CHEWERS' 200 GREATEST SINGLE EPISODES OF COMEDY TELEVISION...EVER - Page 2

 

 

Very well said Worky, and especially good job mentioning the tough line any comedy has to toe when dealing with a wartime setting in order to remain respectful of those who still suffer. It's been a fertile ground over the years (Allo Allo, MASH, Hogan's Heroes, Dad's Army etc) and with the exception of MASH nobody did it as well as Blackadder Goes Forth.

 

And here I am with my rep load for the day already shot.

40. The Office (UK) - Season 2, Episode 6

 

The heartbreaking finale of The British Office, proof no matter how good the US version is, it doesn't touch the original. Dawn leaves, Brent tries to keep it together while being followed by reporters, culminating in a tearjerking plea.

 

"Yes you did, you invaded Poland!" may be one of the greatest punchlines ever written.

I don't know if there was some rule to avoid episodes of Community on here, but it is one I will gladly break.

 

41) Community, Paradigms of Human Memory (Season 2, Episode 21)

 

In a show that gloried in playing in different formats, styles, and settings, Community's take on the clip show gave it a bite at thirty different apples. From a deleted scene like the zombie episode, to an alternate take from Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas, to brief glimpses of:

 

Pierce stealing all mutiple flu shots

A visit to a ghost town

A St. Patrick's Day rafting accident

Pierce in a double dutch competition

Abed's infatuation with The Cape

A haircutting class

Free Caesar Salad bar day

The study group captured by drug lords

The study group staying in a haunted house

The study group destroying a habitat for humanity

The study group subbing for the glee club (Take 1)

An Inception style view of the group's fights always being the "last one" and making them "stronger for it"

A cavalcade of Dean entrances

A mashup of Jeff's inspirational speeches.

 

The episode is wall-to-wall jokes, all instigated by Troy's monkey and the revelation of its treasure trove of memories (including a notable purple pen). It's hard to pick one sequence to define it, but I think this has to be it:

 

 

A note perfect shipper video, an homage to an already existing shipper video, that is then parodied by a shipper video for Pierce and Abed. Could have gone with the "Locomotive that runs on us" speech as well.

Edited by MikeI - 6/3/12 at 6:00am

42.  MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW: CHUCKLES BITES THE DUST.

 

Chuckles the clown accidentally gets killed at a parade and the entire newsroom laughs behind the scenes...everyone but Mary, who is appalled.  Then, the funeral happens.

 

If you've ever laughed at inappropriate situations, this episode is for you.

 

43. THE FALL AND RISE OF REGINALD PERRIN: S1, Episode 3: THE SPEECH TO THE BRITISH FRUIT ASSOCIATION

 

The entire series could be on this list, but I chose this one for the simple fact that it contains THE SPEECH, wherein Reggie takes some ill-advised pills to help his confidence and has an interesting experience while giving the speech.  Watch a master at work.

 

44.  FAWLTY TOWERS S1, episode 4: THE HOTEL INSPECTORS

 

I had to dip my toe into the FT ring.  In this one, Basil gets word that there are some inspectors in the area.  This one has the best ending of any of them.

 

45. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "Hundred Dollar Baby"

 

This was a tough one because while it's might not be the best sitcom of all time, Sunny is definitely one of my favourites. In this ep, Charlie becomes an underground street fighter, Sweet Dee tries to get into boxing resulting in a steroid addiction, and Frank commits one weaselly act after another....

 

46) The Office "Dinner Party"

 

Horrible boss Michael Scott tricks Jim and Pam to come to dinner at his condo that night with his awful girlfriend Jan. So many great moments of cringing discomfort. Michael's hilariously small widescreen TV. Dwight bringing his former babysitter as a date. Jan singing drunkenly to a CD made by her former assistant Hunter. Such a great fucking episode.

 

 

47) I Love Lucy: Lucy does the tango.

 

When they're living in the country, Ricky wants to stop trying to raise eggs because it's a money-losing operation. Through escalating incidents, Lucy ends up with the eggs  under her clothes and then one of the funniest things ever on TV happens. I could just fill this list with Lucy, I really could.

 

 

 

Damn you.  I was quite literally compiling for this one.

 

EASILY the best episode of THE TICK, although I can see one or two more possibly making the list.

