MY FAVORITE EPISODES part seven

Was television better 30 years ago? Short answer: "yes" with an "if." Long answer: "no" with a "but." I saw some of the worst TV of my lifetime come out of 1993: Power Rangers, The Sinbad Show, Problem Child, The Chevy Chase Show, and a whole buncha wrestling programs all premiered that year, not to mention the crap that was already into later seasons. But really isn't this the case for every year before & since? So let's not get into any "Make TV Great Again" guff and focus our attention on the good and the beautiful. Here are 5 great episodes of television that debuted in 1993. 

- Paul

Roseanne

"Crime and Punishment" (season 5)

This series was pretty competent in balancing comedy and drama (until the scales tipped in the later seasons and it sank into sorrow). This episode exemplified their strength in pace changes: when it's discovered that Jackie's boyfriend has been physically abusing her, Dan quietly takes matters into his own hands in some off-camera retribution. It's needlessly heavy for a sitcom, but also becomes incidentally thrilling and inspiring for a sitcom. The tag is played for laughs when DJ's teacher spots Dan in the back of a cop car, but the real takeaway is another example (again, minus the last two seasons) of Dan Connor as the greatest TV Dad Of All Time. 

Animaniacs

"Yakko's World/Cookies For Einstein/Win Big" (season 1)

Only two episodes into the series and I already couldn't believe how much more clever and funny it was than nearly all other cartoons up to that point. As far as I know this included the first ever Pinky and The Brain segment which was an exhilarating hint as to how many original characters and ideas they packed into this series. But the real showstopper remains to be "Yakko's World" - a rhyming song that names every country in the world to the tune of the "Mexican Hat Dance." Even at 10 years old I was able to recognize the educational value of this while also being of the mind that "holy shit, this is fucking wild!" DuckTales never brought me to that place. 

The Adventures of Pete & Pete

"King of the Road" (season 1)

Their very first long-form episode and they already had mastered their tone. The Wrigleys embark on a road trip to The Hoover Dam, and en route they encounter a better, more "perfect" family that ignites a competition as to who can reach their destination in the fastest and most wholesome manner. Sounds silly on paper, but as usual it's played with an intensity and surrealism that lifts it out of straightforward sitcom (or children's programming) and into shameless absurdism. Y'know, for kids. 

Saturday Night Live

Alec Baldwin/Paul McCartney (season 18)

I was watching it pretty regularly by this point; it felt more like an event when I was a kid, but that was true of this one especially. I was not yet a Beatlemaniac but I felt the weight of Paul's presence here, especially as he popped up in several sketches and you could feel the excitement of the cast and audience. And then of course leave it to Farley to disarm the shock & awe of being in the presence of a "living legend" as he asks Macca the tough questions. 

Beakman's World

"Microscopes, Beakmania, & Healing" (season 1)

It seems silly to pick a favorite from a series that was so consistently consistent: each episode featured the same cast and the same setup, and each time I walked away with more knowledge about how the world works and I've hung onto it throughout this lengthy lifetime. But it was always presented with an extra sharp wit that still hits me from just the right angle; there's a segment here about healing wounds, and Beakman rhetorically states that when our skin breaks, something "really neat starts to happen..." at which point cohost Josie (her voice dubbed with a sinister male voice for this singular line) replies "You bleed." I'm sorry but that gag gets me every time - I'm a sucker for funny voices.