Your top 10 (or more) SF/F television *episodes*? (any series)

[chrisspringob]

There've been lots of threads on "What is your favorite SF/F show?" Or "What are your top X favorite episodes from this particular series?" But what about this one?:

What are your top 10 favorite individual SF/F TV episodes? You can pick from as many different series as you like. In fact, if you can't limit it to 10, you can do more, but I figure that 10 is a fairly manageable number.

Here's my off-the-top-of-my-head answer for myself (I might revise this after I give it some more thought):

1) Severed Dreams (B5)
2) Z'ha'dum (B5)
3) The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1 (TNG)
4) Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 2 (nBSG)
5) In the Pale Moonlight (DS9)
6) The Visitor (DS9)
7) It's a Good Life (The Twilight Zone)
8) Once Upon a Time (The Prisoner)
9) City on the Edge of Forever (TOS)
10) The Coming of Shadows (B5)

[heck, I'll go as far as making a top 15:]

11) The Long Twilight Struggle (B5)
12) Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space' (X-Files)
13) Into the Lion's Den, Part 2 (Farscape)
14) On Thursday We Leave For Home (The Twilight Zone)
15) Yesterday's Enterprise (TNG)

 

[Hermiod]

Oh bloody hell this is going to be hard!

1) "The Best of Both Worlds, Part One", Star Trek: The Next Generation
2) "The Defector", Star Trek: The Next Generation
3) "In the Pale Moonlight", Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
4) "Pegasus", Battlestar Galactica
5) "The Long Twilight Struggle", Babylon 5
6) "A Call to Arms", Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
7) "Exodus, Part Two" Battlestar Galactica
8) "Anasazi", The X-Files
9) "Pegasus", Star Trek: The Next Generation
10) "…Tell Our Moms We Done Our Best", Space: Above and Beyond

Leaving out "The Doomsday Machine" (Star Trek), "The Visitor", "Rocks and Shoals", "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges", "The Changing Face of Evil" (all Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), "Chain of Command" (Star Trek: The Next Generation), "Company Man" (Heroes), "Window of Opportunity", "The Fifth Race", "Reckoning", "Threads" (Stargate SG-1), "First Strike" (Stargate: Atlantis) and many other episodes off this list.

Despite my high opinion of the series, also, I wasn't able to nominate a particular episode of Lost. I see that show as a whole rather than breaking it down in to particular episodes.

 

[intrinsical]

I'm not even sure if I can come up with ten. Oh well, here goes...

1) "The Visitor", ST: DS9
2) "Blink", Doctor Who
3) "All Good Things", ST:TNG
4) "Exodus, Part 2", Battlestar Galactica
5) "In The Pale Moonlight", ST: DS9
6) "The Inner Light", ST: TNG
7) "Chuck Pilot", Chuck
8) "Our Mrs Reynolds", Firefly
9) "The Trouble With Tribbles", ST: DS9
10) "First Attack", Macross Frontier (Its got spaceships, aliens, therefore its scifi)

 

[Locutus of Bored]

TOS - Balance of Terror / Amok Time / The Trouble With Tribbles / Mirror, Mirror / Space Seed

TNG - Yesterday's Enterprise / Best of Both Worlds 1 & 2 / Chain of Command 1 & 2 / Parallels / All Good Things...

DS9 - The Visitor / The Way of the Warrior 1 & 2 / Sacrifice of Angels / In the Pale Moonlight / Trials & Tribblations

VOY - The Year of Hell 1 & 2 / Scorpion 1 & 2 / Distant Origin / Ship in a Bottle / Living Witness

ENT - Broken Bow / Twilight / In a Mirror, Darkly 1 & 2 / The Council / Dead Stop

Firefly - Serenity / Our Mrs. Reynolds / Ariel / Objects in Space / The Train Job

Alias - Truth Be Told / Almost Thirty Years & The Enemy Walks In / Phase One / The Telling / Before the Flood

Battlestar Galactica - Miniseries / 33 / Pegasus / Exodus 1 & 2 / Crossroads 1 & 2

The X-Files - Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose / Pusher / Small Potatoes / Dreamland 1 & 2 / Arcadia

Babylon 5 - Z'ha'dum / Sleeping in Light / Severed Dreams / Endgame / Between the Darkness and the Light

Lost - The Constant / The Shape of Things to Come / Walkabout / Tricia Tanaka is Dead / Through the Looking Glass

Heroes - Six Months Ago / Company Man / Five Years Gone / Powerless / Dying of the Light

Smallville - Pilot / Crusade / Reckoning / Vessel / Justice

 

[captcalhoun]

The Stolen Earth/Journey's End (Doctor Who)

In the Pale Moonlight (DS9)

Who Monitors the Birds? (SAAB)

Not Fade Away (Angel)

Graduation Day (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Parallels (TNG)

In a Mirror Darkly (ENT)

Exit Wounds (Torchwood)

The Temptation of Sarah-Jane Smith (Sarah-Jane Adventures)

Rookies (The Clone Wars)

 

[Ethan_Hunt_IMF]

I'm going to struggle with episode names. Outside of the Visitor, they are in no particular order

1)Visitor: Ds9
2)Lost: the episode where the couple gets burried alive
3)Smallville: pilot
4)DS9: Pale Moonlight
5)TNG: Yesterdays Enterprise
6)TNG: Best of Both Worlds
7)TNG: All good things
8)DS9: call to arms
9)Smallville: any episode featuring Sarah Carter...wow(pariah, obsession and unsafe
10)the last episode of voyager....because it finally ended!!!!!!
Wow,i guess i don't watch a lot of sci-fi

 

[Ethros]

Oh bloody hell this is going to be hard!

