Flightless Bird: Top TV Episodes

David Farrier
I'm David Farrier, a New Zealander accidentally marooned in America and I want to figure out what makes this country tick. Now, occasionally on flight this bird, we break from the usual format and do something a little bit different. You saw that with flights of fancy about a month ago where we got your expert insights into very american things like that dolphin and seal trainer for the Navy. And also with american gods where we focus on an american legend. So today were doing another new thing that well do from time to time when we feel like it.

Its a top ten list. Its basically a fun way for us to explore certain american topics that fit neatly into a list form. Like this episode, our top ten american tv show episodes. There isnt much more to explain really. So get ready to figure out what your favourite tv episodes are, compare them with ours and let's get on with it because this is the top ten american tv show episodes episode.

Oh, and a quick note, because in this episode we're playing our favourite moments from our favourite tv episodes. There will be some spoilers here. If there's a show we stumble on that you don't want spoilt, just use the skip button in saying that most of these shows have been out for ages, some of them for decades. So hopefully you've already seen them and this episode simply encourages you to have a big rewatch session. Fly this flight.

Speaker B
Bench. Flightless bird touchdown in America. I'm a flightless bird touchdown in America.

Monica
Well, well, well. I'm thrilled. I'm really excited about this. You are excited. We're doing something a little bit different.

David Farrier
We are going to do a top ten episode and occasionally we'll do these where we break down our top ten american things. And this week, what are we doing? We're doing our top ten favorite american tv episodes. Not shows, but specific episodes that we rate as being the one. Now, because there's three of us, we've broken this up in a slightly unusual way.

We're each bringing our top three episodes to the table. Plus a little bonus. Third. Yeah. An honorable mention.

An honorable mention. I want to just give a little backstory. Some episodes ago you did a true crime episode and in it you listed your favorite documentaries. And that sparked this idea. Cause that was really fun hearing that list.

It was really fun and it sparked other people to talk about what was on their list. And I think also people just love a good listicle. I sure do. Yeah. So it made us think, oh, maybe we should do some more lists like this that are sort of american esque, fatal flaw I made a mistake.

Okay. One of mine, but I refused to kick it off the list, is not american. Okay. Was it made by Americans, maybe, or made in America? Nope.

Monica
No. I had said that to David too, yesterday because my third, I went through, like, three that were not american. Oh, really? And then had to go back and pick. It's interesting to look at what shows come to mind and which ones are american and which ones are not.

David Farrier
That's sort of an interesting thought experiment as well. I played this game with my friends for years. This is a tale as old as time, a classic. And every time I play it with people, I come up with new ones. Like, I forget.

Monica
And it's a fun game and it could go on for quite a long time. And I think it's one thing to have your top three or your top ten or whatever shows but to narrow it down to an episode is also a really difficult thing. And it's a weird assignment as well because we never really talked about this. But are we picking episodes that are just our favorites? Are they episodes that we would want to show to a friend to get them into that show?

David Farrier
How did you approach narrowing down what the episode or the show would be? I approached as my personal favorites that I think from tops to bots is incredible. Right? Yeah. Okay.

Monica
But I didn't do prestige, obviously. I could pick red. You're not trying to be cool or you're not trying to be cool. Or case on Mad Men, which is an incredible episode of tv. I've never seen Mad Men.

Oh, my God. Such a good episode of tv. But I didn't pick it. I'm like, we all know those. I went more you.

David Farrier
This is you. No, this is great. And I think we can all learn about each other. And I'm also super curious because we don't know what each other's episodes are. If there's any crossover.

Monica
Me too. Let's go one at a time. I think you kick off. Are we doing one one at a time? So number one.

Rob
Number one. Number one. Are we ranking or are we. I've ranked mine, but we don't really have to. Okay.

David Farrier
I don't have mine ranked, but I can rank. No, it's not ranked. Then. Okay, let's just go. Okay.

Monica
I agree with you. I think we should circle it. Circle it. Okay. Do you want to kick it off, Monica?

I'm so nervous. Plug her in for that. Can plug her in. Okay. I feel really nervous about this for some reason.

I don't know why. I know there's no stakes. Are you worried how we'll react, or do you feel we're gonna see you? We see the core of what Monica loves. I think it's that, like, I feel really vulnerable.

David Farrier
No, I get it. I completely understand. This is, like, the ultimate thing where maybe this is only in my world, but you're at a certain level. Like, at the end of a night and everyone's a bit drunk, and you put on YouTube to show people clips, and there's a certain dread when someone isn't getting it, and you're like, oh, no, I picked the wrong clip. And you guys are gonna feel like you have to be like, yeah, that's good.

No, honesty is the name of the game. Okay. But also kindness. So don't worry. We're not gonna tear into things.

Monica
Why don't I start with the non american show? Because if I was ranking, this is my number one. Okay, let's do it. Okay. Okay.

Well, do you guys have any guesses? I would say Bridgerton, maybe. No, but that's a good guess. What's the other one? That's, like, Bridgerton.

David Farrier
The crown. The crown. The crown is what I think. Oh, that's a great guess. I do love that show.

Monica
No, do you have a guess? I have no idea where this is going. I don't really know a lot about your tv watching habits. There's a part of me that wants to just play audio so that you guys can get it or. Yeah, like, kind of guess.

Should we try it? Let's try it. Okay, ready?

Rob
It's the whole episode. This is a scene. This is my favorite. Nailed it. Fleabag.

Monica
Yeah, it is. Oh, yeah. What a show. What a fucking show. That was one of mine that I replaced.

Okay, well, I'm gonna play it. It's kind of long, but. Oh, well, no, just sitting there. Do you want to watch it now that you know it? Oh, the hot priest.

Rob
They always lie. It'll magically come in a minute.

David Farrier
Yeah. They're really into each other, those two. It's nice. They really pulled it off. Was your sister okay?

