Ten of the Worst Episodes of Great Television Series
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
Television has the upper hand on film when it comes to its ability to draw us in for many hours. We get familiar with characters like they are a part of our own lives. We find solace or thrills in these locations we frequently visit. We have the option to skip to our favourite episodes without needing to rewatch the entire series once we’re done. However, something that classic films don’t have to worry about (unless they continue as a series) is the possibility of having an episode be memorable for the wrong reasons. Even the best series can have awful episodes, including ones that may be surrounded by other strong episodes. I’m not talking about series that declined or are generally mediocre to begin with. I mean the best shows of all time having some really painful segments that actually hurt. We get invested in these series, and then smack into these unpleasant hours. These are episodes that I either refuse to ever watch again because of how much I dislike them, or they are quite the misfires that I can still tolerate (but can easily point-out as being the worst of iconic series). Believe me: there are many more than ten examples, but let’s just start here and get to some more later on. Here are ten of the worst episodes of great television series.
The list will feature the episodes in alphabetical order.
Be advised that there will be spoilers ahead.
“Angry Andy”-The Office
We knew the American Office wasn’t going to be the same once Michael Scott leaves Dunder Mifflin for good, and seasons 8 and 9 are — for the most part — passable but lesser in quality (outside of the powerful final stretch of episodes). However, my least favourite moment comes towards the end of the eighth season. With Andy Bernard starting his transition from a hilarious side character into an insufferable lead, he has to now butt heads against Nellie Bertram, who is somehow even more painful to watch here. Nellie sits in Andy’s office when he is away and refuses to leave, and somehow that makes her the new regional manager (because Robert California is a god damn idiot, and a waste of actor James Spader’s talents). The biggest atrocity is how almost everyone else in the office accepts this childish behaviour: Nellie won’t leave that chair, so it’s okay if she gets blindly promoted. I honestly don’t see how any of these characters would be fine with this selfishness in previous seasons, and it’s a sign of how far off base The Office went.
“The Bard”-The Twilight Zone
You can almost never go wrong with the vast majority of the episodes within the original Rod Serling Twilight Zone episodes. However, even Serling admitted that not every episode was good, and “The Bard” may even still be easily the worst of the bunch, all things considered. There are some Twilight Zone episodes that don’t feel the most imaginative, and “The Bard” falls into this category, considering that William Shakespeare appears via wish to help an awful writer with his projects. Yes. This is real. Only to add to the agony of how disastrously inept this episode is, this is a part of the season where every Twilight Zone episode is just under an hour, so this awful idea and bland execution feel like they never end. It’s ironic that the arguable greatest writer of all time is at the heart of this episode, considering how lackadaisically written it feels.
“Frank’s Brother”-It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
I’ll admit that we’re far from the prime years of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, even though the latest season was actually a step up, but I enjoy the vast majority of episodes. Only a very small amount of the series bothers me (consider the tone-deaf and highly awkward “The Gang Turns Black” a runner-up for this entry). The worst episode, to me, is “Frank’s Brother”, especially because it exists in the middle of a great season, and is one of the very few story-driven episodes that never gets revisited (for good reason). Frank Reynolds’ backstory is boring, and the attempts at humanizing the show’s most deplorable character just don’t work. This is an awkward aside, we never hear about Shadynasty or the jazz club again, and Lance Reddick is misused (this is a huge sin in and of itself).
“The Long Night”-Game of Thrones
I wouldn’t call “The Long Night” the worst episode in television history, but it definitely is a huge let down when you really look at what it is. It is, effectively, the climactic battle of the entire series, considering Game of Thrones begins with the promise that winter is coming. Considering that the entire episode is hard to even see without the proper viewing conditions (it otherwise looks like pitch blackness), it just feels silly to put this much work into a meaningful episode that can’t even be properly appreciated. Then there’s the tough reality: what actually transpires here isn’t even that interesting. Cop out actions, monotonous action, and other flaws make “The Long Night” the longest damn episode (it’s already eighty minutes long). When you compare this to “Battle of the Bastards” (which is unquestionably the best war-based Game of Thrones episode), “The Long Night” is such a disappointment that still feels like a chore when you reach it (when it should feel like anything but).
“Pip”-South Park
Trey Parker and Matt Stone have expressed that they have written off the first three seasons of South Park off completely; I do have episodes that I can’t shake off, but I can admit their stupidity (I’ll forever quote that gosh darn loch ness monster, because Chef’s parents live rent free in my head). With this in mind, there are still episodes of South Park that are flat out awful, but most of these bad episodes at least are attempts at conveying something greater. Two specific episodes are pointless, but “Terrence and Phillip in Not Without My Anus” kills me because of its very existence: a season premiere of bullshit just to annoy an entire audience (it’s actually hilarious in a post modern sort of way). Then, there’s “Pip”, where the entire joke of the episode is that the titular character is British, and so he must be tossed into Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. That’s it. It blows my mind that this actually is a season 4 episode, and no amount of Malcolm McDowell (yes, he’s in this) can save this boring waste of an episode.
