skippable-blog

[skippable-blog]

Mad Men

Mad Men is about a rich dude going through the longest midlife crisis ever depicted on TV. But thanks to this skippable list, you can focus on other, better characters.

Warning! Do not watch if you are trying to quit smoking. This is not a joke.

Episodes skipped: 24 of 92

Season 1 is arguably the best season, so if you don’t love the show by the end of episode 13, I suggest you stop there. The other seasons are good, too, but if you don’t enjoy the 1st season, I can’t imagine why you would enjoy the rest.

Season 1

skip: I recommend you do not skip a single episode of season 1, but if you absolutely have to, skip episode 7 - “Red in the Face”.

Season 2

skip: 3. “The Benefactor” 4. “Three Sundays” 6. “Maidenform”

Season 3

skip: 2. “Love Among the Ruins” 3. “My Old Kentucky Home” 8. “Souvenir”

Season 4

skip: 2. “Christmas Comes But Once a Year” 3. “The Good News” 5. “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword” 8. “The Summer Man” 11. “Chinese Wall”

Season 5

skip: 5. “Signal 30” 6. “Far Away Places” 8. “Lady Lazarus”

Season 6

skip: 4. “To Have and to Hold” 7. “Man with a Plan” 8. “The Crash” 10. “A Tale of Two Cities”

Season 7A

skip: 4. “The Monolith” 5. “The Runaways” 6. “The Strategy”

Season 7B

skip: 9. “New Business” 10. “The Forecast” 11. “Time & Life”

[skippable-blog]

Peep Show

My bad for submitting this twice. Messed up Android.

Peep Show is a dark cringe comedy frim Britain following the sexual misadventures of two bachelors in their twenties and thirties who suck at holding down jobs.

Hopefully that synopsis didn’t sound horribly generic, as this is easily one of the funniest, most well-written shows on the air right now.

Episodes skipped: 13 out of 48

Series One

Honestly none of the debut season is truly skippable, despite the fact that there is no overarching plot as of yet. If you must, On The Pull is skippable but it features important character development for Mark, Jez and Sophie.

Series Two

Jeremy Makes It - Mark befriends a Neo-Nazi and Jez continues to fail at his music career. VERY funny episode but nothing of importance for future events happens.

University Challenge - Mark attempts to woo a shoe clerk by pretending to be a student at her university. Skippable.

Series Three

Sectioning - Jeremy and Super Hans are promised an old pub but can’t agree on how to refurbish the place. Mark’s relationship with Sophie is strained by her move to Bristol. Some character development but very meh episode.

Shrooming - Jeremy poisons Mark so he can go shrooming with Big Suze. Big Suze is later scared off by Mark’s giant shit. Some romantic development between Suze and Jez but not vital.

Jurying - Jeremy is called for Jury Duty and falls in love with the defendant. Mark realizes he hates Sophie and her friends. Some development in the latter relationship but skippable.

Series Four

In my opinion the funniest season, I wouldn’t skip any of it but if you must…

Handyman - Jez meets his musical idol, The Orgazoid, and is hired as his handyman, with Jez not realizing the title is somewhat literal. Mark tries to have an affair with a High School flame but is stopped by her husband and his mundane taste in cheese.

Holiday - Jeremy holds Mark’s bachelor party, and ends up eating a dog. Very unique episode, not terribly important.

Series Five

The series begins to slowly fall in quality here but it’s not too great a drop, still very watchable.

Burgling - In a very noticeable continuity error, Jez finds out he has chlamydia but tries to hide it from Suze. Mark creeps out another disposable woman. The two get robbed by a bunch of kids. Very painful episode (not necessarily in a bad way) and disposable.

Jeremy’s Mummy - Jez’s aunt dies and leaves him £20,000 and a gun amongst other belongings. He loses it all because Mark won’t shut up about his rape.

Jeremy’s Manager - Jeremy gets a band manager, who turns out to be another quirky disposable woman for Mark and Jeremy to fight over. Lame.

Series Six: This season focuses heavily on Sophie’s pregnancy, Mark’s attempts to woo Dobby and Jeremy’s relationship with Russian émigré Elena. None of the episodes are skippable here.

Series Seven: Nether Zone - Mark and Jez get locked in a house and Mark misses the christening of his son. Unless you seriously care about the babies’ name it’s not vital.

Seasonal Beatings - The Christmas episode! One of the highest quality late-period episodes but inconsequential to continuity. Some nice character development though.

Series Eight: This season features Jeremy moving out while becoming a life coach, and Jeremy and Mark fighting over Dobby. Not the highest-quality season but for continuity’s sake nothing is skippable.

