The 25 Best TV Episodes of All Time, According to IMDB Users

By Dustin Rowles | Lists | April 9, 2013 |

Most of us are familiar with the IMDB Top 250 movies of all time, a list of the best movies of all time as ranked by the IMDB users. Shawshank Redemption sits atop that list now, along with Godfather and Godfather II. As lists of the best movies of all time go, it’s not without complaint, but it’s probably the best you’re going to find, unless you make your own. Yesterday while doing some Internet sleuthing, I inadvertently backdoored by way into IMDB’s Top 100 Television Episodes of All Time, a list that I didn’t know existed. It is comprised almost entirely of recent episodes, and there are a couple of head scratchers amongst them, but it’s also a solid list (especially if you’re a fan of AMC and HBO).

My take-away: I actually completely agree with the top three choices, and there are several others among the entires that I’d certainly put in my top 25. (I’d bump “My Screw-Up” into the top 5. Period). I’ve also learned that perhaps I should’ve watched “House, M.D.” more often than I did, and what? “Person of Interest” is good?

You can check out the top 100 yourself on IMDB, but here’s a list of the top 25 episodes of all time, as ranked by IMDB users. Quibble, quarrel, and bicker away.

1. Breaking Bad, “Face Off” — Jesse is brought to the FBI for questioning on his knowledge of Ricin. In a last effort to kill Gus, Walt must ask for help from an old enemy.

2. Six Feet Under, “Everyone’s Waiting” (The Series Finale) — Nate and Brenda’s daughter Willa is born, but 2 months early and at only 2 lb. 4 oz., requiring a prolonged hospital stay …

3. Friday Night Lights, “Always” (The Series Finale) — With the decision to close the East Dillon Football program speculation runs wild on two fronts.

4. Breaking Bad, “Dead Freight” (The Heist Episode) — A boy on a motorbike finds a large tarantula in the desert. Walter pays a visit to Hank in the new office.

5. Community, “Modern Warfare” (Paintball Episode) — Greendale Comunity College is transformed into an apocalyptic war zone when the dean promises the winner of a paintball competition priority registration, and it could fan the flames of sexual tension between Jeff and Britta.

6. House, M.D., “House’s Head” — A bus that House was riding crashes. House claims there’s a victim on the bus that’s dying, but not from the bus accident. He stops at nothing to figure out who the patient is and what is ailing them.

7. Person of Interest, “Firewall” — Reese and Finch will need all the help they can get with their latest number, a young woman by the name of Caroline Turing.

8. Doctor Who, “Blink” — “Don’t Blink. Blink and you’re dead. Don’t turn your back. Don’t look away. And don’t Blink. Good Luck.”

9. The Sopranos, “Pine Barrens” — While Silvio has the flu, Chris and Paulie run his collections for him, which results in the pair getting lost in the woods and nearly freezing to death.

10. The Wire, “Final Grades” (Fourth Season Finale) — Baltimore drug scene, seen through the eyes of drug dealers, and law enforcement.

11. Mad Men, “The Suitcase” — Don deliberately delays returning an important call from California, because he knows it’s bad news about Anna. Instead, he keeps himself occupied by forcing Peggy to miss her birthday dinner to pull an all-nighter with him for a client.

12. Breaking Bad, “Salud” — Jesse, Gus, and Mike fly to Mexico where Jesse will cook a batch of crystal meth for Don Eladio’s skeptical team.

13. Dexter, “The Getaway” (Fourth Season Finale) — Dexter is obsessed with getting the Trinity Killer himself, especially after Arthur has tracked him to Metro Homicide and learns his real identity.

14. House, “Broken” — House fights his doctors, the staff and his fellow patients when he’s forced to stay in the psychiatric hospital under threat of permanently losing his medical license.

15. Breaking Bad, “Crawlspace” — Hank has Walter drive him to the chicken ranch for regular stakeouts then suggests a detour to check out an industrial laundry.

16. Community, “Remedial Chaos Theory” — At Abed and Troy’s housewarming party, Jeff decides to let the decision on who gets the pizza rest on the roll of the dice, leaving Abed to contemplate six alternate realities.

17. House, M.D., “Wilson’s Heart” — The team works to save someone close to a central character’s heart. The key is inside House’s head, but he is in a bad way himself.

18. Game of Thrones, “Blackwater” — Stannis has arrived at King’s Landing. The battle has come!

19. Lost, “Through the Looking Glass” — Jack and the survivors wait for Charlie to turn off The Others’ signal-jamming device, not knowing that he has been captured at the Looking Glass station. In addition, Sayid, Jin and Bernard are captured after The Others invade the camp.

20. Six Feet Under, “All Alone” — When David brings Nate’s corpse, he realizes that his brother was a donor of organs. David tells Brenda that Nate had told him that he wanted a green funeral, being buried neither with restoration nor coffin. The family and friends grieve the loss and Ruth blames herself for her absence. Brenda has inner conflicts with the whole situation and leaves Maya with Ruth.

21. Scrubs, “My Finale Part 2” — J.D. continues his last day at Sacred Heart, and tries to hold out hope for a great sendoff.

22. Scrubs, “My Screw-Up” — It’s Jack’s first birthday, so Jordan’s siblings Dani and Ben are in town.

23. Supernatural, “Swan Song” — Sam goes with Dean to Lucifer’s place and accepts to be his vessel, expecting to lure the cunning being and trap him with the four Horsemen’s ring.

24. The Wire, “—30—” (The Series Finale).

25. Breaking Bad, “Full Measure” — Jesse has disappeared and Walt is in big trouble with Gus. So Gus rehires Gale to learn from Walt’s cooking so that they can dispose of Walt once and for all.

Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba.

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