Speaker B
Yeah, she's my edge to her work thing. Wow. Dedicated. Addicted.

It's God, isn't it?

David Farrier
Yeah.

Speaker B
Bam, bam.

You know, the worst thing is that I love you.

I love you.

No, no. Let's just leave that out there, just. For a second on its own.

I love you. That's so sad. This is the worst.

David Farrier
Let's get together.

It'll pass. Oh.

Speaker B
This bus is not magically coming. Take a walk. Okay.

Rob
See you Sunday. I'm joking. You're never, ever allowed in my church again.

I love you, too.

Speaker B
And now, any listeners who are familiar with Fleaberg will be crying their little hearts out right now. I have never cried so hard in a show than when I saw that for the first time. Yeah. Yeah. Really happy.

Yeah. Unrequited love. Right? When he says, it'll pass, it'll pass. You just like, oh, it's so devastating.

David Farrier
I have a little pin. It's a heart. It's two pieces. And on one side says, I love you, and on the other side, it says, it'll pass. Oh.

Monica
This is the same genre or the same thought behind past lives, which is why I also was puddle. Yeah. And on paper, it should, or emotionally, it should, but it's just not. And it's. Yeah, it's the worst.

David Farrier
I think that perfectly captures that. You're a fan of the episode as well, right, Rob? Yeah. I was gonna pick episode one of that season where you first meet Andrew Scott as the priest, and they're at that crazy dinner with the family. Yeah.

Monica
What a show. We're gonna spoil all of these shows. Definitely. But they've also. They've been out for a long time, and I'd say.

David Farrier
This is, like, a good excuse to revisit this stuff. Yeah. God, that. Well, look, as a non american show, it's really good. I can't.

Not really do it. Yeah, it's too good. I think one of my favorite scenes ever is from the pilot of that, where she's masturbating to an Obama speech and her boyfriend. Her boyfriend catches him also. Yeah.

The show is also. It's so funny. And so when it hits with those. Emotional moments, it's like a big gut punch. It is.

It is. And you're hot priest. Hot priest, baby. Okay, now your turn. Okay, now.

Monica
Okay. David, you texted us yesterday saying that you started bawling. Yeah, no, I did. I cried a lot, so I'm not. Gonna play what made me cry.

David Farrier
What? Until the end. That's my last one. Oh, okay. Okay.

We'll get to that. Okay, I'm gonna start with an episode of the X Files on the VHS. Player, and then get up early the. Next day before school and watch it. I loved the adventures of Mulder and Scully, and I loved the X Files.

Monica
It was almost part of my personality as a kid. And there's one episode in particular called. Home, and I'm just gonna play you. I found the trailer for it that originally aired. Remember the house?

David Farrier
Your parents warned you to stay away from this Friday. Oh, my God. You'll understand why this is our home and this is the way it's gonna stay.

Brand new X Files Friday. So the X Files, if you haven't watched it, can you tell us about what happened? Oh, absolutely. So the X Files was one of the first shows that had individual bottle episodes, but then it had this overall. Arc throughout the entire thing.

It was one of the first shows to do that.

So home was from season four, episode. Two, and it's known as being the. Scariest X Files episodes of all time. And so it shocked the executives. It kind of blew their mind.

And it's basically about a family of inbred Americans who go out on big killing sprees. It was just a very intense show. I found a piece at the time. Here's a fun Halloween tRick. Mention the Peacock family to an unsuspecting X Files fan and enjoy the reaction.

It's likely to be some combination of a shudder, a squeal, and a groan, a mix of delight and revulsion. The Peacocks are at the center of home. In X Files episode that originally aired in 96, viewers complained about the tale about the murderous, inbred clan, that it was too disturbing, and network executives apparently agreed when home appeared later on the cable channel FX it in 1999. The episode has since become a fixture on various scariest shows ever lists and endures as one of the most beloved in the series history. It's available on Netflix and Hulu.

If you haven't seen it, just know it's very, very disturbing. Whoa. And is it in today's world now that we've seen so much fuck ever since? I rewatched it recently and it's still really, really dark. I'm not going to go into the reasons why, but it does certain things in the storytelling that just hit really hard, and it's just incredibly bleak and really, really sad.

They basically keep their inbred mother under the bed, and they use her to breed with. And the series opens with their mother giving birth to a baby that is. Then buried under a kid's baseball field. And the episode opens with the kid. Scuffing the dirt off the base that he's on for him to bat.

I've never played baseball. I don't know if I'm using the right words here, but I think I am. Yeah. And as he scuffs, he scuffs into the baby's head that's been buried under. It's unbelievably big.

And this was on Fox. This was on network tv. We're not talking HBO. And so Fox Mulder and Dana Scully go to investigate what's going on with this peacock family. It's cut in a way that's really disturbing.

The music's really disturbing. I found another bit of essay that I thought captured the Americana of it all as well. Aside from the scares, home functions as a sort of dark mirror, a sinister underbelly so insular to small towns, motherhood and family, classic cadillacs, and even Johnny Mathis. I don't know who that is, but I'm gonna embarrass myself here. Wow, that does sound intense.

That's a really intense, scary episode of tv. And I think it's on Disney plus now, because all the Fox shows went on there, so it sits alongside your favorite Disney films. Can wait for Calvin to accidentally put that one on. Oh, my God. The X Files is also a really fun rewatch because Vince Gilligan was one of the writers on X Files.

He went on to make Breaking Bad. All these amazing actors appear in X Files that appear in other places later. Some of these big actors, they had their big break on X Files. Yeah. Cause wasn't Bryan Cranston on an episode?

Monica
He was on an episode. Yeah, he was on there. That's how he met Brian. Who else was on there? Yeah.

David Farrier
Luke Wilson pops up. Danny Trejo. Jack Black, Seth Green, Charlot Buff, Ryan Reynolds. Wow. All these people just pop up as.