[skippable-blog]

Animorphs

The Invasion

The Visitor

The Encounter

The Message

The Predator

The Capture

The Stranger

The Alien

The Secret

The Android

The Forgotten

The Reaction

The Change

The Unknown

The Escape

The Warning

The Underground

The Decision

The Departure

The Discovery

The Threat

The Solution

The Pretender

The Suspicion

The Extreme

The Attack

The Exposed (altho a minor villain is introduced)

The Experiment

The Sickness

The Reunion

The Conspiracy

The Separation

The Illusion

The Prophecy

The Proposal

The Mutation

The Weakness

The Arrival

The Hidden

The Other

The Familiar

The Journey

The Test

The Unexpected

The Revelation

The Deception

The Resistance

The Return

The Diversion

The Ultimate

The Absolute

The Sacrifice

The Answer

The Beginning

the four megamorphs are not important side stories. the four chronicles (including visser) are good, plot relevant background information, but not necessary. the two alternamorphs are noncanonical.

[skippable-blog]

The Venture Bros

This was submitted by rayword45!

One of [adult swim]’s most critically acclaimed series is soon to enter its 6th season. “Soon” perhaps being a misleading term, as the show has had around 70 half-hours worth of content released over a period of 12 years thus far. So you could probably watch the entire series before a Season 6 release date is announced, but whatever, for those who don’t wanna deal with unimportant stuff :

Episodes Skipped: 17 out of 68. 

Season One:

The Terrible Secret of Turtle Bay - Rough pilot. Introduces many of the characters but you can get as much from the first season premiere, and it’s really not that good. Careers in Science (NOTE: If you skip this, also skip Guess Who’s Coming to State Dinner?) - Ventures in Space! Introduces Colonel Bud Manstrong and his butterface wife, who appear in one future inconsequential episode and are promptly forgotten. Home Insecurity - Dr. Venture builds a robot to protect his family while his bodyguard Brock is away on a camping trip. Most important thing is Brock meeting Steve Summers and Sasquatch who pop up on occasion later. If you know that, you’re fine. Mid-Life Chrysalis - Dr. Girlfriend seduces Dr. Venture while in disguise and turns him into a caterpillar. Save for a few future continuity gags this is not a terribly important episode. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Dean - Dean suffers from testicular torsion, which ends up saving the Venture’s lives. Past Tense - Dr. Venture, Brock, Pete White and Baron von Underbheit are kidnapped by their old college roommate, who was thought to be dead. Shaggy dog story. A Very Venture Christmas - 11-minute holiday special. Unimportant and possibly non-canon. Season 2: Escape to the House of Mummies Part II - Time travel episode. Hilarious and commonly cited as a favorite episode amongst fans but its really not important. Love-Bheits - Baron von Underbheit marries Dean, and is promptly arrested for violating his own law against same-sex marriage. That’s the main plot of the entire episode. Guess Who’s Coming to State Dinner? (Skip ONLY if you’ve already skipped Careers in Science!) - Colonel Bud Manstrong is hailed for killing terrorists with his crashing ship, which unfortunately led to the death of his neglected wife. In the end, he turns out to be a sleep masturbator. Marks the end of the Manstrong/Gargantua-1 saga, which never went anywhere. Season 3: This is arguably the most continuity-heavy and impenetrable season of them all. The only skippable episode is Dr. Quymn, Medicine Woman - Dr. Venture runs into an old lover, her butch bodyguard and her two twin daughters. All romantic tension and potential rape is halted by a fight and fire, aversion to epileptics and aversion to uncircumcised penises. Only episode in the entire season which doesn’t include a load of backstory or important events. Season 4: Perchance to Dean - A deformed clone of Dean is found to still be alive, and attempts to kill Dean to take his skin. Incredibly sad, this one shouldn’t be skipped in my opinion as its one of the strongest episodes in the series but it’s not important. Self-Medication - Dr. Venture joins a support group for troubled child heroes. Sgt. Hatred runs out of anti-pedophile medication. Eh. The Diving Bell Vs. The Butter-Glider - Dr. Venture becomes paralyzed so the boys, Brock and Shore Leave shrink down and enter his body to find the source of the problem. The Monarch falls in love with his butterfly-shaped jetpack. Assisted Suicide - The Monarch takes control over Dr. Venture and brainwashes him to be suicidal. In the meantime his wife cheats on him with Henchman 21. Season 5: Venture Libre - The Ventures go into the Central American jungle, where they find many failed scientific experiments. Hank overdoses on caffeine. Not plot-heavy but worth watching for the brick joke killing of a Michelle Bachmann expy. Spanakopita - Dr. Venture, Billy Quizboy and Pete White go to the Greek island of Spanakos to celebrate the yearly festival of Spanakopita. Great backstory and character development here but you can skip it if you must.

[skippable-blog]

The Office (US)

This was submitted by Matt!

So, here's my list: 

Episodes skipped: 60 out of 201.

