MY FAVORITE EPISODES part four

Winter presses on. It's been going for like 8 months now, and at times it's been merciless. The novelty of drinking J&B and playing computer chess like R.J. MacReady wears off after the first few snowstorms, and the Groundhog Day quotes ran dry long ago. Fortunately, there's television! And I don't mean binging the new baloney - where do you think you are? This is more of the episodes we've loved since forever, and the theme of this chapter is: funny. Most if not all of these are my favorite eps from these particular series, but more than that, they deliver the yuks at a superior rate. And we could all use a good laugh.

- Paul

The Dick Van Dyke Show

"One Hundred Terrible Hours" (season 4)

Immediately prior to writing for The Alan Brady Show, Rob was a disc jockey for WOFF Radio - during which he once performed an on-air stunt where he stayed awake for 100 hours. What transpires is a collaborative miracle of writing and performance as we get the most creative interpretation of mounting sleep depravation that's ever been broadcast. A lot of series have used various forms of intoxication as an excuse for some hijinks and that can usually get kinda predictable, but this concept allows some surprises - most notably a broad spectrum of childlike silliness and soul-crushing melancholy that is all equally and stupendously hilarious. 

Mad About You

"The Billionaire" (season 1)

I thought this show was consistently amusing for the bulk of its run, but it reached what I consider to be a pinnacle of comedic genius in this very early episode. Like most popular sitcoms, it had its parade of guest stars, but there's never been more inspired casting (or a more mad experiment) than pairing Jerry Lewis with Steven Wright: two giants with polar opposite comedic styles. In the context of the episode, they only share one brief interaction, and it's a catch-your-breath competition between an unstoppable force and an immovable object. This is where I typically suggest that they shoulda had their own series, but frankly we didn't deserve that and still don't. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

"Cowabunga Shredhead" (season 3)

80s Action 'toons were intensely boring to me -- unless they were funny. And few were funnier than the world's most fearsome fighting team and their hapless assailants - particularly the evil Shredder, who's taken a laser blast to the head which causes him to think he's Michelangelo. (This is the kinda storytelling that speaks to me.) It's amazing: it's animated, yet Shredder's "performance" as a Ninja Turtle is way over the top - to the point of parody, which is a hysterical revelation this early in its cultural impact. 

Seinfeld

"The Postponement" (season 7)

Soup Nazis and puffy shirts aside, the funny bone of this show is the four characters and their respective existential struggles - which are maybe best-defined in this singular episode. To be even more thorough, the real foundation is the Jerry/George relationship, which is established here in the most well-written, well-acted scene in the series as George presents his detailed desperation to Jerry, who placates him with his typically condescending finesse. 

M*A*S*H

"Adam's Ribs" (season 3)

Hawkeye reaches a boiling point with the options from the mess hall and embarks on a mission to have ribs flown in from the States. Whatever age I first saw this, I'd never had ribs or really even knew what they were in terms of consumption, but I knew I needed them. And after however many decades, I still approach most situations with the protest of "We Want Something Else!"

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