Board 8 > Scarlet Ranks User-Nominated Episodes of Television: Midseason Premiere

(+) Yeah! (+)

Punisher - "Virtue of the Vicious"
Nominated by: Snake

While the episode hits high notes, ultimately it feels like too much is going on for the good of the series. When you add time jumps, multiple points of view, and high-octane action scenes featuring Frank Castle, there just isnt enough space for Lewis to get a proper sendoff. Daniel Webber did a wonderful job with the time he was given, but in the end, it feels like a missed opportunity.

Lewis may not have had the best of endings, but there were some memorable moments within all the chaos. When the episode slowed down, like the scene featuring Madani, Castle, and Billy, the tension was palpable. Sure, Madani was safe and unharmed in the present, but that didnt take away from the suspense in the stairwell.

Ben Barnes is a phenomenal talent. Just needs to be said.

One thing I think drags Punisher down is that, by throwing as much material as possible against the wall results in less sticking than if you just concentrated on a few things being thrown. Instead, a lot of scenes are... fine... but only one or two reach the level of truly excellent. This happens to be the problem with a lot of the Netflix shows. The best seasons (and I would even count this as one of those) are able to concentrate tighter. But even in this fairly strong episode, you see a lot of what feels like filler because of how these Marvel Studios productions seem to be structured.

Writing: 7/10
Characterization: 7/10
Scarlet Factor: 6/10
Overall Rating: 20/30
---

Next up is... Simpsons - "Homer Badman" (RySenkari)
30 Points:
Penny Dreadful - "Seance"
Arrested Development - "Top Banana"
LOST - "Constant"
Scrubs - "My Lunch"
Community - "Basic Intergluteal Numismatics"
29 Points:
Doctor Who - "Heaven Sent"
West Wing - "20 Hours in America"
Star Trek: DS9 - "In the Pale Moonlight"
Game of Thrones - "Blackwater"
28 Points:
Mr. Robot - "eps3.4_runtime-error.r00"
ST:TNG - "Inner Light"
GoT - "Golden Crown"
X-Files - "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose"
27 Points:
Always Sunny - "Charlie Work"
Atlanta - "Teddy Perkins"
Paranoia Agent - "Happy Family Planning"
GoT - "Rains of Castamere"
Sports Night - "Six Southern Gentlemen of Tennessee"
26 Points:
Good Place - "Dance Dance Resolution"
Doctor Who - "Turn Left"
Preacher - "Schwanzkopf"
Louie - "In the Woods"
House - "Last Resort"
Better Call Saul - "Five-O"
Black Mirror - "Nosedive"
25 Points:
Always Sunny - "The Gang Turns Black"
Star Trek - "The Trouble with Tribbles"
Archer - "Placebo Effect"
Fargo - "The Castle"
24 Points:
ST:DS9 - "The Visitor"
Firefly - "Out of Gas"
23 Points:
Castlevania - "For Love"
Justified - "Fire in the Hole"
Babylon 5 - "Confessions and Lamentations"
Twin Peaks - "Zen"
Chuck - "Chuck vs. the Ring"
22 Points:
Flash - "Duet"
SHIELD - "Self Control"
Sports Night - "What Kind of Day Has It Been"
21 Points:
Avatar - "Southern Raiders"
Fresh Off the Boat - "The Shunning"
Black Mirror - "National Anthem"
BBATB - "Chill of the Night"
South Park - "Death Camp of Tolerance"
Samurai Jack - "XCIV"
20 Points:
Punisher - "Virtue of the Vicious"
Frasier - "My Coffee with Niles"
Newsroom - "What Kind of Day Has It Been?"
Fresh Prince - "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse"
Seinfeld - "The Contest"
19 Points:
Bojack - "Time's Arrow"
DuckTales - "Woo-oo!"
18 Points:
Breaking Bad - "Pilot"
Twilight Zone - "It's a Good Life"
12 Monkeys - "Splinter"
17 Points:
Baskets - "Renoir"
Seinfeld - "Bris"
Justice League - "Starcrossed"
Simpsons - "Streetcar Named Marge"
Broad City - "Knockoffs"
16 Points:
Galavant - "Pilot"
Horace & Pete - "Episode 3"
15 Points:
Black Donnellys - "Pilot"
Burn Notice - "Friendly Fire"
Stargate - "Window of Opportunity"
Buffy - "Hush"
Angel - "Hero"
14 Points:
Futurama - "Godfellas"
Frasier - "Ham Radio"
Teen Titans - "Troq"
24 - "12:00 - 1:00"
13 Points:
Twilight Zone - "Masks"
SvFE - "Star Comes to Earth"
Father Ted - "Song for Europe"
Arrow - "Kapiushon"
Studio 60 - "What Kind of Day Has It Been"
12 :
Xena - "Been There, Done That"
11 :
Masters of Horror - "Cigarette Burns"
10:
Steven Universe - "Alone Together"
American Dad - "Rapture's Delight"
Person/Interest - "Many Happy Returns"
9:
Married w/Children - "Married... w/ Aliens"
8:
Hercules - "Surprise"
Star Trek - "Spock's Brain"
Courage - " Tower of Dr. Zalost"
7:
Danny Phantom - "The Ultimate Enemy"
6:
Gravity Falls - "Sock Opera"
5:
MLP- "Maud Pie"
Regular Show- "White Elephant Gift Exhange"
Hey Arnold- "Stoop Kid"
4:
MST3K- "Pod People"
CSI- "Chaos Theory"
3:
Spongebob - "Band Geeks"
Invader Zim - "Mysterious Mysteries"
MLP - "Pinkie Pride"
---

Fair assessment.

I think the multi-perspective structure of the episode created quite the gripping narrative and I found Lewis' end quite powerful personally. Season two could've benefited from an episode similar to this I think.

---

so I still kinda sorta never finished Punisher
---

Simpsons - "Homer Badman"
Nominated by: RySenkari

I've often heard that The Simpsons foretold many future trends and events over the years, and this episode seems to confirm that statement. In a tale ripped out of the #MeToo era but told 20 years earlier, we follow a comedy of errors as a piece of candy leads to the complete destruction of Homer's reputation.

