Once again, you came up with dozens of great suggestions for the third TV Roundtable Readers’ Choice pick, this one having to do with “interlopers.” Once again, we had to narrow it down to just 10, a task far more difficult than we thought it would be. And once again, we cut a bunch of stuff we would have loved to have talked about. But here are your 10 nominees, with the poll just below. (A note to those of you who nominated Crossfire. What a great suggestion! Unfortunately, it’s impossible to find the full episode anywhere, so we sadly had to cut the nomination.)You have until Tuesday night to vote, when we’ll tally them up. The winner will be announced in this week’s roundtable.
All In The Family, “Sammy’s Visit” (season 2, episode 21; originally aired 2/19/1972): Perhaps remarkably, this Norman Lear classic has yet to grace the TV Roundtable with its presence. Could Sammy Davis, Jr., proving an interloper into the quiet lives of the Bunker clan be the thing that carries the show into our good graces?
Cheers, “Bar Bet” (season 3, episode 18; originally aired 2/14/1985): Our humble roundtable’s origins began in our weekly reviews of old episodes of Cheers, something that quickly proved to have a limited audience. But maybe you’d want to read all about this interlope-y episode of Cheers for old time’s sake? It stars Michael Richards and “Jacqueline Bissett”!
The Dukes Of Hazzard, “The New Dukes” (season 5, episode 1; originally aired 9/24/1982): Another interloper type we didn’t really touch on is that of the people who come in to replace departed cast members. And was there a more bafflingly wrongheaded instance of this than Coy and Vance Duke, brought in to replace Bo and Luke Duke during a salary dispute?
Father Ted, “Escape From Victory”/“Kicking Bishop Brennan Up The Arse” (season 3, episodes 5 and 6; originally aired 4/10/1998 and 4/17/1998): A bunch of Father Ted episodes were nominated, but we decided these were the best two to fit the theme, so here you go. Here, a disgraced Ted has to battle his way back after some interlopers seem to have him down for the count.
The Incredible Hulk, “Dark Side” (season 4, episode 4; originally aired 12/5/1980): Sometimes, the protagonist himself is the interloper, as in this episode, when David Banner’s experiments put the family he’s staying with in danger from a certain green individual who happens to reside within Dr. Banner’s person. Would you like the TV Roundtable when it’s angry?
Mystery Science Theater 3000, “Time Chasers” (season 8, episode 21; originally aired 11/22/1997): Mike’s brother shows up for a while in an episode that shows just how weird it would be if there were interlopers in the theater with the rest of the Satellite of Love crew. Plus, this will give us another chance to talk about Mystery Science Theater 3000, which has never happened before.
Northern Exposure, “Spring Break” (season 2, episode 5; originally aired 5/6/1991): Spring brings all manner of kooks to Cicely, Alaska, and the good residents of the town are forced to put up with all the weirdness. If you’ve never seen this seminal dramedy, you’re in for a treat if you let our Roundtable dissect it, or even if you don’t!
The Real Ghostbusters, “Janine, You’ve Changed” (season 5, episode 4; originally aired 9/8/1990): Here’s a real wild card, scripted by Babylon 5’s J. Michael Straczynski! Slimer realizes that the Janine of the title has been voiced by several different actresses over the course of the series and tries to prove it to the other guys. No, really!
Space Ghost Coast To Coast, “Switcheroo” (season 4, episode 9; originally aired 9/12/1997): Brothers seem to be a popular topic for interloper episodes, and here’s one where Space Ghost’s brother Chad takes over the show. This being Space Ghost Coast To Coast, you can just about bet that Chad—is his last name Ghost?—is evil.
Survivor, “The Great Lie” (season 7, episode 11; originally aired 11/26/2003): We got a few great pitches for a reality show episode, but we’re going with this one, where so-called “Johnny Fairplay” pulls off a huge lie to stay in the game, one that will change both the season and how the game is played. Sometimes, a show’s contestants are the interlopers, and here’s an example of that.
Vote below, and vote wisely!