Little bit characters on X Files apps. So, yeah, if you've never watched, there's so many good episodes, but home is the one I would recommend. Season four, episode two. Love it. All right, Rob.

All right. I picked an episode of Barry as my first one. Season two, episode five. Ronnie Lilly. Okay, so in this episode, the FBI.

Is coming after Barry, and the agent catches him, and he tells him he'll let him go if he kills his ex wife's boyfriend.

Oh, okay. So I remember this episode. He's like, sure, I'll go kill this guy. And he goes to his house and. Tries to convince him just to leave.

Rob
He's like, go to Chicago. Pack your bags. Just go for, like, a year. It'll be fine. And the guy starts packing up.

I'll play the clip. Okay, guys. Oh, my God. Don't freak out. Don't freak out.

Your name's Ronnie Proxen, right? Oh, good. That would have been weird. And you're dating Diana Loach's ex wife. Uh huh.

Okay, go. Diana, do you have family out of state? Uh huh. Do you mind me asking where? Chicago.

Chicago. I love Chicago.

Speaker E
Whose taekwondo trophies are these?

Right on. Good for you, man. Whoa, look at that. You got medals too. Shit.

Speaker B
Chicago from LA. That can be pretty long. Sometimes I do Google maps and the same time it's kind of a little fun game to see which one's which.

Rob
So there's just this insane fight scene. He's trying to be polite and doesn't. Want to kill him and then thinks he does. His daughter comes home and she looks just like Lincoln. Oh, God.

David Farrier
She's like nine in a karate outfit. Oh, my God. And she's all weirdly supernatural. Crouching Tiger, hidden dragon fight scenes which reminded me a lot of let the right one in. Which is what I really like.

Monica
The swedish horror vampire. So kind of those vibes. It's that ultimate thing in Barry where it's grounded in reality and a lot of it. But then it just takes on these utterly surreal tones and you just go with it because they've set the style so well. You just are drawn into that world and whatever happens, you're on board.

Rob
God, you would love that show. Monica, you need to watch it. It's really beautiful. This is an interesting part of this game. The ones I picked, well, not all of them are my favorite shows.

David Farrier
But the episode leapt out. Exactly. Yeah. I realized that a lot of the ones I picked were kind of standalone episodes that didn't deal a lot with the series. You could almost watch it without watching the show and still get something out of it which I think I just watched so much tv that I lose the context.

Monica
Don't need it. Sure. Yeah. That's a really good point, actually. The other scary thing when I was thinking about these episodes was it's amazing.

David Farrier
How much I watch and forget. I know that was all because I. Was like, oh, it's definitely this episode. I don't remember anything about it, but I know it's great. And then I'm, like, watching the episode.

And I'm like, oh, what was the show about again? How did it end? Did I finish it? And that's really worrying. I agree.

Rob
I agree. Yeah. I should say right now I did. I know, me too. I mean, I can say right now, the ones, okay, you could probably do a top ten friends episode.

David Farrier
I know. That was too overwhelming. The one where Ross and Rachel broke up. Smelly cat. What are the other ones?

Monica
The one where no one's ready would be my pick from friends, but I'm not. Okay. No friends. Not doing it. Okay, what have we got there?

David Farrier
Okay, so next I have, this is an american show. This is an american show.

Monica
Technically. Actually, technically, it's not an american show. Oh. It's assignment. This is a podcast about America.

David Farrier
I love it. Okay, hit us. Okay. This is the american office dinner party. Great pick.

Monica
Great pick. I'm gonna play. Put a toast, darling. Hold on. Here's two good friends.

Cheers. Cheers. I haven't seen this. Hmm. That is sort of an oaky afterbirth.

David Farrier
What was that? So, music. Should we turn some music? That sounds good. Do you guys remember my old assistant, Hunter?

He's an excellent songwriter. Wait till we hear this. Okay, here we go. Oh, God, you took me.

Monica
Okay, so embarrassingly, I've done all the british office, haven't done the american one, which I know is amazing. What is this episode about and what jumps out? Okay. The reason I picked it is because what the american office does so well, I mean, it's so brilliant, it's so funny. But the visceral awkwardness that it hits on, it just, like, moves your whole soul.

Speaker B
And this episode. The whole episode, I mean, it's hard to pick a clip from it. Cause the whole thing's just so good, but it encapsulates the awkwardness. So I could well just sense that. The looks everyone's giving each.

Monica
Yes. I need to watch the american office. It's kind of amazing that, you know, Ricky Gervais starts this show, and then it's licensed to all these different countries. So many countries have their own office. The american office, I think, has become more popular and more loved than the british office, which is kind of amazing.

Well, it also went for so long, a runner up for the office would. Be in season two, the Dundies. We've referenced the show and other.

Flight the spirits. Right. We had, like, the parkour episode and Loma Linda. It feels like there's an office clip for every occasion imaginable. Have you done american office, Rob?

David Farrier
Yeah. Yeah. The Dundies is the first episode of second season, and it's also incredible. It's just so special. But the dinner party is season four, episode 13.

Monica
Okay. All right, 413. Great pick. And a reminder that I, the american office, especially if I'm going to become more american, also directed by Paul Feig. That episode.

David Farrier
So my number two pick is from. A much more recent show that I really loved. I think we all love the show as well. And it is the season two finale of Dave, which is just such a. Oh, my God.

Monica
You're gonna love this when you watch it. Dave is such a special thing. It does the thing that Barry does where it is it's about a white rapper called Dave, who was a real. Rapper in real life, but this is kind of a fictionalized version of his. Story, and it's grounded in reality.

David Farrier
But then it will just take these absolutely fantastical turns. Brad Pitt is in one of my other favorite episodes, where they're kidnapped by a rabid fan, and it's just so transcendent. It's really special. But what I really like about the finale of season two is basically Dave and his best friend, gator. There have been some tension between the two of them.