Conceptually this is great. In practice, this is hamfisted, boring and derivative.

Homer Simpson himself is utterly unlikable and the killer of comedy. Every moment that involves him is the exact opposite of what humor is. He plays, to me, like the conduit for every bad basic blue collar joke in the book. It's gratingly irritating how fundamental and elementary this humor is. There's nothing really insightful or incisive here. Just a lot of middle-of-the-road, tame humor. And all of it revolving around an idiot who really provides no value in terms of entertainment.

He's loud. That's what Homer has going for him. And if you know me, you know I hate humor that's based around yelling. It's a sign of stupidity on the part of a writer. It's the last resort of someone bereft of talent. And, to me, that's The Simpsons in general. It's the most boiler plate, cliched pile of garden variety hackneyed humdrum imaginable.

Writing: 5/10
Characterization: 3/10
Scarlet Factor: 2/10
Overall Rating: 10/30
---

Next up is... Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Darmok and Jelal" (Anagram)
30 Points:
Penny Dreadful - "Seance"
Arrested Development - "Top Banana"
LOST - "Constant"
Scrubs - "My Lunch"
Community - "Basic Intergluteal Numismatics"
29 Points:
Doctor Who - "Heaven Sent"
West Wing - "20 Hours in America"
Star Trek: DS9 - "In the Pale Moonlight"
Game of Thrones - "Blackwater"
28 Points:
Mr. Robot - "eps3.4_runtime-error.r00"
ST:TNG - "Inner Light"
GoT - "Golden Crown"
X-Files - "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose"
27 Points:
Always Sunny - "Charlie Work"
Atlanta - "Teddy Perkins"
Paranoia Agent - "Happy Family Planning"
GoT - "Rains of Castamere"
Sports Night - "Six Southern Gentlemen of Tennessee"
26 Points:
Good Place - "Dance Dance Resolution"
Doctor Who - "Turn Left"
Preacher - "Schwanzkopf"
Louie - "In the Woods"
House - "Last Resort"
Better Call Saul - "Five-O"
Black Mirror - "Nosedive"
25 Points:
Always Sunny - "The Gang Turns Black"
Star Trek - "The Trouble with Tribbles"
Archer - "Placebo Effect"
Fargo - "The Castle"
24 Points:
ST:DS9 - "The Visitor"
Firefly - "Out of Gas"
23 Points:
Castlevania - "For Love"
Justified - "Fire in the Hole"
Babylon 5 - "Confessions and Lamentations"
Twin Peaks - "Zen"
Chuck - "Chuck vs. the Ring"
22 Points:
Flash - "Duet"
SHIELD - "Self Control"
Sports Night - "What Kind of Day Has It Been"
21 Points:
Avatar - "Southern Raiders"
Fresh Off the Boat - "The Shunning"
Black Mirror - "National Anthem"
BBATB - "Chill of the Night"
South Park - "Death Camp of Tolerance"
Samurai Jack - "XCIV"
20 Points:
Punisher - "Virtue of the Vicious"
Frasier - "My Coffee with Niles"
Newsroom - "What Kind of Day Has It Been?"
Fresh Prince - "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse"
Seinfeld - "The Contest"
19:
Bojack - "Time's Arrow"
DuckTales - "Woo-oo!"
18:
Breaking Bad - "Pilot"
Twilight Zone - "It's a Good Life"
12 Monkeys - "Splinter"
17:
Baskets - "Renoir"
Seinfeld - "Bris"
Justice League - "Starcrossed"
Simpsons - "Streetcar Named Marge"
Broad City - "Knockoffs"
16:
Galavant - "Pilot"
Horace & Pete - "Episode 3"
15:
Black Donnellys - "Pilot"
Burn Notice - "Friendly Fire"
Stargate - "Window of Opportunity"
Buffy - "Hush"
Angel - "Hero"
14:
Futurama - "Godfellas"
Frasier - "Ham Radio"
Teen Titans - "Troq"
24 - "12:00 - 1:00"
13:
Twilight Zone - "Masks"
SvFE - "Star Comes to Earth"
Father Ted - "Song for Europe"
Arrow - "Kapiushon"
Studio 60 - "What Kind of Day Has It Been"
12:
Xena - "Been There, Done That"
11:
Masters of Horror - "Cigarette Burns"
10:
Steven Universe - "Alone Together"
American Dad - "Rapture's Delight"
Person/Interest - "Many Happy Returns"
Simpsons - "Homer Badman"
9:
Married w/Children - "Married... w/ Aliens"
8:
Hercules - "Surprise"
Star Trek - "Spock's Brain"
Courage - " Tower of Dr. Zalost"
7:
Danny Phantom - "The Ultimate Enemy"
6:
Gravity Falls - "Sock Opera"
5:
MLP- "Maud Pie"
Regular Show- "White Elephant Gift Exhange"
Hey Arnold- "Stoop Kid"
4:
MST3K- "Pod People"
CSI- "Chaos Theory"
3:
Spongebob - "Band Geeks"
Invader Zim - "Mysterious Mysteries"
MLP - "Pinkie Pride"
---

it's just "Darmok"
---

scarletspeed7 posted...

The Simpsons in general. It's the most boiler plate, cliched pile of garden variety hackneyed humdrum imaginable.

Whoa whoa WHOA.

That's Simpsons in the 21st century. Not the golden age 90s variety.
---

I'll adjust it. Admittedly I just copy and pasted for my list, so I would have found the error once I went to watch it on Netflix.
---

Pokewars posted...

scarletspeed7 posted...

The Simpsons in general. It's the most boiler plate, cliched pile of garden variety hackneyed humdrum imaginable.

Whoa whoa WHOA.

That's Simpsons in the 21st century. Not the golden age 90s variety.

this episode was from 1994
---

Pokewars posted...

scarletspeed7 posted...

