- 7 weeks ago
Join us as we explore unforgettable moments that reshaped television forever. From heartfelt goodbyes and shocking twists to groundbreaking social statements and iconic comedy scenes, these moments pushed the boundaries of TV storytelling and captivated audiences worldwide. Discover the scenes that set new standards and inspired generations to come. What TV moment changed your perspective? Share your thoughts below!
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for those moments that reshaped
00:10the world of television.
00:11You cannot.
00:13It's me!
00:15I'm your father!
00:18Number 30. Ross says Rachel.
00:21Friends.
00:21Obviously, this beloved 90s sitcom wasn't the first to do a will-they-won't-they romance,
00:26but it seems like every show since Friends has Shades of Ross and Rachel's arc in it.
00:31I have sexual feelings for him, but I do love him.
00:36Oh my god.
00:39Why didn't you tell me?
00:43We thought you knew.
00:44We?
00:45Yeah, we all know. We talk about it all the time.
00:47Would there even be a Jim and Pam or a Janine and Gregory without them?
00:51These two had a rocky road, but for many, they didn't really become an endgame pairing until
00:56after Ross got married to another woman. Once Ross said his ex-girlfriend's name at the altar
01:01instead of his soon-to-be wife, the writing was on the wall.
01:05Hi, Ross.
01:07Hi, Ross.
01:08Take thee, Emily.
01:10Take thee, Rachel.
01:16Emily.
01:16It was a screw-up so big, we had to wait an entire summer to see its conclusion in the season five premiere.
01:30I think we'd better start again.
01:33Ross, repeat after me.
01:36I, Ross.
01:38I, Ross.
01:39Take thee, Emily.
01:41Take thee, Emily.
01:48It's not like there'd be anybody else.
01:50Number 29.
01:51Roll Call.
01:52Hill Street Blues.
01:53One thing you could always count on with this cop show was the daily Roll Call.
01:57It was a clever way to introduce different storylines and bring in an ensemble of characters,
02:01some who'd just pop up for the episode and others who kept coming back.
02:04So let's be mindful of the kind of mood out there today and try to maintain a diplomatic profile.
02:09Give people the benefit of the doubts.
02:11I'd rather you let slide a few misdemeanors than have a repeat of what went down last night.
02:16Up until then, crime dramas usually started and ended with a brand new case every week.
02:20But this setup made things feel more authentic and gave the characters some real depth beyond their badges.
02:25Having pounded some pavement in my day, I can well understand a certain professional zeal as it were vis-a-vis
02:31batting averages and squad room arrest pool.
02:34But let us be mindful of the judicial climate out there.
02:39Sergeant Phil Esterhaus always signed off the same way, reminding everyone about the risks of the job.
02:44It became the show's signature moment and to this day sums up its legacy.
02:48Hey, hey, what do you say?
02:50Let's be careful out there.
02:52Number 28.
02:53Sam and Diane's First Kiss
02:55Cheers.
02:56Would there ever be a Ross and Rachel without Sam and Diane?
02:58So, what do you say?
03:01Sam, you talk a lot about our having a dalliance, but I've always been told that barking dogs don't bite.
03:07Biting, is that what you're into?
03:09There's technically no official record saying they were the first will-they-won't-they couple,
03:13but that's exactly how they felt to modern audiences.
03:15It was a chance meeting and a jilted bride-to-be that brought these two into each other's lives.
03:20Really, it was a classic case of opposites attracting, even if they didn't know it yet.
03:36Throughout Season 1, viewers loved watching them butt heads,
03:38mostly because of all the tension bubbling underneath.
03:40See you at the wedding.
03:42Do I get to kiss the bride?
03:44I think you know what you can kiss.
03:46It was only in the Season 1 finale that they finally surrendered their real feelings.
03:50If you ask us, Sam and Diane walked, so all future will-they-won't-they couples could run.
03:55You know, you know, I always wanted to pop you one.
03:59Maybe this is my lucky day, huh?
04:01You disgust me.
04:02I hate you.
04:03Are you as turned on as I am?
04:04More.
04:07Number 27.
04:08Mr. Hooper's Death
04:10Sesame Street
04:10You wouldn't necessarily expect it from a kids' show,
04:13but Sesame Street has always been ahead of the curve,
04:16from making diversity a priority with its cast and crew early on,
04:19to the way it didn't talk down to its young viewers.
