15 Classic & Iconic TV Episodes That We Are STILL Thinking About
With so many great dramas and sitcoms over the decades, it’s not always easy to remember them all. But we dove into some of television’s greatest series to choose the outstanding episodes, and even moments, that we all remember and love. There’s the funny: Carol Burnett descending a grand staircase as Starlet O’Hara wearing an even grander gown that looks suspiciously like a window curtain on The Carol Burnett Show; Mary Richards laughing uncontrollably at a funeral for Chuckles the Clown on The Mary Tyler Moore Show; Sammy Davis Jr. planting a kiss on Archie Bunker on All in the Family; Seinfeld‘s Soup Nazi yelling “No soup for you!” There’s the dramatic: young Laura Ingalls’ painful regret for not praying for a sick brother on Little House on the Prairie and Sgt. Phil Esterhaus unexpectedly passing away on Hill Street Blues. And then there are some of the most-watched episodes ever, like when we all found out who shot J.R. on Dallas and when the doctors and nurses of M*A*S*H left Korea for good.
15 of the most iconic TV episodes ever
Twilight Zone “Time Enough at Last,” Season 1, Episode 8
Perhaps still the most iconic (and ironic) Twilight Zone episode ever made, the eighth episode of the sci-fi anthology series, titled “Time Enough at Last,” features an unhappy bookworm who survives a nuclear apocalypse while he is taking a lunch break in his bank’s vault. Based on a short story by Lynn Venable, it stars Burgess Meredith as Henry Bemis, an average man with an overabundant love of reading, who is overjoyed to find himself alone in the world with nothing but time to read — until his glasses break. The ultimate irony, and a lesson in being careful what you wish for as well as a cautionary tale about putting too much focus on one thing: In his desire to consume as many books as possible, Bemis neglects his family and his job, and overall comes off as a very unlikable fellow. The 1959 episode was an instant classic.
'The Dick Van Dyke Show,' “That’s My Boy??” Season 3, Episode 1
The Dick Van Dyke Show’s 1963 Season 3 premiere episode “That’s My Boy??” went full-on flashback and delivered many laughs, as Van Dyke’s character Rob Petrie recalls the day his son Ritchie was born, when he suspects that his baby was possibly switched with the baby from another room, whose parents have a similar surname of Peters. The twist? The Peters family is Black, rendering Petrie’s paranoia even more absurd. The episode was a huge success in its time and helped launch the writing/producing careers of episode coauthors Bill Persky and Sam Denoff. Fun fact: Show writer John Whedon was the grandfather of future Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator and The Avengers director Joss Whedon.
'All in the Family,' “Sammy’s Visit,” Season 2, Episode 21
In the 1972 All in the Family Season 2 episode “Sammy’s Visit,” beloved family patriarch Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor), who’s been moonlighting as a taxi driver, gives musical icon Sammy Davis Jr. a ride in his cab, where Davis happens to forget his briefcase. To Archie’s excitement, this results in a celebrity visit to his home, although his wife Edith can’t help but tell everyone they know about it, resulting in half the neighborhood popping over to witness the exchange. O’Connor and Davis were longtime friends, and it was the singer’s idea to come on the show, resulting in one of the best episodes of the series.
>> 8 Interesting Facts About ‘All in the Family’ Star Carroll O’Connor
I Love Lucy, "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" Season 1, Episode 30
Considered to be the best episode of the iconic I Love Lucy show and ranked at No. 2 on TV Guide Magazine’s list of “100 Greatest Episodes of All Time” in 1997, the episode “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” follows Lucy’s attempts at getting Ricky to cast her in a commercial spot when he becomes the host of a TV show. When she eventually finagles her way into the role, Lucy accidentally gets drunk on the tonic she’s meant to sample and promote — “Vitameatavegamin” — which, unbeknownst to all, is 23% alcohol. Lucy staggers around onstage slurring her words, leading to Ricky carrying her off the set.
