Cassava Films - The List of 9

the list of 9 for february 11, 2007:
NINE "EXPERIMENTAL" EPISODES OF FAMOUS TV SHOWS

You may have heard of the term "very special episode" - it's when a TV series gets serious andbreaks from its normal light-hearted tone to handle a controversial issue (suicide, drug abuse,kidnapping, etc.). Sitcoms like Diff'rent Strokes practically showcased nothing but"very special episodes." But that's not what I'm talking about here. No, this list honors thosesingularly weird episodes of notable TV shows where the very format of the program was reimagined, if only for an evening. These are among the most memorable:

X-Files: "X-Cops." The FOX network ran both TheX-Files and the non-fiction Cops, so one night the two series were very cleverly meldedtogether in this X-Files episode which was shot on handheld video like a typicalCops program.
Law & Order: "Aftershock." The long-running series took abreak from its regular format after the death penalty was reinstated in New York. This episodebegins with most of the characters of the show witnessing a prisoner being put to death. The restof the hour follows them as they each, in their own way, lose a bit of their sanity (and one losesa life) in the aftermath. This may have been the only example of a "Law & Order" in which therewas no crime to solve.
Family Ties: "A, My Name Is Alex." This hourlong episode ofthe hit 80's sitcom was a big success, though it was fundamentally bizarre: shot entirely on a blackstage, Our Town-style, it's about Michael J. Fox's character dealing with a friend'ssuicide. As I remember it, they only had one commercial break as well - an intermission, if youwill, for it was very much like watching a bit of live theatre.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: "Once More, With Feeling." Thiswasn't the first series to have a musical episode; Xena did it earlier, and of course there'sthat nauseating Happy Days "Gigi" episode. But the Buffy fans would kill me if Ididn't mention it.
ER: "Ambush." This documentary-style episode was shot livewith two video cameras. The idea partly came from the show's then-star George Clooney, whoseobsession with live TV continued with a live production of Fail-Safe, which Clooneyproduced for network TV in 2000, as well as with his theatrical feature Good Night and GoodLuck, with live television as its central topic and shot, like Fail-Safe, in black andwhite.
Moonlighting: "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice," "Big Man onMulberry Street" and "Atomic Shakespeare." Moonlighting was one of the mostcreative TV series during the 1980's, and routinely broke the rules with its cast addressing thecamera, speaking out of character, sometimes even walking off the set and into the soundstage. Itwas all part of the fun. So it's no surprise that the show had an extra-large array ofexperimental episodes. The three examples listed above were, respectively, a black and white40's-style noir episode (introduced by Orson Welles, shortly before his death), a musicalfantasia set to a Billy Joel song, and, most uniquely, a period episode with the cast wearingElizabethan garb and speaking in iambic pentameter while sending up Shakespeare's Taming of theShrew.
Star Trek Voyager: "Bride of Chaotica!" All the StarTrek shows offered plenty of reality-bending storylines. But a fan favorite from theotherwise weak Voyager period was this one, shot like a cheesy 1930's sci fi serial,complete with hammy acting, scratchy black and white cinematography and corny music.
Felicity: "Help for the Lovelorn." J.J. Abrams' first TV hit was the fluffy Felicity, which had a bit of fun with this episode that was styled after a typical Twilight Zone storyline, complete with black and white cinematography, 1950's costumes and a spooky atmosphere.
M*A*S*H. But whatever these other shows did, thegroundbreaking M*A*S*H did it first. There are almost too many unusual episodes in thislong-running war dramedy to list, but chief among them are "The Interview," a collection ofnewsreel-style interviews with the characters (shot in, you guessed it, black and white); "Pointof View," shot entirely from the POV of a wounded soldier; "Life Time," unfolding in real-timeduring the show's 22 minutes (predating 24's shtick); and "Dreams," consisting almostsolely of the main characters' disturbing dream sequences.