Greetings, reader!
Well, here we are - after tons of weekly posts every Thursday since January 2020, not to mention a nice handful of Sunday Specials, I have arrived at the milestone of one hundred blog posts. It's been quite the journey - I've ranked director filmographies from Kubrick to Lynch, franchises from Star Wars to Fast & Furious, and genres from romantic comedy to man vs. nature survival. I've gone way off-topic to make lists about Broadway musicals, works of literature and even football, and delved into ridiculously ambitious lists targeted at ridiculously small target audiences, with posts like "Ranking every episode of Twin Peaks (1990-1991; 2017)" or last week's 99th-post-milestone ranking of the 99 best Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-Present) episodes. I can only imagine what I could've accomplished, had I spent all of that time on my studies.
I spent quite some time trying to figure out the best possible topic for my 100th post - ideas like "Top 10 Movie Lists", where I rank lists that are featured in movies (such as the titular list from Schindler's List (1993) or the rules of Fight Club from Fight Club (1999)), as well as a self-praising ranking of my top 10 favorite posts from Top 10 Movies With Veikko Hoffman, as well as many others, crossed my mind. But eventually my mind went to the world of television, and how several long-running TV shows have celebrated their 100-episode milestones. What better way to celebrate my 100th "episode", than ranking the best 100th episodes of various television shows?
Disclaimer: the episodes in question aren't ranked based on how good they are as overall episodes that happen to be the 100th in their series, but rather purely based on how good they are as 100th-episode milestones. Some shows don't make a big deal out of their 100th episodes, but many others go into full spectacle mode with festive episodes that feel like a huge tribute to the whole series. So, without further ado, here's the 100th list of my blog: my ranking of the greatest 100th episodes from long-running television shows.
You know what - why do I always stick to having exactly five honorable mentions? Screw it, today is a day of celebration, so I'm giving an honorable mention to all of the worthy 100th episodes that didn't quite make it into the Top 10! Here are my honorable mentions:
100 (Suits, Season 7 Episode 8)
Day 5: 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (24, Season 5 Episode 4)
Farm Strong (Modern Family, Season 5 Episode 4)
Mercy (The Walking Dead, Season 8 Episode 1)
New Beginnings (Parks and Recreation, Season 6 Episode 11)
Reagan (New Girl, Season 5 Episode 6)
Redemption II (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 5 Episode 1)
Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song (The Simpsons, Season 5 Episode 19)
The Crimson Horror (Doctor Who, Season 7 Episode 12)
The Day The World Went Away (Person of Interest, Season 5 Episode 10)
The Ship (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 5 Episode 2)
The Variable (Lost, Season 5 Episode 14)
And then, for today's list. Also, a spoiler alert is in order, as many of the episodes shift the show's story in major ways, and these ones are hard to discuss without spoilers.
10. Basic Crisis Room Decorum (Community, Season 6 Episode 3)
"I found the smell. Someone filed a taco"
The 100th episode of my all-time favorite sitcom Community (2009-2015) isn't what you'd expect the 100th episode of such an ambitious and concept-episode-driven series to be. It's not one of the more spectacular and flashy episodes in the series or even the season, but a rather low-key affair. But in a strange way, it feels like an extremely fitting tribute to the show and its roots - almost all of Basic Crisis Room Decorum takes place in the cozy and iconic Study Room of Greendale Community College, and the episode feels very Season 1 with its dialogue-oriented, low-stakes story.
It's a fun series of events with the main cast of characters working on a ridiculous problem together, which is just the aesthetic that Community started with, before going all-out with megalomaniac gimmick episodes and large storylines. The 100th episode of Community takes the series back to its roots, giving us a lot of quality time with the main characters and some of the very funniest gags from the final season - the storyline of Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) thinking he's texting Jeff (Joel McHale), when actually he's texting a Japanese teenager playing a practical joke, is one of the funniest occurrences in sitcom history.
9. The One Hundredth (Friends, Season 5 Episode 3)
"Oh, I had the most fun with you guys! I wish I could take you home and see you everyday. Okay, I'll settle for being your favorite aunt. I know Alice's sister has a pool, but you lived in me. Okay, so we're cool. Yeah, we're gonna be great. Little high fives!"
