There will be spoilers, so be careful. I wil try not to put too many (and I ask anyone to avoid too many if possible), but it's hard to talk about why you love it without mentioning certain things.
So, I will start with my favorite episode ever:
The West Wing - 2nd Season Finale - "Two Cathedrals"
This is the greatest episode ever on TV for me. The acting done by Martin Sheen is superb, the directing is well done and don't even get me started on the writing (I'm a big Aaron Sorkin fan - creator of this show).
Basic plot - The president announces to the nation that he has M.S. (multiple sclerosis) and didn't tell anyone during the election. Also, he has to decide if he is going to run for re-election burdened by the loss of his personal secretary, whom he knew since he was a teenager, who died on a car accident the day before.
What makes it great - The scene in the Washington Cathedral, where President Bartlet, angry and frustrated, does what every religious person (he is a devout catholic) does from time to time: blames God for everything.
In this anthological scene, Bartlet walks all the way to the altar complaining to God and (in a brilliant move by Aaron Sorkin) starts ranting in Latin (with no subtitles for you to know what he’s saying). The beauty of that scene is that you don’t need to know what he’s saying to know what he’s saying, if you know what I mean. It’s such a powerful scene, especially if you have been following the show since the start. Martin Sheen does wonders with a scene that is basically just one guy yelling out loud.
This scene is in contrast to another great scene towards the end of the episode. The president is in the Oval Office and he had a conversation with his secretary. It’s clearly not a ghost, nor a dream. It’s all in his head. The president is this very educated man and his secretary was this simple woman. But it is amazing, that she had always been for him someone that simplifies it for him. He gets lost in thoughts and ramifications and she just tells like it is.
So, her death kinda serves as a way for him to “get it together”. To realize that, yes the road that lies ahead is hard, but all that matters is if he wants to do it.
The final scene also is amazing. I won’t get into details here but, there are almost no words and there’s a Dire Straits song playing, Brothers in Arms.
Other worthy mentions:
- The flashbacks to Bartlet’s youth, when he first met his secretary and his complicated relationship with his father.
- The scene in the flashback, that sets up the final scene of the episode. How could have anyone said that the show ended on a cliffhanger?
- Charlie (president’s aide), who takes off his coat, when he sees that the president isn’t wearing one in the rain.
Final Words – There is a lot more to be said of this episode. But a lot of it would only be understood by long-time fans of the show. So, I will leave it for another time.
But I can’t stress it enough: if you think that TV today is dumb and can’t find anything remotely interesting that stimulates you, I tell you that The West Wing has already been released on DVD.