The Simpsons in general. It's the most boiler plate, cliched pile of garden variety hackneyed humdrum imaginable.

Whoa whoa WHOA.

That's Simpsons in the 21st century. Not the golden age 90s variety.

I haven't watch 21st century Simpsons. Honestly, I compare this to South Park, and it falls short in every conceivable way.
---

Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Darmok"
Nominated by: Anagram

While fans will no doubt pick any number of classic episodes from The Next Generation, this particular one is my all-time favorite of any of the Trek series. It just seems to sum up what the series is all about: Attempting to seek out new life and communicate with them, trying to remain peaceful with the odds not in their favor, the crew teaming up to solve a particular crisis---all well-handled in this episode.

Paul Winfield in super here as an alien that can speak only in a metaphor-like language where symbolism is everything. At first perplexed and untrusting, Picard warms to this captain and even tells his own story in metaphor to the pleased captain. Also, they must team up to face-off against a Predator-like beast while the alien captain's ship thwarts any attempt by the Enterprise to rescue Picard. They want the two strangers to communicate and possibly become allies.

The final moments of this episode are just heart-rending and touching and will stay with you for a long time. Season 5 is probably my favorite of the series and this episode is a fantastic example of, but not the only reason, why.

Writing: 9/10
Characterization: 10/10
Scarlet Factor: 10/10
Overall Rating: 29/30
---

Next up is... The Americans - "Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?" (CybrMonkey)
30 Points:
Penny Dreadful - "Seance"
Arrested Development - "Top Banana"
LOST - "Constant"
Scrubs - "My Lunch"
Community - "Basic Intergluteal Numismatics"
29 Points:
Doctor Who - "Heaven Sent"
ST:TNG - "Darmok"
West Wing - "20 Hours in America"
Star Trek: DS9 - "In the Pale Moonlight"
Game of Thrones - "Blackwater"
28 Points:
Mr. Robot - "eps3.4_runtime-error.r00"
ST:TNG - "Inner Light"
GoT - "Golden Crown"
X-Files - "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose"
27 Points:
Always Sunny - "Charlie Work"
Atlanta - "Teddy Perkins"
Paranoia Agent - "Happy Family Planning"
GoT - "Rains of Castamere"
Sports Night - "Six Southern Gentlemen of Tennessee"
26 Points:
Good Place - "Dance Dance Resolution"
Doctor Who - "Turn Left"
Preacher - "Schwanzkopf"
Louie - "In the Woods"
House - "Last Resort"
Better Call Saul - "Five-O"
Black Mirror - "Nosedive"
25 Points:
Always Sunny - "The Gang Turns Black"
Star Trek - "The Trouble with Tribbles"
Archer - "Placebo Effect"
Fargo - "The Castle"
24 Points:
ST:DS9 - "The Visitor"
Firefly - "Out of Gas"
23:
Castlevania - "For Love"
Justified - "Fire in the Hole"
Babylon 5 - "Confessions and Lamentations"
Twin Peaks - "Zen"
Chuck - "Chuck vs. the Ring"
22:
Flash - "Duet"
SHIELD - "Self Control"
Sports Night - "What Kind of Day Has It Been"
21:
Avatar - "Southern Raiders"
Fresh Off the Boat - "The Shunning"
Black Mirror - "National Anthem"
BBATB - "Chill of the Night"
South Park - "Death Camp of Tolerance"
Samurai Jack - "XCIV"
20:
Punisher - "Virtue of the Vicious"
Frasier - "My Coffee with Niles"
Newsroom - "What Kind of Day Has It Been?"
Fresh Prince - "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse"
Seinfeld - "The Contest"
19:
Bojack - "Time's Arrow"
DuckTales - "Woo-oo!"
18:
Breaking Bad - "Pilot"
Twilight Zone - "It's a Good Life"
12 Monkeys - "Splinter"
17:
Baskets - "Renoir"
Seinfeld - "Bris"
Justice League - "Starcrossed"
Simpsons - "Streetcar Named Marge"
Broad City - "Knockoffs"
16:
Galavant - "Pilot"
Horace & Pete - "Episode 3"
15:
Black Donnellys - "Pilot"
Burn Notice - "Friendly Fire"
Stargate - "Window of Opportunity"
Buffy - "Hush"
Angel - "Hero"
14:
Futurama - "Godfellas"
Frasier - "Ham Radio"
Teen Titans - "Troq"
24 - "12:00 - 1:00"
13:
Twilight Zone - "Masks"
SvFE - "Star Comes to Earth"
Father Ted - "Song for Europe"
Arrow - "Kapiushon"
Studio 60 - "What Kind of Day Has It Been"
12:
Xena - "Been There, Done That"
11:
Masters of Horror - "Cigarette Burns"
10:
Steven Universe - "Alone Together"
American Dad - "Rapture's Delight"
Person/Interest - "Many Happy Returns"
Simpsons - "Homer Badman"
9:
Married w/Children - "Married... w/ Aliens"
8:
Hercules - "Surprise"
Star Trek - "Spock's Brain"
Courage - " Tower of Dr. Zalost"
7:
Danny Phantom - "The Ultimate Enemy"
6:
Gravity Falls - "Sock Opera"
5:
MLP- "Maud Pie"
Regular Show- "White Elephant Gift Exhange"
Hey Arnold- "Stoop Kid"
4:
MST3K- "Pod People"
CSI- "Chaos Theory"
3:
Spongebob - "Band Geeks"
Invader Zim - "Mysterious Mysteries"
MLP - "Pinkie Pride"
---

And the three last episodes (aka Random.org's greatest foes):
South Park - "Krazy Kripples"
Supernatural - "ScoobyNatural"
The Americans - "Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?"
---

NFUN posted...

this episode was from 1994

I know. I was saying this episode is not what he claimed.
---

Shaka, when the walls fell.

