This week's list takes a look at TV episodes that ventured outside of their shows' established formats. In order to highlight originality, I specifically asked Josh to avoid common gimmicks like the "bottle episode." And to keep things from getting too meta, we're leaving "Community" off the list altogether, because its gimmick is using gimmicks so often that they're no longer gimmicks. And now my head hurts. --Ed.
3D Episode of "3rd Rock from the Sun"
The year 1997 was an odd time for 3D’s relationship with pop culture. Long gone were the original “golden years” of the technology, used largely for horror films in the 1950s, and it was still a decade before The Polar Express and Avatar made millions with the gimmick. The two most notable instances of 3D in 1997 were Frogger 3D and "3rd Rock from the Sun's" two-part second season finale, “A Nightmare on Dick Street.” The episode featured Dick (John Lithgow), Sally (Kristen Johnston), Tommy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and Harry (French Stewart, still annoying), dreaming for the first time (highlight: “Newman” in a Fellini-esque film), with the sleep fantasies airing in 3D to the audience. The glasses were originally available at 7-Eleven stories (four pairs for $2!), but they now come with the complete second season DVD box set.
The "COPS"/"X-Files" Crossover Episode
As you probably know if you’ve seen the "Simpsons"’ episode “A Star is Burns,” Fox was big into crossovers back in the day. While some argue the authenticity and quality of Pulitzer Prize-winning Jay Sherman visiting Springfield, it’s tough to argue against “X-Cops," a Season 7 episode of "The X-Files" that plays like an episode of “COPS.” It's shot using shaky hand-held camera footage, and the story has police offers and the documentary crew eventually running into Mulder and Scully investigating the same case.
(GIF via)
The Day-Off Episode of “Law & Order”
The only episode of “Law & Order” to not feature a case, “Aftershock” begins with the execution of a man who clubbed a woman to death. Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy) is so shaken up that she decides to take a day off, as do Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach), Rey Curtis (Benjamin Bratt), and Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston). Over the course of the episode, we see the characters interact with their families, have one-nighters with a pre-"Alias" Jennifer Garner, and get drunk. I’ve never been much of a fan of “Law & Order” for all the obvious “lack of a continuing storyline” reasons, but “Aftershock,” which ends with the death of one of the characters named above, at least stands out from the "Law & Order"’s other 455 episodes; it shows who the characters are, rather than simply telling us.
The Upside-Down Episode of "Letterman"
In 1987, for no other reason than it’s fun to mess with people, an episode of “Late Night with Dave Letterman” began rotating onscreen, at 10 degrees an hour. It began during his opening monologue, with no mention from the host until later in the show, when he said, “Tonight…we bring you the 360-Degree Image-Rotation Television Program.” By 1 a.m., he was upside down, or at least that’s how he appeared to those watching at home. According to New York magazine, hundreds of people called in to NBC the next morning, “complaining of headaches, dizziness, and nausea.” Although the network was pissed, Dave and his writing crew were ecstatic because all the complaints meant that people were watching and stuck around to feel nauseated.
The Episode of "Six Feet Under" That Never Cut Away
According to Alan Poul, executive producer of "Six Feet Under," Season 4's “That’s My Dog” was nicknamed “the departure episode,” because unlike any of the other installments of the great HBO drama, it didn’t cut away from the main plot (at least after the first 15 minutes of the episode). David Fisher, played to perfection by Michael C. Hall, picks up a hitchhiker named Jake, the two begin to flirt, and then… Jake robs David, makes him smoke crack, beats him up, throws gasoline on him, and puts a gun in his mouth, without any explanation of why he’s terrorizing the defenseless funeral director. The show never cuts away from David’s misery, and it’s so brutal and disturbing that you wish you could turn the DVD off, but you know you need to find out what happens. The episode felt like it lasted three hours—and it’s still one of my favorites from the show.
The Backwards Episode of "Seinfeld"
A few shows have done the backwards episode gimmick—including "The Venture Bros." and "Red Dwarf"—but "Seinfeld" is the best example. “The Betrayal” begins with Jerry, George, and Elaine (nursing a broken nose) returning from Sue Ellen’s wedding in India as the end credits run, and ends with Kramer and Jerry meeting for the first time, where Jerry foolishly says, “We’re neighbors; what’s mine is yours.” What goes in between is what makes the episode a classic, like Jerry and George getting Elaine drunk on Schnapps to get her to talk and the story of why FDR wants Kramer dead.
The Pop-Up Video Episode of “NewsRadio”
To celebrate their 50th episode in 1997, “NewsRadio” aired “Our Fiftieth Episode.” Nothing particularly clever there, but what was intriguing was the show’s one-time use of pop-up videos to display little tidbits about the episode. Like the VH1 show itself, some people hated the gimmick, especially considering it was a strong Bill McNeal episode (he gets sent to the mental episode after going ballistic when a police officer gives him a ticket) and didn't need a ratings ploy, while others thought it cute. My favorite pop-up: many actors, including Charlton Heston, refused to guest on the show because they had never heard of it.