They're getting ready for a big awards performance. Dave has been rehearsing this giant, very artistic show that he's going to put on on his own and sort of ignoring gator, who's open for him this whole time. And then there's this really beautiful moment where you're surprised because you suddenly realize that Dave isn't going to do his own performance. He's brought Gator onto stage with him, and it's just the two of them doing their most basic thing, which is them both rapping on. I thought I cried when this first happened.

Really? Yeah. Cause it's like a big deal. He's doing this big show with dances and specs, and then he just scraps it. He scraps the whole.

And the whole episode is the prep for it all. Doesn't it end? Cause his rap name is little Dicky. And the whole joke, he's got unusual deformed penis. And part of the show is him getting live on stage, getting surgery to correct his peanuts.

So as a viewer, you're invested the surgery, because you're like, this is going to be amazing. They're going to do this live broadcast of him getting surgery. And a big part of the episode is the doctor figuring out what they can do on stage and what's going. To be safe and what's not safe. So as an audience member, you're invested in that.

You want to see the big performance, then you go, oh, fuck, that's not going to happen. It's just going to be him reuniting with his best friend. Oh, my God, Kamma's going to pay that. But you guys talk to Gator. Like, how is he talk to Gatorade?

He's fine. Just worry about you, Dave. Okay. I know that I'm so bad at showing my appreciation in general, but, like, probably especially the both of you. And I just want you to know that you guys have made my dreams come true.

I'm so thankful for everything that you do for me and just everything that you guys are as people. You're fucking amazing. Just keep paying me to be your. Friend and I'll be there.

Love you man. Thank you for always being there. I love you too.

Rob
Be careful, Dave. I got it.

What? I did. I'm fine.

Speaker B
See.

David Farrier
Did not teach you. I didn't. I do the best I could.

Speaker B
Hey everybody, my name is Lil Nas X. You know it? Yeah. And I have the biggest song ever. Who's ready to have some fun tonight?

Anyways, this next performer's name autocorrects to Lol Dinky.

Give it up a little dicky.

They tried to tell me I was going crazy. I've been broke but had no banks. It was friends celebrating, watching. I change even when I'm in my own way. You good, bro?

I don't treat my friends right. Fuck it if I'm wrong, if my parents right. You good bro? Always looking for a angle til I'm squared. Oh, I'm not always right over here, bro.

You good, bro? Oh, it's so beautiful. And it's really such a deal. A great trick on the audience watching at home as well as the audience in this. I haven't watched it.

Gotta watch it. You will love Dave when you get around to it. It's so good. I'm gonna do the office, you're gonna do Dave. Okay, great.

All right. What we got cable. Cable coming in. All right. I have another standalone episode.

It's Atlanta, the Teddy Perkins episode. Oh, is this where he plays a white man? Yeah. So this is where Darius is going to pick up a piano from someone in the south.

Monica
And he gets to. This house and there's this creepy, looks like a masked white man. Right? Like Michael Jackson type character that lives there. And it's really chaotic and creepy and I feel Atlanta's.

Rob
I embarrassingly also haven't watched Atlanta despite. Knowing that it's one of the best scenes ever made. I haven't finished it. I know there's too many shows and some of these big shows you want to. What's the balance of drama and comedy?

Or is it all over the place? It's kind of all over the place. I mean, it's kind of like Dave where they go and do the whole Gaeta bipolar thing. They do that in Atlanta as well. Really well, finding that balance where it's not just silly and funny.

David Farrier
Oh, man. I remember seeing Donald Glover. I've only been to Coachella once. It was for the two park hologram. Oh, wow.

And Donald Glover was there performing a very like, early version of childish Gambino. And it was more. They were great songs, but they were more joke songs. So, like, you meant to listen to the lyrics and go, ha ha. That's funny, right?

I guess a bit like what Dave does, little Dicky. But seeing what he has done, what he's done, what Donald Glover is turned into, it's like, oh, it's unreal. He was a UCB improviser, right? That's right. Like, I would see him on stage doing improv with his team.

Was there, like, a sense that he had an x factor, or was he all these amazing, creative people? Everyone's so special there and doing amazing things, if I'm being quite honest. No, I didn't feel like there's something extra. And to have just seen him on that little fucking Franklin stage and now what he has become, it's unreal. It's unreal.

Even in community, you don't really get. The sense of how grand he's going to become. Yeah. So here's the scene. Would you like a glass of water?

Yeah. Kind of parched.

Monica
Darius would like a glass of water when you have a moment.

Yeah. Righteous, brother. You're the butler or whatever. They didn't bring the water yet. Oh, I don't have a butler.

David Farrier
I just use this to remember things. Wow. For Dionne Warwick, wash your hands immediately. Darius would like a glass of water when you have a moment. Right, then.

Excuse me. Oh, it's so unsettling. It is. It's making me feel itchy. It's so creepy.

I remember having a hangover from this. Episode now that I watched it in silence. And. Oof. And in the credits at the end, that character's Teddy Perkins, and it just says Teddy Perkins as himself, so they.

Speaker B
Don'T even list acknowledge. But you can tell it's him. Could I? Could I? It's him.

David Farrier
It's him. Yeah. You can kind of see it in the eyes. No, wait. Now I need to see.

Rob
Hold on. Ew. Oh, God. Oh, yeah. I just use this to remember things.

Finish that hat for Dionne Warwick. Unreal. There's a whole section I cut out of him eating a soft boiled quail egg, too, that he's just sitting there, breaking it open and sticking his hand into. Oh, my God. Like a fully realized character to step into.

Monica
Could someone watch this, having watched none. Of the show and love it? Okay, absolutely. Spoiler alert. So the end of this episode ends in a murder.