I teared up on this episode and The Inner Light. Two episodes that capture the true essence of Star Trek.
---

I would argue that Best of Both Worlds is actually a better representative of Star Trek than Inner Light. Inner Light is amazing, but more off-beat than most Star Trek episodes.
---

It still plays to the core of Star Trek and the opening that's in every TNG episode of "seeking new life and new civilizations." It was a highly unorthodox way of seeking them, but that's why it was so good.
---

For me, Darmok is the perfect representation of that aspect. But there is a light serialization of the show, and the timeless acting of Patrick Stewart as well as the awfully underappreciated work of Frakes in the series really shines in that episode in terms of the fight for survival that occasionally must be depicted in the series.
---

The Americans - "Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?"
Nominated by: CybrMonkey

This. Was. So. Damn. Long.

Less than an hour? I don't believe it. Given my love of talkie, dialogue-heavy episodes, and a soft spot for skulduggery in any form or fashion on TV, I came into this episode expecting that I would immediately adore The Americans. Instead, I found myself checking the clock constantly. Now, you could attribute my boredom to the clear fact that this episode comes across as a story deeply rooted in a long-running plotline. There are sentences here and there that really underline this unfortunate consequence of lists like this. Would I have been more receptive or been awestruck by the profundity if this episode with a better grasp of the moving pieces of this show? I imagine so.

What I ended up seeing here, however, was a pile of dialogue that seemed to plod Breaking Bad-style, and there just were no hooks that pulled me in at all. This is a shame given the Murderers' Row of casting here. Hell, even Frank Langella and John-Boy Walton make brief appearances. These jolted my casual interest slightly, but overall this felt like I had picked up one of my dad's Robert Ludlum books from off of a dusty shelf and tried to forcefeed my brain a passel of blah.

I respect what felt like a better episode than I actually believe. In my gut, this seemed to hit better than it, well, hit.

Writing: 7/10
Characterization: 8/10
Scarlet Factor: 2/10
Overall Rating: 17/30
---

Next up is... South Park - "Krazy Kripples"
30 Points:
Penny Dreadful - "Seance"
Arrested Development - "Top Banana"
LOST - "Constant"
Scrubs - "My Lunch"
Community - "Basic Intergluteal Numismatics"
29 Points:
Doctor Who - "Heaven Sent"
ST:TNG - "Darmok"
West Wing - "20 Hours in America"
Star Trek: DS9 - "In the Pale Moonlight"
Game of Thrones - "Blackwater"
28 Points:
Mr. Robot - "eps3.4_runtime-error.r00"
ST:TNG - "Inner Light"
GoT - "Golden Crown"
X-Files - "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose"
27 Points:
Always Sunny - "Charlie Work"
Atlanta - "Teddy Perkins"
Paranoia Agent - "Happy Family Planning"
GoT - "Rains of Castamere"
Sports Night - "Six Southern Gentlemen of Tennessee"
26 Points:
Good Place - "Dance Dance Resolution"
Doctor Who - "Turn Left"
Preacher - "Schwanzkopf"
Louie - "In the Woods"
House - "Last Resort"
Better Call Saul - "Five-O"
Black Mirror - "Nosedive"
25 Points:
Always Sunny - "The Gang Turns Black"
Star Trek - "The Trouble with Tribbles"
Archer - "Placebo Effect"
Fargo - "The Castle"
24:
ST:DS9 - "The Visitor"
Firefly - "Out of Gas"
23:
Castlevania - "For Love"
Justified - "Fire in the Hole"
Babylon 5 - "Confessions and Lamentations"
Twin Peaks - "Zen"
Chuck - "Chuck vs. the Ring"
22:
Flash - "Duet"
SHIELD - "Self Control"
Sports Night - "What Kind of Day Has It Been"
21:
Avatar - "Southern Raiders"
Fresh Off the Boat - "The Shunning"
Black Mirror - "National Anthem"
BBATB - "Chill of the Night"
South Park - "Death Camp of Tolerance"
Samurai Jack - "XCIV"
20:
Punisher - "Virtue of the Vicious"
Frasier - "My Coffee with Niles"
Newsroom - "What Kind of Day Has It Been?"
Fresh Prince - "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse"
Seinfeld - "The Contest"
19:
Bojack - "Time's Arrow"
DuckTales - "Woo-oo!"
18:
Breaking Bad - "Pilot"
Twilight Zone - "It's a Good Life"
12 Monkeys - "Splinter"
17:
Baskets - "Renoir"
Seinfeld - "Bris"
Justice League - "Starcrossed"
Simpsons - "Streetcar Named Marge"
Broad City - "Knockoffs"
Americans - "Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?"
16:
Galavant - "Pilot"
Horace & Pete - "Episode 3"
15:
Black Donnellys - "Pilot"
Burn Notice - "Friendly Fire"
Stargate - "Window of Opportunity"
Buffy - "Hush"
Angel - "Hero"
14:
Futurama - "Godfellas"
Frasier - "Ham Radio"
Teen Titans - "Troq"
24 - "12:00 - 1:00"
13:
Twilight Zone - "Masks"
SvFE - "Star Comes to Earth"
Father Ted - "Song for Europe"
Arrow - "Kapiushon"
Studio 60 - "What Kind of Day Has It Been"
12:
Xena - "Been There, Done That"
11:
Masters of Horror - "Cigarette Burns"
10:
Steven Universe - "Alone Together"
American Dad - "Rapture's Delight"
Person/Interest - "Many Happy Returns"
Simpsons - "Homer Badman"
9:
Married w/Children - "Married... w/ Aliens"
8:
Hercules - "Surprise"
Star Trek - "Spock's Brain"
Courage - " Tower of Dr. Zalost"
7:
Danny Phantom - "The Ultimate Enemy"
6:
Gravity Falls - "Sock Opera"
5:
MLP- "Maud Pie"
Regular Show- "White Elephant Gift Exhange"
Hey Arnold- "Stoop Kid"
4:
MST3K- "Pod People"
CSI- "Chaos Theory"
3:
Spongebob - "Band Geeks"
Invader Zim - "Mysterious Mysteries"
MLP - "Pinkie Pride"
---

South Park - "Krazy Kripples"
Nominated by: The CodeIsBosco

While the B-Plot of this episode, the story of Christopher Reeve, plays in hindsight as a really schlocky and obvious joke, the A-Plot is surprisingly adept at doing what South Park does best. South Park, at its peak, uses the naive innocence of children as a foil to rational centrism in the same way a court jester was able to speak truth to power. The humor of the show cushions the blow of criticism in any situation. This is presented in two different ways.