04:22Mr. Hooper died.
04:24He's dead.
04:26Oh yeah, I remember.
04:28Well, I'll give it to him when he comes back.
04:33Big Bird, Mr. Hooper's not coming back.
04:37One that stuck with us is how the show addressed the passing of one of his actors, Will Lee, who played Mr. Hooper.
04:43Instead of sidestepping the subject or quietly recasting the role, they decided to teach children about death and grieving.
04:49We can all be very happy that we had a chance to be with him, and to know him, and to love him a lot when he was here.
04:58Yeah.
05:00And Big Bird, we still have our memories of him.
05:03Apparently, they consulted with child psychologists, development experts, and even weighed up the religious side.
05:09After it aired, feedback showed kids understood the message without being left emotionally scarred.
05:14But I don't like it. It makes me sad.
05:18We all feel sad, Big Bird.
05:21He's never coming back.
05:24Number 26. The Doctor Regenerates
05:26Doctor Who
05:27Just a few years into its original run, actor William Hartnell stepped away from the series due to ill health.
05:32This left the showrunners in a real bind.
05:35How do you keep Doctor Who going without a doctor?
05:37And if they recast him, how would they explain it to the audience?
05:40How are we going to survive?
05:41We would have loved to be a fly on the wall when they came up with their ingenious solution.
05:46The Doctor would simply regenerate, meaning whenever he was fatally hurt, his body could renew itself and take on a new look.
05:52Fun fact, the word regeneration wasn't actually used until the third Doctor.
05:56When a Time Lord's body wears out, he regenerates, becomes new.
06:00That is why you can live such a long time.
06:02Since then, they've kept expanding that lore and even revisited the 12 Regeneration Rule.
06:08Okay, so you're number 12.
06:09Well, number 10 once regenerated and kept the same face.
06:12I had vanity issues at the time.
06:14Twelve regenerations, Clara.
06:17I can't ever do it again.
06:18Number 25. Maud's Dilemma
06:20Maud
06:20During the landmark Roe vs Wade case in the 1970s, Maud made history as the first show where the lead considers having an abortion.
06:28In this two-part storyline, 47-year-old Maud learns that she's pregnant.
06:32She then has to figure out if having a baby now fits into her life.
06:36Weren't you using the pill?
06:37No, it gives me migraines.
06:40What did you do, mother? Cross your fingers?
06:50Well, you're not going to tell me you were using some old-fashioned method.
06:53Bingo! When the old-fashioned thing happened, I got pregnant.
06:57The storyline brilliantly and sensitively addresses the wider conversations surrounding abortion.
07:02It's a simple operation now.
07:04But when you were growing up, it was illegal.
07:07And it was dangerous.
07:08And it was sinister.
07:09And you've never gotten over that.
07:11In the end, she decides to have one.
07:13And what's powerful is that there's basically no judgement.
07:16Well, not on screen, anyway.
07:17Norman Lear reportedly had to fight to get it to air.
07:20And of course, protests followed.
07:22Still, it was an authentic portrayal and a huge step in bringing the subject to primetime.
07:27Just tell me, Walter, that I'm doing the right thing.
07:32Not having the baby.
07:37For you, Maud.
07:38For me.
07:40In the privacy of our own lives, you're doing the right thing.
07:45Number 24.
07:46Flash forward.
07:47Lost.
07:48The flash forward in the Six Feet Under epilogue still gives us chills to this day.
07:52But it was the use of that device in the Season 3 finale of Lost that left us completely shook.
07:57Don't hang up.
07:58Please.
08:01I know what you said.
08:03I just...
08:04I just need to see you.
08:07Viewers were so used to Lost using flashbacks to flesh out the characters' lives beyond the island.
08:12So why would we expect things to be any different now, right?
08:15Well, in one final flash, we see Jack and Kate meet.
08:19Sorry on the news.
08:22Still pulling people out of burning wreckage, huh?
08:25Old habits.
08:26Wait, what?
08:27How is that possible?
08:29Then, the penny dropped.
08:30We weren't in the past.
08:32We were in the future.
08:33It really showed how far writers could bend plot devices and timelines.
08:37Not to mention, instantly cementing its place in pop culture with five words.
