my wife for the flying saucers my
husband and his indestructible head
oh we are fine hey everyone i'm rebecca
and welcome to watch mojo
today we're counting down our picks for
the top 10 tv episodes that broke the
rules angela
[Laughter]
is there something you want to tell me
you know we're living in a society
sir ellen bring me his head
for this list we're going over those
episodes of television whose content or
structure
deviated from the usual standards of the
show or the entire medium
since animation is a bit more flexible
we won't be including
animated episodes on this list so which
of these stood out to you the most
be sure to let us know in the comments
all right let's get into it
number 10 autumn the third day most live
action shows are between 20 minutes and
an hour long
folk horror series the third day took a
truly unique direction for its second
part
titled autumn
broadcast as a 12 hour live stream
the episode follows the events of a
festival on the show's island setting
as well as the various inhabitants going
about their lives for a full day
shot in one long take autumn upended
many of the conventions of what a drama
series could do
did they pull off this unique approach
well we'll leave that for you to decide
if you've got the time
number nine episode 3.4 runtimeerror.r00
mr robot speaking of long take episodes
mr robot did one of its own never one to
shy away from the unconventional
mr robot ups the ante with this episode
is everything okay
everything's fine it follows several
story lines with distinct camera styles
for each
that puts you in the mindset of
different characters without getting
into too many spoilers
we find two of our main characters
working at cross purposes
as each has to deal with the stress of
their respective situations
what's going on i ran into a bit of a
snack while not
a true long take as there are some cuts
in between
the stylishness of the episode is still
a sight to behold
angela
[Laughter]
is there something you want to tell me
number eight every
episode wanda vision plenty of tv shows
feature episodes that switch up the
show's usual format
style or tone wanda vision does this
every episode this marvel series follows
two of its superheroes
living their lives in a bubbly sitcom
world my wife for the flying saucers
my husband and his indestructible head
don't be a fight however there's a
sinister edge hiding underneath the
laugh track as a lot more is going on in
their world than their first appears
you have to stop her stop who she's in
my head
none of it is my own it hurts
it hurts so much just make
doesn't make or stop each episode pays
tribute to a different decade's sitcom
style
but they managed to incorporate elements
of the marvel cinematic universe's usual
superhero world
while also feeling like a psychological
thriller at times
if all the sets and props and wardrobe
were solid matter that would mean she's
wielding an insane amount of power
far exceeding anything she's displayed
in the past uh she could have taken out
thanos on her own if he hadn't initiated
a blitz
there's certainly never been anything
quite like wanda vision on television
before
number seven the chinese restaurant
seinfeld
how many all right uh four seinfeld
four i'll be five ten minutes
seinfeld changed everything when it came
to sitcom plots by showing you that you
didn't need a traditional story
structure to be entertaining
few episodes of the show exemplify this
better than the chinese restaurant
jerry george and elaine are in a hurry
to see a limited showing of a movie
and decide to eat at a chinese
restaurant let's go someplace else i am
too hungry
we might as well just stay here we
haven't got that much time if we're
gonna make the movie
while waiting george contends with an
unavailable pay phone
elaine tries to stem her hunger and
jerry worries about ditching his uncle
for dinner
the episode typified seinfeld's mission
statement as a show about nothing
as its stories didn't feel like they had
actual plot lines
you know we're living in a society and
while executives were dubious at first
it paid off so well with audiences that
sitcoms now
frequently focus on minutia should we
tell them we're leaving
what for let's just get out
seinfeld number six abyssinia henry
mash abyssinia henry centers around the
honorable discharge of lieutenant
colonel henry blake
the commanding officer of the mash unit
the show follows you're going home
i'm going home you got all your points
they're just charging you
although characters leaving the show
wasn't uncommon the shocking final scene
flipped
everything on its head blake's plane is
shot down over the ocean
none of the passengers make it
lieutenant colonel
henry blake's plane
was shot down over the sea of japan
it spun in
there were no survivors given that the
comedy drama is set during the korean
war
this twist shouldn't have been too
unexpected in hindsight but at the time
offing major characters permanently
simply wasn't the norm
particularly for sitcoms this episode
opened the way for more frequent and
significant character demises on
television
henry we had a lot of laughs together
number five
lucy is awesome i love lucy pregnancy is
a fact of life