50.  Fawlty Towers S02, E01, "Communications Problems"

 

This will be the last Fawlty Towers I mention, I promise!  But I had to add this one because it finally gives Basil someone he can unload all his repressed anger and resentment onto:  the hard-of-hearing Mrs. Richards, played with battle-ax perfection by Joan Sanderson.  She's a Sybil he can talk back to without fear of repercussion, and he seems positively energized by it.  He even finally gets a happy ending -- which of course gets taken away, throwing Basil back down into his miserable little life.  It's also great because it's the first episode they'd done in three years, and shows no signs of any creative drought whatsoever.

 

 

I would have added the very first episode. "The Tick vs. The Idea Men," because it so perfectly encapsulates everything that's great about the show, and they did it with their very first swing.

51: THE TICK S2, Episode 8: HEROES

 

Essentially a parody of the show COPS, a camera crew follows the Tick and Arthur around while they solve crime ('villainy in progress!').  The highlight is the bad guy, named the Deadly Bulb...or is it actually Pigleg?  Funny as hell

 

RE: Richard - That first episode has its moments, but it took a few entries to really find a rhythm.  Big Shot is a fucking SCREAM in that first episode, though.

The Tick deserves Godhood status just for having a giant humanoid killer whale running across America in a parody of Forrest Gump.

52: THE TICK S1, Episode 8: THE TICK VS THE UNCOMMON COLD

 

Thrakkazorg, an interdimensional being who wants to conquer the world, speaks like Tim Curry and has a roommate who drinks milk straight out of the carton ('I hate when he does that')  Another killer episode from the first season.

 

 

For shame.  I mean, the episode could easily be #1, but how do you quote a line and not have it be "I call the big one Bitey"?  It might be the greatest line ever written.

It's Always Sunny- "The Gang Dances Their Asses Off"- Sunny can be incredibly inconsistent, but when its on like Million Dollar Baby and this Season 3 finale, it combines all the main characters' complete moral ambiguity and scheming. Probably the best edited opening scene of the show, and any episode with the line "Charlie, your illiteracy has screwed us once again!" needs to be on the list
 

54. Extras - 'Patrick Stewart' (2005)

 

The finale of Series 1 of Gervais's followup to The Office.  Great episode, but it earns a spot on this list for this scene alone.

 

55) Clone High - S1E4 - Film Fest:Tears of a Clone

 

 

There will be a ton of animated shows on this list, episodes from long-running institutions like The Simpsons and Futurama. Words cannot express, however, how much I love this short-lived Canadian series that ran for only 13 episodes on MTV. If you've never seen it, you owe it to yourself to track it down, it's absolutely glorious.

 

This episode is wall-to-wall laughs, and so incredibly quotable. "Film Fest:Tears of a Clone" finds the students rioting after a cross country victory, with Genghis Khan flipping the pool and lighting it on fire, Julius Caesar looting stores for books, and the cheerleaders popping up to cheer "RIOT!" This leads to one of my all-time favorite scenes from anything ever, as Principal Scudworth is confronted by the Secret Board of Shadowy Figures:

 

 

"SO. I. AM." and "Damn it, I haven't been to the Olive Garden in like forever" both get serious play in my rotation of quotes.

 

This leads to our two plot lines, A) The clones making films as a way to express themselves, and B) Scudworth and Mr Butlertron preparing for the Shadowy Figures

 

The films are absolutely glorious. Ghandi and George Washington Carver (and his genetically-engineered anthropomorphic peanut) make a buddy cop film called "Black and Tan" ("Say what?"). Joan of Arc makes a super-artsy black and white film that nobody but Freud gets ("ha ha ha ha, you love Abe"). JFK just spends his time on the casting couch ("Do you mind? Some of us are nailing Catherine the Great here...or should I say Catherine the So-So"), and Abe's film is a true exploration of his feelings ("There's nothing in the rulebook that says a giraffe can't play football").

 

The B plot becomes a little sitcom spoof, with Scudworth and Mr Butlertron redecorate his house via montage (set to Will Forte singing). When Scudworth decides he doesn't need Mr Butlertron's help ("but, Wesley..."), he fails miserably at entertaining the Shadowy Figures ("So...religion's for fools, eh? Fools and liberals.") until Mr. Butlertron saves the day.

 

Honestly, I've watched this episode at least 20 times, and it never fails to make me laugh. It's amazing, and if you've never seen it, you should do yourself a favor and do so.

 

The Whole Episode (In 3 Parts) on YouTube (Click to show)

"We're too late!"
"I shouldn't have stopped for that haircut, I'm sorry"

56. South Park - "Scott Tenorman Must Die"

 

Unlike The Simpsons, South Park still regularly releases episodes that deserve classic status. This one rates as possibly its most legendary, the episode that cemented Cartman as the most depraved character on television.