08:41We have to go back!
08:43Number 23.
08:44Meeting Archie Bunker.
08:46All in the family.
08:47Explosive, vulgar, and gut-bustingly funny, the Bunker family patriarch crashed onto the
08:52TV screens for the first time in 1971.
08:55I suppose you're going to tell me that the black man has had the same opportunity in this
08:58country as you?
08:59More.
08:59He's had more.
09:00I didn't have no million people out there marching and protesting to get me my job.
09:04No, his uncle got it for.
09:06Right away, the irascible Archie Bunker gets into a heated discussion with his daughter
09:10and son-in-law about religion, a discussion that was probably happening in millions of
09:15American households.
09:16But at that time, primetime network TV was not exactly known for being that controversial,
09:21especially in sitcoms.
09:22Did you know that, Edith, that we had a pair of atheists under this roof?
09:25Maybe if we could just eat a little something.
09:28Where are you, Staple, you silly dingbag!
09:30Creator Norman Lear faced pushback right away.
09:34Everyone, from viewers to critics to the show's network, seemed scared of Archie Bunker's frank
09:39observations.
09:40It didn't matter.
09:41The show eventually earned a devoted audience and became a cultural institution.
09:45Every family had or knew someone, like an Archie, who made us cringe.
09:52Number 22.
09:53Murphy Brown's Single Motherhood Speech
09:55Murphy Brown
09:56It was already groundbreaking when Murphy decided to become a single mother.
10:00Yet, this storyline drew plenty of backlash from conservatives.
10:04It doesn't help matters when primetime TV has Murphy Brown.
10:08He is talking about you.
10:09It even went so far that Vice President Dan Kale gave a speech claiming characters like
10:26Murphy Brown were mocking traditional family values, never mind that the father in question
10:31had no desire to raise a child.
10:33Thanks to Brown's platform on the show, she was able to respond to Kale's remarks in a
10:37way that still feels timely today.
10:39And in searching for the causes of our social ills, we could choose to blame the media,
10:45or the Congress, or an administration that's been in power for 12 years, or we could blame
10:51me.
10:52Many credit the characters with opening the door for single mothers to be shown more often
10:56on TV.
10:56And when Candace Bergen won another Emmy, she made sure to mention Kale in her speech.
11:01Whether by choice or circumstance, families come in all shapes and sizes.
11:07And ultimately, what really defines a family is commitment, caring, and love.
11:1321.
11:14The Candy Factory
11:15I Love Lucy
11:15Lucille Ball's influence still looms large over TV comedy.
11:19Ricardo, I'm going to put you to work chocolate dipping.
11:21You say you've had experience.
11:23Oh yes ma'am, yes ma'am.
11:24I'm a dipper from way back.
11:27Yes.
11:28They used to call me the Big Dipper.
11:30To watch an episode of I Love Lucy is to see the origins of gags and setups that we've
11:34seen hundreds of times since.
11:36But few have left as lasting an impact as Lucy Ricardo trying different careers and hysterically
11:42failing.
11:42Whether it's accidentally getting drunk during a spokeswoman gig, or stomping grapes in Italy,
11:48nobody could mess up a job like her.
11:50This scene sees her and Ethel Mertz wrapping candies on a conveyor belt.
11:54They lose control almost immediately, shoving the candies into their mouths, leaving the studio
11:58audience dying with laughter.
12:00Its impact is a testament to the show's enduring popularity and the legendary status of its star.
12:05Here she comes.
12:12Many Happy Days fans would argue that introducing Arthur Fonzarelli, aka Fonzie, completely transformed
12:23the show.
12:24And while that's hard to dispute, the writers jumped the shark when they literally had him
12:28do just that.
12:29Shark.
12:30That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
12:32Stupid, yes.
12:33Also dumb, but it's something I gotta do.
12:36Fonz, you're not jumping over garbage cans on a bike.
12:38That moment became a cultural benchmark and gave us a term for when a once-loved show goes
12:44overboard to chase ratings.
12:46You gotta understand something.
12:47This is life here.
12:48This ain't games now.
12:49Are you driving for me or not?
12:53Alright.
12:55But you get your legs bit off by that shark.
12:57Don't you come running to me.
12:59Ha, ha, ha.