and kind of how most of it happens for
us humans
let's have no more kidding about me
having a baby the whole thought is
utterly ridiculous
however from watching early television
you would never know it
that all changed with lucy's ascent this
episode sees lucy ricardo learn that
she's
expecting ethel we're going to have a
baby
we are her method of breaking the news
to her husband ricky is especially sweet
i heard you sing a number called we're
having a baby my baby and me
if you will sing it for us now it will
be my way of breaking the news to him
despite its subject matter strict
network censorship rules meant that the
word
pregnant could never be used once during
the episode
even the title used the french word for
pregnancy i love lucy broke ground in
many ways
but this one was one of the most
game-changing episodes
number four the puppy episode ellen
ellen
are you coming out or not a pivotal
two-part episode of the sitcom starring
ellen degeneres
sees her character ellen morgan
surprised to discover that she has
chemistry with a female friend of a
friend who's gay
i don't date men no
why
i'm gay through the course of the story
ellen realizes that she's a lesbian
the puppy episode coincided with
degeneres coming out in real life
why do i have to be so ashamed i mean
why can't i just
say the truth i mean be who i am
although there were lesbian characters
on american tv before
ellen this storyline was the first time
that some audiences got to see an openly
gay person lead a sitcom
susan i'm gay the episode was met with
enormous backlash
but also blazed a trail for more lgbtq
plus representation
on tv number three baylor game of
thrones
season one of game of thrones primarily
followed eddard ned stark as he uncovers
a conspiracy at the heart of the seven
kingdoms of westeros
if you give her the peace she needs and
promise to carry her secret to your
grave
i believe she will allow you to take the
black and live out your days on the wall
sure he's set to be executed in this
episode but we all know how this goes
right
they'll pardon him or he'll get a
last-minute rescue sir ellen
bring me his head we've watched tv and
what's that he he actually dies
but he's the main character that's
illegal
although having a main character expire
wasn't unheard of prior to baylor
the ones that met their end were usually
part of the ensemble
or the demise didn't stick of course
looking back now it should have been
obvious even for people who hadn't read
the books
ned is played by sean bean after all i
learned how to die a long time ago
number 2 the judgment part 2 the
fugitive
the fugitive series finale the judgment
part 2
sees dr richard kimball finally catch up
with the one armed man
and get to the bottom of the mystery
behind his wife's untimely end he waited
five years all i'm asking is 24 more
hours
this may not sound like anything special
by today's standards
it was the last episode of course he'll
find out who took his wife's life
except back in the day a tv show with a
real ending was about as common as a
unicorn
it just wasn't done finales were often
left open-ended
allowing tv executives to continue to
milk the premise later
down the road if they felt like it you
killed my wife
[Music]
the fugitive is arguably responsible for
letting small screen stories actually
have conclusions because it was
such a raiding smash tuesday september
5th
the day the running stopped
you know it's an impressive list when
some of the honorable mentions
are considered some of the best episodes
of television ever so
let's check out those honorable mentions
and then we'll see the top tv episode
that broke the rules
pine barons the sopranos two mobsters
lost in the woods sounds like the
beginning of a bad joke
or great tv i got him didn't i yeah
part eight twin peaks it's peak
david lynch fair with little dialogue
and surreal black and white imagery
hush buffy the vampire slayer an entire
episode
that focuses on non-verbal communication
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number one a house divided dallas
the finale of the third season of dallas
sees unlikable tycoon
j.r ewing shot by an unknown assailant
boom credits
[Music]
for months after this all everyone was
talking about was who shot jr
while dallas didn't invent the
cliffhanger it certainly helped
popularize the practice on television
did you know that those wells were going
to be nationalized
no sir i swear the episode's success and
the network's ability to capitalize on
the hype the mystery created
led to many of the modern trends in tv
that shows used to keep viewers hooked
i'll kill him
i swear i'll kill him take a number
there are a few of us ahead of you the
episode helped show that sometimes
the best way to keep audiences invested
is to leave them wanting more
hey i bet you've heard the phrase who
shot jr without even knowing that the
show dallas existed so
that definitely changed the game so
thank you for the cliffhanger i guess
i don't know anyway be sure to let us
know in the comments if you can think of
any other episodes that broke the mold
or come tell me on twitter or instagram
rebecca brayton or
on my youtube channel see ya do you
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