The Musical Episode of...Everything
I won’t focus on “Buffy” here (that comes later), because there are plenty of other, non-"Glee" shows that have a dedicated an entire episode to their characters singing, dancing, and, in one case, paying a troll toll to get into a baby boy's hole. Notable examples: “Influenza” from "Even Stevens," “Daria!” from "Daria," “My Musical” from "Scrubs," and “The Nightman Cometh” from "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia." Less notable and more insufferable: “Song Beneath the Song” from "Grey’s Anatomy," featuring cast-member renditions of The Fray and Snow Patrol that somehow made their songs "Chasing Cars" and "How to Save a Life" even worse.
The Silent Episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”
As promised! The premise of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" lent itself nicely to have off-format episodes: when there’s a new monster in town every week, the writers are allowed to indulge in their creativity, and one of the show’s finest episodes is also one of its most unusual. Of the 44 minutes that “Hush” lasts, only 17 consist of dialogue; the rest is, well, hushed. The residents of Sunnydale have lost their voices courtesy of the terrifying Gentlemen, so Buffy & Co. are forced to non-verbally communicate with one another to defeat the bad guys. Series creator Joss Whedon wrote the episode in reaction to the media saying the dialogue was "Buffy"’s best quality, so not only is "Hush" a great episode; it's also one big F*ck You to critics (like me!) who overly praise a certain aspect of a television show.
The Live Episode of "The West Wing"
Ever since the second season of Fox's “Roc,” which was broadcast live (not just “live in front of a studio audience,” but actually LIVE) back in 1992-1993, no scripted show has had enough balls to hope everything works out in a single take. Every so often, though, some program will make a spectacle of airing a “live episode,” like "E.R." in 1997 and "30 Rock" just last year, usually with a lack of mistakes, much to the audience's chagrin. The riskiest, and best, example of this ratings stunt is "The Debate" from "The West Wing," which is just that: a debate, between Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) and Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits). Not a single original cast member appeared in the episode, and, for a brief moment, Jimmy Smits was watchable.
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Nice list, Josh. Newsradio love warms the cockles of my heart and you’re spot on about Hush. One of my all time favorite episodes of that show, it executed a unique and scary concept, while dramatically changing the actual content of the show. Tall order, but they pulled it off, AND created some damn scary imagery, thanks to the Gentlemen.
Good list. Mental episode?
What about that one special episode from that one show that everybody liked that YOU forgot? Unforgivable.
Very nice list.
I’d never heard of the Letterman episode, but it made me think of some of the gimmick episodes Conan did — one filmed entirely in a giant hole, one done on one of the Circle Line boats in the Hudson River, and one where he had the audience made up entirely of elementary school children.
Josh, your lists continue to make us laugh AND think!
So, I guess the “Treehouse of Horrors” episodes and the
You definitely need to do a 10 worst gimmick episodes as well. (You haven’t done that arleady, have you?) The Drew Carey episode where they wanted you to count all the things “wrong” with the show definitely hit a low. The MASH episode shot where you were the patient was pretty annoying, as were some of their mock-interview shows done in black and white for news reals; just do what you’re good at! And there are a few shows that benefited in no way from doing their recorded scthick live! There were no major f-ups, no deviations… what was the point?
Sorry, I was gonna mention the April Fool’s episodes from “The Drew Carey Show” until my fat fingers and the touch screen on my phone decided to conspire against me.
That X-Files episode is one of my all time favorite of any tv show.
I thought the live “30 Rock” show was especially pointless, it looked just like an extended SNL skit.
Okay, I know who Matt is and I know who Josh is, but who is this Ed character that always leads these lists?
True story, hush was the first episode of Buffy I ever watched… and I’ve been a whedonite ever since. Brilliant episode. Really funny too. One of the funniest/sexiest scenes on the show
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That Six Feet Under episode was so disturbing that after doing a DVD cram session I stopped watching the show for good. Too f’ed up for me.
My dad watched Letterman religiously when I was a kid so I vaguely remember that episode and will go ahead and attribute it to my teenage drug use.
How could you leave off the ‘bottle’ episode of Community?
Also, what time is Justified on?
I don’t know if “unreliable narrator” counts as a gimmick, but as far as unusual X-Files episodes go, I always thought Jose Chung’s From Outer Space was better than the COPS episode. But still, excellent list.
That Six Feet Under episode gave me the creeps for weeks. When that actor appeared on House years later, I couldn’t shake the images of him tormenting poor David.
Isn’t the entire concept of television a gimmick?