The appropriately named one hundredth episode of Friends (1994-2004) is quite the joyride. The main event is Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) going into labor, and giving birth to the triples that she has carried as a surrogate for her brother Frank (Giovanni Ribisi) and his elderly wife Alice (Debra Jo Rupp). The hospital setting and atmosphere of waiting make for plenty of shenanigans, including Monica (Courtney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) having their first argument as a (sort-of) couple but resolving it in a wholesome manner, as well as Joey (Matt LeBlanc) getting treated for kidney stones.
While The One Hundredth isn't as much of a spectacle as some of the episodes further up on this list, it does feel like such a major event is worthy of celebrating the series reaching the 100-episode mark. The icing on the cake is the sheer comedic value of the moment where the triplets are given their names - Leslie, Frank Jr. Jr. and Chandler make for one hell of a trio.
8. Game Night (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Season 5 Episode 10)
"Every time someone steps up and says who they are, the world becomes a better, more interesting place"
Sure, due to the show's title and setting, this series oddly made a bigger deal out of its 99th episode than its 100th - the ninety-ninth episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine was similar to what 100th episodes of TV shows often are, feeling like a tribute to the whole series and very much "the ultimate episode". But that doesn't mean that the following episode would've been a basic venture by any means - the 100th episode is also one of the show's best, and clearly a powerful way of celebrating the milestone (albeit not in the most typical fashion).
Game Night is one of those B99 episodes that take a powerful look at a serious issue, within the confines of the comedy genre. This time the issue in question is homophobia - Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz) had recently come out as bisexual, and this is the episode where she tells her parents. They don't take it well, which makes for a lot of heartbreak - but when all is said and done, Game Night ends up being an uplifting episode that puts a smile on one's face. The squad showing their support for Rosa, coming to her apartment to have their own 'game night' after Rosa's parents cancel their game night plans with her, is a powerful testament to just how much of a family-you-find-along-the-way the Nine-Nine had grown to be.
7. The Gang Saves the Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Season 9 Episode 6)
"...God?"
"Hello, Mac. Those were some pretty sweet moves"
How does an 'anti-sitcom' like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005-Present), which is very much built on norm-defying dark comedy and the main characters being horrible people, celebrate its 100th episode? Well, just like most of the shows on this list, it paid tribute to the series as a whole by making an episode that feels gloriously It's Always Sunny on every front, staying true to the show's central ideas while celebrating its main characters.
In The Gang Saves the Day, the main characters get stuck as bystanders in an armed robbery situation. Much of the episode is devoted to each character fantasizing how they could save the situation. All five scenarios are wonderfully over-the-top and narcissistic, while truly going into the essence of each character - Mac (Rob McElhenney) envisions himself fighting the robbers like a badass action hero, Charlie (Charlie Day) imagines a full-on cartoon with rat allies and a romantic ending, et cetera. Dee (Kaitlin Olson) getting killed in every scenario except for her own is a fantastic gag, and the cherry atop the cake is the episode's ending: none of the characters do jack shit to save the day, but instead get in on the stealing. This is a brilliant testament to the show and its core characters, driving home the point that they will never grow or learn.
6. Company Picnic (The Office, Season 5 Episode 26)
"How many people need to get hurt before we learn a valuable lesson? One? Two? Three? Four?"
"Dwight..."
"No, no, hear me out. Five? Six?"
"Dwight."
"Seven? Can I finish, please?"
"Okay."
"Eight??"
For this entry and the one after it, I'm especially serious about the Spoiler Alert: these episodes cannot be discussed properly without going into major plot turns, and I don't want to spoil the viewing experience of anyone who hasn't seen The Office (2005-2013) yet.
Company Picnic is a season finale in addition to being a 100th episode, so you know it's gonna be big. It starts off nice enough, with the employees of different Dunder Mifflin branches enjoying a company picnic together - there are wonderfully cringe-worthy Michael Scott (Steve Carell) moments, as well as a bunch of hijinks in the beach volleyball match between the Scranton branch and Corporate.
However, there is one thing that stands above all else in this episode: the reveal that Pam (Jenna Fischer) is pregnant. The reveal in itself is huge, as her love story with Jim (John Krasinski) is one of the carrying forces throughout the show, so their arrival at this milestone is a wonderful way to celebrate the series reaching one hundred episodes. But the manner in which this reveal is done is even better - the conversation where you can't hear the audio but you can slowly guess the context, followed by Jim's facial expression that radiates pure joy in a very moving manner, makes for one hell of an ending. It's honestly the best bit of acting I've seen from Krasinski, very much including the more dramatic feature films he's done.
