From
I Love Lucy to
Lost and everything in between, we're counting down TV's finest. Check out today's showcase of #40-21. Where does your favorite rank?
40. THE WEST WING
“Two Cathedrals” 5/16/2001President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) usually fought Republicans, but in this weeper he took on God Himself after the death of secretary Mrs. Landingham. “We’d gotten to know Bartlet as a devout Catholic,” says creator Aaron Sorkin, “and I was aiming him toward a showdown with God on God’s home court.” Just before Bartlet’s church rage (“Feckless thug!”), Sorkin warned a nearby clergyman that “Martin Sheen is going to curse God.” The response? “I know. It’s gonna be great.”
39. THE WONDER YEARS
“Pilot” 1/31/1988“When a Man Loves a Woman” never sounded so sweet as when ’60s schoolkids Kevin and Winnie shared their first buss.
38. THE SHIELD
“Possible Kill Screen” 11/18/2008To quote every person who marveled at Michael Chiklis’ work as bad cop Vic Mackey confessed his crimes: “Oh. My. @#%ing. God.”
37. THE BOB NEWHART SHOW
“Over the River and Through the Woods” 11/22/1975Friends don’t let friends drink and order moo goo gai pan. Unless they want to create an intoxicating comedy classic.
36. STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
"Best of Both Worlds Pt. 1" 6/18/1990The first and freakiest season cliff-hanger in Trek history is still the greatest. Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is captured and zombie-fied by the Borg, an evil collective that plans to use Picard to destroy humanity. First Officer Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) can’t let that happen, so he’s forced to destroy the Borg ship carrying his beloved captain. At the end of the hour, Riker issues the command “Mr. Worf, fire!” The screen goes black, followed by the words “To Be Continued.” “The shock and the tension were fabulous,” Frakes recalls. “It was lightning in a bottle.”
35. THE X-FILES
“Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” 10/13/1995No ESP needed to see the Emmy coming Peter Boyle’s way for his X-traordinary role as a psychic helping Mulder and Scully catch a killer.
34. THIRTYSOMETHING
“A Second Look” 2/12/1991Cancer-stricken Nancy recovered. Carefree Gary didn’t. We’re not sure about ourselves.
33. ROSEANNE
“A Stash From the Past” 10/5/1993What to do when that weed turns out to be your own long-forgotten stash? Unlike then–president Clinton, Roseanne, Dan and Jackie inhaled. “We wanted to deal with the hypocrisy of ‘you’ve got to say it’s not right and punish your children,’ when most people who smoked didn’t believe that,” says writer Kevin Abbott. The only concessions to the network: Dan’s lament, “Were we ever really stupid enough to enjoy this?” and putting pregnant Laurie Metcalf in the bathtub, avoiding the visual suggestion that Jackie was smoking for two—thus making for the episode’s best line: “Is this the sink? Am I shrinking?” That’s high comedy.
32. ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
“Development Arrested” 2/10/2006The Bluths’ pitch-perfect finale had fans clamoring for—and very likely getting—a big-screen follow-up.
31. FRASIER
“The Ski Lodge” 2/24/1998It’s all uproariously downhill when the Cranes collide with a randy ski instructor and a swimsuit model on their door-slamming getaway.