Season One: You can skip the entire season, except "Diversity Day" (the only really funny one of this season, plus Larry Wilmore's in it and there are callbacks/references to this episode in later seasons)

Season Two: Generally considered the best season, almost every episode is very funny and/or has very important character/plot development. The only ones I would skip are these: "The Carpet" - mostly feces humor; predictably, this never becomes funny "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" - Cute but mostly "G-rated" humor and little to no plot significance "Drug Testing" - Funny but not very significant to the plot or character development

Season Three: Personally my favorite season, but you can skip these: "The Convention" "Diwali" - A fun twist by doing a Diwali-themed episode instead of a Halloween-themed episode, not bad but easily skippable "The Convict"

Season Four: Mostly not skippable because it was shortened by the writers' strike, but you can skip these: "Survivor Man" "Night Out" - has some interesting character/plot development but easily forgettable "Job Fair" - same reason as "Night Out"

Season Five: I consider these skippable: "Business Ethics" - Meredith-heavy episodes are not my favorite "Baby Shower" - Resolves a plot from the end of season 4 and sets up Michael and Holly's relationship, but really not funny or memorable "The Surplus" - A funny episode, but with a lot of out-of-character behavior and no important plot development "Prince Family Paper" "Blood Drive" "Casual Friday" "Cafe Disco"

Season Six: The show really begins dropping in quality here after series creator/head writer Greg Daniels and writer Mike Schur left to focus on Parks & Recreation full time. All of the following are skippable: "The Promotion" "Mafia" - the "Coalition for Reason" is a memorable recurring joke in this episode, but it's really not a good episode "The Lover" - A lot of people liked this when it aired, but personally, I think this is the least funny of the episode of the series. "Scott's Tots" - As much as I like Erin finally starting to get some character development here, this episode is just odd. "The Banker" - A clip show "New Leads" - The salespeople are egomaniacs in this one, for some reason. "Body Language", "The Cover-Up", and "The Chump" - Michael/Donna is probably the most boring, unfunny relationship in the series.

Season Seven: the following are skippable: "Nepotism" - but the cold open is a must-watch "Counseling" "Sex Ed" "The Sting" "Costume Contest" - a fun one to watch around Halloween, but not as part of a binge-watch "Christening" "Viewing Party" "China" "The Seminar" - but the cold open is another must-watch "Todd Packer" - some decent character closure here, and great growth by Michael, but not a particularly funny or important episode "The Inner Circle" - the plot development may be important but I found this episode ridiculous in an unfunny way

Season Eight: Around this time (if not in the previous season), the cold opens become the funniest part of each episode. I'd recommend watching every episode's cold open. Aside from that, the majority of season 8 is skippable; I'd skip all of these: "The Incentive" "Lotto" "Garden Party" "Spooked" - like "Costume Contest" from season 7, it's a good one to watch at a Halloween party but easily skippable in a binge-watch "Gettysburg" "Mrs. California" "Pool Party" "Test the Store" "Get the Girl" - there's a fair bit of plot development in this and the following three episodes but they just are not funny; Read the plot summaries on Wikipedia so you have context for the last 2 episodes of the season "Welcome Party" "Angry Andy" "Fundraiser"

Season Nine: Same deal as season 8. Watch all the cold opens but skip the rest of these: "Roy's Wedding" - closure for Roy but it's really disappointing "Andy's Ancestry" "Here Comes Treble" - Stephen Colbert shows up but even he couldn't make this one funny "Dwight Christmas" "Lice" - Very funny but some people are way too out of character "Junior Salesmen" "Vandalism" "The Farm" - the main plot was intended as a backdoor pilot for a Dwight spinoff that never materialized. Not particularly bad but makes no sense in the context of The Office and is weighed down by the unnecessary Todd Packer sideplot. "Paper Airplane" - The Jim/Pam development might be important here but it's really forgettable and disappointing for one of the final episodes, especially compared to the last 3 hours that immediately follow .

[skippable-blog]

Numb3rs

This list was sent in by Michael Rich!

One of the few shows that managed to thrive on a Friday night at 10.

Episodes skipped: 30 out of 118.

Season 2 14: Judgment Call 15: Bettor or Worse 16: Obsession 17: Calculated Risk 18: Assassin 19: Soft Target 20: Convergence 21: In Plain Sight 22: Toxin 23: Bones of Contention 24: Scorched 25: The OG 26: Double Down 27: Harvest 28: The Running Man 29: Protest 30: Mind Games 31: All’s Fair 32: Dark Matter 33: Guns and Roses 34: Rampage 35: Backscatter 36: Undercurrents 37: Hot Shot

