TV - Steve's TV Five a Day: Day Two
Steve Taylor-Bryant gets involved in social media games again, we do try and stop him, honest...
There have been a couple of great sharing ideas on social media recently and being the naturally lazy man I am instead of thinking up my own ideas for articles I have selfishly stolen other people’s ideas to fill these pages. One of my favourite ideas I stole from author Alec McQuay who in turn stole it on Twitter from @MiloBOK. It is a month of tweeting various things each day about television shows and your memories and thoughts. I don’t like doing just one thing a day though, so I am cheating (surprise, surprise) and I am putting the entire month’s choices into a few days. So here is your second “Five-A-Day,” otherwise known as Days 6-10…
Day 06 – Favourite episode of your television show…
Wow! What a tough question. Well as you know from yesterday my favourite all time show is The West Wing but how do you narrow down a favourite episode from 155 slices of genius? A lot of The West Wing is personal to me and therefore my episodes of choice depend on my mood or what is happening in my life or the world at the time I’m viewing it. With the constant threat of attack we live in I could put up the standalone Isaac and Ishmael and the wonderful message of tolerance and actual reality of a situation that it has. I could put forward Two Cathedrals from season 2 that I genuinely believe to be the greatest episode of television ever made, certainly the most powerful performance of Martin Sheen’s which is quite the compliment when you look at the guys back catalogue. I could put up just about any episode that had the incomparable John Spencer in it such was the impact that particular actor and character had on my own health and well being. But I’m going for one that primarily focuses on the personal struggles of Josh Lyman, wonderfully portrayed by Bradley Whitford, and that episode is Noel.
Day 07 – Least favourite episode of your favourite show…
Quite easy and it’s not because it is a bad episode by any stretch of the imagination, it is because in real life it had to be hastily rewritten due to tragic loss of John Spencer. I loved John Spencer like he was a member of my own family, the man was an incredible talent but more importantly was a wonderful human being. The episode I am talking about is wonderful to watch if John Spencer played no part in your life but for me Requiem from Season 7 and the funeral of Leo McGarry is too much for me to bear.
Day 08 – A show everyone should watch…
I came to this show late. In fact it had already finished before I’d even watched a single episode. However a discussion one night with our very own Nate McKenzie I purchased a complete box set of Community. As far as sit coms go it hits every mark, nails every joke, is perfectly cast, and whilst like Nate I love the duo that is Danny Pudi’s Abed Nadir and Donald Glover’s Troy Barnes it is the racist and sexist Chevy Chase as Pierce Hawthorn that I took to straight away. His take on the “it’s a generational thing” when it comes to offending people is just brilliant. The last time Chase was this funny was in the seventies. Honestly, if like me you missed it first time around grab the boxset you won’t regret it.
Day 09 – Best scene ever…
It’s probably not technically great television, it hasn’t aged well at all, it wasn’t that well written to begin with but my first ever regeneration in Doctor Who is my pick for best scene. Watching Tom Baker change into Peter Davison at the end of Logopolis was extraordinary for a six year old to witness and has stuck with me forever.
Day 10 – A show you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving…
iZombie. I’m not a huge zombie fan, I didn’t like the sound of the show due to its familiarity with the much maligned and much loved (in this house) Tru Calling. Put it on one night though when I genuinely couldn’t find anything else to watch and now can’t wait for season 3.
Follow Steve on Twitter @STBwrites
Day 07 – Least favourite episode of your favourite show…
Quite easy and it’s not because it is a bad episode by any stretch of the imagination, it is because in real life it had to be hastily rewritten due to tragic loss of John Spencer. I loved John Spencer like he was a member of my own family, the man was an incredible talent but more importantly was a wonderful human being. The episode I am talking about is wonderful to watch if John Spencer played no part in your life but for me Requiem from Season 7 and the funeral of Leo McGarry is too much for me to bear.
Day 08 – A show everyone should watch…
I came to this show late. In fact it had already finished before I’d even watched a single episode. However a discussion one night with our very own Nate McKenzie I purchased a complete box set of Community. As far as sit coms go it hits every mark, nails every joke, is perfectly cast, and whilst like Nate I love the duo that is Danny Pudi’s Abed Nadir and Donald Glover’s Troy Barnes it is the racist and sexist Chevy Chase as Pierce Hawthorn that I took to straight away. His take on the “it’s a generational thing” when it comes to offending people is just brilliant. The last time Chase was this funny was in the seventies. Honestly, if like me you missed it first time around grab the boxset you won’t regret it.
Day 09 – Best scene ever…
It’s probably not technically great television, it hasn’t aged well at all, it wasn’t that well written to begin with but my first ever regeneration in Doctor Who is my pick for best scene. Watching Tom Baker change into Peter Davison at the end of Logopolis was extraordinary for a six year old to witness and has stuck with me forever.
Day 10 – A show you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving…
iZombie. I’m not a huge zombie fan, I didn’t like the sound of the show due to its familiarity with the much maligned and much loved (in this house) Tru Calling. Put it on one night though when I genuinely couldn’t find anything else to watch and now can’t wait for season 3.
Follow Steve on Twitter @STBwrites
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