“Vitameatavegamin” would eventually become shorthand to describe the entire show, and an image of the scene was used in a statue of Lucy in Lucille Ball Memorial Park, later nicknamed “Scary Lucy” (and eventually replaced). In a 2020 episode of Will & Grace, the entire scene was re-created by Debra Messing, demonstrating the enduring power of this comedic episode and the great Lucille Ball herself.
'Columbo,' "Columbo Murder by the Book," Season 1, Episode 2
The very first episode of the long-running police procedural Columbo, directed by Steven Spielberg when he was just 24 years old and introducing Peter Falk as the TV detective who would become beloved by millions, “Murder by the Book” (1971) was a bit meta and a lot of fun: When one half of a mystery writing team decides to break away from his less talented partner, fiction becomes reality as he becomes the victim of a real-life murder and investigation. Luckily, Columbo was on the case!
'Little House on the Prairie,' “The Lord Is My Shepherd,”Season 1, Episode 13
Written and directed by Little House on the Prairie star Michael Landon, the 1974 two-part episode “The Lord Is My Shepherd” featured a guest appearance by Ernest Borgnine and focused on the guilt little Laura feels when the sick baby brother she refuses to pray for dies, causing her to run away to the mountains. In the end, Pa found her, and all was well in Walnut Grove. The Ingalls family was so beloved among viewers that the show lasted nine seasons and is considered one of the best family dramas of all time.
'Gilligan’s Island' “Don’t Bug the Mosquitoes,” Season 2, Episode 12
The musical trio the Wellingtons — who also sang the original Gilligan’s Island theme song (which was rerecorded by the Eligibles for Season 2) — play a fictional group called the Mosquitoes in one of the most memorable episodes of the 1960s, titled “Don’t Bug the Mosquitoes.” A spoof of the British Invasion phenomenon, it featured the band flying in via helicopter to perform a show on the deserted island that the S.S. Minnow had run aground on with its small group of tourists (and the Skipper too!) meant to go on a three-hour tour. In this 1965 episode, the 12th of the second season, the castaways scheme to find a way back to civilization along with the band, with the girls even creating their own musical trio called the Honeybees. However, as always, they are not successful, as the rival band scares the poor Mosquitoes off the island.
'Dallas' “Who Done It?” Season 4, Episode 4
Following an eight-month-long media frenzy, the mystery of who shot the ruthless businessman viewers loved to hate, J.R. Ewing, was finally revealed in the 1980 episode “Who Done It?” Many Dallas fans speculated it was Sue Ellen — J.R.’s wife — after her fingerprints were found on the gun, or even Sue Ellen’s lover Dusty Farlow, but it turned out to be Sue Ellen’s sister (who was also J.R.’s former mistress), Kristin Shepard, who not only slept with her sister’s husband but also tried to frame her for attempted murder; so scandalous! The catchphrase “Who shot J.R.?” was such a successful advertising strategy it helped inspire decades of shows with cliff-hanger season endings. It was also the highest rated television episode of all time until M*A*S*H aired its finale in 1983.
'St. Elsewhere,' “Time Heals,” Season 4, Episode 17
The two-part 1986 St. Elsewhere episode “Time Heals,” which won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series, focused on the 50th anniversary of St. Eligius and the memories it spurred, including its 1935 opening and the arrival of recent immigrant (and future longtime nurse) Helen Rosenthal. Plenty of hospital drama remained in the present timeline as well, with Dr. Morrison struggling to diagnose a difficult patient while also dealing with the kidnapping of his son Pete, making the episode a fan favorite.
The Carol Burnett Show, “Went With the Wind,” Season 10, Episode 8
The famous Gone With the Wind parody from The Carol Burnett Show, titled “Went With the Wind,” was such a big hit with audiences that the famous “curtain dress” Burnett wore for the episode, which looked more like curtain than dress, is now sitting in the National Museum of American History — rod and all! (TV Guide Magazine also named the dress scene No. 2 in their 1999 “50 Funniest TV Moments of All Time” list.) The episode follows a similar plot line to the original, with “Starlett” O’Hara embroiled in various love affairs with “Brashly” Wilkes and “Ratt” Butler throughout the Civil War era — just with far more jokes.