Season 3 38 and 39: Spree and Two Daughters

40: Provenance 41: The Mole 42: Traffic 43: Longshot 44: Blackout 45: Hardball 46: Waste Not 47: Brutus 48: Killer Chat 49: Nine Wives 50: Finder’s Keepers 51: Take out 52: End of Watch 53: Contenders 54: One Hour 55: Democracy 56: Pandora’s Box 57: Burn Rate 58: The Art of Reckoning 59: Under Pressure 60: Money for Nothing 61: The Janus List

Season 4 62: Trust Meric 63: Hollywood Homicide 64: Velocity 65: Thirteen 66: Robin Hood 67: In Security 68: Primacy 69: Tabu 70: Graphic 71: Chinese Box 72: Breaking Point 73: Power 74: Black Swan 75: Checkmate 76: End Game 77: Atomic No. 33 78: Pay to Play 79: When Worlds Collide

Season 5 80: High Exposure 81: Decoy Effect 82: Blowback 83: Jack of all Trades 84: Scan Man

85: Magic Show 86: Charlie Don’t Surf 87: Thirty Six Hours 88: Conspiracy Theory 89: Frienemies 90: Arrow of Time 91: Jacked 92: Trouble in Chinatown 93: Sneakerhead 94: Guilt Trip 95: Cover Me 96: First Law 97: 12:01 AM 98: Animal Rights 99: The Fifth man 100: Disturbed 101: Greatest Hits 102: Angels and Demons

Season 6 103: Hangman 104: Friendly Fire 105: 7 Men Out 106: Where Credit’s Due 107: Hydra 108: Dreamland 109: Shadow Markets 110: Ultimatum 111: Con Job 112: Old Soldiers 113: Scratch 114: Arm in Arms 115: Devil Girl 116: And the Winner is… 117: Growin’ Up 118: Cause and Effect

[skippable-blog]

Doctor Who Season 8

This post was submitted by feitclub!

Did you hear? There’s a new Doctor this year and he’s a mean old bastard!

I liked him immediately.

Episodes skipped: 5 of 12

Do not watch the following episodes:

Episode #1. Deep Breath: it’s Twelve’s debut episode but SKIP IT. It’s overly long and the Doctor spends too much time explaining to Clara (played by an actress literally half Peter Capaldi’s age) why he’s not her boyfriend. Important info to know: there’s a place where you go when you die and a lady named Missy is there waiting for you.

#3. Robot of Sherwood: unless you really, really love Robin Hood, there is no reason to watch this.

#5. Time Heist: not bad but rather silly, I say skip it.

#7. Kill The Moon: I am not a fan but know this: Clara and the Doctor have a big fight which is important.

#10. In The Forest of the Night: truly pointless

just an FYI, the finale quotes a couple lines from these episodes but trust me, they’re still skippable. Enjoy, this season was very good!

[skippable-blog]

Farscape

This skippable list is by Danielle Riendeau!

Farscape is my favorite sci-fi series of all time. It's creative and weird, it does interesting, progressive things with gender and sci-fi tropes, it's colorful and funny and sometimes incredibly dark. Star Trek, it is not (though, John, the central human character, LOVES Star Trek). But! The show really fumbled around to find its footing early on. So here are my recommendations for Watching the 1st season. Skip everything not listed here.

Episodes skipped: 21 out of 88.

[skippable-blog]

Person of Interest

Kyle Aufderheide pointed me at this really good list of skippable Person of Interest episodes by Matt Fowler.

[skippable-blog]

The Odyssey

This skippable list was made by Cotton Rhetoric!

The Odyssey is one of the oldest, most canonical, and most influential works of literature in history.  It's also effing long and by most accounts a slog.

When I teach this book, I recommend the below skips to my students.  (Of course, as we all know, most students' respond by skipping the book entirely.  This was even mentioned in one of Anthony Burch's pre-HAWP videos.  The lightsaber duel one.)  But if your high school experiences with the book haven't soured you on it entirely, I'd recommend the same skips to you. For all of this book's wonders, and it is one of my favorites, it does have a ton of extraneous rambling, as even most of its fans and scholars admit.

Note: the line numbers are for the Fitzgerald translation, in my opinion the best.

Book 1: read all Book 2: read all

Book 3: skip 136–197, 436–542

Book 4: skip 330–662

Book 5: read all (the first great book) Book 6: read all

Book 7: skip 1–139

Book 8: skip 270–510

Book 9: read all (everyone loves Book 9!)

Book 10: read all (Book 10 too)

Book 11: skip 267–449, 548–685 (unless you're like huge into mythology)

Book 12: read all  Book 13: read all

Book 14: skip 10–130, 222–602

Book 15: skip 61–680 (Boy does The Odyssey sag in the middle.)

Book 16: skip 1–200, 384–553

Book 17: skip 89–269, 423–688, 722–794 (If you only ever read thirteen lines of The Odyssey, they should be 701–712. With this translation, specifically.  Hahahaha.)

