If there was one thing that the pandemic afforded me, it was ample time to sit down and watch countless hours of TV . Over the past two years, I’ve crushed everything from Breaking Bad to Shahs of Sunset .
It’s gotten to the point where I now consider myself to be an armchair expert when it comes to matters of the small screen . So much so that I feel it is now my duty to tell people what the best TV scenes of all time are .
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Will’s father lets him down, again, in ‘The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air’.
This scene was a welcomed departure from the goofy hilarity that fans of The Fresh Prince had grown to love and expect. It’s almost impossible to not get whispy-eyed watching Will and Uncle Phil embrace.
Bernard discovers he’s a host in ‘Westworld’.
This entire series was just one giant mind-[expletive] after another, right from the very start. That said, finding out that Bernard was a Host all along is certainly one of the better, more unexpected twists in recent TV memory.
When Homer keeps falling down the mountain in ‘The Simpsons’.
There are so many iconic moments that occur all throughout The Simpsons that it’s almost impossible to pick just one. However, when push comes to shove, Homer falling down the cliff is always a crowd-pleaser.
The Trinity Killer learns Dexter’s true identity in ‘Dexter’.
All of Season 4 had been building to this point. Fans knew that at some point, sooner or later, Trinity was bound to catch on and discover Dexter wasn’t who he claimed to be. Still, the inevitability of their showdown didn’t make it any less impactful.
The second slap in ‘How I Met Your Mother’.
The slap-bet was one of the better long-running jokes in How I Met Your Mother . What makes the second slap the most memorable, however, is the fact that nobody (especially Barney) saw it coming.
Troy and Abed rap in ‘Community’
This is a simple moment that actually occurs in the post-credits scene. Dan Harmon may not have realized the significance of this moment at the time, but true fans of Community understand that this was the moment where Troy and Abed became besties.
The D.E.N.N.I.S. System explained in ‘It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’.
It would take far too long for me to explain the D.E.N.N.I.S. system in full. Instead, I’ll just say that this moment provides concrete indisputable evidence that Dennis Reynolds is a psychopath .
Adriana gets whacked in ‘The Sopranos’.
The show does a great job of making you feel sympathy for Tony Soprano, one of the most ruthless TV characters of all time. But when he makes the decision to murder Adriana , his true malevolent nature is revealed.
June/Offred’s first Ceremony in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’.
The best scenes aren’t always the ones that make us laugh or even make us cry. Sometimes, they’re the ones that have us struggling to keep our eyes on the screen — that we can only watch with our hands clasped over our eyes.
Shane comes back to life in ‘The Walking Dead’.
This was a culminating moment that confirmed what many viewers had suspected for a long time — everyone is infected. It doesn’t matter whether you’re bit or not. If you die, you come back.
The quiz for Monica’s apartment in ‘Friends’.
This list could’ve been comprised solely of iconic moments from Friends . But if you have to only pick one, the quiz might just be one of the most side-splittingly hilarious moments of the entire series.
Jim impersonates Dwight in ‘The Office’.
One of the most memorable aspects of The Office was the incredible pranks that Jim played on Dwight. Of all the many hysterical instances of this taking place, Jim’s identity theft stands above the rest .
Mike Ross’ interview with Harvey Spectre in ‘Suits’.
Harvey Spectre thought he was the hottest thing on the block until he met Mike Ross. Witnessing Mike’s eidetic memory reciting lines of text from various law books is still one of the more impressive moments of the show.
Opie makes the ultimate sacrifice in ‘Sons Of Anarchy’.
There was always a sense of foreboding in Sons of Anarchy — even when it came to the main characters. But absolutely nobody expected to see Opie get cut down , especially in such a brutally violent fashion.
Ahsoka Tano faces off against Darth Vader in ‘Star Wars: Rebels’.
Ahsoka Tano versus Darth Vader is one of the greatest battles that fans have ever bor n e witness to. This was a monumental moment in the Star Wars universe, and hopefully, one that we’ll see play out in the forthcoming Star Wars: Ahsoka mini-series.
Sheldon hugs Penny for the first time in ‘The Big Bang Theory’.
I’m the first one to admit that The Big Bang Theory got a little formulaic by the end, but those first few seasons are comedic gold. When Sheldon hugs Penny , it’s one of the first times that we see him expressing gratitude on any level.
Leslie Knope is running for office in ‘Parks And Recreation’.
This scene has me keeling over laughing every time I watch it. Listening to the announcer repeatedly playing “Get on Your Feet” by Gloria Estefan just keeps on getting funnier and funnier.
The Mountain kills Prince Oberyn in ‘Game Of Thrones’.
Dammit to hell everyone who had read the book prior to watching this pivotal episode — you spoiled it for us all! However, if you were one of the lucky ones who didn’t know what was coming, this was one of the greatest shocks of the entire series .
Captain Holt reveals his Halloween Heist in ‘Brooklyn 99’.
Sure, Jake may have been planning his Halloween Heist for three months, but Holt had been conspiring for an entire year. When you think about it, Jake never had a chance.
Señor Chang VS Jeff Winger in ‘Community’.
Season 1’s “Modern Warfare” is easily among the cream of the crop of Community ‘s top offerings. The final showdown ( done in a Scarface/Face/Off -style spoof ) between Chang and Winger is an iconic moment.
Spartacus takes on Glaber’s entire legion in ‘Spartacus: Blood And Sand’.
Spartacus takes on one Roman soldier armed only with a wooden sword. Then another, and another, until he quickly and effectively dispatches all of the Legatus’ accompanying legion.
Luke Skywalker battles the Dark Troopers in ‘The Mandalorian’.
All hope was considered lost. The Dark Troopers were barreling down the door and it seemed as if certain death was all but assured. That is until Luke Skywalker showed up unannounced and saved the day!
“The Lannisters send their regards.” – ‘Game Of Thrones’
There’s never been a TV wedding quite like ” The Red Wedding .” Yes, Game of Thrones is the only series to pop up on this list twice — but that’s because the series is just far too important to condense into a single event.
“You got one part of that wrong. This is not meth…” – ‘Breaking Bad’.
When Walt seeks retribution for Jesse after Tuco roughs him up and steals their product, he refers to himself as Heisenberg for the first time. This scene wasn’t necessarily the death of Walt, but it is the birth of Heisenberg.
