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The 50 Best Episodes of 2004
With "Angel", "Wonderfalls" and "Veronica Mars"! Plus the top 50 of previous years! With "Buffy", "Angel" and "Firefly"! Join a trip into the past 4 years! |
The 50 Best Episodes of 2004: #50-21
By Brian Ford Sullivan
 It's time for our annual list of the 50 best episodes of the past year. (For previous lists check the bottom of this column.) We'll be counting down 10 episodes a day until we get to the best episode of 2004 on Friday. The episodes on this list are based on nominations by myself and regular visitors to the site as to what we think the standout moments of the year were. In some cases while we were fans of certain series we couldn't pin down a particular episode we thought was of special merit so don't be stunned to see a few of our regular favorites missing from the list. Anyway, on with the show...
37. "veronica mars: pilot"
(originally aired september 22, 2004)
This series is probably one of the hardest to describe to a friend (and consequently a difficult sell to the TV audience) but once you start you watching, you can't help but become addicted. Part teen drama, part detective show, part comedy, part drama - you've heard all the adjectives - so just watch will you? It'll all make sense afterwards.
 27. "wonderfalls: wax lion"
(originally aired march 12, 2004)
The short-lived gem opened with a delightful installment that introduced us to the (pardon the choice of adjectives here) wonderful Caroline Dhavernas and her first exposure to talking inanimate figurines. The DVD (featuring nine - yes nine, folks - unaired episodes) can't get here soon enough.
21. "angel: smile time"
(originally aired february 18, 2004)
They made Angel a puppet. A puppet. Nothing more needs to be said.
Top episodes 20-1 weren't published yet.
Past years:
2003:
50. "buffy the vampire slayer: chosen" (upn)
originally aired: may 20, 2003
Despite a promising start (how cool were all the cameos by the previous "big bads" in the season opener?), we weren't huge fans of how the final season of "Buffy" panned out. Nevertheless the final "Buffy" from Joss Whedon's pen was a reason to celebrate in 2003: back was the snappy dialogue we've come to expect from the show over the years. In essence the show came to life just as its run drew to a close. Not a bad way to go out.
 36. "firefly: the message" (fox)
originally aired: december 9, 2003
Sure this episode didn't technically "air" in 2003, but it was first released to the general public as part of a DVD set last month and we'd be remissed if we couldn't find a way to once again say how great this short-lived series turned out to be. After a rocky start, "Firefly" found its footing at the tail end of its run and became just a pure joy to watch. If anything, the series remains to this day one of the few shows that could introduce and make us care about not one, but nine different characters in such a short time.
32. "angel: lineage" (wb)
originally aired: november 12, 2003
Let's be honest folks: Wesley (Alexis Denisof) kicks ass. And boy did he in this episode which saw the return of his father (Roy Dotrice). It's in this hour we see once again how far Wesley has come and how much he has changed over the years. More importantly, it finally moved along the plotline of Wes' secret feelings for Fred (Amy Acker) as he literally kills his father for her.
 25. "angel: peace out" (wb)
originally aired: april 30, 2003
Any episode that has a character punching through another one's face certainly will make it stick in our memories, but "Peace Out" gets our high marks for throwing some interesting elements into the typical "Big Bad" showdown. The Angel crew learns that if they defeat Jasmine (Gina Torres), they'll be destroying the peace she's provided for the world. No big cosmic reset button here folks as Connor (Vincent Kartheiser) surprisingly takes care of business, releasing pain once again into the world.
2002:
42. "buffy the vampire slayer: conversations with dead people" (upn)
originally aired november 12, 2002
 "Buffy" has gotten a lot of mileage out bringing back dead characters and yet each time it doesn't feel cheap or out of place. A perfect example of this was in this episode where The First (i.e. the first evil of the world) plays its hand by impersonating those close to Buffy and her friends. From this we get everything from a heartbreaking scene between Willow and someone speaking for her beloved Tara to Dawn getting a visit from her mother in which she's told her sister won't choose her in the end. Heartbreaking and deliciously evil at the same time - that's "Buffy" at its best for sure.
35. "buffy the vampire slayer: normal again" (upn)
originally aired march 12, 2002
One of the few highlights in an overall disappointing season was this episode in which Buffy is led to believe she isn't a vampire slayer at all. She wakes up in a mental ward where she's told the past six years were actually just her active imagination, an imagination that has forced her to be committed. The doctors (along with Buffy's now alive mom) offer her a solution to her dilemma however: the next time the "dreams" happen she should simply just kill off her friends as that will break the link between the two worlds in her mind. The ensuing climax was actually quite frightening as Buffy gets close to doing such a thing. Thankfully she doesn't and the twisted spell is broken.