Book 18: skip 142–220, 224–270, 275–308, 352–end (I'm mostly just directing you to some lines about beards, which are symbolic.)

Book 19: skip 1–63, 463–537 (I have always been fascinated by lines 248–252.)

Book 20: skip 61–385, 393–439

Book 21: skip 274–430 (my personal favorite book, even if not one of the most famous)

Book 22: read all (especially the epithet in line 156)

Book 23: skip 1–170

Book 24: skip 1–249, 270–349, 361–520 (What an anticlimax! Some scholars claim this one wasn't even written by Homer, although that's probably wishful thinking.)

[skippable-blog]

The X-Files

This list was submitted by Hilary Brown!

The X-Files is a science fiction show that ran on Fox from 1993-2002. It chronicles the investigations of FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who explore unexplained cases of paranormal and extraterrestrial activity. Mulder is a fervent believer in the paranormal, and is obsessed with finding his sister who had vanished when Mulder was a teenager. Convinced his sister was abducted by aliens and that there is a massive government conspiracy to hide the existence of said aliens, Mulder will stop at nothing to blow the lid off of the government coverup and bring back his sister. Scully is assigned to Mulder as his partner, originally to report back to their superiors about Mulder's activities, and to debunk his work. She is level-headed and skeptical, and believes that many of these "paranormal" phenomena have scientific explanations.

Overall, X-Files episodes can be divided into two categories: mythology episodes, which are part of the overall arc about aliens and government conspiracies, and "monsters-of-the-week" episodes which are stand-alone episodes. In theory, one could only watch the mythology episodes and still get a killer story, but there are some really great stand-alone episodes that shouldn't be missed. For categorization purposes, I've broken each season down into which episodes to skip, which episodes are part of the mythology, and which episodes are particularly notable. It bears worth mentioning that The X-Files ran 9 season, which was about 2 more than it needed to. Show creator Chris Carter believed the show's 7th season would be the last, and most fans and critics agree that it could have stopped there. Seasons 2-6 are arguably the strongest.

Episodes skipped: 40 out of 202.

Season 1 Number of episodes - 24 Number to skip - 3

Mythology: The pilot (obviously) Deep Throat Conduit E.B.E The Erlenmeyer Flask

Skip: Jersey Devil Shapes Born Again

Notable: Beyond the Sea (for some Scully backstory)

Season 2 (the best season, in my opinion) Number of episodes - 25 Number to skip - 4

Mythology: Little Green Men Sleepless Duane Barry Ascension One Breath Colony End Game Anasazi

Skip: F.Emascula Fearful Symmetry Our Town

Notable: Humbug (takes place in a town where carnival sideshow performers reside in the off-season, and that in itself is pretty entertaining.

Season 3 (the other best season) Number of episodes - 24 Number to skip - 4

Mythology: The Blessing Way Paper Clip Nisei 731 Piper Maru Apocrypha Talitha Cumi

Skip: The List The Walk Grotesque Teso Dos Bichos

Notable: Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose The War of the Coprophages Pusher Jose Chung's From Outer Space (guest star: Alex Trebek!) Quagmire Teso Dos Bichos (both skippable and notable! This episode has the distinction of being the worst episode in the entire series as determined by the fans, the critics, and the show's creators and writers. When you watch it with that in mind, it's actually pretty funny.)

Season 4 Number of episodes - 24 Number to skip - 4

Mythology: Herrenvolk Tunguska Terma Zero Sum Demons Gethsemane

Skip: Teliko Sanguinarium Unrequited Synchrony

Notable: Home (has the distinction of one of two episodes to have a viewer discretion warning prior to airing. So many found it so disturbing that Fox never reran the episode. However, it's considered to be one of the best stand-alone episodes of the whole series) Paper Hearts (not really a mythology episode, but it has some great Mulder character development) Never Again (some great Scully character development) Small Potatoes (just great in general)

Season 5 Number of episodes - 20 Number to skip - 3

Mythology: Redux Redux II Christmas Carol Emily Patient X The Red and The Black The End

Skip: Schizogeny Travelers All Souls

Notable: Post-Modern Prometheus (a retelling of Frankenstein featuring the music of Cher! How great is that?! Fun fact: Cher wanted to appear in the episode, but couldn't due to scheduling) Chinga (written by Stephen King) Bad Blood (Luke Wilson! That kid from The Sandlot!)

The 1998 X-Files Movie goes here. Watch it before proceeding to Season 6.

