The Top Ten TV Episodes of 2008

Consider this the companion piece to my Top Ten TV Shows of 2008 list. Unlike that list, this one is a more standard year end list, only covering episodes that aired January 1 to December 31. Because I'm judging thousands of episodes, there was a bunch of contenders for this list, many of which were bunched pretty closely near the end of the list, so I used the 8-10 spots for shows that missed my other list just to change things up.

NOTE: Since I'll be talking about specific episodes, the write-ups will be necessarily spoilerish. For people who want to skim but remain unspoiled, the pictures are fairly unspoilery. On that note, I'll reiterate that I haven't caught up to The Shield, so please don't spoil it for me by telling my how amazing the finale was and how dumb I am for leaving it off this list. (Well okay, you can tell me that it's awesome. Just please don't tell me why.)

10. "Nothing Tastes Better Than Five Hundred Dollars", Survivor: Gabon - Season 17, Episode 10, Airdate: June 3

Gabon wasn't one of the best seasons of Survivor, in fact, it was pretty much instantly forgettable (well, in my case, I mean that figuratively, as I seem to remember everything about this show — which I'm not proud of). But this was one of the better episodes of the past 17 seasons (yes, there have been 17 seasons of this show, which will shock those of you who stopped paying any attention 15 seasons ago), mostly because it offered something that scripted TV can't: the complete and utter comeuppance of a real life bully.

After spending most of the season as one of the most mean-spirited, ungracious, bigoted contestant in the show's history, Randy found himself on the outside looking in after a few game twists and miscalculations left him with only one ally (the even more detestable Corinne). His big plan for survival? Be an even bigger ass to everyone, trying to get everyone to vote for him so he could use Bob's hidden idol. The problem? Bob didn't have a freaking hidden idol, Sugar did. And had it for weeks, but Randy was so dismissive of her and her intelligence that it didn't occur to him that she could have it. Instead, Bob had a fake idol, which he gave to Randy on Sugar's behest, all so Randy would look like an idiot at Tribal Council. And he did, and it was GLORIOUS. He smugly played the fake idol, had it thrown in his face, had those whose previous losses he never failed to throw back in their faces get to laugh in his, while Randy remained bitter and awful until the end.

Article Author: Andy Sayers

Andy Sayers is a technical writer from Canada, which automatically makes him funnier than people from other countries. When not writing about pop culture, he is consuming it alongside his loving wife.

Visit Andy Sayers's author page — Andy Sayers's Blog