M*A*S*H,' “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen,” Season 11, Episode 16
The 1983 two-and-a-half-hour finale of M*A*S*H, was, and remains, the most-watched episode of any television series in U.S. history. Chronicling the final days of the Korean War at the 4077th MASH, it features several storylines illustrating the war’s effects on its military personnel and brings closure to the unit’s stories following the ceasefire, including a final farewell party and many teary goodbyes as the beloved characters all go their separate ways. Most poignant, perhaps, is Hawkeye’s (Alan Alda) revelation that what he remembered as a chicken being smothered by a woman to prevent being heard by enemy troops was in reality a baby, and Sgt. Klinger’s marriage to refugee Soon-Lee.
>> What is the Remaining ‘M*A*S*H’ Cast Up to Today?
The Brady Bunch, “The Subject Was Noses,” Season 4, Episode 18
In the 1973 episode about America’s favorite blended family titled “The Subject Was Noses,” Marcia cancels a date with a boy who is enamored with her after the school’s star football player, Doug Simpson, asks her out on the same night. Stepbrother Greg suggests she use the simple, vague excuse of “Something suddenly came up,” which she does. Unfortunately for her, she gets hit in the nose by an errant football a few days before the date, and when Doug sees her injured face, he cancels his date with her, leaving her all alone on Saturday night. In the end, it was perhaps a great lesson for Marcia, even if a painful one, and the episode ultimately became a fan favorite. The title of this Brady Bunch episode is a reference to the 1968 Martin Sheen film The Subject Was Roses, though the plots share no similarities.
>> Did Marcia Really Hurt Her Nose? 8 Things You Didn’t Know About the Brady Bunch
'Mary Tyler Moore Show,' "Chuckles Bites the Dust,” Season 6, Episode 7
When the recurring offscreen Mary Tyler Moore Show character Chuckles the Clown, dressed as Peter Peanut, is accidentally killed by a rogue elephant during a parade, his death is the butt of every joke in the WJM-TV newsroom — causing Mary much consternation in the 1975 episode “Chuckles Bites the Dust.” Only after exploding into a fit of uncontrollable giggles during the funeral does she understand that it’s an appropriately human response, and perhaps what the poor deceased clown would have wanted. The episode won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series and is often cited as one of the best episodes in television history for its humorous and relatable (but considerate) way of dealing with the weighty subject of death and grieving in a sitcom.
'Hill Street Blues,' “Grace Under Pressure,” Season 4, Episode 14
The police procedural that won 26 Emmy Awards and influenced all future law enforcement dramas reached an apex in the 1984 Hill Street Blues episode “Grace Under Pressure,” when Sgt. Esterhaus dies unexpectedly (played by Michael Conrad, who passed away from cancer midseason), and Officer Leo Schnitz (Robert Hirschfeld) finds out his wife is cheating on him. We still don’t know what city these beloved cops were keeping safe — was Hill Street in Chicago? Or New York? — but wherever it was, after this episode, Esterhaus’ slogan to his charges, “Let’s be careful out there,” remained only in history.
>> 7 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘Hill Street Blues’
'Seinfeld,' “The Soup Nazi,” Season 7, Episode 6
“No soup for you!” is such an iconic line of dialogue it’s practically in the public lexicon. But did you know that Seinfeld’s beloved character from the popular episode “The Soup Nazi” was based on a real person? Yes, it was inspired by an Iranian man named Al Yeganeh, who was not a fan of being included in one of the most watched and most critically acclaimed series of all time. When the Seinfeld production team returned to Manhattan’s Soup Kitchen International after the episode aired, owner Yeganeh exploded into a profanity-filled rant about how the show had ruined his business and demanded an apology, after which he told them “No soup for you” and ejected them out of the restaurant. Very meta!
>> ‘Seinfeld’ Cast: Where Are They Now & Which Star Got ‘Canceled’ For Racist Remarks?
1970s Fall TV
September 2023
Take a trip back to the ’70s by looking at the TV Guide Magazine Fall Preview primetime lineups.
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