Seriously, though, I kinda get that Season 2 doesn't work well as standalones. I mean, it has standalones, but the awesome eps aren't standalone in that season.
I'm surprised there weren't more from season 1, actually. It's a great standalone season. As is much of five. Three didn't have much good standalone, but Waiting in the Wings is pretty much the best standalone there (I, personally, love that ep. But that may well be just me.) Or Fredless, I could see that one being in there.
As far as Season 1 goes, I'd have voted for Hero, but probably also Rm W/U Vu and To Shanshu in L.A. And I would have voted the heck out of Smile Time, cuz that ep was funny as all getout. Probably Origin before any of the other season 5 eps (except finale, but it is a little early for repeating that, probably), though You're Welcome seems like a decent choice and A Hole in the World is satisfyingly depressing.
Overall, I'm not too pissed at those eps. Sure, season 2 is the best season, but it's not the best for top 10 lists. I would put the one where Darla gets vamped in the top 10, probably, but I can see not.
Maybe the Drogyn lost his eternal youth if he left his post?
Overall, I'm not too pissed at those eps.
I'll join you in that corner. It isn't like "She" made the list.
A list without AYNOHYEB is not a list made by humans from my dimension. It stands alone beautifully.
Or Fredless, I could see that one being in there.
What? It's the boringest boring that ever boringed. Even if it does have a sweetass killer toaster.
A list without AYNOHYEB is not a list made by humans from my dimension. It stands alone beautifully.
This. This is the one that I'm scratching my head over why it's missing. Even Reunion requires more setup/follow-through than I could see it winning for, but ARE YOU NOW... is one of the great one-offs.
Viewer choice marathons are weird, though. Look at TXF marathons on Fx and SciFi; the choices always include eps like Arcadia, Bad Blood, PMP, How the Ghosts Stole Christmas, Triangle, The Natural. A bunch of X-Files Lite shows that were kinda shippy and mildly entertaining, but also pretty brainless. Now I'll fight to the death for the Ship, but the best XF eps were the early arc episodes, and those are almost never chosen. Looks like the same thing's going on with the Angel marathon.
Hmm. As a lover of Bad Blood and PMP and The Natural and Triangle -- I think those episodes kept best -- they're not so wrapped up in the craptastic arc that went nowhere, and are therefore less tainted by my resentment. They're well written and acted, and I think it makes perfect sense for best-of lists to be arc-light.
What ita said.
What's always confused me is anytime there's a "best of" ST:TNG marathon, "The Best of Both Worlds" 1 and 2 are always in it. While I don't dislike them, they're not my favorites and the fact that they always take up two slots out of the 10 (or whatever) kind of bugs.
As a lover of Bad Blood and PMP and The Natural and Triangle
I like 'em too, just not all the time. They didn't really define TXF in any special way, either---the plots could easily have been exported to Night Stalker, or Outer Limits, or something.
they're not so wrapped up in the craptastic arc that went nowhere, and are therefore less tainted by my resentment.
You're so right about that. I used to wish that Whedon had had TXF instead of Surfer Dude. TXF (and Millenium) and a touch of that when Morgan and Wong were doing the day-to-day production, but Carter was truly the Hack-who-got-lucky. After what was it, the fourth?, revelation of The Truth About Samantha, I just threw up my hands. And it kept getting worser and worser and worser. I've read here in b.org some people complaining about BtVS melting down in S6-7, but that was nothing to what happened to TXF.