5. Wedding Bell Blues (Gilmore Girls, Season 5 Episode 13)
"Grandma wants a picture"
"OF THIS?!"
One of the things I enjoy immensely in Gilmore Girls (2000-2007) is that it's essentially a soap opera - but good. Many of the subgenre's conventions fit into the series (comedy-drama hybrid, consisting of various interconnected drama between various characters with complicated relationships with one another), but it is without the type of over-the-top ridiculous antics that we often associate with soap operas. It's a well-written, well-acted and thoroughly worthy-of-your-emotional-investment iteration of the genre. And the very drama that the series is built on is appropriately brought to a point of climax in the show's 100th episode.
The setting for the episode is quite nice: main character Lorelai Gilmore's (Lauren Graham) parents Emily (Kelly Bishop) and Richard (Edward Herrmann) have gotten back together after their split-up, and are renewing their vows in a wedding-style ceremony. But what happens within this context is rather explosive: long-built relationships, including Lorelai's romantic relationship with Luke (Scott Paterson), her complicated ties to her ex Chris (David Sutcliffe), Rory's (Alexis Bledel) budding romance with Logan (Matt Czuchry), Lorelai's sour relationship with her mother, Chris's poor job of raising her daughter and Luke's role as a de-facto father to Rory, all come to a breaking point in a thrilling chain of events. The tension is built well throughout the episode (Chris getting steadily more and more drunk is a real Chekov's gun), and the way it all unravels is bound to leave one speechless.
4. Timeless (Star Trek: Voyager, Season 5 Episode 6)
"Hello, Harry. I don't have much time, so listen to me. Fifteen years ago, I made a mistake, and 150 people died. I've spent every day since then regretting that mistake. But if you're watching this right now, that means all of that's changed. You owe me one"
I reckon that the best way for any Star Trek series to celebrate its 100th episode is making the episode hit the very essence of Star Trek, through creative sci-fi storytelling, head-scratching moral dilemmas and an ultimately optimistic look at the future of humanity. This is exactly what Voyager's (1995-2001) 100th episode does, while providing a well-written time travel story that feels appropriately large in scale to feel like a proper milestone celebration. When the episode opens with a no-context scene of the titular spaceship U.S.S. Voyager crashing down on an ice planet's surface, getting horribly wrecked in the process, after which the opening credits start to roll, the viewer immediately knows that this is no ordinary episode but something big.
In this surprisingly dark (albeit cheerful and uplifting by the end) episode, we find out that ensign Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) had made a tiny and stupid mistake while on an away mission, and this had triggered a chain of events that lead to the destruction of the Voyager and the demise of all his crewmates. After years of living with the burden of guilt, he decides that in such an occasion it is acceptable to break the rules of time travel, and to go back in time in order to reverse his mistake and save his crew.
This leads to a thrilling and epic narrative of Kim trying to get his hands on the proper equipment for his journey in time, while the Federation is out to stop him as he is working outside the law. LeVar Burton of Star Trek: The Next Generation fame even reprises his iconic role of Geordi La Forge, adding to the episode's grandiose atmosphere. When all is said and done, most every viewer will feel that Kim did the right thing in the difficult moral dilemma that he faced, and watching him go to such extreme lengths in order to save his friends is very touching.
3. 100 (30 Rock, Season 5 Episode 20)
"Do TV. No one will ever take you seriously again. Doesn't matter how big a movie star you are, even if you have the kind of career where you walked away from a blockbuster franchise, or worked with Meryl Streep or Anthony Hopkins, made movies about important things like civil rights or Pearl Harbor, stole films with supporting roles and then turned around and blew them away on Broadway. None of that will matter once you do television"
How would the TV series about making a TV series celebrate its 100-episode milestone? Well, it's obvious, really. In the 100th episode of 30 Rock (2006-2013), the fictional series TGS with Tracy Jordan is about to air its 100th episode - with the added twist that they're under the threat of being canceled, and the 100th episode has to be enough of a spectacle to get their viewer numbers back up. The show's most classic recurring narrative, Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) going to crazy lengths in order to save the day when her incompetent colleagues aren't up for the job (it should be noted that much of the series is based on Fey's own experiences as head writer of Saturday Night Live), is at its very best here, with lots of ticking clocks and chaotic situations for her to deal with.
