Taking a look at four of the most overrated episodes of television in entertainment history
Let me start by wishing the iconic Sopranos episode “Pine Barrens”, a very happy 25th anniversary.
On May 6, 2001, Chrissy and Paulie went from being a grown-up couple to “just two assholes stranded in the woods.”
Many people cite the season three masterpiece as their all-time favorite. Sopranos episode, but I always found it a little overrated.
So what better way to celebrate one of the most revered hours of television of all time than to go through what are, in my humble opinion, four of the most overrated television episodes of all time.
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The term “overrated” is obviously subjective, and each episode on this list is an episode that I really enjoy from some of my favorite TV shows, but they are also episodes that I think are held up on a pedestal a little more than they should be.
I’m going to stop with this rambling so we can get this show on the road.
4. “Dinner”, The office
Melora Hardin as Jan Levinson walks alongside Steve Carell as Michael Scott in “The Office” episode “The Deposition”, which aired on November 15, 2007. (Byron Cohen/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal)
One thing that almost every episode has on this list is that they are very self-contained, and maybe it’s just personal preference, but I’m not a big fan of “bottle episodes.”
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Comedy shows themselves rarely have overarching plots, although The office certainly has a lot of history.
“Dinner Party” departs from many plot-driven episodes of previous seasons of the series and focuses entirely on the characters.
It works and it’s an enjoyable slice of television, but I often hear people call this their favorite episode of The officeand this is probably due to one thing: the omnipresence of “meme culture”.
When it comes to memes, “Dinner Party” is one of the strongest series that is full of meme-worthy episodes.
From the “snip snap” to the little TV, this episode has about as many GIFs under its belt as a half hour of network television, but it almost feels like the quotes are more memorable than the episode as a whole.
If reading all of this made you crazy, you might want to turn back now, because things get a lot worse from here on.
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3. “The rains of Castamere”, Game of Thrones
Sophie Turner and Kit Harington appear in season 8, episode 2 of “Game of Thrones”, released in 2019. (Helen Sloan-HBO/The Hollywood Archives)
Oh, boy! I can feel the flames of the angry crowd rising as I type.
One thing Game of Thrones done with aplomb, at least in previous seasons, was setting up an entire season’s worth of events for a big payoff.
The first season saw Ned Stark’s death come completely out of left field after discovering the truth about the Lannister family, while the second season built up the battle at King’s Landing to Blackwater.
By the time season three rolls around, it feels like there has to be one hell of a payoff to top the first two penultimate episodes of their respective seasons.
Before you even start looking Game of Thronespeople who had already finished the series warned me about “Rains of Castamere”.
I wasn’t given any spoilers, but I was told that this was the episode that changed everything and that I will never be the same after this hour of television.
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When Ned Stark got his head cut off in season one’s “Baelor,” I remember being shocked, while thinking, “Man! I can’t wait to see what ‘Rains of Castamere’ has in store for us.”
And, to be honest, maybe I’m the victim of something overblown and under-realized, but the deaths of Robb and Catelyn Stark, as well as Robb’s wife and unborn child, just didn’t have the same consequences.
Killing off a man who was essentially the main character, by most fantasy standards, in the first season was a bold and subverted expectation, but then it made any twist seem secondary in comparison.
I know George RR Martin and the producers didn’t write all of these stories with that in mind, but it definitely dampened a lot of the excitement I had for “Rains of Castamere.”
Perhaps it would be unfair to put this episode on hold because of the hype it generated, and perhaps I missed the thrill of seeing it fresh for the first time, but “Rains of Castamere” is far from the best episode of Game of Thronesdespite what many may say.
2. “The competition” Seinfeld
Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Richards portray their characters George Costanza, Elaine Benes, Jerry Seinfeld and Cosmo Kramer in a promotional photo for the series Seinfeld. (George Lange/NBC Photo Bank/NBCUniversal)
One thing Seinfeld has throughout its run tackled taboo subjects while making them palatable to network viewers, and “The Contest” might be the best example of that.
In this season four fan favorite, Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer all see who can last the longest without “treating their body like an amusement park,” if you know what I mean.
The episode is full of hilarious gags and iconic lines, but just like in “Dinner Party,” the quotes almost took on a life of their own.
For example, I bet you forgot the B-plot of this episode involved Elaine meeting JFK Jr.
Regardless, the episode won an insane number of awards for its clever writing and is cited by many publications as one of the best episodes in television history, and therein lies the problems for me.
It’s a great episode, a classic even. But I have a hard time calling this “one of the best episodes of television ever.”
It’s not even the best episode of Seinfeld from season four, as classics like “The Outing” and “The Junior Mint” are just as iconic without all the pomp and circumstance.
Maybe it’s the hipster maverick in me, but anytime something is overly praised for its “clever writing” it’s an instant turn-off.
You can take your Primetime Emmy and stick it where the sun doesn’t shine!
1. “Pine forests” The Sopranos
The cast of “The Sopranos” is featured in a group photo. The show premiered on HBO, now called Max, in January 1999 and became one of the most popular series of all time. (Anthony Neste/Getty Images)
This was the only reason I wrote this article, so you knew it was going to end up here.
I can’t think of a more overrated hour of television than “Pine Barrens.”
To be honest, it’s an extremely enjoyable episode, but this single episode from the third season finds itself at the very top of every episode. Sopranos fans’ “best of” list, and I just don’t see it.
People talk about the humor of “Pine Barrens” as if it’s something unique to that episode, but every episode of the show is so funny and hilarious that I often throw out The Sopranos like a black comedy disguised as a popular drama.
All of this is to say that the humor present in “Pine Barrens” doesn’t exactly set it apart from the rest of the pack.
Much like “Dinner Party,” “Pine Barrens” is a real bottle episode, and really doesn’t do much to advance the plot of season three outside of Tony’s deteriorating relationship with his goomar, Gloria.
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The entire episode revolves around Chrissy and Paulie getting lost in the woods of southern New Jersey and having to survive until help arrives.
The premise and execution are fantastic, and the episode is certainly humorous, but as is the case with every other entry on this list, the humor and quotes took on a life of their own.
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Yes, “he was an interior designer” is a funny phrase the first 100 times you hear it, but the Sopranos The community is guilty of ruining this whole exchange.
“Pine Barrens” is a great episode to throw on when you want some “comfort food,” but there are much better episodes of the series, and I’ve never understood the hype it’s generated over the past quarter century.
