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There are some really great real-time episodes of TV shows from over the years. A real-time episode is quite self-explanatory: it’s an installment of a show with a story that follows a specific runtime. Some of the best TV shows of all time have an episode like this, although the context often varies. Real-time TV episodes often follow a plot that sees characters rushing to save the day, for example, although this isn’t an exclusive rule.
Real-time episodes are an inventive and creative way for a show to mix things up. However, they are not the same as bottle episodes of TV shows, as real-time stories aren’t restricted to a particular setting, but rather a time frame instead. Of course, some of these examples aren’t exactly to the second, and viewers need to take into account editing processes and commercial breaks.
10 "Charlie Work"
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia - Season 10, Episode 4
“Charlie Work” is one of the best episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The episode focuses on the titular character’s desperate attempts to get Paddy’s Pub up to standards for a health inspection, but the gang’s usual ridiculous escapades get in the way. The continuous scene follows Charlie rushing around the bar, hiding the many health and safety disasters that could award them with a low rating, and him fixing the gang’s mistakes as they try to run a scheme involving chickens and airline miles.
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This episode highlights how intelligent Charlie really is, despite the gang being unbothered about the lengths he goes to in order to keep their establishment open. “Charlie Work” has the same runtime as the average It’s Always Sunny episode, but watching these events pan out across roughly 25 minutes makes them feel even more stressful. However, there are still plenty of hilarious moments throughout, like Dee falling from the joke stool and Charlie trying not to lose his temper.
9 "The One Where No One's Ready"
Friends - Season 3, Episode 2
“The One Where No One's Ready” is often considered Friends’ simplest episode, which it is, but this doesn’t mean it isn’t an intriguing watch. The episode focuses on Ross’ attempts to get the rest of the gang ready for an evening at the museum, which naturally doesn’t go to plan. Despite “The One Where No One's Ready” being set in one single location, Rachel and Monica’s apartment, there are many things that distract everyone from being ready.
Between Joey and Chandler’s arguments over a chair, Monica grieving her relationship with Richard, Phoebe’s wardrobe malfunctions, and Ross’ attitude towards Rachel, everything that can go wrong does. The countdown of 22 minutes, which Ross reminds everyone of at any given opportunity, makes things even tenser. However, this episode is one that makes audiences give up caring about Ross, mainly because everyone else’s subplots are far more interesting and funny.
8 "Ticking Clocks"
Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Season 6, Episode 14
“Ticking Clocks” is a brilliantly powerful episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which takes place during a 21 and a half minute countdown. While the squad searches for a mysterious hacker attempting to gain access to a server full of top secret information, Hitchcock and Scully embark on a dramatic mission to buy and cook some garlic bread that will finish simultaneously with their lasagna. What works so well about this episode is that the countdown is set up by Hitchcock and Scully’s wild journey, and the threat of the hacker lines up with this coincidentally.
“Ticking Clocks” amazingly wraps up with Hitchcock and Scully eating their meal, finally, but it also demonstrates just how much can happen in such a short period of time.
“Ticking Clocks” stands out because of the unnerving timescale that the squad are working against, and as the episode progresses, the stakes are raised even more. Amy’s fear of missing out and Rosa’s collapsing relationship are both fantastic subplots, and while the hunt for the hacker is always at the forefront, they don’t distract from the main story at hand. “Ticking Clocks” amazingly wraps up with Hitchcock and Scully eating their meal, finally, but it also demonstrates just how much can happen in such a short period of time.
7 "Conversations With Dead People"
Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Season 7, Episode 7
“Conversations with Dead People” is a unique episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer for several reasons. While it is told in real time, none of the main characters actually interact with one another in “Conversations with Dead People,” too, and it’s the only episode of Buffy without Xander. The episode jumps between various interactions the characters have at several locations across Sunnydale, such as Buffy reuniting with a vampiric ex-classmate and Dawn exorcising a strange paranormal force she believes to be her late mother.
The title card outlines the numbers on the clock, which establishes the episode is set in real-time. However, the interactions each character has are so conversational and dialogue heavy that it feels like they’re actually panning out in front of viewers. There are plenty of emotional moments in “Conversations with Dead People,” too, like Willow speaking with a ghost of a girl who claims to have been sent by Tara. Their discussion about using magic and committing suicide is painful, but the slow pacing of this adds to the profoundness of the situation.
6 "42"
Doctor Who - Season 3, Episode 6
Doctor Who
Release Date 2005 - 2021
Directors Graeme Harper, Euros Lyn, Douglas Mackinnon, Jamie Magnus Stone, Charles Palmer, Rachel Talalay, Joe Ahearne, James Strong, Jamie Childs, Saul Metzstein, Toby Haynes, Wayne Che Yip, Nick Hurran, Richard Clark, James Hawes, Daniel Nettheim, Colin Teague, Keith Boak, Azhur Saleem, Adam Smith, Andrew Gunn, Nida Manzoor, Lawrence Gough, Paul Murphy
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Jodie Whittaker
The Doctor
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“42” is one of the most underrated Doctor Who stories ever, which follows the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones’ attempts to stop a passing spaceship from crashing into a nearby sun. The sun possesses various characters throughout and goes on a murderous rampage, which makes the 42-minute countdown even scarier. However, it’s not a simple fix. Martha and other crew members of the SS Pentallian need to unlock several doors to the manual controls, each of which are protected by questions from humanity’s history.
Of course, the concern of crashing into the fiery ball of fire in space is the main threat of the episode, but there is also the fear that the Doctor won’t survive the sun’s possession.