Speaker B
Oh, my God. It gets dark. Oh, my God. So you're just absolutely shocking yeah, you're. In this really so dark and weird, and you're like, what is happening?

Rob
And it's totally out of place for the rest of the season. It's just fully standalone. Here's Darius just out on his own getting a piano. It's kind of amazing what's happened in the last 15 years in that tv has become more classier than film. You know, it used to be films that stick with you, and now it sees episodes.

It's so avant garde tv show than. They are in a film. That's such an interesting flip. It's changing. We're so lucky.

David Farrier
And we can just watch all this shit at home. We're pretty lucky with this stuff.

Rob
Stay tuned for more flightless bird. We'll be right back after a word from our sponsors. This episode of Flightless bird is brought to you by booking.com. booking year. I don't know if you noticed this.

David Farrier
It's summer, and that means it's time. To travel and have a little holiday. Yes, it is.

It's sunny out. It's hot. It's vacation time. Something does happen, right? You're like, it's sunny.

It's like, I want to go somewhere. Yes. I want to go to Hersheyland. I didn't really know it was like a town that made chocolate and all smelled like chocolate. Yeah, I've never been either, but that's my dream.

Oh, my God. I want to go there. Booking.com. That'S where I'm going to look when. I go to investigate Hersheytown.

Booking.com quote s wide breadth of places to stay across the US makes booking whoever you want to be this summer. So, so easy on booking.com for traveling. And for finding places to stay. So what are you waiting for this summer? You can book whoever you want to be on booking.com.

booking dot. Yeah. Check out booking.com to book today. Shout out to Claritin for supporting this episode of Flightless Bird. I weirdly didn't really have any allergy stuff in New Zealand.

I think something about, I don't know, new country. There's a lot of pollen around. Yes.

And when I was in Austin, there particularly, for some reason, allergies kicked the hell in. I agree. I also think part of it might be age or something. I used to not have allergies at all, and now I definitely do. I'm super sensitive.

Why does aging suck so much? You're not gonna like what I think. It also might be. Oh, what? American leaf blowers.

Oh, I think you're absolutely right. It kicks everything up. It does. But luckily, there are solutions, thanks to claritin clear with claritin D. This double.

Monica
Action combination of prescription strength allergy medicine and the best decongestant available relieve sneezing, a runny nose, itchy and watery eyes, an itchy nose and throat, and sinus congestion and pressure with ease. I love this product. The mix of the decongestant and the allergy relief. Because sometimes I don't really necessarily know what's going on. Like, it can be a cold.

Yeah. I just feel really bad. And so often I'll go this route and I feel so much better. Get ready to live life as if you don't have allergies. It's time to live.

David Farrier
Claritin clear, fast and powerful relief is just a quick trip away. Find claritin d at the pharmacy counter. Ask for claritin d at your local pharmacy counter. You don't even need a prescription. Go to claritin.com right now for a.

Monica
Discount so you can live claritin clear. Use as directed.

Okay, Atlanta, another thing to be added to my list. I know this is stressing me out now. There's just all these things to watch. I specifically wanted to include comedy, so I had the same worry. Cause the stuff that sticks with you is darker, right?

David Farrier
It is. But you can't just have an episode of just horrific, sad, unrequited love episodes. And because I really do firmly believe. That perfect comedy is much harder to do than perfect drama. Totally.

When it doesn't land, it really doesn't land. Right. It's drama, isn't drama's emotions. And you can play music that makes. You feel a thing and you can't get away with anything.

I haven't thought about it like that. That's so true. Yeah. It's either on or it's off. Exactly.

And there's no worse feeling than when you're watching something like an SNL sketch. That isn't landing and you're like, oh, you're. Oh, no. Yeah. So when it works or when it's incredible, I bump that above for like.

Dinner party or dundies or. I feel like that's why things like. The office is so good, because there's so much of it consistently. It's just on point with timing and awkwardness and everything. Exactly.

Monica
Okay, so my last one is from Grey's Anatomy. Oh, wow. Grey's a show I haven't watched, but I feel like everyone I know watches season two of Grey's Anatomy is peak. So many episodes in that season I had a hard time picking. Okay.

And this is an example.

David Farrier
Of a show that would not be on my list of favorite shows. But these episodes are. They're golden. Golden. And just for someone I haven't watched, grey's, this is kind of like er.

It's a hospital drama, but a bit more relationship based, maybe. Exactly. That's right. I mean, er was ended up. You know, it got pretty soapy as well.

Monica
It did. Yeah. But yes, it's all about the relationships and McDreamy and McSteemy. And I know there's a lot of it. Have you watched most of it or do you tap in and out?

I fell off over time. Still running. That's incredible. Is it? Or did it finally end?

David Farrier
I think it's still running. I think Ellen maybe left, but they shoot it at the studio next to my house. Oh, wow. What's the magic of it? It's the characters.

Or does each episode have a medical. Drama like an EI or Arrow House? Each episode has its own.

Yes. Medical drive. I mean, like, they get away with the craziest shit as the episode I picked is nuts. The premise is so ridiculous, but you're so invested. They do an amazing job with character development.

Rob
You love all of these people and. Their journey and, you know, they're like rough and tumble residents. You want them to succeed. And then they're all having relationships with these hot docs. Docs.

Monica
He's so hot in this show. It's unbelievable. Okay, so this episode I picked is called. Wait. I wanna make sure I get it right.

I've seen our babysitter will sometimes watch Grey's anatomy. And just coming in out of context to all of the insane things that are happening. I feel like it's the kind of show where, like, suddenly, like, one week there'll be, like, a bomb threat of the hospital or something and the whole thing gets shut down. No power. They've gotta, like, save.

David Farrier
Yeah. I mean, there is a magic thing. Finding a tv show that can last for that many seasons and still have an audience. It's pretty rare. If you're gonna watch a season, watch season two.