 

(57) Freakazoid! - "Candle Jack" - Season 1 - Episode 2

 

Underrated animated series that came after Tiny Toons and Animaniacs, Freakazoid! plays like a humorous response to all the superhero cartoons being produced in the 90s. 

 

It only lasted 24 episodes, but the series still holds up. When I think back on the series, this segment from the second episode always comes to mind.

 

58. Ren & Stimpy Show - "Space Madness/The Boy Who Cried Rat" Season 1, Ep. 3

 

There were several really funny episodes of this show, but for my money "Space Madness" is eleven minutes of the funniest television EVER.

 

Every line is quotable, and I still do quote it all the time. People think I'm cra..., er, mad.

 

You can watch it here:

 

http://www.veoh.com/watch/v14085830Cq24yFjf?h1=Space+Madness

59.   Arrested Development: Good Grief

 

If I have to fill this list with AD episodes all by myself, I will.   This is the episode that features, George Bluth's return to the family, GOB being buried alive and this sight gag that encompasses the visual wit of the show....

 

Yeah, it's funny, I thought there would be a flood of AD, which is why I am championing Party Down episodes.  They're my two favorite comedies of the post-Seinfeld era.

 

 

61. 30 Rock "Rosemary's Baby" (2007)

 

The sharpest-shooting jokeslingers around make a little show which goes by the name of "Thirty Rockefeller Center", or as fans have nicknamed it, "30 Rock".

 

Worlds collide in the fourth episode of their second season when Elizabeth Lemon meets her idol Crazy Princess "Rosemary Howard" Leia at a book signing which leads to Leia being hired as special guest writer in the show and then shortly after to both Leia and Liz being fired by Jack Donaghy. Meanwhile Jack tells Tracy Jordan that as a movie star he's free to do anything he wants, with the explicit exception of dogfighting. When Jack comes across Tracy dogfighting he reprimands Tracy which leads to Tracy shouting at Jack that Jack is not his dad.

 

Which leads to a climactic scene of utter magnificence -

 

 

Alec Baldwin won some Big Deal award for his performance in this episode but what really matters the most to him is that I love it with all of my heart and you do too.

62. The Dick Van Dyke Show S01 E16 "The Curious Thing About Women"

One of the standout things about the Dick Van Dyke Show is it's premise. It is a show about the life of a tv show comedy writer. Though Rob writes for a sketch variety show, not a sitcom, this premise allowed the show to go into some very meta territory.

The premise for "the Curious Thing About Women" took full advantage of this and uses the episode to setup one of the most downright hilarious finales of any sitcom ever made. Rob's wife, Laura, has a bad habit of reading his mail without his permission. It's not that Rob doen't approve of her reading his mail, he just dislikes that she does it before he does and then throws away anything she sees as being unimportant before he even can catch a glimpse. After an argument, Laura promises to stop. Later in the day, Rob and his fellow writers are having a tough time figuring out that week's show and are left without a big sketch. Rob relates his problem with Laura opening his mail and from that they concoct a sketch about a husband having the very same problem, only this time he purposely booby traps a package sent to himself to teach his wife a lesson. When the package arrives she opens it even though it was addressed to him and finds herself trying frantically to stop and hide huge raft while it's automatically inflating.

The show airs and turns out to be the funniest thing the variety program has ever produced, we are treated to a scene where Laura is horrified to find that a facsimile of herself is the butt of a joke and what's worse is that all her neighbors know it too because the character in the sketch was even named Laura.

Rob ends up in the dog house and has to find a way to make it up to her and tells her he's planning a family trip. The next day a mysterious package shows up at the house addressed to Rob. All of a sudden Laura finds herself in the same position that the character in the sketch was, but can she refrain from the temptation of finding out what is in the Box?



Evidently not...

What makes this episode so great is that they give you a play by play breakdown of what is going to happen and then they show it to you, which for some strange reason makes the ending bit all that more hilarious. A textbook example of how suspense is just as important to comedies as it is to thrillers.

63. South Park - Cartman Joins NAMBLA (June 20, 2000)

 

Fed up with hanging out with his peers, Cartman begins cruising online chat rooms for older friends, only to have the FBI arrest every single one of them upon meeting him. His frustration leads him to NAMBLA, who are smitten with him and use him as a poster child. Meanwhile, Kenny sets out to find a way to endanger his mother into losing his unborn sibling...only for his father to continually end up the recipient of his schemes.

