Warm and happy TV episodes. Entire seasons need not apply.
September 18, 2022 1:57 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for individual episodes of TV shows that are wonderfully warm without awkwardness, tragedy or cruelty. Think the very best episodes of Call the Midwife or Brooklyn 99 or MASH. Silly or sincere are both fine. I just want to be beaming or laughing or crying happy tears at the end. I don't care if I need to pick it up from the middle or if I'm missing some context. Thanks!
So much of a Ted Lasso fits this bill-let me
Look at specific episodes for you if you haven’t seen it already.
posted by purenitrous at 2:04 PM on September 18, 2022 [6 favorites]
Look at specific episodes for you if you haven’t seen it already.
posted by purenitrous at 2:04 PM on September 18, 2022 [6 favorites]
Best answer: I am right now watching my favorite episode of Derry Girls which is Season 2, episode 3 in which the Derry Girls sneak out to see a Take That concert.
posted by Constance Mirabella at 2:09 PM on September 18, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by Constance Mirabella at 2:09 PM on September 18, 2022 [5 favorites]
Best answer: Take me out to the holosuite from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is on the silly side, but it’s a go-to comfort watch for me. Low (but not no) stakes, and very warm.
The finale of The Good Place always makes me cry in a good way.
If you don’t mind a murder mystery element, the X Files episode Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose always gives me a kind of quiet happy feeling.
posted by theotherdurassister at 2:27 PM on September 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
The finale of The Good Place always makes me cry in a good way.
If you don’t mind a murder mystery element, the X Files episode Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose always gives me a kind of quiet happy feeling.
posted by theotherdurassister at 2:27 PM on September 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Seconding Ted Lasso, the Christmas episode in particular (S2E4, "Carol of the Bells"). So many acts of kindness and getting out in the community (or making community).
posted by Hardcore Poser at 2:48 PM on September 18, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by Hardcore Poser at 2:48 PM on September 18, 2022 [7 favorites]
Best answer: Ted Lasso, season 1, ep 8
posted by unknowncommand at 2:58 PM on September 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by unknowncommand at 2:58 PM on September 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The Christmas episode from Season One of BBC’s Ghosts. It is lovely and left me with a good feeling.
(Context for the show, which I stress is a comedy and not at all scary despite the title: a young London couple inherit a large estate from a distant relative. The wife hits her head and is suddenly able to see ghosts (the husband still can’t see them but knows they are there because the wife tells him). There is a group of ghosts who have haunted the house for a long time (one of them is a cave man who has haunted the land for millennia). They squabble amongst themselves and are like a family, and they grow to be very fond of the young couple, who also get quite attached to them. I think it’s a really nice show about chosen family and also very funny and touching.)
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:14 PM on September 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
(Context for the show, which I stress is a comedy and not at all scary despite the title: a young London couple inherit a large estate from a distant relative. The wife hits her head and is suddenly able to see ghosts (the husband still can’t see them but knows they are there because the wife tells him). There is a group of ghosts who have haunted the house for a long time (one of them is a cave man who has haunted the land for millennia). They squabble amongst themselves and are like a family, and they grow to be very fond of the young couple, who also get quite attached to them. I think it’s a really nice show about chosen family and also very funny and touching.)
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:14 PM on September 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Also, Ted Lasso, season 1, ep 3
posted by unknowncommand at 3:15 PM on September 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by unknowncommand at 3:15 PM on September 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The Parks and Recreation season 3 finale, 'Little Sebastian.'
posted by box at 3:19 PM on September 18, 2022 [12 favorites]
posted by box at 3:19 PM on September 18, 2022 [12 favorites]
Best answer: Joe Pera Talks With You, s2e8, "Joe Pera Watches Internet Videos with You". Joe Pera and his girlfriend can't sleep so they stay up all night watching Internet videos.
posted by billjings at 3:19 PM on September 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by billjings at 3:19 PM on September 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
Best answer: And the series finale episode of Detectorists. Just good feelings all around.
And the series finale of Schitt’s Creek. I cried unashamedly with happy tears. Oh and also the SC episode “Life is a Cabaret.”
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:25 PM on September 18, 2022 [6 favorites]
And the series finale of Schitt’s Creek. I cried unashamedly with happy tears. Oh and also the SC episode “Life is a Cabaret.”