Season 6 Number of episodes - 22 Number to skip - 6

Mythology: The Beginning Dreamland Dreamland II S.R. 819 Two Fathers One Son Biogenesis

Skip: Terms of Endearment Aqua Mala Alpha Trevor Milago The Unnatural (written and directed by David Duchovny, aka Mulder. It's just so... weird)

Notable: Drive (featuring Planet Earth's favorite actor, Bryan Cranston) Triangle How the Ghosts Stole Christmas (a silly episode, but Lily Tomlin and Ed Asner are just fantastic) Monday Arcadia (Mulder and Scully going undercover as a married couple? Yes please!) Field Trip (one of my favorites and just really well done)

Season 7 (meant to be the last season, so quite a bit gets wrapped up here) Number of episodes - 22 Number to skip - 6

Mythology: Sixth Extinction Sixth Extinction II Sein und Zeit Closure En Ami Requium

Skip: Hungry Rush First Person Shooter All Things Brand X Fight Club (although notable because Kathy Griffin is delightful in this otherwise unremarkable episode)

Notable: Millennium (Chris Carter's spin-off show of the same name was canceled after three seasons. This episode was meant to bring closure to fans of that show.) X-Cops (Remember the show COPS? This is X-COPS! And it's fantastic.) Hollywood A.D. (Mulder and Scully have a movie made of their lives. They are played by Gary Shandling and Tea Leoni aka David Duchovny's then-wife)

Season 8 (Chris Carter didn't stop here, and neither will we) Number of episodes - 21 Number to skip - 8

Mythology: Within Without The Gift Per Manum This is Not Happening Deadalive Three Words Vienen Essence Existence

Skip: Patience Redrum Surekill Salvage Badlaa Medusa Empedocles Alone

Season 9 Number of episodes - 20 Number to skip - 2

Mythology: Nothing Important Happened Today (introducing Cary Elwes as AD Brad Follmer) Nothing Important Happened Today II Trust No 1 Provenence Providence Jump the Shark (brings closure to the short-lived spin-off The Lone Gunmen) William The Truth The Truth II

The 2008 X-Files Movie goes here. It's basically a full-length "Monster-of-the-Week" episode. Skip it.

[skippable-blog]

I don't know how much you watch anime but I would love a list for Attack On Titan

I couldn't stick with it past the first episode, but if anybody could that would be great!

[skippable-blog]

China Beach

This list was submitted by Michael Rich!

Premiering a little over ten years after the Vietnam war ended, China Beach was about the Doctors and Nurses stationed in Vietnam who struggled to stay sane amid the war. ABC thought they had a good MASH-type show on their hands. While the show was a critical hit, it never got the audience ABC thought it should have had.

The first two seasons of China Beach were near-brilliant. The third season was less brilliant. The fourth season, which got cancelled early on and burned off the remaining in June and July of that year, made the unfortunate attempt to jump back and forth in time.Only the last few  episodes of that season 4 made any attempt to bring the characters' lives into context.

Episodes skipped: 14 out of 64.

Season 2 9 and 10: Lost and Found 11: Limbo 12: X-Mas Chnbch VN 67 13: Women in White 14: All about E.E.V 15: Tet 68’ 16: Cherry 17: Crossing the Great Water 18: Psywars 19: Where the Boys Are 20: Vets (aka the show where actual Vietnam Vets address the camera) 21: Twilight 22: After Burner 23: Promise Land 24 and 25: The World

Season 3 26: The Unquiet Earth 27: Skin Deep 28: Dear China Beach 29: Whose Happy Now? 30: Independence Day 31: Ghosts 32: With a Little Help from my friends33x: China Men 34 and 35: How to Stay Alive in Vietnam 36: Magic 37: Nightfall 38: Souvenirs 39: Holly’s Choice (aka the reverse abortion episode) 40: The Rumor of Peace 41: Warriors 42: The Thanks of a Grateful nation 43: Skylark 44: Phoenix 45: F.N.G 46: The Gift 47: Strange Brew

Season 4 48: The Big Bang 49: History Part II She sells more than Sea Shells 50: You, Babe 51: Escape 52: Fever 53: Juice 54: One Giant Leap 55: One Small Step 56: The Call 57: I could have danced all night but didn’t 58: 100 Klicks out (aka fall of saigon episode) 59: The Always Goodbye 60: Quest 61: Rewind (aka the best episode of the entire series) 62: Through and Through 63 and 64: Hello and Goodbye

[skippable-blog]

Grant Morrison's Animal Man

This list was submitted by Brandon Thompson!

This is what got Grant Morrison’s career off the ground in 1989. This lead to him doing JLA, Batman, New X-men, All-Star Superman (the best Superman story), Action Comics, Final Crisis, Doom Patrol, The Invisibles and the upcoming Multiversity and Wonder Woman: Earth One. You might like to read Animal Man. Morrison’s Run goes from #1-26 and Secret Origins #39. It features art from Chaz Truog, Doughazlewood, and about 5 other artists and Brian Bolland (Batman: The Killing Joke) on covers. Now of course I would recommend to read all of it, but if you are in a rush or even buying them online, here is the list. Issues skipped: 6 out of 27.

