The Top Ten TV Episodes of 2008 - Page 2

9. "Mac & Charlie Die" (parts one and two), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Season 4, Episodes 4 & 5, Airdate: May 3

It's Always Sunny can be one of the funniest shows on TV when it's on, but it's generally hit or miss. This one was mostly hit throughout the two-part episode, with the manic energy of the cast resulting in some inspired bits like Charlie's easily pulled teeth, his wild card reaction to Mac's plan (complete with a chair thrown through the window), Mac's crazy car scheme, their funeral, Sweet Dee's harrowing bus ride, and "the shadow". The only problem I had with the episode (well, besides Frank, who I could completely do without) was that I was watching it on my iPod, and bursting out laughing uncontrollably was a bit embarrassing.

8. "Hello, Goodbye", Friday Night Lights - Season 3, Episode 4, Airdate: October 22

After a wildly uneven second season that largely got by due to affection the characters had earned in the first season, this third (and probably final season) has been largely improved, given the characters we fell in love with a proper send-off. The show started with the official send-offs with the fourth episode of the season, with the departure of the now graduated Smash Williams (they would repeat the trick later with Jason Street). It was classic FNL, in that if you didn't nearly choke on the lump in your throat that developed about halfway through and only grew until the beautiful finish, then you lack a proper functioning soul. (PS: Yes I know that picture doesn't do the true highlights of the episode justice, it's just the best I could do. This season doesn't have much of a web presence yet, as I imagine NBC doesn't want too many spoilers out there until it's had a chance to air it.)

7. "Meditations in an Emergency", Mad Men - Season 2, Episode 13, Airdate: October 26

The season finale of Mad Men saw Don Draper return from his California sojourn just in time to prevent Sterling Cooper from disintegrating, while the rest of the country is worried about a more real disintegration during the peak of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Mad Men is a show more about small moments and atmosphere, but as both season finales have proved, they can do bigger moments exceedingly well when they need to. Well, bigger moments by their standards, that is. Because when you have a season as richly developed as this one was, you can make moments like Duck's attempted coup or Betty's pregnancy seem like true emergencies, and moments like Don getting the best of Duck or the final scene with Betty and Don accepting their fate with their new baby seem monumental. The two biggest moments of the episode for me were Betty finally stepping out on Don, in a move that seemed to symbolically push her away from the child-like emotional behaviour she'd exhibited in the first two seasons (with season two being more of an emotional adolescence) and into adulthood, and most spectacularly, the scene between Peggy and Pete, where Peggy quietly and assertively tells Pete the truth about her pregnancy, devastating poor Pete in the most subdued fashion possible. Pete can be a little creep, but it was hard not to sympathize with the poor bastard there.

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.

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