33. "angel: spin the bottle" (wb)
originally aired november 10, 2002
 "Angel" has been home to some of the more radical character changes in the Joss Whedon universe. After all, toss in early episodes of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and then watch a recent episode of "Angel" and you'd be hard pressed to see how those dots connected for a character like Cordelia Chase (the lovely Charisma Carpenter). But as long time viewers know, that progression has felt anything but abnormal as the spoiled brat rich girl has become something of a humbled warrior in the fight for good. So it was particularly interesting in this episode to see Cordelia (along with the rest of the cast) forced to revisit their younger selves after a memory spell goes awry. How Chase, David Boreanaz, Alexis Denisof and company all step their characters back a few years without missing a beat is something that borders on extraordinary to watch.
2001:
36. angel - "billy"
(originally aired october 29, 2001)
Let's go down the list - Wesley going all "shining" on Fred, Angel paying the price for saving Cordelia a few weeks before and Lilah beat within an inch of her life. No show pushes as many buttons at the same time as this one.
15. buffy the vampire slayer - "life serial"
(originally aired october 23, 2001)
While you'll find some of "Buffy's" more dramatic episodes at the top of this list, that doesn't mean we don't love the comedy ones and this one about a "geek" Troika fooling with Buffy took the cake. And if you have any doubts that this isn't one of the best episodes of 2001, two words my friends: kitten poker.
 14. angel - "that vision thing"
(originally aired october 1, 2001)
The evolution of Cordelia has been one of the best things about this show as of late and this episode put out all the stops. Originally a Girl Friday to Angel, it's here we really see how far the character has come in the five years we've known her. And let's not forget the best character introduction all season - Skip.
3. buffy the vampire slayer - "once more, with feeling"
(originally aired november 6, 2001)
Joss Whedon has an ability to take "gimmick" episodes and make them so essential that one wonders how the story could be told without said "gimmick." This episode in which the town is cast under a spell that makes them sing and dance their innermost thoughts had all the makings of those "very special episodes" that break from the usual rhythm of a series. This one however found a way to knock down all the dominos that had been set up in weeks past and do it in a way that it really made you believe that this was the logical conclusion to those events and there was no other way to tell the story. Amazing stuff for sure.
 1. buffy the vampire slayer - "the body"
(originally aired february 27, 2001)
While no doubt many expected "Once More, With Feeling" to top this list, I can't help but find myself hopelessly in love with this episode, featuring the events following Buffy's mom's death. This episode was just plain hard to watch in some parts just because it was so emotionally overwhelming. Anyone who has lost someone close to them will surprisingly find those frustrating, painful and too-hard-to-explain emotions realistically portrayed - and remember kids this is a show about vampires. How the Emmys cannot look at this episode and not recognize Sarah Michelle Gellar's acting abilities, Joss Whedon's fine script and direction not to mention the show's overall amazing quality is beyond me.
Top 20, 2000:
20. angel - "reunion"
(december 19, 2000)
"Help us please!" says a distraught Wolfram & Hart executive. Angel's response was one of the most jaw-dropping moments of 2000 - "Somehow I can't bring myself to care," he says shutting the doors to his lawyer antagonists and their out of control vampire creations. And just when you think they can't top that, when Wesley, Gunn and Cordelia confront him about it his response drops your jaw even further - "You're all fired." I've never wanted to see the next episode of a series more than this one.
 10. angel - "five by five"
(april 25, 2000)
Any time Faith stops by the Buffyverse it's worth taking notice, especially in this case as a self destructive Faith attempts to hunt Angel. Her breakdown in the show's closing moments was painfully real and left one of the biggest impressions of 2000. Hopefully we'll see more of her in 2001.
1. buffy the vampire slayer - "restless"
(may 23, 2000)
While most people would say "Hush" was the most daring episode of "Buffy" to date (sorry kids it aired in 1999 and isn't eligible for this list), I'd still take this one any day. A strange mix of images and ideas, "Restless" featured each character's dream tour of their own individual psyches after the trauma of battling the season villain - Adam. It would set up the tone the show is taking this season as Buffy now is figuring out exactly what it means to be a slayer just as her friends start to find their places in this world.
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