First, of course, is the simplicity of children framed around a war of gangs (the Crips and Bloods). Timmy and Jimmy take names and statements completely and charmingly seriously in this episode and work their way deep into the inner workings of West Coast organized crime before putting crime itself to bed once and for all thanks to their heartful and wholesome call for inclusion and friendship. It's so dumb that it actually proves itself surprisingly clever. The idea of inclusion is exactly what drives so many young people with dead end situations into the welcoming arms of gangs, and here we see a skewed, satirical presentation of that aspect with a resolution that hearkens back to the source of the problem. Jimmy is a surprisingly underrated character in the South Park mythos by my reckoning for episodes exactly like this one.

Secondly, there is the smallest of recurring jokes in this episode from some of our normal main cast members as they decry plotlines about stem cells and handicaps and gangs with a simple, "I'm not a part of this one." This is an insanely and acutely clear-minded response to the normal minefield-laden political topics tackled on South Park, but the idea that the writers are being channeled through the Stan and Kyle here ("Not touching this!") is a brilliant way to demonstrate just how explosive these topics can be, reinforcing the innocence and naivety of Jimmy and Timmy further as they don't even recognize this trap as obvious in the way the other boys do.

All in all, outside of the Christopher Reeve parts, this is a very good episode, although not one of my personal favorites.

Writing: 7/10
Characterization: 5/10
Scarlet Factor: 7/10
Overall Rating: 19/30
---

Last up is... Supernatural - "ScoobyNatural" (PirateKing)
30:
Penny Dreadful - "Seance"
Arrested Development - "Top Banana"
LOST - "Constant"
Scrubs - "My Lunch"
Community - "Basic Intergluteal Numismatics"
29:
Doctor Who - "Heaven Sent"
ST:TNG - "Darmok"
West Wing - "20 Hours in America"
Star Trek: DS9 - "In the Pale Moonlight"
Game of Thrones - "Blackwater"
28:
Mr. Robot - "eps3.4_runtime-error.r00"
ST:TNG - "Inner Light"
GoT - "Golden Crown"
X-Files - "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose"
27:
Always Sunny - "Charlie Work"
Atlanta - "Teddy Perkins"
Paranoia Agent - "Happy Family Planning"
GoT - "Rains of Castamere"
Sports Night - "Six Southern Gentlemen of Tennessee"
26:
Good Place - "Dance Dance Resolution"
Doctor Who - "Turn Left"
Preacher - "Schwanzkopf"
Louie - "In the Woods"
House - "Last Resort"
Better Call Saul - "Five-O"
Black Mirror - "Nosedive"
25:
Always Sunny - "The Gang Turns Black"
Star Trek - "The Trouble with Tribbles"
Archer - "Placebo Effect"
Fargo - "The Castle"
24:
DS9 - "The Visitor"
Firefly - "Out of Gas"
23:
Castlevania - "For Love"
Justified - "Fire in the Hole"
Babylon 5 - "Confessions and Lamentations"
Twin Peaks - "Zen"
Chuck - "Chuck vs. the Ring"
22:
Flash - "Duet"
SHIELD - "Self Control"
Sports Night - "What Kind of Day Has It Been"
21:
Avatar - "Southern Raiders"
Fresh Off the Boat - "The Shunning"
Black Mirror - "National Anthem"
BBATB - "Chill of the Night"
South Park - "Death Camp of Tolerance"
Samurai Jack - "XCIV"
20:
Punisher - "Virtue of the Vicious"
Frasier - "My Coffee with Niles"
Newsroom - "What Kind of Day Has It Been?"
Fresh Prince - "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse"
Seinfeld - "The Contest"
19:
South Park - "Krazy Kripples"
Bojack - "Time's Arrow"
DuckTales - "Woo-oo!"
18:
Breaking Bad - "Pilot"
Twilight Zone - "It's a Good Life"
12 Monkeys - "Splinter"
17:
Baskets - "Renoir"
Seinfeld - "Bris"
Justice League - "Starcrossed"
Simpsons - "Streetcar Named Marge"
Broad City - "Knockoffs"
Americans - "Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?"
16:
Galavant - "Pilot"
Horace & Pete - "Episode 3"
15:
Black Donnellys - "Pilot"
Burn Notice - "Friendly Fire"
Stargate - "Window of Opportunity"
Buffy - "Hush"
Angel - "Hero"
14:
Futurama - "Godfellas"
Frasier - "Ham Radio"
Teen Titans - "Troq"
24 - "12:00 - 1:00"
13:
Twilight Zone - "Masks"
SvFE - "Star Comes to Earth"
Father Ted - "Song for Europe"
Arrow - "Kapiushon"
Studio 60 - "What Kind of Day Has It Been"
12:
Xena - "Been There, Done That"
11:
Masters of Horror - "Cigarette Burns"
10:
Steven Universe - "Alone Together"
American Dad - "Rapture's Delight"
Person/Interest - "Many Happy Returns"
Simpsons - "Homer Badman"
9:
Married w/Children - "Married... w/ Aliens"
8:
Hercules - "Surprise"
Star Trek - "Spock's Brain"
Courage - " Tower of Dr. Zalost"
7:
Danny Phantom - "The Ultimate Enemy"
6:
Gravity Falls - "Sock Opera"
5:
MLP- "Maud Pie"
Regular Show- "White Elephant Gift Exhange"
Hey Arnold- "Stoop Kid"
4:
MST3K- "Pod People"
CSI- "Chaos Theory"
3:
Spongebob - "Band Geeks"
Invader Zim - "Mysterious Mysteries"
MLP - "Pinkie Pride"
---

