Best Sci-Fi, Fantasy TV Episode EVER!!!!

[Kyrian007]

I've held for a long time that Star Trek's "City on the Edge of Forever" would always be my answer to that question. After all it was the first time that an episode of sci-fi television was not only celebrated as "good for a sci-fi show" but just flat out great television regardless of genre.

But I've seen better tv episodes in fantasy/sci-fi. My favorite would be either the Carnivale 2-parter "Babylon" and "Pick a Number" or Twilight Zone's "A Game of Pool" (the original, by George Johnson.) As for Firefly (as some have mentioned) I fully believe that HAD Firefly been allowed to continue, an episode of Firefly would have eventually topped this list for me.

 

[Silvanus]

I wasn't a fan of The Family of Blood. I enjoyed the baddies, and the concept was fairly good, but I can't take angry-Tennant seriously. The ending also failed to hit the mark for me. If I had to choose a Doctor Who episode, it would be either "Dalek" or "Midnight".


My own choices... possibly the Blackwater episode of Game of Thrones. I have a lot of problems with the series overall, but that episode is glorious. Brutal, epic, soaring. It's never been as great as the Battle of Blackwater Bay for me.

Other good choices are Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man (X Files), Jurassic Bark (Futurama), TS-19 (The Walking Dead, the series 1 finale).

 

[Thaluikhain]

Genesis of the Daleks, because you finally see the inhuman little monster responsible for them.

Not a single episode, though, which would disqualify most of the old Doctor Who.

 

[sanquin]

"Blink" had the first baddies in many years that actually creeped me the hell out. Later down the line they got watered down to "time-energy scavengers that zap you back in time", but that first weeping angels episode...

And now I also have to mention Futurama. "Jurassic Bark", "Luck of the Fryish", and "Meanwhile" were pretty damn good imo. (When it finished, it was the first series in a while that I felt had a satisfying ending, even if I wanted more.)

 

[small]

buffy did have a few incredibly original episodes that let the cast flex their acting muscles, the body has been mentioned and to this day i still remember sitting there the entire episode with my hand over my mouth in shocked silence but id also include hush and once more with feeling.

deep space 9 had a few of my favourites as well Trials and Tribble-ations was a great mix of original series and the DS9 cast but "the visitor" to this day is one of my favourite episodes of any tv show

 

[Breakdown]

I really liked a lot of the more tongue in cheek episodes of the X Files, like Bad Blood, X-Cops and Hollywood AD. For all round epic greatness I would pick the Lost episode Ab Aeterno. Or maybe The Constant from Lost again. Or Game of Thrones' Blackwater.

 

[Pescetarian]

Yeah, I've gotta go with TNG's finale, "All Good Things" here. Just a fantastic end for the series that all but raised me.

 

[spartan231490]

You're just wrong. The best sci-fi episode is "Window of Opportunity" from Stargate: SG-1. There's just no contest.

 

[Reed Spacer]

Genesis of the Daleks, because you finally see the inhuman little monster responsible for them.

Not a single episode, though, which would disqualify most of the old Doctor Who.

Quiet, you; you're not the boss of me.

Anyway, the DVD has the option to play all the episodes connected like a movie, so nyah.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

I'd have to say that Star Trek: The Next Generation Darmok is probably the top tier single episode in Sci-fi TV in my opinion. Nothing else really resonates with me so well. I've always found the subject of that episode to be so very important. Its one of the best written episodes, has such... weight to it. Beautiful.
I've been moved by other sci-fi (Futurama especially) but I've got a memory of growing up on TNG and that episode alone has stuck out more than anything else.
I could say a lot more on the subject but I'll leave it for another time.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

You guys are all wrong. Clearly the best Sci-Fi TV episode is Trouble With Tribbles from Star Trek. Sure, other shows may be flashier or more dramatic, but nothing beats a good episode from the original series of Star Trek.

 

[Julius Terrell]

Star Trek: TNG is still without a doubt some of the best TV sci-fi I've ever watched. Most of the episodes that center on either the borg and the Q to be quite suspenseful.

I'll still say that "best of both worlds" was an utter masterpiece. The fact that the borg hailed them afterward to show them what they did to picard. It was a complete and utter mind fuck! It was written all over everyone's faces. When this episode first aired, I just couldn't believe what I was watching.

This and the episode when first encountered the borg. In the 7 seasons that TNG aired, I've rarely seen picard peg ANYBODY for ANYTHING. Seeing picard grovel to Q for him to save them from the borg was just too awesome!

There were a few episodes of the twilight zone that were just sheer brilliance rolled up into a ball.

This is another show that really stands with Star Trek: TNG as far as quality. It's really too bad that shows like those can't be produced now-a-days.

 

[Suhi89]

Some great choices offered so far and BoBW and window of opportunity would be right up there for different reasons but for me nothing beats In The Pale Moonlight from DS9.

Given that Family of Blood was brought up and Blink has also been mentioned, I do think that the run from 42 through Utopia is the most consistently high quality TV from a continuing series (as opposed to a self contained mini series) I can think of. Shame they ruined it with the 2 part finale.

Honourable mentions also to Turn Left and Midnight.

 

[Twinrehz]

With Dr. Who people always forget the "Girl in the Fireplace". Which for me is easily the best episode in the series.