13:01The phrase is thought to have been coined by John Hine and his roommate, Sean Connolly,
13:06inspired by the ridiculous plot where Fonzie actually jumps over a shark, a stunt apparently
13:11meant to show off Henry Winkler's real water skiing skills.
13:15In 1997, Hine even launched a website cataloguing other shows that jumped the shark and invited
13:20others to contribute too.
13:22We did it.
13:24Yeah, yeah, you did the challenge.
13:26Yeah.
13:27But, but what did you really win?
13:29Number 19, The Kiss, Star Trek.
13:32The original Gene Roddenberry science fiction series broke ground in more ways than one,
13:37but among its most important and memorable moments was this scene in the season three episode,
13:42Plato's Stepchildren.
13:43Captain James Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura shared a kiss under the powerful influence of a nefarious
14:03group of aliens called Plutonians.
14:06Their embrace made a lot of network executives nervous.
14:09There was a reason.
14:10William Shatner was white, and Nichelle Nichols was black, and this was 1968, only one year
14:18after interracial marriage became legal in the United States.
14:21The drama of, oh my god, a white guy's kissing a black girl on camera, wow, to me it lacked that.
14:30Although for years it was incorrectly identified as the first interracial kiss on network television,
14:35it was probably the most famous instance on American network television up to that point.
14:40Apparently, this was the largest fan mail that Paramount had ever gotten on Star Trek and won for one episode.
14:50Number 18, Time Enough At Last, The Twilight Zone.
14:54From the moment it premiered in 1959, Rod Serling's twisted, bizarre, and allegorical anthology series
15:00was pushing buttons and broadening the scope of television storytelling.
15:03You should thank me, really.
15:06A grown man who reads silly, ridiculous, nonsensical doggerel.
15:10This isn't doggerel, there's some very beautiful things here!
15:13The Twilight Zone soon became famous for its twist endings.
15:16One of its most enduring conclusions came at the expense of voracious reader Henry Bemis,
15:22a bookish man who is the lone survivor of a nuclear blast and manages to see the bright side.
15:27Books!
15:27All the books, all the books I'll need, all the books, all the books I'll ever want!
15:33Shelley, Shakespeare, Shaw, no!
15:37He finally has time to read.
15:39Then he breaks his glasses.
15:41Left completely alone and unable to see, his post-apocalyptic dream becomes a nightmare.
15:47This unforgettable climax has been referenced and parodied ever since.
15:51That's not fair.
15:53That's not fair.
15:54There was time now.
15:56Oh, it's not fair.
15:59Number 17.
16:00Don pitches the carousel.
16:02Mad Men.
16:03This AMC period drama examines mid-century America through the eyes of men,
16:08and eventually women, who shaped the culture through advertising.
16:11The most important idea in advertising is new.
16:17It creates an itch.
16:19You simply put your product in there as a kind of calamine lotion.
16:25But he also talked about a deeper bond with the product.
16:29In the first season finale, genius ad man Don Draper manages to break our hearts
16:33and beautifully expose the show's entire thesis in one achingly brilliant scene.
16:39His pitch for the Kodak Carousel, a photo projector, includes his own family photos.
16:44It takes us to a place where we ache to go again.
16:49It simultaneously illuminates Don's failing marriage and exposes the great lie his career
16:54is based on.
16:55Even as it pulls at your heartstrings, it's making us face the reality that nostalgia, like
16:59advertising, is something that's only constructed and made to seem real.
17:04Around and around, back home again, to a place where we know we are loved.
17:15Number 16, Luke and Laura's Wedding, General Hospital.
17:19From their summer on the run to their legendary marriage, Luke and Laura Spencer were a worldwide
17:23sensation.
17:24The media wedding of all time, Luke and Laura, actor Tony Geary and actress Jeannie Francis,
17:30having survived terror and plots, tying the knot in one of the most popular soap operas
17:34of all time.
17:35In November 1981, 30 million people tuned in to watch them tie the knot in front of all
17:40the citizens of Port Charles, New York.
17:43The episode still holds the record for most-watched episode of a soap opera.
17:47Luke and Laura, it is with great admiration and affection that we share with you today the
17:55joy of this, your wedding day.
17:58Not only was it huge for daytime drama fans, but the event was credited with lending legitimacy
18:02to the entire genre.