Krazy Kripples is definitely one of the best examples of South Park at its most absurd. It's always impressive how South Park manages to present good ideas in the most ridiculous way possible
---

also, home stretch!
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Supernatural - "ScoobyNatural"
Nominated by: Pirateking

Cute, but a little too much filler for my tastes. The CW is often mired in shows that feel as if they would be best served with more episodes featuring less minutes per episode. This is a great example of that writing style and its flaws. When CW shows are allowed to flex their legs for their decade-plus, you start watching a lot of off-beat, unique experimental episodes like ScoobyNatural. But the big issue is that these episodes, much like most of their regular episodes, are asked to fill an hour instead of a half-hour. The upshot is that there is a bloat to these shows. The end of this episode really dragged along at a snail's pace as you could watch the writers building in extra lines of fluff. While sometime fluff is necessary to offset a deluge of sharp, pointed drama, too much fluff becomes tiresome.

The positives of this episode are firmly rooted in our live-action protagonists exploring a world of nostalgia. At the tippy-top end of that positive is the brief plotline where Dean tries to bag Daphne. Extremely relatable. Tragically relatable. Painfully relatable. Fred's presentation as an idiot is strong as well.

All in all, not a lot to say here. I'm going out with a "Hm, nice" on this list, which is certainly one of the better ways to go out. Imagine going out with that SpongeBob nightmare instead.

Writing: 7/10
Characterization: 6/10
Scarlet Factor: 6/10
Overall Rating: 19/30
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Final Tally:
30:
Penny Dreadful - "Seance"
Arrested Development - "Top Banana"
LOST - "Constant"
Scrubs - "My Lunch"
Community - "Basic Intergluteal Numismatics"
29:
Doctor Who - "Heaven Sent"
ST:TNG - "Darmok"
West Wing - "20 Hours in America"
Star Trek: DS9 - "In the Pale Moonlight"
Game of Thrones - "Blackwater"
28:
Mr. Robot - "eps3.4_runtime-error.r00"
ST:TNG - "Inner Light"
GoT - "Golden Crown"
X-Files - "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose"
27:
Always Sunny - "Charlie Work"
Atlanta - "Teddy Perkins"
Paranoia Agent - "Happy Family Planning"
GoT - "Rains of Castamere"
Sports Night - "Six Southern Gentlemen of Tennessee"
26:
Good Place - "Dance Dance Resolution"
Doctor Who - "Turn Left"
Preacher - "Schwanzkopf"
Louie - "In the Woods"
House - "Last Resort"
Better Call Saul - "Five-O"
Black Mirror - "Nosedive"
25:
Always Sunny - "The Gang Turns Black"
Star Trek - "The Trouble with Tribbles"
Archer - "Placebo Effect"
Fargo - "The Castle"
24:
DS9 - "The Visitor"
Firefly - "Out of Gas"
23:
Castlevania - "For Love"
Justified - "Fire in the Hole"
Babylon 5 - "Confessions and Lamentations"
Twin Peaks - "Zen"
Chuck - "Chuck vs. the Ring"
22:
Flash - "Duet"
SHIELD - "Self Control"
Sports Night - "What Kind of Day Has It Been"
21:
Avatar - "Southern Raiders"
Fresh Off the Boat - "The Shunning"
Black Mirror - "National Anthem"
BBATB - "Chill of the Night"
South Park - "Death Camp of Tolerance"
Samurai Jack - "XCIV"
20:
Punisher - "Virtue of the Vicious"
Frasier - "My Coffee with Niles"
Newsroom - "What Kind of Day Has It Been?"
Fresh Prince - "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse"
Seinfeld - "The Contest"
19:
South Park - "Krazy Kripples"
Supernatural - "ScoobyNatural"
Bojack - "Time's Arrow"
DuckTales - "Woo-oo!"
18:
Breaking Bad - "Pilot"
Twilight Zone - "It's a Good Life"
12 Monkeys - "Splinter"
17:
Baskets - "Renoir"
Seinfeld - "Bris"
Justice League - "Starcrossed"
Simpsons - "Streetcar Named Marge"
Broad City - "Knockoffs"
Americans - "Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?"
16:
Galavant - "Pilot"
Horace & Pete - "Episode 3"
15:
Black Donnellys - "Pilot"
Burn Notice - "Friendly Fire"
Stargate - "Window of Opportunity"
Buffy - "Hush"
Angel - "Hero"
14:
Futurama - "Godfellas"
Frasier - "Ham Radio"
Teen Titans - "Troq"
24 - "12:00 - 1:00"
13:
Twilight Zone - "Masks"
SvFE - "Star Comes to Earth"
Father Ted - "Song for Europe"
Arrow - "Kapiushon"
Studio 60 - "What Kind of Day Has It Been"
12:
Xena - "Been There, Done That"
11:
Masters of Horror - "Cigarette Burns"
10:
Steven Universe - "Alone Together"
American Dad - "Rapture's Delight"
Person/Interest - "Many Happy Returns"
Simpsons - "Homer Badman"
9:
Married w/Children - "Married... w/ Aliens"
8:
Hercules - "Surprise"
Star Trek - "Spock's Brain"
Courage - " Tower of Dr. Zalost"
7:
Danny Phantom - "The Ultimate Enemy"
6:
Gravity Falls - "Sock Opera"
5:
MLP- "Maud Pie"
Regular Show- "White Elephant Gift Exhange"
Hey Arnold- "Stoop Kid"
4:
MST3K- "Pod People"
CSI- "Chaos Theory"
3:
Spongebob - "Band Geeks"
Invader Zim - "Mysterious Mysteries"
MLP - "Pinkie Pride"
---

All right, no postscript this time around. Catch you in Season 2!
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I agree that Krazy Kripples' B-plot is... quaint, but the main plot is all it needs to be among my favorite episodes. In general, Jimmy is probably my favorite SP character, though Chef and Butters are close.