#1-4 - A must read as it starts off the series and is a nice way to start things off.  #5 - This one is possibly one of the weirdest things i have read but it’s great.  #6 - Part of the invasion story that DC was doing at the time but you can give this one a miss.  #7 - also a part of the invasion story but you will never read a tie-in like this again and it has nothing to do with the previous issue. #8 - Hints at what is to come and a good issue anyway.  #9 - In this issue Buddy has some Physical problems that he talks to Martain Manhunter about and Cliff has a nice side  story. Secret Origins #39 - Buddy’s origin but i reccomend looking it up on wikipedia. Miss #10-12 - You get his origin, a villian just for Animal Man and a team up with vixen. #13 - a follow up to #1-4 and #10-12.  #14 - A creepy issue.  #15-16 - Doesn’t do much over all so come back to them later.  #17  #18-19 - Read. #20 - All you need to know is that Buddy misses his Family.  #21-26 - Basically read everything from here to #26.

[skippable-blog]

The Films of Alfred Hitchcock

This list was submitted by Waldfield!

Alfred Hitchcock's films

Hitchcock is considered by many to be the greatest director of all time.  But with over fifty films, where do we begin?

Bold will be for must-see films.  Plain text is for can-see films.  And strikethrough is for films that may be of some interest to fanatics but will be uninteresting to most. (Some of his more minor films in the early part of his career are left off the list entirely.)

Films skipped: 26 out of 41.

The Lodger (1927): Some striking photography for the silent era, especially in the opening sequence, but a bit plodding as a whole.

The Farmer's Wife (1928)

Blackmail (1929): Most famous for its innovative use of sound in the “guilt” scene, considering what a new invention sound films were in 1929. Otherwise unremarkable.

Murder! (1930)

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934): Hitchcock would revisit this film a few decades later and (perhaps) improve it some, yet neither film is particularly good.

The 39 Steps (1934): Arguably his first fully formed film. It holds up today from beginning to end. Fast and fun, and the first real treatment of his signature themes.

Secret Agent (1936)

Sabotage (1936): Viewing the bus scene in conjunction with any of the Hitchcock interviews discussing that scene will provide valuable insight into not only Hitchcock, but storytelling and film theory as a whole. (Quentin Tarantino edited a small clip from this scene into Inglorious Basterds, and it's obvious that he saw those interviews himself, given how the movie ends.) Not a whole lot else is going on in this movie, unfortunately.

The Girl Was Young (1937)

The Lady Vanishes (1938): Another very fun film. Full of memorable characters.

Jamaica Inn (1939): Hitchcock himself was very displeased with this film, and it's easy to see why. The material and acting are a total mismatch for his style. Charles Laughton, ordinarily very likeable (as in The Old Dark House or as the original Doctor Moreau), feels out of place here.

Rebecca (1940): Powerful gothic tale. Very deep emotional drama. Fantastic characters. Watching this film in my late teens, it disturbed me so much that I refused to ever watch it again. At age 30 I relaxed a little and gave it another try—it thankfully didn't have quite the same effect, but I still enjoyed it.

Foreign Correspondent (1940): Shallow pro-war propaganda. Other films would revisit the same topic with much greater depth and intrigue.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941): Devotees of Hitchcock's sometimes enjoy this uncharacteristically light and humorous film of his. Most will find it a little hollow. (And no, this has nothing whatever to do with the Pitt / Jolie film.)

Suspicion (1941): A bit of a disappointment. Of course there is the iconic milk scene.

Saboteur (1942): Decent, if not great. Has the iconic Statue of Liberty scene, of course.

Shadow of a Doubt (1942): Hitchcock's favorite film that he made. I like it, but I don't think I've ever heard anybody else call it their favorite Hitchcock film, or even put it in their top five!

Lifeboat (1944): A fun drama, and a mature handling of war. Resourceful filmmaking in a very confined setting.

Spellbound (1945): If you can look past the absurd handling of psychology, it's a neat enough drama. It cannot be denied that Hitchcock was making much fuller female characters than most other films of his era. You may want to skip the movie and just watch the Dali sequence on YouTube.

Notorious (1946): Unassuming but powerful.

The Paradine Case (1947)

Rope (1948): I love this wacky film, but I don't think anybody not super into cinema could possibly enjoy it. It employs the highly daring, difficult, and complex task of being shot entirely in ten-minute takes. It's an impressive feat, and a bold experiment, but it's probably to the detriment of the pacing and style of the film. If you're going to watch this, you need to be in the right frame of mind. Even its fans would admit it lacks the excitement of his more famous works.

Under Capricorn (1949): Dull.

Stage Fright (1950): Hitchcock, no.

Strangers on a Train (1950): I went back and forth a few times whether to make this plain text or bold. Either way, it's definitely good.

I Confess (1953)

Dial M for Murder (1954): A promising start, but it really drags.