@wehavehair
Really? Try again.
If Letterman’s show rotated at 10 degrees an hour, wouldn’t it have taken 18 hours for the show to be completely upside down?
Yup, the Hush episode of Buffy is a favourite and the only one on your list I’ve seen, which doesn’t say much for me/you.
The only other decent gimmick episode I can recall is the Taming of the Shrew episode of Moonlighting. Did they do a film noir episode too? The Bert Viola/Miss DePesto episodes were interminable though.
Supernatural did some good ones where they were placed in various TV shows ala Stay Tuned, and one where they were thrown into the “real” world and killed off the whole cast.
/just admitted he watched Supernatural
//I’ll show myself out.
You should do a list of the 10 best special episodes that were never filmed, like the episode of Welcome Back Kotter where all the actors switched roles, and Travolta played Horshack, or the infamous “nude” episode of Roseanne.
The Buffy “Silent” episode made me immediately think of the Sealab 2021 episode where the sealab power goes out and like 90% of the episode is just a black screen, with all of the characters trying to navigate through the lab in the dark
Wish you had done the Red Dwarf episode, simply b/c it’s my favorite show in the history of everything. But great list!
@Vidocq That’s one of my favorite episode of the entire show, right up there with “Humbug,” “Home” (HORRIFYING), and “The Post-Modern Prometheus.” I chose “X-Cops” because it chose a gimmick that almost never works–the crossover–but somehow pulled it off.
@Joey: I was wondering that myself. I think there might have been a typo in there.
@Julia – Mine too! Anyway, the Buffy episode of ‘Hush’ was weird for me because I had friends come over with tapes of the episode and ask me to lipread for them. Just in case Whedon was slipping in information.
After the third one, a kid from down the road I didn’t like, asked me to do the same and I made up a completely different story. He believed me. Dick.
I can watch any episode of The West Wing, but I can’t watch the debate one. It was bold and brave to do it, but it took me out of the show itself which is probably why I skip that episode when I watch the DVDs.
@Joey My fault, and to clear up confusion: he went 180 degrees in the first 30 minutes, and another 180 in the final half hour. So, 60 degrees every 10 minutes.
What about the episode of Two and Half Men where they did that gimmick of being funny?
Haha, just kidding, they never did that.
Awesome list. Why the hell isn’t anyone showing X File reruns? I’m too cheap to buy the DVD’s : (
There was a recent run of X-Files repeats over here. I was perturbed by Scully’s fogyish hair and big, shapeless coats.
@michelle07
BBC America. Every afternoon. 4/3 central
Letterman did an entire episode during an airline flight long ago and more recently the 4am episode with Amy Sedaris was funny shite
@michelle07, you can stream them on Netflix.
You missed the mark on the best backward episode. As good as Seinfeld’s was, the “Holly’s Choice” episode of China Beach – which told in reverse the story of pre-talk show Ricki Lake’s nurse Holly deciding to have an abortion – is the finest use of the told-in-reverse-order gimmick I’ve ever seen. Amazingly, the conceit made the hour even more emotionally charged than it would have been in a conventional linear telling.
I’m a little shocked the Drew Carry Show’s April Fools Day eps didn’t make this list.
Only slides 2-10 were gimmicks, 1 was an introduction, which is only nine gimmicks. You owe us one more.
Also, nothing from the Drew Carey show? Every other week of that show was a gimmick. They did a whole show of mistakes and gave away cash and prizes to viewers who spotted the most, an entire episode in Pig Latin, Live shows (including a theater-sports style largely improvised episode), musical episodes, an episode aimed squarely at Emmy voters full of over-the-top melodrama, and did the first eve simulcast episode with TV broadcast and the internet airing at the same time.
Claymation episode of Late Night with Conan O’Brien
I was hoping that you put the “Vegas” episode of Stargate Atlantis but I guess I was the only one watching canadian sci-fy TV
@ClydeM One slide has two choices (Musical Episodes and Silent Episode), and as for Drew Carey: I love that show, but like Community, half of their episodes are gimmicks, which kind of defeats the purpose (for the sake of this list, at least).
The Drew Carey Show had a couple good ones: An improvised episode with a bunch of the cast from Whose Line and “What’s Wrong With This Episode?” where they purposely put in silly errors, later aired with Pop-ups to show what was wrong.
What about the Arrested Development (“Save Our Bluths”) where they mock every TV gimmick there is.
The premier of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” starts out presented as behind-the-scenes intro footage for a Larry David HBO comedy standup special, and then just keeps going until the special is eventually cancelled. It’s only when it’s all over that you realize the behind-the-scenes footage WAS the show.
“The Simpsons” had a backwards episode that was cleverer and, unlike the “Seinfeld” episode, actually funny.
I would add, The Drew Carey Show – what is wrong with this episode.