And my favorite is....

With the first real season premiere coming with Monday’s premiere of Prison Break (Sorry The Biggest Loser, you don’t really count), I find myself thinking about last season. It was, arguably, a decent season of television. Sure, you had some definite stinkers, like The Class, Vanished, Runaway, Help Me Help You, Standoff, 20 Good Years, Six Degrees, and Happy Hour, but last season brought some pretty darn good new shows, like Heroes, Ugly Betty, 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights, Brothers and Sisters, and the dearly departed Studio 60. But this post is not about what shows I thought were good and bad last season. No, the real post is because I was trying to figure out what I thought the single best episode of television was last season. And I think I’ve figured it out.

There were a bunch of strong contenders. In the drama category, “Company Man” from Heroes is a standout, as well as the magnificent 3 parter “K & R" from Studio 60. There was the marvelous “Pilot” to Friday Night Lights, and, even though they only recently aired here in the states, the ridiculously good “Human Nature/Family of Blood” two-parter from Doctor Who. But, while all amazing episodes, none of them are my pick. Yes, my pick, comes from a comedy. Nope, it’s neither the absolutely hilarious “The Rural Juror” nor the equally hilarious “Black Tie” from 30 Rock. Nor is it the amazing season opener of The Office, “Gay Witch Hunt”. As much as I loved the Scrubs musical, it’s not “My Musical” either. Nope, my single favorite episode of last season comes from, of all places, a traditional four-camera sitcom. That’s right, How I Met Your Mother’s “Slap Bet”, you’re my favorite.

Wanna know why? Because you not only showed me that a traditional sitcom can still make me laugh, but because you actually had me laughing for the entire episode. That’s right, there is not a single moment in this episode that lags. The episode deals with something completely innocuous, one character not wanting to go to a mall, and builds it into this comedic gold. So Robin, the female lead, refuses to go to a mall, which makes everyone question why she’s keeping it such a secret. And thus, the slap bet ensues. One side believes that she was married in a mall in Canada; the other thinks she did porn in Canada. But the secret is so much better than that. I’m not even considering these spoilers, because it’s still just as funny if you know what’s going on. See, Robin used to be Robin Sparkles, a teenage one hit wonder who’s single “Let’s Go To The Mall” became a hit in Canada, forcing her to tour across the malls of Canada, making her live for a year on “Orange Julius and Wetzel’s Pretzels”. But not only do we get the ridiculous title for the song, we get the music video. And it’s oh so glorious.



How can you find a song with lines like “He’s got hair like Gretzky and he does jumps on his skateboard.”, “It’ll be just him and me but don’t forget the robot”, and, my personal favorite “I’m gonna rock your body till Canada day.” not funny? But not only is the video hilarious, the rest of the episode is. Even the throwaway lines are great, plus, it’s spawned a great running joke on the show as to when the slap bet will be collected.

So yeah, call me an idiot if you like, but I think this was the single best episode of primetime television last year. Do you agree, or do you have your own favorites? Feel free to comment.