Thank you for a great thread series! It was a genuine pleasure reading these write-ups. I'll look forward to Season Two.
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Even though I don't really watch TV (which is why I haven't had much to say), it's been great fun following along with this ranking, so thank you, scarlet. I'm looking forward to doing the same for the second verse!
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hell yeah 14th place

also 91st place
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TheCodeisBosco posted...

Thank you for a great thread series! It was a genuine pleasure reading these write-ups. I'll look forward to Season Two.

MetalmindStats posted...

Even though I don't really watch TV (which is why I haven't had much to say), it's been great fun following along with this ranking, so thank you, scarlet. I'm looking forward to doing the same for the second verse!

Thanks to both of you for following along!
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Woo!

Congrats on finishing the list.
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this really is a great topic series to follow, it's fun seeing an insightful analysis about basically any type of show

if there's one thing this series highlights is just how much great television there is in all kinds of different genres . I feel like basically everything nominated had people who would react with "what do you mean you've never heard of this! it's one of the best shows there is!" which is a testament to what a time we are living in. and i definitely haven't heard of many of the shows on this list let alone seen an episode of them.

btw incoming mega post about one of the shows you reviewed within the last week
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Maniac64 posted...

Woo!

Congrats on finishing the list.

Thanks! And thanks for sticking around, too!

CoolCly posted...

this really is a great topic series to follow, it's fun seeing an insightful analysis about basically any type of show

Thanks! Greatly agree with you. I'm glad it comes across as insightful, but I too enjoy a good TV review topic. New perspectives always give me something new to see in a show or movie, etc.

CoolCly posted...

if there's one thing this series highlights is just how much great television there is in all kinds of different genres . I feel like basically everything nominated had people who would react with "what do you mean you've never heard of this! it's one of the best shows there is!" which is a testament to what a time we are living in. and i definitely haven't heard of many of the shows on this list let alone seen an episode of them.

CoolCly posted...

this really is a great topic series to follow, it's fun seeing an insightful analysis about basically any type of show

if there's one thing this series highlights is just how much great television there is in all kinds of different genres . I feel like basically everything nominated had people who would react with "what do you mean you've never heard of this! it's one of the best shows there is!" which is a testament to what a time we are living in. and i definitely haven't heard of many of the shows on this list let alone seen an episode of them.

btw incoming mega post about one of the shows you reviewed within the last week

I totally agree. While I don't think there were many shows I hadn't heard of, there were definitely a lot I had never watched. With over 530 scripted shows airing in 2019 alone, you'd have to be devoid of any free time to watch even a third of them. It's great that the appetite is there for this much content.
---

Also, in case you missed it, nomination topic for season 2!

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78041610
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I'm a bit late here but I wanna talk about the Good Place, since I wanna do it somewhere and it was recently talked about here, so this is as good a place as any!

This will have spoilers up to the end of season 2.

I watched the first season from the first episode when it aired and love it the whole way through, and loved the finale. Back then I would have wholeheartedly agreed with the "peak TV" or "instant classic" comments in this topic.

Season 2, I never got around to watching until recently, and I gotta say, I am way less in love with this show now. All the stuff you say about the show reinventing itself constantly and being very high concept is true, but the part where you say it's all hung on a great cast is where I get stuck on, with three of them in particular.

To get this out of the way - Ted Danson as Michael as phenomenal. His wide eyed enthusiasm when playing an angel to his devilish charm when he's playing a demon, he's great. Maybe the best performance of his career, and he's had some great ones. Janet is also really good. And they both get some real hints at interesting character growth in this season, becoming like real people, with Michael's growing fondness for the humans and Janet, and Janet's growing self actualization. Though I would only go as far as to say they are hints, and the show didn't really go far enough to develope them as much as maybe they think they did to justify how they act by the end of the second season.

Kristin Bell is good, I'm a huge fan of Veronica Mars and she's great in this show. She's funny, and she fulfill's her role as the main character really well. The show hinges on Eleanor trying to navigate the precarious situation she's in and figure things out, as well as her never ending quest to be a better person. It works out well.

But the problem is with the other three.

I'm just as in love with Tahani as Eleanor is, but the show's writing isn't doing her any favours. In season 1, she was hilarious because she's always trying to pretentiously paint herself as the hero, but always failing (because Michael is setting her up to fail). It's funny watching her fall flat her face while still trying to act like she meant to fall. But that angle isn't really around in the second season. Tahani is really just there to add "This reminds me of the time I taught Johnny Depp how to act" or some other humble brag to a situation. That's it. if Tahani is in a conversation, that's all she'll ad to it (besides standing there being beautiful)

Chidi's strength is as Michael describes when he's convincing Eleanor to trust him - every single neighborhood attempt, Eleanor goes to Chidi for help, and every single time, Chidi helps her, even though it isn't the best thing for him personally to do. His moral drive gives him no other choice but to help him, which really helps the core of this show, since it really is so driven by morality. As for his "comedy", he definitely has good moments reacting to stuff, but his "thing" is that he's anxious and can't make a decision. This didn't really have negative impacts in season 1, but in season 2 I felt that, like Tahani, Chidi's job in many situations was to be a nervous guy who can't make a decision
---

Lastly, there's Jason. I'm honestly surprised to find there's people that not just find him okay, but actually really like him. I can't really find anything redeeming about him. He's really stupid, and he's a really bad person. He never understands what's going on, but it never results in funny situational comedy, it results in him giving a somewhat long mention of that time back in Florida that him and his buddy Pillboy took a bunch of drugs and threw eggs at an old lady in an alley or some shit. The story he tells never has a punch line, it never has relevance to the situation. It's just something I have to sit through. Every time, I wonder, should I just tune this out, or is it actually going to matter? It never maters. It never makes me laugh. It's just a dumb waste of time every single time. Ugh. He sucks. Every time an episode plot uses him, it usually has a moment where he takes a sad tone of voice, as if there's an emotional resolution happening. But there isn't. he usually doesn't even understand what's going on. He's not reacting to the characters around him, or the situation he's in, or growing. He's just making noises that have nothing to do with anything. His relationship with Janet wasn't particularly funny, but at least there was a somewhat interesting idea behind it: he's so dumb that he emotionally latched onto literal furniture. It grew interesting fruit for Janet's growth later, so I guess I can accept that. But man does his relationship with Tahani sucks. It's clearly just happening because the writers don't know what to do with either of them, so they just stuck them together and gave Janet a reason to malfunction. Man Jason sucks. At least with Tahani and Chidi, I had reasons they were good to begin with and devolved when the writers stopped using them well, but Jason has been bad the whole time.

