from edge media network –
With more and more new TV series hitting airways (and the Internet), the quality of shows continues to be impressive. Narrowing down a list of just the 10 best episodes of the year is no easy task. Putting together a small list like this feels more like an omission than a gathering of the cream of the crop.
For example: Not included on this list is the mind-blowing “one-take” episode of “Mr. Robot,” the heartwarming coming out story “Thanksgiving” from “Master of None,” or any episodes from the stellar new shows “The Young Pope,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Masiel” and “Big Little Lies.” The episodes that did make the cut are a diverse bunch.
Showings from network comedies, prestige dramas and experimental explosions are all featured here. The following 10 episodes are truly exceptional – with the top three episodes proving to be groundbreaking and game-changing TV – and highlight what a magnificent year it was for TV in 2017.
10. “Got Milk?” The Last Man on Earth (FOX)
“The Last Man on Earth” doesn’t get the credit it deserves. This apocalyptic comedy may air on network TV but it pushes the boundaries of storytelling in interesting ways; at least compared to “The Walking Dead.” “Got Milk?” barely features the show’s main cast and instead follows wealthy socialite Pamela Brinton (played by a hilarious Kristen Wiig in what may be her best post-“Bridesmaids” role) during the early days of a viral outbreak, which includes members of the Trump administration dropping like flies. It’s a daring episode that gives context to “The Last Man on Earth” as well as a showcase for Wiig’s talents. It also has a wild scene with Laura Dern eating dog food.
09. “Family,” The Girlfriend Experience (Starz)
For its second season, “The Girlfriend Experience” played with format, telling two non-related stories over 14 half-hour episodes. The track set in D.C. follows Erica (Anna Friel), a finance director of a Republican super PAC, and Anna (Louisa Krause), an escort. Over the course of the story, the women form a surprising relationship, but it’s with the episode “Family” that their budding romance explodes with chaotic emotion. The episode takes unexpected turns, exploring power dynamics that are enhanced and heightened with its clinical and icy-cold minimalism. With Lodge Kerrigan’s fascinating direction, “Family” marks one of the most chilling and boldest episodes of TV this year.
08. “The Goodbye Tour,” Girls (HBO)
“The Goodbye Tour” may be the penultimate episode to the final season of “Girls” but it functions as the finale with the muted “Latch” feeling more like a coda to the series. The episode finds its core four Hannah (Lena Dunham), Marnie (Allison Williams), Jessa (Jemima Kirke) and Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) finally appearing together in one scene. Tensions are high and feelings are hurt but perfectionist Marnie is determined to work things out between the foursome with a bathroom meeting. It’s an emotional moment, confirming audiences’ feelings: The girls are not actually friends anymore; over six seasons they’ve drifted a part and hurt each other and “The Goodbye Tour” is confirmation of this. Though they may not have animosity, this bittersweet ending, in which they may no longer be friends but can still dance to Robyn, is emotional as it is raw.
07. “And the Winner is…(The Oscars 1963),” Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
In what might be Ryan Murphy’s most skillfully directed episode of TV ever (and that’s saying something considering he is one of the busiest people in TV), “And the Winner is…(The Oscars 1963)” is a dramatization of one of the most dramatic nights in Oscars history. There’s so much at stake for Bette Davis (Susan Sarandon), who has been nominated for Best Actress for “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane,” but thanks to dirty politics, Joan Crawford (Jessica Lange) crushes her frenemy’s dreams and accepts the award on behalf of an absent Anne Bancroft. This high-octane hour of TV also features a long tracking shot of Crawford backstage at the Oscars – one of the most heart-racing moments on TV this year.
06. “The Thief,” Master of None (Netflix)
Aziz Ansari stepped up his game for “Master of None” Season 2. Right off the bat, the first episode “The Thief” proved he wasn’t messing around. Unfolding in black and white, (a surprising move for a show that built it’s audience as a millennial sitcom) the comedy is a stunning homage to Italian cinema – specifically Vittorio De Sica’s “The Bicycle Thieves.” For a half-hour comedy, the episode is a sumptuous gift that puts Ansari in another league.
05. “The Book of Nora,” The Leftovers (HBO)
The series finale of “The Leftovers” was mystical as it was moving. It’s also a testament to Carrie Coon, one of TV’s best working actors. Delivering a deeply riveting and emotional monologue, Coon’s Nora, now much older, tells her long-lost love Kevin (Justin Theroux) about being teleported to her family in another dimension, possibly to a place where the departed vanished. Except – it’s unclear if Nora is telling Kevin the truth, making the series finale to one of the best shows – ever – an open ended mystery that we will always let be.
04. “Part 17” & “Part 18,” Twin Peaks: The Return (Showtime)
Over 25 years ago, “Twin Peaks” fans watched F.B.I. agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) become a prisoner in the Black Lodge as his evil doppelganger take his place in the real world. The Season 2 finale, which aired in 1991, turned out to be the series finale (thanks to a cancelation from ABC) and for over two decades, fans were left to grapple with one of the biggest cliffhangers to ever air. That changed, however, when co-creator/direct/writer/actor David Lynch came back to the world of “Twin Peaks” and got to end the series on his terms. “Part 17” and “Part 18” are a one-two punch of triumph and devastation. After 16 hours of the mindless Dougie Jones (MacLachlan), the real Dale Cooper finally returned in all his wholesome glory, ready to finally save Laura Palmer and defeat the evil BOB. After literally rewriting the past, Lynch pulls the rug out from viewer’s expectations with “Part 18,” ending “Twin Peaks” on a devastatingly tragic note: “What year is this?”
03. “Michael’s Gambit,” The Good Place (NBC)
Who knew a major network could still air groundbreaking TV? The Season 1 finale of Michael Schur’s existential comedy “The Good Place” is game-changing TV. Without spoiling anything, the episode totally flips the script, reframing what “The Good Place” is actually about and its characters’ motivations. With a huge twist that was hiding in plain sight, the comedy became one of the most innovative and interesting shows of 2017, giving the middle finger to cliffhangers and network sitcoms.
02. “Finding Francis,” Nathan For You (Comedy Central)
“Nathan For You” is an uncomfortable show; one that forces viewers to confront their boundaries of humor. Creator and star Nathan Fielder’s Season 4 finale “Finding Francis” is the comedian’s boldest and biggest episode ever – a two-hour epic that follows Fielder and Bill Gates impersonator William Heath as they track down Heath’s long lost high school sweetheart. To call the finale daring TV would be an understatement – not only does it ask viewers to question the boundaries of love but it also urges them to question reality. It’s one of the most captivating things aired on TV in recent memory – so wild and bold that infamous documentarian Errol Morris felt the need to write about the episode for the New Yorker.
01. “Part 8,” Twin Peaks: The Return (Showtime)
There will never be another TV moment like “Part 8” of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s masterpiece “Twin Peaks: The Return.” It’s the kind of TV moment that will have unprecedented reverberations in art for years to come. Profound and truly mind-blowing, “Part 8” transcended the boundaries of what TV can do and make you feel. Visceral, shocking and captivating, “Part 8” told a saga of good vs. evil; how man created evil and brought it into the world and that the battle between good and evil is an ongoing one. Sometimes bewildering and sometimes touching, “Part 8” is unlike anything that has ever aired on TV, coming from one of the greatest American filmmakers alive today.