18:04Actors Jeannie Francis and Anthony Geary became bona fide superstars.
18:09Luke and Laura's wedding was the culmination of a new era of daytime serials, one that revolved
18:14around the supercouple.
18:15The popularity of the actors and actresses on General Hospital is a phenomenon.
18:20One in 15 Americans is said to watch this show.
18:23Crowds follow the actors on the streets.
18:25Number 15, The One Who Knocks, Breaking Bad.
18:28At first, Walter White just seems like a desperate guy driven to desperate measures.
18:32If he cut you, at least this would offer you.
18:34Oh yeah, yeah, that's a tremendous weight just lifted off of me.
18:39Now I understand myself.
18:43What starts out as an illegal side hustle to offset the cost of cancer treatments gives
18:48way to something else entirely.
18:50And this season 4 sequence makes us realise how far gone he is.
18:54Delivered brilliantly by Bryan Cranston, the monologue sees Walter spelling out who the real
19:00villain is here.
19:01Who are you talking to right now?
19:05Who is it you think you see?
19:07He never was the mild-mannered chemistry teacher we thought we knew.
19:11He's proven himself from the beginning to be cruel, manipulative, and full of rage.
19:17He is the danger.
19:19He's shameless, almost boastful, perfectly encapsulating the TV anti-hero of the age.
19:25I am not in danger, Skylar.
19:28I am the danger.
19:29A guy opens his door and gets shot and you think that of me?
19:33No.
19:34I am the one who knocks.
19:36Number 14.
19:37Bob Newhart gets meta.
19:38Newhart.
19:39In the series finale of Bob Newhart's second sitcom, his character is knocked unconscious
19:44by a golf ball.
19:45I've got to get out of this madhouse!
19:50You're all crazy!
19:59He then wakes up in the bedroom from his previous sitcom, in bed next to his former co-star
20:04Suzanne Plachette.
20:05The scene was filmed under complete secrecy, with fake endings leaked to the press to keep
20:10them from spoiling the surprise.
20:11Nothing made sense in this place.
20:13I mean, the maid was an heiress, her husband talked in alliteration, the handyman kept missing
20:21the point of things.
20:22While Saint Elsewhere had shocked audiences with its It Was All Just a Dream ending a couple
20:27of years before, Newhart took that conceit and pushed it even further.
20:31This wraparound, universal wormhole ending was insane for the time.
20:36There were these three woodsmen, but only one of them talked.
20:44That settles it.
20:45No more Japanese food before you go to bed.
20:48Number 13.
20:49The Contest.
20:50Seinfeld.
20:51Several episodes of this show about nothing changed the way TV comedies functioned.
20:55Seinfeld could spin comedy gold from situations as mundane as waiting for a table at a Chinese
21:11restaurant.
21:12But perhaps its most audacious feat is a scene from a classic episode, The Contest, where
21:17the core four characters have an entire discussion about self-pleasure without ever saying the
21:22word.
21:23Did you make it through the night?
21:25Yes, I'm proud to say I did.
21:27So you're still master of your domain?
21:29Yes.
21:30Yes, I am.
21:32Master of my domain.
21:33In fact, that's what makes it devastatingly funny.
21:37Instead, they resort to euphemism and innuendo that just gets more unhinged as the scene goes
21:42on.
21:43It presented a fresh, innovative way to broach offensive topics without aggravating the
21:48senses.
21:48The question is, are you still master of your domain?
21:54I'm queen of the castle.
21:56Number 12.
21:57The Red Room.
21:58Twin Peaks.
21:59Even with all its quirks, the first episode or two of David Lynch and Mark Frost's surreal
22:04soap opera Whodunit isn't completely off the rails yet.
22:08She's my cousin.
22:12It's only when FBI agent Dale Cooper first dreams of The Red Room, a sort of dimensional
22:30nexus between worlds, that the show really announces itself as one of a kind.
22:34While there, Cooper finds himself with a person who speaks cryptically and Laura Palmer, the
22:39high schooler whose murder he's come to Twin Peaks to solve.
22:42She's filled with feasts.
22:51Where are we from?
22:53The birds sing a pretty song.
22:56The whole scene is packed with eerie and unforgettable images.