The discovery that the SS Pentallian are mining the sun for fuel makes things even more complicated, especially as the Doctor and Martha, one of Doctor Who’s best and unappreciated companions, are unable to explain that the crew are now trying to leave without causing any further damage.
5 "Golden Hour"
Grey's Anatomy - Season 7, Episode 15
Grey's Anatomy
9/10
Release Date March 27, 2005
Directors Rob Corn, Kevin McKidd, Debbie Allen, Chandra Wilson, Allison Liddi-Brown, Jeannot Szwarc, Tony Phelan
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Ellen Pompeo
Dr. Meredith Grey
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Chandra Wilson
Dr. Miranda Bailey
“Golden Hour” is a TV show episode that doesn’t get the attention it deserves and, overall, one of the most underrated episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. The episode takes place during the titular time period, between the hours of 6 and 7pm, and focuses on Meredith’s dreams of becoming Chief Resident. Meredith’s monologue about all the things that can happen during the golden hour is rather deep, but it makes her mission in running the ER that much more interesting.
“Golden Hour” allows Meredith to prove herself as a medical professional, and in a way, it serves as her unofficial interview for the position. However, there are plenty of other dramatics throughout, each of which reminds audiences of the clicking clock, like Bailey sneaking up with Eli and Adele’s sudden arrival. Interestingly, the average episode of Grey’s Anatomy is less than an hour, although the few flashback scenes that are littered throughout make up the gaps in the runtime.
4 "Life Time"
MASH - Season 8, Episode 11
MASH’s “Life Time” gives the characters exactly 20 minutes to save a life, which is a drastic way to set up an episode that takes place in real time. The sudden arrival of a wounded soldier interrupts Hawkeye’s card game, and in a rush, the gang jumps to perform surgery that will hopefully save the life of the injured man. The fear that the operation will kill or paralyze the soldier, despite Hawkeye being an expert of MASH’s Meatball surgery, lurks within every character.
Unlike other real-time episodes of TV shows, MASH’s “Life Time” actually includes a ticking clock in the corner of the screen from the moment they realize that the soldier’s blood is cut off from the spinal cord. The 20-minute timer quickly begins as the gang gets to work, as at the end of the countdown, it’s more than likely that the soldier will enter renal failure or already be paralyzed. This is an incredibly profound episode of MASH, but it most importantly demonstrates just how crucial the term “a matter of life and death” actually is.
3 "Thirty-Eight Minutes"
Stargate Atlantis - Season 1, Episode 3
Stargate Atlantis’ “Thirty-Eight Minutes” is the only installment of the show that actually follows real time, at least for the entirety of an episode. The episode’s name refers to the amount of time a Stargate can remain open, but when a puddle jumper gets stuck in the portal, a 38-minute countdown starts and leaves everyone to desperately try and figure out a solution. While the reason for the timing of this episode is simple, it’s still a great way to demonstrate how detrimental it is for the crew to fix the issue.
The search to find a way to save John Sheppard’s life, after a strange alien bug attaches itself to him, is another high-stakes moment in “Thirty-Eight Minutes,” too.
However, there is another problem that makes the countdown even more dramatic. The search to find a way to save John Sheppard’s life, after a strange alien bug attaches itself to him, is another high-stakes moment in “Thirty-Eight Minutes,” too. While this works as a brilliant standalone episode, it also provides more context and Stargate Atlantis lore. With everyone’s lives at risk and not one, but two, huge threats to face, “Thirty-Eight Minutes” is a fantastic real-time episode of TV.
2 "24 Minutes"
The Simpsons - Season 18, Episode 21
The Simpsons often parodies popular TV shows, and the episode “24 Minutes” hilariously mocks Jack Bauer in 24. “24 Minutes” borrows from 24’s tense and action-driven format and follows several different subplots throughout, like Bart’s attempts to stop a powerful stink bomb and Marge rushing to bake something for the school bake sale. This episode also includes a crossover with some members of the 24 cast, with the likes of Keifer Sutherland and Mary Lynn Rajskub reprising their respective roles.
The way these parts of the story interlink with one another stays true to 24, but ensures that it is still full of the classic humor The Simpsons is best known for. For example, despite the title, Marge is facing a 27-minute countdown, rather than 24. “24 Minutes” also replicates 24’s iconic split screens, visible timer, and extended opening credits, too. Funnily enough, this episode is actually 21 minutes long, but with the commercial breaks taken into account, the title actually reflects the runtime of “24 Minutes.”
1 “My Coffee With Niles”
Frasier - Season 1, Episode 24
“My Coffee With Niles” is a fantastic ending to Frasier season 1, which focuses on a rather deep conversation between Frasier and Niles in a coffee shop. Unlike other real-time TV episodes, “My Coffee With Niles” stays truer to the timescale than many, and even the commercial breaks are taken into account. For example, Frasier steps into the bathroom just before the break, and after the advertisements, he emerges again. The constant interruptions that Niles and Frasier experience are hilarious, but they also highlight how long it takes for the pair to actually have their conversation.
The entirety of this episode takes place at Café Nervosa, Frasier’s iconic coffee chain, but the qualms that arise throughout are linked to all manner of characters and contexts. Frasier and Niles forget Martin’s birthday the week before, Frasier’s standards for coffee are higher than ever, and the question “Are you happy?” is constantly lingering. There’s also a brilliantly funny fourth-wall-breaking moment that jokes about David Hyde Pierce being gay, too. While the countdown isn’t as detrimental in this real-time TV show episode as in others, it’s still an intriguing format for such an installment of Frasier.
English (US) ·