Damn straight


Ok, whittled them down as much I could, having to leave out some stone cold classics. It got down to 11 but couldn't pick one to get rid off for 10

So in no order-
1. TNG- The Best of Both Worlds

2. DS9- The Visitor
3. DS9- Call To Arms
4. DS9- In The Pale Moonlight

5. Buffy- Passion
6. Buffy- Becoming
7. Buffy- Graduation Day
8. Buffy- The Body

9. Angel- Not Fade Away

10. BSG- Pegasus
11. BSG- Exodus

 

[Ben Sisko3]

No order...
1.) Carnivale: Lincoln Highway
2.) Carnivale: Black Blizzard
3.) MillenniuM: The Curse of Frank Black
4.) Farscape: The Way We Weren't
5.) Farscape: The Choice
6.) The Prisoner: The Schizoid Man
7.) The Prisoner: Fall Out
8.) Star Trek - Deep Space Nine: In the Pale Moonlight
9.) Star Trek - Deep Space Nine: The Visitor
10.) Supernatural: All Hell Breaks Loose, Part 1 & 2
11.) Supernatural: Mystery Spot
12.) The Twilight Zone: It's a Good Life
13.) The Twilight Zone: The Obsolete Man
14.) Battlestar Galactica: Lay Down Your Burdens, Parts I & II
15.) Battlestar Galactica: Exodus, Parts I & II
16.) Lost: S.O.S.
17.) Lost: Walkabout
18.) The X-Files: Redrum
19.) The X-Files: En Ami
20.) Firefly: Objects in Space

I'm going to stop. I could go on all day.

 

[auntiehill]

In no particular order:

DS9: The Visitor
DS9: In the Pale Moonlight
LOST: The Shape of Things to Come
LOST: Through the Looking Glass
The Prisoner: Arrival
The Prisoner: Hammer Into Anvil
Blake's 7: Star One
Blake's 7: Blake
ST:TNG: The Best of Both Worlds
ST:TNG: The Most Toys
Firefly: Objects in Space
SG1: Window of Opportunity
SG1: Meridian
ENT: Similitude
Doctor Who: Blink
Doctor Who: Genesis of the Daleks
Heroes: One Giant Leap
The Twilight Zone: The Midnight Sun
The Twilight Zone: A Stop at Willoughby

 

[DWF]

Ten would hard so here's more than ten and in no special order,

Dr. Who: Genesis Of The Daleks
Dr. Who: Talons Of Weng Chiang
Dr. Who: Journey's End
Dr. Who: The Last Of The Time Lords
The Twlight Zone: To Serve Man
The Twilight Zone: Eye Of The Beholder
The Twilight Zone: The Howling Man
The Twilight Zone: The Chaser
Star Trek: The Doomsday Machine
Star Trek: The Ultimate Computer
Star Trek TNG: The Best Of Both Worlds
Star Trek TNG: Tin Man
Star Trek DS9: Shattered Mirror
Star Trek DS9: The Way Of The Warrior
Star Trek Voyager: Year Of Hell
Star Trek Voyager: Timeless
Star Trek Voyager: Scorpion
Red Dwarf: Gunmen Of The Apocalypse
Space:1999: War Games
Space:1999: Death's Other Domain
Space:1999: Dragon's Domain
Star Trek Enterprise: The Council
Star Trek Enterprise: Zero Hour
Star Trek Enterprise: In A Mirror Darkly
Stargate SG1: Pretense
Stargate SG1: Nemesis
Stargate SG1: Window Of Opportinuity
Stargate SG1: Wormhole X-Treme!
Stargate SG1: Heroes
Stargate SG1: The Lost City
Stargate SG1: The Reckoning
Stargate SG1: 200
Stargate SG1: Threads
Stargate SG1: The Quest
Stargate Atlantis: Be All My Sins Remember'd
Stargate Atlantis: Sateda
Stargate Atlantis: First Strike
The X-Files: X-Cops
The X-Files: Jose Chung's From Outer Space
The X-Files: Monday
Babylon 5: Severed Dreams
Babylon 5: Endgame
Babylon 5: The Exercise Of Vital Powers
Lexx: Norb
Lexx: The End Of The Universe
Lexx: Heaven & Hell
Lexx: Yo Way Yo
Andromeda: Angel Dark, Demon Bright
Andromeda: It's Hour Come Around At Last
Andromeda: All Too Human
Andromeda: Dance Of The Mayflies
Andromeda: The Dissonant Interval
Smallville: Sacred
Smallville: Lexmas
Smallville: Justice
Smallville: Noir

Just to name a few.