22:59Creators of shows like The X-Files, Riverdale, Atlanta, and even The Sopranos were all influenced
23:05by the series' use of dreams and surreal imagery to illuminate the story.
23:09Number 11.
23:10Chuckles' Funeral.
23:12The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
23:13Recurring character Chuckles the Clown was the butt of all kinds of jokes by the madcap
23:18news crew of WJMTV.
23:20This trend continues even after his death, and at his own funeral, no less.
23:24I wonder which ones are the other clowns?
23:27And you'll know soon, they're all gonna jump out of a little hearse."
23:31This is a funeral. A man has died. We came here to show respect, not to laugh."
23:41The writers of The Mary Tyler Moore Show won a well-deserved Emmy for this classic episode
23:46that finds an equally hilarious and profound way to deal with death and grieving. Given
23:50how absurd it all is, it's hard not to crack up alongside Mary Richards, as she tries to
23:55keep it cute out of respect for poor, dead Chuckles.
23:58"...Mr. Fee-Fai-Foe would always pick himself up, dust himself off, and say, I hurt my uncle."
24:15But that's what makes this scene so great. It's hilarious, but it's also human.
24:20"...Go ahead, my dear. Laugh for Chuckles."
24:23Number 10. Bill and Frank's Last Dinner, The Last of Us
24:31One episode of this HBO adaptation of a celebrated video game had everyone talking. In a post-apocalyptic
24:37America, survivalist Bill takes in a traveler named Frank, and the two share many blissful
24:42years together.
24:43"...I'm old. I'm satisfied. And you were my purpose."
24:54But as Frank becomes weaker due to a progressive illness, Bill decides to spend one last day
24:58with him before Frank ends his own suffering. As they share a last meal and a glass of wine,
25:04Bill reveals they'll be dying together.
25:06From an objective point of view, it's incredibly romantic.
25:14And then, we all wept. The episode won several awards and was lauded for presenting a story
25:20about a mature gay couple.
25:22"...Take me to bed."
25:40Number 9. Kimball Catches The One-Armed Man, The Fugitive.
25:44For four seasons, TV viewers watched as Dr. Richard Kimball was wrongfully convicted of
25:49murdering his wife and evaded police to find the killer for himself.
25:52"...For the first time, I feel I'm really close to something."
25:55"...It had to happen someday. You knew that. I'm sorry. You just ran out of time."
26:02Then, after four seasons, the unthinkable happened. He actually caught The One-Armed Man,
26:08the shadowy figure truly responsible for her death.
26:11"...Yeah, I killed her."
26:13"...Now I'm gonna kill you. Who'll have to worry about you again, no more?"
26:16After years of running, Kimball can finally walk free. This was so huge for the era,
26:21because this was a time when TV storytelling just wasn't taken seriously. It was almost
26:26unheard of for a show to have a proper conclusion in its series finale. The Fugitive paved the way
26:31for episodic stories that had a complete arc.
26:34"...You saved my life. You can fess up there for what it's worth."
26:41"...I'm afraid you'll know what that's worth."
26:458. Sammy's Visit – All in the Family
26:48We've already talked about Archie Bunker's impact, but now let's talk about the episode
26:52Sammy's Visit. In it, Sammy Davis Jr. stops by after leaving his briefcase in Archie's cab.
26:58Archie's thrilled to have him over, but that doesn't stop him from making his usual off-colour remarks.
27:03If God had meant us to be together, he'd have put us together. Well, look what he done. He put you
27:08over in Africa, he put the rest of us in all the white countries.
27:18Well, you must have told him where we were, because somebody came and got it."
27:21Apparently, Davis actually asked for his guest appearance, and the writers built a realistic
27:26setup around it. Their back and forth is funny and sharp. Davis handles Archie's comments with humor and grace.
27:31"-You can tell the difference between black and white. And I have a deep-rooted feeling that you'll
27:38always be able to tell the difference between black and white. And if you were prejudiced,
27:44you'd walk around thinking that you're better than anybody else in the world. But I can honestly say,
27:49having spent these marvelous moments with you, you ain't better than anybody."
27:53But the moment that steals the show comes at the end, when Davis totally disarms Archie with a kiss.
27:58It's a perfect, funny, and quietly powerful moment that turned into a classic piece of TV history.
28:04"-Now on three, okay? One, two, three."
