The X-Files: Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose (3.4)

Despite having only one other script under his belt so far, we're already aware that Darin Morgan is all about subverting expectations. Whether it's the argumentative dwarf in Humbug, or the agents awaiting the arrival of a "spooky" expert on unexplainable murders here, his M.O. is to constantly surprise. Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose as an episode is pretty surprising, as it's not only hysterical, but also profoundly moving.

Dirty Sexy Money: Pilot (1.1)

Dirty Sexy Money was a short-lived primetime soap opera which attempted to relocate the decadent wealth and trashy romantic and professional entanglements of Dynasty to the 21st century. While it lacked the all-out campiness of its ridiculous predecessors, Dirty Sexy Money did have its own unique charm, helped by a surprisingly classy ensemble cast of major stars and fun new discoveries.

The X-Files: D.P.O. (3.3)

It's an arduous task for any writer to craft the mystery-of-the-week episode that follows a run of conspiracy-heavy X-Files hours, but Howard Gordon does a pretty great job of it here. While D.P.O. is still a little jarring in its simplicity, there's a fun satirical quality about the whole thing which makes it one of the few Gordon-scripted episodes worth your time.

The X-Files: Paper Clip (3.2)

So we actually got some answers. I'm sure they're all made pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but Paper Clip to me worked best as a heavy barrage of revelations. It's also a successful action episode, full of memorable moments like Skinner's smack-down of The CSM and Mulder witnessing the UFO overhead. Crazy epic.

The X-Files: The Blessing Way (3.1)

Season three opens, and with it a whole new perspective. There's a confidence and a more defined sense of ambition to this episode that has so far been absent from the series as a whole, with an undeniable sense of rising dread as Scully uncovers a deeper conspiracy at work and we as an audience invited to meet the power players at the center of the show's mythology.

Nip/Tuck: Granville Trapp (3.5)

In retrospect, the Carver really wasn't good for the show. This episode in particular just didn't sit right, with story twists appearing to just be thrown in at random. And watching this episode after watching the season finale makes it seem even more lazily plotted.

Nip/Tuck: Rhea Reynolds (3.4)

As much as she sucked, Rhea Reynolds certainly got pulled through the ringer toward the end of this episode. Her surgery scene was terrifying (I had to push mute after a while), and the closing moments were even worse, with The Carver back on the scene and more knife-happy than ever. I was a little confused over the anesthetic though. Did Christian sabotage it on purpose? Or was it just good ol' fashioned karma that got Rhea?

In Treatment: Week Nine (1.41 - 1.43)

For the final three episodes, we were given some resolution, but not so much that it clashed with the naturalistic feel of the show in general. While the fact that pretty much the entire cast have either quit therapy or died is a little contrived, In Treatment has successfully crafted an absorbing closer to the year. Along the way, a lot of the show's patients developed new sides to their personalities, while fittingly other patients remained stagnant. It's the realist approach to such deep, damaged characters that has made the series so powerful.