Just as you'd expect from an important 30 Rock episode, there are tons of epic guest appearances (Tom Hanks really caught me off guard), as well as moments of meta humor that know no boundaries - Jack Donaghy's (Alec Baldwin) rant about actors not being taken seriously, which is so very clearly based on Baldwin's own career in a delightfully un-subtle manner, brings the two-part episode to a point of perfection. A wonderful tribute to everything that makes 30 Rock great.
2. Invasion! (Arrow, Season 5 Episode 8)
"You're never without me, my beautiful boy. There's nothing else to say except I could not be more proud of what you've become - someone else - something else"
"You honor the dead by fighting. AND YOU ARE *NOT DONE* FIGHTING!"
"I know I called you a murderer. But you are not. You are a hero!"
"You saved my life. You gave me a purpose. This time we had to save you"
The CW's superhero series Arrow (2012-2020) has never made it into my blog before, as it isn't exactly among the top tier of TV shows I've watched. That being said, the series based on DC Comics character The Green Arrow does have its moments, and its 100th episode is chief among them.
By the time it hit its fifth season, Arrow had spawned two spin-offs: The Flash (2014-Present) and Legends of Tomorrow (2016-Present). Ever since The Flash was introduced, the eighth episode of each season had been a spot for a crossover between Arrow and The Flash, with the characters from both shows teaming up and interacting with one another. There hadn't been a crossover between all three shows before, but season 5 of Arrow changed that - and what a perfect coincidence it was, that the episode 8 slot for that season was Arrow's 100th episode.
Invasion! is a three-part crossover event, cut across the three shows - Part 1 is a The Flash episode, Part 2 is an Arrow episode and Part 3 is a Legends of Tomorrow episode. The middle part was my favorite, as it was very clearly a fitting 100th episode celebration in addition to being part of an epic 3-show crossover. It takes a look back at the very narratives and themes that the series was founded on, while having many familiar faces return. It all culminates in a beautiful, heart-pumping scene where figures from Oliver Queen's (Stephen Amell) past and present unite to give him the motivation he needs in order to go on. The episode is an emotional tribute to the series that started the 'Arrowverse', and the end result is nothing short of spectacular.
1. Girls vs. Suits (How I Met Your Mother, Season 5 Episode 12)
"Your suit's death is another suit's life"
"Do it"
"You're doing the right thing. Please don't cry on this, it's silk"
No other series I've seen has a 100th episode that is as fitting of a tribute to the series in its entirety than How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014). Girls vs. Suits follows two very different storylines, and their combination celebrates all the best elements of How I Met Your Mother.
For starters, there's Ted's (Josh Radnor) storyline. He goes out on a date with Cindy (Rachel Bilson), who is revealed by the older narrator-Ted (Bob Saget) to be the roommate of The Mother - the eventual love of Ted's life, and the person whose first meeting with Ted is the point the whole series leads up to. Throughout the series, there had been many close calls where Ted almost comes across The Mother but not quite, and that element is at its very best here. Out of every object in Cindy's room, Ted singles out three items he really likes, and they happen to be the only three things that actually belong to Cindy's roommate. This is a beautiful way of letting the viewer see how meant-for-each-other Ted and The Mother were, thus making the episode into a prime example of the show's romantic and magical side.
And then there's Barney's (Neil Patrick Harris) storyline. His defining character traits of being a womanizer and rocking a fancy suit in every given situation are pitted against each other, when he dates an attractive woman who is adamantly against suits. Choosing between the girl and his suits becomes increasingly difficult for Barney, and it eventually leads to the episode's fantastic climax - an over-the-top musical number, complete with wonderful choreographies and a dramatic performance by Harris as he expresses his unbridled love for suits via song. Whereas Ted's storyline in the episode is a fitting tribute to the more "meaningful" themes of the series, Barney's storyline and especially the musical number are a fitting tribute for the show's trademark flimsy and goofy humor. No other series has celebrated its 100-episode milestone with such a remarkable combination of all the right elements.
Thank you for reading! I recently saw the new James Bond film No Time to Die (2021), and if you're wondering what I thought about it, be sure to check out where it ranks in next week's post - a ranking of all 25 Bond films.
Here's to a hundred more!
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