Ultimately, the worst thing about all three of these characters in season 2, is that they have absolutely no self awareness of the situation they are in. They are doomed to eternal damnation, but Eleanor is the only one who even slightly cares and is trying to figure out a way out of the situation. The other three just always go back to to repeating their typical character quirks in every scene and don't even try to grow. And this became a big problem at the end of the season, when they tried to display that they had grown enough to get into the Good Place. They eagerly took the judge's tests to display how they have grown... but aside from Eleanor, not a single one of them have ever actually acknowledged that they NEED to grow. Tahani has had hints of her insecurity towards her sister, and Chidi's acknowledged his issues making choices. Both were talked about in the season finale, and maybe they don't remember that in their current memories, but they haven't even tried to

Jason has never once ever ever ever thought that he was a bad person and that the choices he makes are bad. he's never once tried to be a better person. Eleanor and Chidi just try to mitigate his dumb decision making, but they've never explicitly talked to him about it, and Tahani is too self absorbed to even notice. I often wonder why he's even a main cast member, since it's clear the writers do not even try to include him in the plot of the show or give him interesting things to do. Then at the end, they actually seem to think that all four of them have made an honest effort to improve and get into the Good Place?
---

You did it!

Scarlet I am so proud that you finished this.
---

All in all, this really bothers me. The moral integrity of these humans stuck in the Bad Place is the whole point of the show. You could argue "it's just a comedy" or something, so I shouldn't worry if they don't take it seriously, but I don't accept that, and this isn't just a comedy. That's why it's "peak tv". This show has so much more going for it than just being a silly comedy that doesn't take its concept seriously . So when its characters don't take its concept seriously, I have a hard time taking it seriously. This all really grated on me by the end of season 2, and when it ended, I didn't even feel like watching season 3. I'm not even sure I will. And that's a big dropoff from how I felt after season 1.
---

Also lol Cly.
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CoolCly posted...

I'm just as in love with Tahani as Eleanor is, but the show's writing isn't doing her any favours. In season 1, she was hilarious because she's always trying to pretentiously paint herself as the hero, but always failing (because Michael is setting her up to fail). It's funny watching her fall flat her face while still trying to act like she meant to fall. But that angle isn't really around in the second season. Tahani is really just there to add "This reminds me of the time I taught Johnny Depp how to act" or some other humble brag to a situation. That's it. if Tahani is in a conversation, that's all she'll ad to it (besides standing there being beautiful)

I agree that she is flatter in the second season than the first, but for me, a flatter Michael Schur character is still better than 90% of comedy characters out there. Tahani has such a phenomenal charisma that even though she has to be put into a holding pattern at times, her story from the past and the Greek Goddess of personality that she is just propels her even higher for me. One thing I always talk about is the "Burst of Flavor" in a character, which is to say, that I respect a brilliant bit part more than even a merely great main role. When a character can encapsulate themselves in a sentence to the benefit of an ensemble, that is extremely important. The Office is a show where, at its peak, every character could spit out one line and do exactly that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01Dn53H2ZLw" data-time="

This is a burst of flavor cast. Now, I can understand your reticence on season 2 for sure in the Good Place. First of all, they're juggling six characters and not fifteen. And there aren't a lot of opportunities like the above clip from the Office where a deluge of inspired lines that actually serve to propel long-boiling plotlines.

Here's the real thing, though. The Good Place really makes a distinction in my mind to show that the main characters are actually Eleanor and Michael. Everyone else is on a level beneath them.

As a side note, this episode in particular is the absolute peak of demonstration in how the Good Place reinvents itself constantly. Episode 1 of Season 2 set itself on a premise that could have been quite dull. Instead, the second episode rips through a season of content with breezy ease. No other show really could succeed in that regard. Maybe Good Omens or Legion. That's the magic of the TV version of Sophie's World.
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Eddv posted...

You did it!

Scarlet I am so proud that you finished this.

Thanks! Will I get more What Kind of Day Has It Been next time?
---

The episode you ranked was actually really good. As much as I hate Jason, Michael's "Jason figured it out? oh.... this one hurts." is phenomenal.

also, after watching season 2, a friend of mine just happened to start season 1 so I watched the whole season along with him a couple days ago. It was even better watching Michael knowing his true intentions.
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CoolCly posted...

The episode you ranked was actually really good. As much as I hate Jason, Michael's "Jason figured it out? oh.... this one hurts." is phenomenal.

I would likely not rank other episodes of this season anywhere near as highly as this one. It's actually my favorite episode of the entire series for the off-beat but fast-paced nature of what it does.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

Eddv posted...

You did it!

Scarlet I am so proud that you finished this.

Thanks! Will I get more What Kind of Day Has It Been next time?

I think there's only one left!
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Gaff
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I agree with Cly's feelings on The Good Place on the whole

Loved the first season, was disenchanted with the second one cause the plot kinda evolved into directions I liked less and the characters seemed more one dimensional, and didn't even get through the third actually cause it started outgrowing being a comedy and trying to focus too hard on evolving the plot and character relationships. I definitely feel the series lost its way over time.

Almost feel like lesa is more would have helped cause really once they started leaving the basic premise I started losing interest.

Lot of potential but yeah not a favorite of mine.
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I thought I posted that in SMFFFC by accident for a second there
---