Monica
Season two is the one. Yes. All right, so this episode, it was a two parter. Oh, okay. So the first part, which is the clip I'll play, is called it's the end of the world.

Rob
Oh, that's a very dramatic title. Yeah. What's leading up to this clip is a man has a bomb in his body. I think I've seen this one being watched. Yeah.

David Farrier
He has a bomb in his body, and that's like his. He saw it in. He shoved it up at orifice. I don't remember. It's in him.

Monica
It's in him. And there's a paramedic whose hand is on it, basically. Like she. And it's so. It's on it so that the paramedic is inside.

Inside the man as well? Yes. I love this. Not inside is. It's on his.

Okay. I don't know.

Yeah, it's in his body, and her. Hand is keeping it from detonating. Basically. It's like speed, but with a body instead of a bus. Yeah, basically.

This is incredible. I'm sold. I want to watch all of this. She's young paramedic, and it's Christina Ricci. I think the worst day of her life.

Rob
Amazing. It's Christina Ricci. Yeah. So then this happens. I've never been more on a cliffhead.

Monica
Okay, we ready?

Hannah. Where'S the anesthesiologist? He, um, falling down. He left. Sorry.

This is a thing.

I think I'm gonna take my hand out now.

Speaker B
When the hell are people gonna learn? Oh, yeah. Kyle Chandler's. It may not be as bad as each chandler. Her hand is holding that diamond.

What? Is the man alive? And the bomb is in. I don't know if he's alive. Okay, yeah, I think he's alive.

Rob
No, he is. He is. So she's about to kill both of them? Yes. The whole.

David Farrier
It's gonna detonate the whole hospital? No, not the whole. And people close by. Oh, my God. Okay, or maybe our hand is simply.

Monica
In there with the ammo. We can't know. My guys. Talk to the friend. That device is homemade, which means it's unstable.

And very add to that the fact. That you've got a surgeon in your. Next door refusing to leave in a. Nervous paramedic's hand inside the body cabinet. It's definitely as bad as it seems.

This song feels like a joke. Hey, somebody.

David Farrier
Take it over to the finish line. You can do this. No, no, no. I just want to take it out. It won't be much longer.

Remember, you're keeping him from bleeding out. No, I am 22 years old. I should not even be in here. This is some kind of mistake. She's panicking.

We need to clear the room. I'm not leaving. Great, let's. I'm not leaving her now. Doctor bird, she's my intern.

Speaker B
I am responsible for her.

Monica
No, Hannah, look at me. No, it's gotta come out. I know. Hannah, look at me. You can do this.

David Farrier
Oh, my God.

Monica
No, you keep it there. Little while longer, Hannah.

Cause if I find if I find. My own way how much will I find? If I find if I find my. Own way how much will I if. I find if I find my own way how much will I.

Speaker B
So she puts her hand in. Oh, my God. So the second part is now they swapped her hand. What an amazing. But with the person you care about.

When you were describing what the episode was about, I was imagining it, but I was like, it can't be the case. And then everything was ten times even more dramatic than as you stated. It is more dramatic. That's an incredible episode of tv. It really was.

Monica
Kyle Chandler being there, landing his gravitas. He's one of my favorite. She's amazing. You also forget that, Sandra. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

David Farrier
What an episode of tv. Oh, no. I mean. And when you were picking. I feel like that one was up top in your mind.

Right. That looks amazing, that show. Well, this, and then it was between that and if people who definitely have watched the show, which most people have, the prom episode where Denny dies. Also, Meredith is asking Derek to choose her and pick her and love her, and then they. They have sex.

Monica
And it is my favorite sex scene of all time. Wow. Okay, cool. So that was the first one at that one. Monica, have you noticed a lot of our picks have been from the second season of shows?

All three of mine are from the second season of show. That's a really good observation. I guess that's when you've found your stride and you haven't fucked it up yet, and you can kind of make some bigger swings. Yeah. But it's still playful.

Yeah. With a show that you loved, especially from a few years back, is to. Watch the very first pilot episode. Cause they are rough. That can often be a show finding itself, and it's almost a different show.

Rob
Tonally. It's all off. They don't know whether they can get a season sometimes when they made it. So hard to make. Yeah, I can only imagine.

David Farrier
My God, that's a fun thing to do. Can I guess your last one? Okay, so. Yes. Oh, my God.

Monica
David's gonna cry. Is this the one you cried during? Yeah, this is. I have never watched this scene. No, seriously, I've done it three times now.

David Farrier
I'm gonna read a quote first. This is from the main actors in that scene. I cry when I hear the song. It's Pavlovian. If it comes on when I meet yoga or something.

I'll cry. I'm always worried people will notice me. And be like, oh, that's the girl from the show. That's kind of spoiled it from the OC. No.

Rob
No. What do you think? I thought it was gonna be the leftovers finale. No.

David Farrier
So that is my bonus episode to get me to 3.3 as well. Really? Yeah. So Rob and I both, like, you have a crossover. We do.

We do have a crossover. There's a show called the Leftovers, which I would say is my favorite show ever made. I think it's one of mine, too. And it's the best finale I've ever seen. We and Robert Graham, a lot of things.

We disagree on a shit ton of stuff. Musical tastes, very different. Tv, more crossover. I like women. Yeah.

That. We both pick the show. It's an HBO show. I know. I.

Rob
It's incredibly obscure. It's a slow burn. You have to get through, like, eight episodes. Okay, so you. Yeah.

David Farrier
Did you have to watch. Did you watch the whole thing, though? No. You have to get through, like, the. First season in order for me to love something.

Rob
The getting through a whole season of. A show is just. It's never gonna be. This is an interesting thing. So many people agree with you, and people that I love are all like, what do you see in the show?