 

There's countless South Park episodes that I want to mention, but this is my absolute favorite episode of all time, a damningly funny balance of social commentary, absurdist gags, and repulsive scatological jokes.

 

Funniest Moment: A staggering amount of them for 22 minutes, but Kenny using a wig and a crudely written "note" to obtain a Costco-sized container of morning-after pills and then giving a handful of them in a mug of vodka to his father leads to a parade of vomit and diarrhea that makes a majority of gross-out gags in film look tame. That is, until Kenny pleads to let his parents take him on the mercilessly un-PC John Denver Experience, leading to more bodily fluid emission.

 

Let's also not forget: the Bill Kurtis Investigative Reports talking board game. Mr. Garrison turning out to be one of Cartman's "friends." Kenny's dad's shattered balls. All of the boys becoming dates for the NAMBLA members. The other NAMBLA. The slapstick, Scooby-Doo-esque chase scene. Butters volunteering to "take one for the team." "I just want to go home and t-take a hot bath!" The payoff to the McCormicks' newborn.

64. The Andy Griffith Show, S3E07, "Lawman Barney"

 

Most of the time, Barney Fife was treated like a joke. In "Lawman Barney," we got to see Barney as a police officer. After being taunted by two farmers illegally selling produce, Andy makes up a story about Barney in order to save face. Soon, the story is discovered to be fake, and in the end, Barney has to stand up for himself. One of Don Knotts' best moments on the show:

 

Full episode below:

 

 

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

65. Parks and Recreation S3E2 - Flu Season

 

Leslie has to make an important speech while all around her are falling to the flu. Desperate to stay sharp, she steals everyone's medication. This is, essentially, the show's equivalent of Star Trek's The Naked Time-- an opportunity for the entire cast to let their guards down and reveal their true natures. April's resentment of Ann is put on hold, Leslie must deal with being unable to tell floors from walls, and Chris confronts his mortality with superhuman denial.

 

Key moment:

 

"STOP... POOPING."

67. Absolutely Fabulous, season 2, episode 3: Morocco

The continuing adventures of Patsy and Edina. The two head to Morocco for a fashion shoot (for PopSpecs, no less), with Saffy in tow, who just wants to study the Berber tribes. Hash-fueled hi-jinks, almonds and honey, and the revelation that Patsy used to be a man.

Key moment: Patsy sells Saffy into slavery. 

This show makes me laugh harder than almost anything else, that isn't a cartoon. Nobody does comedy quite like the English.

Given this crowd, I'm amazed it took this long for an episode of Louie to show up.

 

And man does The Dick Van Dyke Show underline how badly Aaron Sorkin failed with Studio 60 when it comes to showing a fictional comedy show that's actually funny.

68. Friends S3E2 - The One Where No One's Ready

 

Approaching the middle of its run, the Friends universe was expanding rapidly. More secondary characters, more celebrity guest stars, changes in locale. Time for a bottle episode!

 

Set entirely within Rachel's apartment and featuring only the six principals, this is the perfect episode. Ross has an important event to which all are invited, and he's projecting his stress onto everyone else, but primarily Rachel, his girlfriend at the time. Joey and Chandler are embroiled in an escalating argument over personal boundaries, Monica overreacts to an answering-machine message, and Phoebe was actually ready until someone spilled hummus on her dress. Meanwhile, an unassuming glass of cold chicken fat sits in silent judgement.

 

Key moment: "Going Commando" is introduced to the pop-culture lexicon.

Edited by Hammerhead - 6/3/12 at 6:03pm

Good stuff so far.  Glad to see The Goodies up front. Criminally under-appreciated show.  I'll probably have to throw in a few of them meself.

 

Anyway

 

70. Yes, Prime Minister s1, ep1, 'The Grand Design'

 

It's no exaggeration to call Yes, Minister/Prime Minister the Fawlty Towers of political satire.  Not that long, but you can't really miss with insanely awesome stuff.  Throw a dart at this show and you will hit gold.  The three way comedy machine of the minster, his permanent secretary Sir Humprey and private secretary Bernard must be one of the finest combos in all of British funny.  This is definitely what Iannucci was trying to update with 'In The Thick of It', but because it comes from a slower paced world it's more focused on policy than PR (one of the unspoken and more terrifying aspects of 'In The Thick of It': there's actually no time left for anything else these days). 