28:08Number 7. Who shot J.R. Dallas?
28:20Does your favorite show always end a season on a cliffhanger? Thank Dallas for that one.
28:25"-I'm sorry, Daddy. They beat me.
28:28J.R. whipped me just like Jock did you.
28:30There's not a whole lot left I can do. Except stop J.R. for good."
28:39The third season finale of this primetime soap ended on a mysterious note.
28:42Megalomaniacal oil baron J.R. Ewing sits alone in his office late at night.
28:47He hears a noise, goes to investigate, and is gunned down by an unseen assailant.
28:52Viewers had two questions. Would J.R. survive? And who shot him?
28:57Was it his ambitious younger brother, Bobby? Could it have been his long-suffering wife,
29:01Sue Ellen? Or how about her lover, Dusty?
29:04"-He's gotta be stopped. He's gonna teach my son to be just like he is,
29:07and it's gonna go on and on and on."
29:09"-Sue Ellen, I've told you, it doesn't have to be that way."
29:12"-You don't seem to understand. He is dangerous and he's got to be controlled."
29:15The cliffhanger ending had audiences speculating all through the summer of 1980. When the show returned
29:20in the fall, the season premiere scored an unbelievable 76 percent of that night's TV viewing audience.
29:27"-I'll kill him. I swear I'll kill him."
29:34"-Take a number. There are a few of us ahead of you."
29:38Number 6. Ellen comes out. Ellen.
29:40It was big enough news that Ellen DeGeneres came out in real life,
29:43but the scandal that occurred once her sitcom avatar made that big leap was a completely different animal.
29:49"-Are you coming out or not?"
29:51"-Yeah, Ellen, quit jerking us around and come out already!"
29:56"-What? What? What is the big deal? I've got a whole hour."
30:00The two-part puppy episode from 1997 was an auspicious event. Not only did it include guest
30:06stars Laura Dern and Oprah Winfrey, it was the very first time a main character on a series came
30:11out as gay midway through its run. When Ellen's character made her announcement over the airport
30:16intercom, it was to the cheers of a studio audience. Public reaction was not as joyous.
30:22"-I'm 35 years old. I'm so afraid to tell people. I mean, I just… Susan… I'm gay."
30:32Advertisers and special interest groups trashed the show. Ellen only lasted one more season,
30:37and DeGeneres and Dern both faced career repercussions as a result.
30:41"-You were punished as well. You didn't work for a year just because you were on that show."
30:47"-Yeah."
30:47"-And you're not even gay, but people thought you were gay."
30:50"-Yes."
30:50Number five, Kunta Kinte's name, Roots.
30:53Based on the 1976 novel by Alex Haley, this ABC miniseries was the first mainstream
30:59American TV project to delve into the horrors of slavery.
31:03"-There's no riverbank. Where's the earth? The earth is gone."
31:08The miniseries made the brilliant decision to cast familiar white actors in the roles of slave owners
31:14and antebellum racists to draw its audience in. Over 30 million people watched the second episode,
31:20which comes to a climax with Kunta Kinte refusing to answer to the name Toby,
31:25given to him by the slave owner who's purchased him.
31:27"-No, that's your African name. Musta give you a new name. Musta say,
31:31you name Toby. What's the matter with you? Cut me loose. Kunta Kinte."
31:39He is whipped until he does so. The scene is relentless, even by today's standards,
31:44and pushed the boundaries of what could be shown on network TV.
31:47"-Your name is Toby. You're going to learn to say your name. Let me hear you say it.
31:54What's your name? Kunta. Kunta Kinte."
32:01Number 4
32:02The Final Scene The Sopranos
32:04In the 2000s, there may have been more viewing options than ever before,
32:08but HBO's mob-centered masterpiece was appointment television. Over 11 million people tuned in to
32:14see how Tony Soprano's story would end.
32:16"-Onion rings. Special estate, boys I'm concerned."
32:20Facing unprecedented threats to his underworld empire, the crime kingpin of New Jersey
32:25sits down to dinner with his family as Journey's Don't Stop Believing plays on the jukebox.
32:30A feeling of unease creeps in. After six seasons,
32:33we realize that any person in this restaurant could be an assassin.
32:37"-Playing anything to roll the dice, just one more time."