This, so many times over. It's the only who-episode that struck my feels, and I'm not sure why. The episodes where Rose gets dumped as sidekick didn't move me this much.

I'd have to say that Star Trek: The Next Generation Darmok is probably the top tier single episode in Sci-fi TV in my opinion. Nothing else really resonates with me so well. I've always found the subject of that episode to be so very important. Its one of the best written episodes, has such... weight to it. Beautiful.

Don't know if you've seen this one before

From Star Trek: TNG, any episode with Q and with the Borg is the high point, except the one where Lore suddenly becomes the leader of a renegade gang of Borgs. Dafuq was up with that?

As for a personal favourite not already mentioned in this thread, I don't have one.

 

[Lightspeaker]

I have a few problems with The Family of Blood (and Human Nature)

Spoiler

Firstly, the Doctor has decided the best place to go hide out with his black companion is in 1913 Britain, so she can get a job scrubbing floors while he's a teacher? Um...

Also, did not like Martha falling in love with the Doctor. Just had a series of Rose blathering on about him, looked like Martha would be a proper companion and skip all that, but no.

There was a message about not killing in there. It is morally wrong to kill aliens if that is the only way to prevent them from destroying the entire world (NuWho likes this sort of thing). Again, this was in 1913.

The way the aliens were defeated involved them not caring at all that the Doctor is on their spaceships pressing various buttons on their control panels.

Having just seen that episode recently (been rewatching that series actually) and I've got a couple of comments to make:

- The Doctor actually states something about "the TARDIS will pick a safe time for me to go and give me memories to fit in". In short, he didn't pick 1913; the TARDIS picked it as a safe place for him.

- The killing thing is talked about a little at the end of the episode by the commentating "Son of Mine". Its not really about "not killing". The whole not killing them thing is actually about the sheer cold malevolent rage that the Doctor is capable of and how its an incredibly bad idea to anger him. At the end he wasn't being kind by imprisoning all of them in various ways...he was doing it to be cruel. The kindness was running from them so that they didn't have to face him and could have chosen to stop. They wanted to live forever so now they will, but the WAY they will live forever is as a series of terrible punishments.

 

[Thaluikhain]

- The Doctor actually states something about "the TARDIS will pick a safe time for me to go and give me memories to fit in". In short, he didn't pick 1913; the TARDIS picked it as a safe place for him.

- The killing thing is talked about a little at the end of the episode by the commentating "Son of Mine". Its not really about "not killing". The whole not killing them thing is actually about the sheer cold malevolent rage that the Doctor is capable of and how its an incredibly bad idea to anger him. At the end he wasn't being kind by imprisoning all of them in various ways...he was doing it to be cruel. The kindness was running from them so that they didn't have to face him and could have chosen to stop. They wanted to live forever so now they will, but the WAY they will live forever is as a series of terrible punishments.

Huh, ok, that's still a poor choice for the TARDIS.

And, I didn't mean the Doctor not killing, once they are defeated, they are no further threat, he doesn't need to kill him. The humans from 1913, however, were worried about killing the aliens when the aliens were about to blow up the world or whatever.

 

[Lightspeaker]

- The Doctor actually states something about "the TARDIS will pick a safe time for me to go and give me memories to fit in". In short, he didn't pick 1913; the TARDIS picked it as a safe place for him.

- The killing thing is talked about a little at the end of the episode by the commentating "Son of Mine". Its not really about "not killing". The whole not killing them thing is actually about the sheer cold malevolent rage that the Doctor is capable of and how its an incredibly bad idea to anger him. At the end he wasn't being kind by imprisoning all of them in various ways...he was doing it to be cruel. The kindness was running from them so that they didn't have to face him and could have chosen to stop. They wanted to live forever so now they will, but the WAY they will live forever is as a series of terrible punishments.

Huh, ok, that's still a poor choice for the TARDIS.

And, I didn't mean the Doctor not killing, once they are defeated, they are no further threat, he doesn't need to kill him. The humans from 1913, however, were worried about killing the aliens when the aliens were about to blow up the world or whatever.

Well I guess the TARDIS doesn't think the same way we do. Hell, the Doctor probably wouldn't have considered that himself (I don't think racism is a thing Timelords quite understand).


As for the latter. Oh okay. I caught a "too young to be killing" vibe (like that whole scene with the scarecrows walking in) as a sort of reference to WW1 but I didn't read into any deeper "anti-killing" thing beyond that; could be there though.

 

[Oinodaemon]

My personal favorite episode of a series would have to be "Tales of Ba Sing Se", or "Zuko Alone" from A:TLA. Iroh's scene still makes me cry if I'm not properly braced for it.

 

[putowtin]

There are quite a few great Supernatural episodes too, can't remember their names but that ones that spring to mind are the one when Sam and Dean come to 'our' world and have to act in a episode.

Theres "The French Mistake" (season 6 ep 15) where Sam and Dean are zapped to our world
Also "Changing Channels" (season 5 ep 8) where Sam and Dean are trapped in TV land, both are great Meta episodes!

Sticking with Supernatural I can't watch "The End" (season 5 ep 4) or "Swan Song" (season 5 ep 22) without been reduced to tears... the mark of a great tv series, one minute you're laughing the next crying!

 

[Mister Eff]

One I've always loved is The Constant from LOST. I know it's cool to hate on LOST nowadays, but that was a hell of an episode and an emotion roller coaster.