The Top Ten TV Episodes of 2008 - Page 4

3. "Alex - Week Eight", In Treatment - Season 1, Episode 37, Airdate: March 18

The unique format of In Treatment allowed the audience to get deeper into characters than most shows, which was one of the best elements of the series. But the best episode belonged to pinch hitter Glynn Turman, who showed up briefly in the previous episode before coming to Paul's office the next day, and delivered the best, and most devastating, performance on television in the year 2008. Beyond the power of a distant father mourning the recent loss of his son, and the weight he carried believing himself responsible, what made the performance so strong was how Turman was able to adapt the small mannerisms that Blair Underwood had put into his son throughout the season, so that there was no doubt that this was Alex's father, or where many of Alex's tendencies came from. That's a kind of dedication you don't often find in television performances, much less from an actor brought in for one, 22-minute episode. Turman won an Emmy for his performance, which he'll get to reprise in the second season of the series.

2. "The Constant", Lost - Season 4, Episode 5, Airdate: February 28

Even when things weren't going well, Lost always finished strong with finales that brought viewers back. This past season, they decided not to wait til the final episode to deliver their best episode of the season; perhaps the best of the series. The show had already proved that it had come back strong with flash forward episodes like "The Beginning of the End" and "The Economist" (another strong contender for this list), then blew everything away with "The Constant", going back to the flashback structure, kind of, telling the story of Desmond... a man unstuck in time. It was a wonderful mindfuck of an episode that wound up being the most emotionally affecting in the series history, that made all those annoying "you're gonna die Charlie" promos from season three worth it.

1. "Late Editions", The Wire - Season 5, Episode 9, Airdate: March 3

The Wire tended to deliver their strongest episodes with the penultimate episodes of the season, letting the season finale serve as the elegy that comes after the explosions of the previous episodes. These episodes tended to be written by detective novelist George Pelecanos, and "Late Editions" was no different. To close out the series, Lester Freamon was finally able to get Marlo in bracelets (leading to Jamie Hector's strongest moment in the series as Marlo finds out what his crew was keeping from him), Bubbles celebrates his sobriety anniversary, and a happy endings were given to Namond and Bunny Colvin. On the not-so-happy front (or "completely, absolutely devastating front") the show ended with Michael killing Snoop to save himself, then the sublimely profound goodbyes to Bug and Dookie. For all the gritty crime realities, Greek tragedy, and intricate plotting, the real reason why The Wire is the greatest series in television history was how deeply it made you care about its troubled, complicated characters, to the point where it's still difficult for me to think about a murdering drug dealer say goodbye to his friend without getting choked up.

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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