32:44Then, the screen cuts to black. Allegedly,
32:47the abrupt ending had people thinking their cable had gone out.
32:50The amount of speculation and downright anger this ambiguous ending caused
32:54is still unprecedented to this day.
32:57"-Speed like people. Don't stop."
33:07Number 3
33:07The Red Wedding Game of Thrones
33:09If this fantasy epic taught us anything, it's that you can't get too attached to anyone.
33:14"-I've given you meat and wine and music, but I haven't shown you the hospitality you deserve."
33:23Even the show's main characters aren't safe. Two seasons after Ned Stark was beheaded for treason,
33:28his widow, an eldest son and heir, befell one of the most violent fates in all of TV history.
33:34In a flash, Captain Stark, Robb Stark, his pregnant wife Talisa, and their retinue of partisans are
33:39slaughtered by Walder Frey's party.
33:44"-Lord Walder! Lord Walder, enough! Let it end! Please!"
33:50Visceral doesn't begin to cover it. In one fell swoop, three pivotal characters are gone,
33:56and in the most brutal way possible. The reaction was incredible. On top of being a
34:02near-peerless episode of television, it still generates conversation more than a decade later.
34:11Number 2
34:12Goodbye, M.A.S.H.
34:13Despite lasting literal years longer than the Korean War, this war dramedy was insanely popular.
34:19While it began as a straight comedy, it changed tone and direction,
34:22as exemplified by the death of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake in its third season.
34:27"-Shot down over the sea of Japan. It spun in. There were no survivors."
34:40There was room for the horrors of war between punchlines. This was doubly true in the series
34:44finale, which still holds the record for most-watched episode of TV.
34:48"-I know how tough it is for you to say goodbye, so I'll say it.
34:53Maybe you're right, maybe we will see each other again, but just in case we don't."
34:57"-I want you to know how much you've meant to me."
35:01Filled with incredible and powerful moments, the most memorable scene is its very last,
35:06where Hawkeye Pierce leaves the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital for good.
35:12"-I'll see you back in the States. I promise. Since the case, I left you a note. What?"
35:19His helicopter rises to reveal B.J. Hunnicutt's goodbye message, spelled out using stones. It's a
35:26majestic and elegant end to M.A.S.H.'s legendary 11-season run.
35:30Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
35:34The Snow Globe, Saint Elsewhere. A new twist on the it was all a dream trope.
35:44The Body, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A touching and real exploration of grief.
35:49"-Good as new."
35:50"-Oh, Buffy. Thank God you found me."
35:52"-Monica and Chandler's relationship, friends. This was a relationship for the fans,
35:57created by the fans."
35:58"-But the way the audience reacted, we realized there's more to this, and we need to pay attention."
36:06Kunta Kinte's birth, roots. A powerful image of a hopeful future.
36:10"-Kunta Kinte.
36:13Say, behold, the only thing greater than yourself."
36:21The Moldavian wedding massacre dynasty. It became the series' highest-rated cliffhanger season finale.
36:27"-Now repeat after me, with this ring, I thee wed."
36:33Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about
36:38our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
36:43If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
36:49Number 1. Lucy is Ensemble. I love Lucy.
36:52It might be hard to imagine now, but there was a time when showing a pregnant woman on TV,
36:56or even saying the word pregnant, was a big no-no.
37:00"-What did the doctor say? Ethel, we're going to have a baby. We are? Oh, isn't that wonderful?
37:13I never had a baby before."
37:15Lucy wasn't the first pregnant character on screen. That was Mary Kay Stearns back in the 40s.
37:19But when Lucille Ball became pregnant in real life, CBS agreed to include it. Just not say it.
37:25"-I heard you sing a number called We're Having a Baby, My Baby and Me.
37:30If you would sing it for us now, it would be my way of breaking the news to him."
37:34That's why the episode's called Lucy is Ensemble. Funnily enough, the next episode
37:39does use pregnant in the title. Anyway, the writers found clever ways around this,
37:44and it actually turned out to be really sweet.
37:46"-We're having a baby, my baby and me."
37:51Fun fact, Lucy's on-screen birth aired the same day as her real-life one,
37:57and brought in 44 million viewers. What do you think is the biggest landmark
38:01scene in TV history? Let us know in the comments.
Be the first to comment