David Farrier
It's. It's a mishmash. Some episodes are not good. Yeah. That weird assassin episode, which I kind of love.

Rob
It's fun. But the thing that I do find interesting about the leftovers is that you're right. Generally, a show shouldn't make you have to work to like it. But I think I liken it to music. There's some albums or songs.

Monica
We don't like it the first time. And if you push yourself to listen to the whole thing, they can end up slipping under your skin and just being your most favorite thing of all time. That's right. Long term, I get that. I get that.

David Farrier
And I think that's the leftovers. And I think the premise of the. Leftovers is that a very small amount of the world's population just suddenly disappears in a second. So it's like a rapture, right? And it's basically like, what does society do when this random event that no one can explain happens and it just looks at what humans do?

I know. It just felt, to me, felt a bit indulgent. It felt like it was trying hard to be poignant.

Oh. All I'll say is the whole show is about these really big topics. The last episode is just two characters, they're coming together. The whole thing is just a conversation and it just emotionally, I got goosebumps now just thinking about it. I cried when in that final episode.

I love the ending of the Leaf Davis. Yeah, I love the ending of it too. Perfect. But that's not your pick though. No.

Monica
So my favorite episode of tv of all time is the finale of a show called six Fiends. Oh yeah. And have you watched 6ft under? I have not. I mean, I've watched a few episodes.

David Farrier
I loved it. It wasn't that I just like didn't. There was so much of it that. A lot of it. There was a lot of it.

Have you watched Rob? Yeah, I've seen it. I love that show. Okay. Alan Ball.

Rob
So it ran from 2001 to 2005. It was one of HBO's first prestige tv shows. Yeah. It was about a family that worked. Which is a really fun technique.

David Farrier
It'd start with a person randomly dying. So every opening will be a cold open. They die and then you're in the funeral home and it's just about a family getting through stuff. I always like seeing what people are. Saying on YouTube about things.

Monica
And because I was looking through so. Many clips, I took notice. It's the best ending in tv history because unlike other shows or movies, it gives you closure. In so many other shows, we only see the cast riding off into the sunset wondering what will happen to them. 6ft under.

David Farrier
Wasn't scared to show people what will happen to everyone. And this is a huge spoiler, I would say, because I want to watch it, but I would say it won't. It's been a long time. It's not going to ruin it. I think it'll just make you want to watch it.

But essentially what it does is Claire, who's the sort of the youngest person in the family, she leaves to go to college, drives off in her car, and as she drives. No, no, she's not. Is she gonna die? No, she doesn't die. And as she drives off, you see how all the main characters that you've.

Monica
Come to know and love how they pass away. Oh, and Sia is singing during it. And it's, um. So I'm gonna play. I'm just sort of curious on.

David Farrier
I have crosses and I don't even know. I don't even know. But something I genuinely want to know is if this does affect you in any way, having no. No great investment. And Rob, you have.

I'm curious if this will trigger you. It's been a long time since another comment under this clip on YouTube. Watch the entire show in about four weeks. Never cried this hard in my entire life. Fuck.

I'm prioritizing. 6ft under help. I have done it again.

Monica
I have been here many times before.

Speaker B
I hurt myself again today.

And the worst part is there's no one else to let. Be my friend hold me down I found me. I am so.

I need it. Warm me up and breathe me.

Ouch. I have lost myself, lost myself, lost myself again I feel unsettling. Be my friend.

I need it.

No tears. Which is I'm really relieved about. I was bawling. I think that got it out of my system. I got a lot of goosebumps.

Yeah. My eyes are wet. Yeah. The whole show is so emotionally powerful. And then to see how every character ends, it's just too much.

Cause then you're like, oh, my God, we're all gonna feel like my death thing. It's like, you see how everyone's gonna die. And it's also so bold because it just is the ultimate. It's almost giving the finger to every other ending. It's so much closure.

David Farrier
It's like you want closure. Exactly. You're gonna see exactly how all these people. That is so sad. And I guess essentially, it's a show about death.

That's the whole thing. So of course they had to end it like that. That's beautiful. I really, really want to watch that show now. Yeah, it's really beautiful.

And four seasons, so it's kind of doable. I'm sad. Sorry to end on such a sad one for my list. Did you have that moment leaving Georgia when you moved? Saying goodbye to your parents when you moved?

I'm trying to remember what my moment was. I don't remember it. So either I blocked it or I. Probably didn't let myself really feel those emotions. I remember being very sad in my first couple of months out of home at a university hostel.

I just remember feeling so panicked and lost. But I don't remember, like, the actual leaving. I can't remember if my parents dropped me off in another city or if. I. I didn't have a car, so I didn't drive away.

Rob
Yeah, I took the bus or something. I think that's one of the last times I cried. I think this is one of the. Only times, natalie see me cry was when you moved here. We had a, like, u haul truck that we packed up and remember hugging.

David Farrier
My parents and then getting in and just driving from our childhood home. Yeah. And so you literally had that rear vision mirror thing of it fading out in the background. What's the last time you cried? Oh, my God, Rob.

Well, I think I have. At, like, a funeral. Oh, shit. Okay. Yeah.

Rob
I mean, I cried yesterday at that show. I don't cry at things that are real, generally. I just cry at tv shows mostly. That's when things come out. I cry at things that are real, but it normally takes me a bit.

David Farrier
It will end up coming out out of nowhere. Yeah. It's gonna explode, like, a day later. Yes, but not when it probably should be happening. Emotions are so annoying.

Rob
You're like, just trigger now. Suspender. I feel like. I know, I know. Yes.

David Farrier
Six. Okay, Rob has one left. My last one's a little sillier. No, silly's good. Silly's really good.

I'm gone. Silly not dead. I must be crying the whole time. Another season two. I picked an episode of documentary now.

Monica
Oh, that's fun. Great pick. And I'm also excited because I've only. Seen one episode of this and keep. Meaning to do more.