The idea that nothing much in government happens that isn't pre ordained, and far beyond the wit and wherewithall of the actual elected representatives, remains timeless however. 

 

Stolid if largely irrelevant minister Jim Hacker, accidentally thrust into the top job (because party in-fighting over the previous series meant everyone else has become a PR disaster, resigned or died) must be brought up to speed on the knotty business of defense by various interests.  Unfortunately he has ideas. Worse yet, they're sometimes good (partly), even if they aren't really his.  Mostly though, his first lesson in this job is that the Prime Minster's role in running the nation is chiefly doing what he's told.

 

 

The whole thing is also out there. God save the internet.

 

I think that term was in use long before Friends came along.

71. The Muppet Show, season 2, episode 19: Peter Sellers

Vaudeville updated and done with muppets, this show (along with SCTV and Monty Python), is probably most responsible for my sense of humour. Here we get Dr. Bunsen Honeydew inventing teleporting, Stadtler and Waldorf in fine form, Sellers as a sadistic masseuse, and Kermit's all-time schmaltz classic It's Not Easy Being Green.

Key moment? Check out the 8:00 mark of this clip. Sellers does Shakespeare. The world weeps.

72. The Simpsons, season 7, episode 11 — "Marge Be Not Proud"

 

 

There may be some funnier Simpsons episodes, but I don't think any can match this one pound for pound for being both hilarious and quite touching and poignant. As Christmas approaches, Bart desperately wants the Mortal Kombat-style video game Bonestorm. His parents won't buy it for him, so he gives in to peer pressure and his own juvenile impulses and steals a copy. He's immediately caught (by a gruff security guard voice-acted by the late Lawrence Tierney), and he and his parents—Marge in particular—must deal with his guilt, growing up, and facing the consequences of one's actions. Oh yeah, and it's hilarious. Cases in point:

 

Homer: "Hey, I don't remember saying that!"

 

Troy McClure: "Hi, I'm Troy McClure! You might remember me from such public-service videos as 'Designated Drivers: The Life-saving Nerds' and 'Phony Tornado Alarms Reduce Readiness.' I'm here today to give you the skinny on shoplifting, thereby completing my plea-bargain with the good people of Foot Locker of Beverly Hills. Shoplifting began here, in ancient Phoenicia. Thieves would literally lift the corner of a shop in order to snatch the sweet, sweet olives within. Oh, Shakazaramesh, will you ever learn? Flash-forward to ancient Babylonia—"

 

Gavin's Mom: "Gavin, don't you already have this game?"

Gavin: "No, Mom, you idiot! I have Bloodstorm and Bonesquad and Bloodstorm 2, stupid!"

Gavin's Mom: "Oh, I'm sorry, honey. We'll take a Bonestorm."

Gavin: "Get two! I'm not sharing with Caitlyn!"

Bart: "That must be the happiest kid in the world."

 

Nelson: "Shoplifting is a victimless crime—like punching someone in the dark!"

 

Marge: "But that's crazy! Bart's not a shoplifter, he's just a little boy."

Don Brodka: "Oh sure, now he's just a little boy stealing little toys. But some day he'll be a grown man, stealing stadiums and . . . quarries."

 

Homer: "Stealing! How could you? Haven't you learned anything from that guy who gives those sermons at church? Captain Whatshisname? We live in a society of laws! Why do you think I took you to all those Police Academy movies? For fun? Well, I didn't hear anybody laughing! Did you? Except at that guy who made sound effects. *b-b-b-b-bew* *vvvr-vvvr* *pf-pf-pf* *honk-honk* *pkewwwww* Hee-hee-hee-hee! Where was I? Oh yeah. Stay out of my booze!"

 

Don't believe me? Here's the entire episode on some weird Russian site!

For how badly Friends flatlined in the 2000s- "The One with the Embryos" AKA: The trivia episode, is a brilliant dissection of the Friends' various relationships with each other. The lightning round should be studied for rapid-fire comic timing, and of course, finding out what exactly is Chandler Bing's real job?!?!
 

73.  Seinfeld (Season 4, Ep. 17) -- The Outing

 

A college reporter mistakenly prints a story that Jerry and George are a gay couple.  Hilarity and catch phrases ensue.  This one is on fire throughout and builds up to the very last scene.  A perfect episode.  

 

"Not that there's anything wrong with that!"

 

I believe you mean Ms. Chanandler Bong

 

In use but not, I think, widespread.