 

[Bishbot]

These aren't in order: I just can't do that.

Battlestar Galactica: 33
Battlestar Galactica: Occupation/Precipice (might as well have been one episode)
TOS: The Devil In The Dark
DS9: Sacrifice of Angels
DS9: In The Pale Moonlight
Doctor Who: Human Nature/Family of Blood
Doctor Who: Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead
B5: Sleeping in Light
B5: Severed Dreams
Firefly: War Stories

That's ten of my top episodes. I doubt its really my ten favourites. That's such a hard list to compile as to be almost an impossibility. Those are ten episodes I think are really good though.

 

[DBR]

I don't have time to think of all the shows and episodes I liked the best, but Crossroads part 2 (BSG)--particularly the last 20 minutes--was probably my favorite television memory ever. It totally blew me away.

 

[auntiehill]

Ten would hard so here's more than ten and in no special order,

Dr. Who: Talons Of Weng Chiang

I nearly went with that one, as well. It's one of my favorites from my childhood.

 

[Harvey]

I don't know if I could pick ten without really thinking hard about it. A few that I can name.

"Spectre of the Gun" (Star Trek)
"The Face of the Enemy" (Babylon 5)
"Far Beyond the Stars" (Deep Space Nine)
"In the Pale Moonlight" (Deep Space Nine)
"Heroes II" (Stargate SG-1)
"Crossroads II" (Battlestar Galactica)

 

[amdmiami]

Awesome thread idea !

Battlestar Galactica miniseries
Orpheus (Angel)
Becoming part 1 and 2 (Buffy)
Year of Hell part 1 and 2 (Voy)
Out of Gas (Firefly)
Sacrifice of Angels (DS9)
Duet (DS9)
Not Fade Away (Angel)
Once More with Feeling (Buffy)
Best of Both Worlds part 1 (TNG)

 

[Neroon]

Ten would hard so here's more than ten and in no special order,

Dr. Who: Talons Of Weng Chiang

I nearly went with that one, as well. It's one of my favorites from my childhood.

"Everybody Weng Chiang tonight"

 

[Deckard]

Firefly: "Out of Gas"
MillenniuM: "Lamentation"
X-Files: "Humbug", "Beyond the Sea"
Babylon 5: "Intersections in Real Time"
Supernatural: "Jus In Bello", "In the Beginning"
Doctor Who: "Blink"
Ghost in the Shell: SAC: "Intercepter"
Ultraviolet: "In Nomine Patris"
Farscape: "A Human Reaction"
Carnivale: "Tipton", "Black Blizzard"
Angel: "A Hole in the World"
The Twilight Zone: "Walking Distance", "Perchance to Dream"
Star Trek: TNG: "The Inner Light", "Yesterday's Enterprise"

 

[auntiehill]

Ten would hard so here's more than ten and in no special order,

Dr. Who: Talons Of Weng Chiang

I nearly went with that one, as well. It's one of my favorites from my childhood.

"Everybody Weng Chiang tonight"

 

[DeafPoet]

In no particular order, and by no means comprehensive:

Firefly - Trash
DS9 - The Visitor
DS9 - Call To Arms
DS9 - In The Pale Moonlight
TOS - The Corbomite Maneuver
TOS - Balance of Terror
TNG - The Inner Light
TNG - Tapestry
ENT - Babel One, United, The Aenar
BSG - Crossroads
BSG - Revelations
BSG - Downloaded
BSG - 33
Lost - All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues
Lost - Exodus
Lost - The 23rd Psalm
Lost - Two For The Road
Lost - Live Together, Die Alone
Lost - The Brig
Lost - Through The Looking Glass
Lost - The Constant
Lost - The Shape Of Things To Come

 

[PKTrekGirl]

My personal top scifi episodes:

1. Severed Dreams (Babylon 5)
2. In the Pale Moonlight (DS9)
3. The Visitor (DS9)
4. Exodus I & II (second part was better but it was one story) (nuBSG)
5. Z'ha'dum (Babylon 5)
6. Into the Lion's Den (Farscape)
7. Becoming I & II (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
8. Improbable Cause/The Die is Cast (DS9)
9. Endgame (Babylon 5)
10. I Will Remember You (Angel)
11. Favor the Bold/Sacrifice of Angels (DS9)
12. Sleeping in the Light (Babylon 5)
13. Doomsday (nuWho)
14. Occupation/Precipice (nuBSG)
15. Paper Clip (The X-Files)
16. The Departure (Roswell)
17. Amends (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
18. Out of Gas (Firefly)
19. Father's Day (nuWho)
20. Unusual Suspects (The X-Files)

As you can guess from many of the episodes on that list, I have a particular love for three types of episodes:

a) An episode with many surprise plot twists (Improbable Cause/The Die is Cast, for example...or In the Pale Moonlight...or The Departure)
b) Episodes with a huge 'wow' factor (Severed Dreams, Exodus part II, or Into the Lion's Den, for example)
c) Episodes that STILL make me cry after repeated viewings (The Visitor, I Will Remember You, Amends, Doomsday, and Father's Day are examples of this)