“The Principal and the Pauper”-The Simpsons
Have there been worse episodes of The Simpsons? Absolutely. However, no other episode can be the clear turning point of an iconic series where the golden years end with an absolute slaughter. The prime Simpsons years are great not just because of the blistering humour and loveable animation (flaws and all), but because of how much we just grew to care about these characters in general (an entire town of Springfield, even). It feels completely sketchy that “The Principal and the Pauper” exists entirely to destroy one of these people: Seymour Skinner (who we learn is actually Armin Tamzarian, who stole the identity of the actual Seymour Skinner during the Vietnam War after the latter supposedly died). The real Skinner comes to Springfield, and we learn the awful truth. Not only is this the ruination of a character we really connected with (through Bart Simpson and his antics/occasional moments to bond with the principal), but it doesn’t make sense at all; why would Tamzarian live with Skinner’s real mom and endure her decades of abuse and shaming for no rhyme or reason (and don’t tell me he grew to love her as a mom)? The Simpsons have never really acknowledged this episode since, but it’s too late. The damage is done. “The Principal and the Pauper” was the biggest point when it was clear that the most gifted writing team on television forgot why they were the best, and the golden years were kaput.
“Rickdependence Spray”-Rick and Morty
I love Rick and Morty, but I can admit that it is an incredibly juvenile show at times (yes, it can be deep, but it really is also the smartest set of fart and sex jokes you’ll find at the moment). Having said that, this is a yin and yang of styles. Never should one completely outweigh the other. In “Rickdependence Spray”, you see an entirely immature (and, frankly, disgusting) episode that I absolutely abhor. Morty can’t help himself from doing teen boy things to his horse doctor mom’s equine insemination equipment, which Rick was going to use for a horse-people experiment. Well, the experiment goes wrong because of Morty’s curiosity, and now there are... sigh… giant, carnivorous sperm cells wrecking havoc. The whole episode climaxes (no pun intended) with Morty’s sister, Summer, volunteering one of her own eggs to use to stop these cells for good (before she realizes whose cells they are), and there’s now a giant incest baby floating in the galaxy (I didn’t come up with this). For a show about the limitless ways of the multiverses, there’s a clear lack of ideas or wits in this detestable episode (which shouldn’t have ever left the writers’ room, let alone be painstakingly animated and shown on television).
“Roseambo”-Roseanne
I’m not completely fluent in the lore of Roseanne, but I must admit that finally getting into the show has presented me with the heart, realism, and good old fashioned crass humour that the series beholds. I have always been aware of the dip in quality of the last few seasons, but nothing prepared me for the head scratching questionability of “Roseambo”, where Roseanne Barr mostly stars alone (outside of Laurie Metcalf and Michael Fishman). This is because her entire family is stuck on a hijacked train, and Roseanne herself must… battle the terrorists keeping the train stalled. The FBI doesn’t want to intervene, but Roseanne doesn’t care for this, and becomes a hero. Just what the hell is this episode? It makes the bar-setting shark-jumping from Happy Days seem level headed. There’s no rhyme or reason for this episode to appear (outside of the series’ revelation that the entire final season was all just a dream, but nothing can justify the nonsense of this episode; not even a deus ex machina).
“Steven Seagal/Michael Bolton”-Saturday Night Live
You can pick and choose many Saturday Night Live episodes and proclaim them to be bad. Hell, I’m not the hugest fan of the series myself. However, I can acknowledge that this is all subjective preference. What I can do is spotlight one specific episode where there was barely any effort or joy at all (outside of the occasional ironic delight), and that’s the one-and-only time that Steven Seagal hosted (if you can even call it that). He lifelessly went along with the show, and many of the jokes and ideas fell flat (it was revealed that they were Seagal’s own ideas, because he refused to poke fun at himself, or flat-out didn’t get some of the punchlines). It was as clear as day that Seagal didn’t want to be there (the feeling is mutual). You can say what you want about the other episodes you many not find funny, but this one has to be a low point for the iconic sketch series (and poor Michael Bolton had to follow this shit storm).
“Stranger in a Strange Land”-Lost
Far from the worst episode here (this list has the episodes ranked in alphabetical order), I still have to include the “Jack’s tattoos” episode of Lost here. First of all, it is clearly the point in the show where the quota of over twenty episodes a season was nonsensical for a series of this nature. J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, and company were clearly running out of backstories to give these castaways. Secondly, it was one of the very few times that parts of an episode really didn’t matter in the larger picture; fight me all you want, but I will die on the hill that most of Lost is for a reason. Jack’s tattoo origins in “Stranger in a Strange Land” don’t amount to anything. I don’t mind coming across this episode, but it really is the strangest entry in a show full of intentionally bizarre material (but the former isn’t nearly as interesting or memorable, outside of pure infamy).
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.