David Farrier
This one's called Juan likes rice and chicken. Oh. It's after hero dreams of sushi. And I didn't realize Bill Hader and Seth Meyers wrote this. So Bill's featured twice.

Rob
Okay. Oh, yeah. In your pics. So for someone that hasn't watched this. Particular show before, what's the premise?

It's parodies on other documentaries done in. Really silly, weird ways. Right. Hero dreams of sushi is such a good documentary. It's really beautiful.

David Farrier
Have you seen this? I don't think so. Spoof on it. So there's a restaurant in Colombia, three. Michelin stars, and they're doing a documentary on it.

Look, you know, I've been to Noman, I've been to El Buillin. I've been to all of Roberson's places. But there's no restaurant like this anywhere in the world. I write guidebooks about south american restaurants. And every year I travel the country.

Monica
Looking for something new. Yet I always find myself back at Juan's rice and chicken.

Rob
Shocking how simple it all is. There is a consistent, simple set menu. To start, a cup of warm coffee, followed by a banana split perfectly in half, then rice with a little bit. Of butter, and on most days, cheek. Most impressively, it's the only three star Michelin restaurant I know of that's a 40 minutes walk from the nearest road.

Speaker E
It's amazing. They go in. I have one more clip. It's in Spanish, but they go into all the obscure things. It's really just leaning into these restaurants, which I like these restaurants.

And when they do that. But I like that it's poking fun of them. Yes. You can see that these things can. Get out of hand where the coffee.

Has to be buried for an hour before they brew it. He's beating the rice against a tree. The old man has to chase the. Chicken and catch an hour and then. Shoot it against the wall with a cannon.

Rob
Yeah. Oh, this is funny. And here's the banana preparation. See kono banana ferries.

Okay. But.

Speaker B
Banana.

Rob
Shot so beautifully.

I need to watch. So if you're going to watch documentary now, this would be the episode, obviously. Yeah, it's one of them. Okay, so Rob and I both landed third show as your honorable. Third honorable mention.

David Farrier
Do you have an honorable? I do. My honorable mention is my favorite scene from television of all time. Favorite scene. Oh, you brought your honorable mention too.

Rob
I brought it. Oh, I love this. Okay. I don't know if it will read audio wise. I often feel a good moment in tv is often accompanied by just a song or some looks, not always dialogue.

David Farrier
Yes, that's how dinner party was. But this is from parks and recipes. Oh, great show that I haven't watched. Ice Rink campaign. I gotta watch it, of course.

Monica
Starring Chris Pratt, who was discovered in an earlier founder and Bubba Gumps shrimp company. So Leslie is running for office, and so she's campaigning. Okay. And they're all helping her. It's very sweet.

Oh, I've seen this on YouTube. Yeah, this. Yeah. Tom, I couldn't afford enough premium carpet to get us to the stage. I mean, it was a short walk, but it was pretty luxurious.

Right? Okay.

Speaker B
Oh, it's such a good setup. Everybody smile away. Smile. Oh, my God. So they're walking on ice.

David Farrier
They ran out of carpet. So to get to the end, they have to walk on ice. And it's them just genuinely trying to walk on ice. Yeah.

Speaker B
I'm holding the dog. He is peeing. He's now peeing. I'm putting him down.

The zombies. Oh, my gosh. How do I get to the stage? Heaven. Heaven.

Monica
You. Great pick. Just the funniest setup. Most simple. Again, what I said earlier about comedy.

David Farrier
Math, it's genius just to try to get you guys from point a to point b on ice. I wonder how many times they shot that as well. It feels like they just nailed that in one take. Almost as they're to see someone fall slip on ice. I mean, we've all had that.

It was a horrible experience being slippery. Oh, man. Yeah. So that's my favorite scene of television. Really good.

Monica
Good one. Okay. So I think we've all. We've learned that season twos are the best seasons. I feel like our favorite things are either incredibly dramatic or incredibly funny.

None of us brought a horror scene. To the table, I guess home for me. But, yeah, we both had one kind of horror scene. Yeah. One horary.

David Farrier
That's true. Yeah. Comedy and drama, right. Yang and yang balance each other out. What do I think we learned about each other's personalities from that?

This I think we all respond to. Like, a big, dramatic romantic entanglement because I feel like a big romantic crazy. Because the end of the leftovers is very much that flea bag. That fleabag scene. But that's like a very human thing, isn't it, as well?

Yeah. I think we all like some quite good things. There were no duds in there. I'm proud of our picks. Yeah.

Yeah. I think none of us looked at another person here and.

Monica
Went, what? I can't talk to you again. Well, but that, yeah, you won us over, I think, with. Oh, so won over. No, I mean, that was just unbelievably wonderful.

David Farrier
Like, what a setup. You couldn't dream that up. So. Yeah, that's our top ten tv episodes. So we'll do another episode down the line somewhere about another top ten american thing.

Monica
Yeah. Maybe suggest ones that you want to hear. Yeah. Yeah, that'll. But, yeah, and if you haven't watched any of that stuff, please watch it.

And also comment if you have stuff. That we need to watch that we haven't, and we'll get to it in about ten years. Yeah. Like and subscribe. Like and subscribe.

David Farrier
Well, how did he say it? Bye. Learn and expire. Like and subscribe. Learn and subscribe.

God, he's cute. All right, well, that was lovely. Super fun. Like and subscribe.

Rob
Like and subscribe.

Monica
Like and subscribe.

David Farrier
Like and subscribe.

Flightless Bird: Top TV Episodes

Primary Topic

Episode Summary

Main Takeaways

Episode Chapters

1: Introduction

2: Personal Picks

3: Discussion and Analysis

4: Conclusions

Actionable Advice

About This Episode

People

Companies

Books

Guest Name(s):

Content Warnings:

Transcript