Rear Window (1954): One of his most celebrated films, and often a go-to for film classes. I'm avoiding bold simply because you almost can't fully enjoy it without studying it, which casual viewers may not want to do.

To Catch a Thief (1955): Unimpressive, predictable.

The Trouble With Harry (1955): Entertaining. Could arguably warrant strikethrough. (It's obviously not as good as Rear Window or Strangers on a Train, but that's what happens when you sort 41 films into only three categories!)

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956): I'd call it better than the original, but why is Hitchcock making a Doris Day vehicle?

The Wrong Man (1956): This film puts you under a lot of stress, and for a very small payoff.

Vertigo (1958): How does a movie like this even exist!  It's obviously amazing, and I don't think I could add anything to it beyond what generations of critics already have. I will simply caution you not to make it the first Hitchcock film you see, because it's a comment on himself as much as it is on psychology, love, or cinema, and you'll understand it much better if you know what he's like. (I also don't recommend seeing this film until you're old enough to have been in love, because it couldn't possibly make sense before then. I made that mistake, watching it at age 17 and thinking it was pretty good. Then I watched it again at 21 and was blown away!)

North by Northwest (1959): Obviously.

Psycho (1960): If you only see one Hitchcock film, it should probably be this.

The Birds (1963): This is my personal favorite of his, but I'm aware that I'm in the minority with that opinion.

Marnie (1964): We are now at the end of his peak era.

Torn Curtain (1966): Not without its charms, but it's clear he's past his prime.

Topaz (1969): He was 70 years old when he made this, and I hate to admit it, but it shows.

Frenzy (1972): The best of his late-era films, but not a good film.

Family Plot (1976): Watchable, and strangely sweet even. But I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who hadn't already seen at least 15–20 of his earlier films, because there are way better ones to watch first.

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Bond. James Bond.

This post was submitted by tumblr user feitclub!

With 23 “official” films in 50+ years, James Bond has a dedicated following around the world. But even fans admit (and debate) which films are must-see and which can be ignored. I’m here to deliver my definitive opinion which is completely arbitrary.

Films skipped: 11 out of 23.

(Image source)

One thing that’s slow to evolve: sexism and racism. So-called “Bond girls” are often disposable, interchangeable sex objects. Bond, his allies, and even his enemies are overwhelmingly white, and the films that have non-white characters often indulge in stereotypes.

For more on Bond, you can read this exhaustive analysis of every film by FILM CRIT HULK.

The first five films star SEAN CONNERY who still embodies the role today. Watch all five, as there’s a sort-of arc that unfolds as Bond faces off against SPECTRE

Dr. No (1962) 

From Russia with Love (1963)

Goldfinger (1964)

Thunderball (1965)

You Only Live Twice (1967) - takes place in Japan, so it’s sexist and racist.

GEORGE LAZENBY only made one film and whatever its sins, you should definitely watch it

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

SEAN CONNERY returned for one more film and it’s a fiasco. Skip it.

Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

ROGER MOORE would prove to be the longest-serving actor in the role with seven films over twelve years. While it pains the child inside me to say this, most of his films ares not good.

Live and Let Die (1973) - Bond in a blaxploitation film. With voodoo. “Problematic” is an understatement.

The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) - Evil Christopher Lee isn’t reason enough to make this work

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) WATCH THIS ONE

Moonraker (1979) - Bond in space, because Star Wars happened

For Your Eyes Only (1981) - Not bad! But not all that good either.

Octopussy (1983) - ……..

A View to a Kill (1985) - Christopher Walken! Grace Jones! But Moore was pushing 60 and it showed.

TIMOTHY DALTON made two movies before the series became mired in a legal battle. Watch them both.

The Living Daylights (1987)

Licence to Kill (1989)

PIERCE BROSNAN delivered one great movie and then everything went to hell.

GoldenEye (1995) - this one works

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) - no

The World Is Not Enough (1999) - No

Die Another Day (2002) - NO, MADONNA, NO.

DANIEL CRAIG took over in a true “reboot” that made Bond an untested rookie. It also marked a return to continuity.

Casino Royale (2006) - amazing

Quantum of Solace (2008) - a direct sequel, it adds nothing

Skyfall (2012) - his last?

For the “wait didn’t I see one with…” crowd, there are two UNofficial films that exist for reasons too complicated to get into. They can both be skipped:

Casino Royale (1967) - an all-star “satire” with six credited directors that makes absolutely no sense. 

Never Say Never Again (1983) - One last Connery comeback, it’s dear to my heart but it’s also a clone of Thunderball. Skip it.

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Hi! Will there be a list for The Legend of Korra series? I loved the last airbender series but I've heard some really mixed things about LOK so I've been wary of watching it

I hope we get a list for that -- it'd certainly be of use to me (I stopped at the S1 finale).