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:25 PM on September 18, 2022 [6 favorites]
Best answer: There's a murder mystery element, but one of the handful of episodes I saw of the Miss Phryne murder mystery show was the one where her assistant gets married (looking it up, I see it's "Death Do Us Part"). Even though I wasn't very familiar with the characters, I thought it was very sweet. But you might want to double-check with someone else who knows the show.
posted by praemunire at 3:56 PM on September 18, 2022
posted by praemunire at 3:56 PM on September 18, 2022
Best answer: I loved the series finale of Hart of Dixie.
posted by Sassyfras at 4:20 PM on September 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Sassyfras at 4:20 PM on September 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Another good X-Files episode that would fit the bill is “Post-Modern Prometheus”.
posted by lovableiago at 4:39 PM on September 18, 2022
posted by lovableiago at 4:39 PM on September 18, 2022
Best answer: Schitt’s Creek Season 4 Episode 6 - Open Mic
posted by somedaycatlady at 5:18 PM on September 18, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by somedaycatlady at 5:18 PM on September 18, 2022 [10 favorites]
Best answer: The Visitor, Deep Space Nine. It is deeply moving and heartfelt and consistently ranked as one of the best episodes of the entire show.
posted by O9scar at 6:21 PM on September 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by O9scar at 6:21 PM on September 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
The episode Blink from Doctor Who - Season 3, episode 10.
posted by gudrun at 7:09 PM on September 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by gudrun at 7:09 PM on September 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Bob’s Burgers the Hauntening episode.
posted by hazel79 at 7:24 PM on September 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by hazel79 at 7:24 PM on September 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I have watched Episode 5 of the 1996 Pride and Prejudice TV series, so many times. Perfect.
posted by honey-barbara at 8:13 PM on September 18, 2022
posted by honey-barbara at 8:13 PM on September 18, 2022
Best answer: "The Supremes" - The West Wing: season 5, episode 17.
posted by rjs at 9:52 PM on September 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by rjs at 9:52 PM on September 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer:The episode Blink from Doctor Who - Season 3, episode 10.
Um, Blink is terrifying?
posted by suelac at 10:52 PM on September 18, 2022 [6 favorites]
Taskmaster, almost all episodes available on youtube. I am working through season 13 now, but will honestly just randomly grab an episode sometimes and then loop back through that series. I have choked with laughter on some episodes. Everything is low stakes but the participants (usually 80% professional comedians) all take it as a sort of improv madness.
Another very good one is Would I Lie To You? (WILTY) which is also available on youtube in various versions. Any episode involving Bob Mortimor will have you howling.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 12:16 AM on September 19, 2022 [2 favorites]
Another very good one is Would I Lie To You? (WILTY) which is also available on youtube in various versions. Any episode involving Bob Mortimor will have you howling.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 12:16 AM on September 19, 2022 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I don’t know if Better Off Ted is still on Hulu, but if it is, season 1 episode 4 , Racial Sensitivity, and season 1 episode 8 You Are the Boss of Me are both just wonderful. You can also throw in episode 12, Jabberwocky.
And if you want to go with classics, season 6 episode 7, Chuckles Bites the Dust, from the Mary Tyler Moore Show is incredible. So is the season 1 Christmas episode (14), Christmas and the Hard Luck Kid.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 1:49 AM on September 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
And if you want to go with classics, season 6 episode 7, Chuckles Bites the Dust, from the Mary Tyler Moore Show is incredible. So is the season 1 Christmas episode (14), Christmas and the Hard Luck Kid.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 1:49 AM on September 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Yeah hell no to Blink - that episode gives me nightmares and it's been like 10 years since I watched it.
I really enjoy Hilda as a whole series, but S1E4 "Chapter 4: The Sparrow Scouts" is super lovely. I would recommend S1E3 "Chapter 3: The Bird Parade" but the protagonist witnesses some cruelty that moves her to stand up for the bird that is harmed, so that may not fit your prompt.
posted by yueliang at 4:17 AM on September 19, 2022
I really enjoy Hilda as a whole series, but S1E4 "Chapter 4: The Sparrow Scouts" is super lovely. I would recommend S1E3 "Chapter 3: The Bird Parade" but the protagonist witnesses some cruelty that moves her to stand up for the bird that is harmed, so that may not fit your prompt.
posted by yueliang at 4:17 AM on September 19, 2022
Best answer: I really love the Thanksgiving episodes of Bob's Burgers. Bob loves Thanksgiving so much and gets so excited and his family do not necessarily join him in this excitement. Some of the best ones are Season 7, episode 9, I Bob Your Pardon; Season 10, Episode 8, Now We're Not Cooking With Gas; Season 8, Episode 5, Thanks-hoarding; Season 5, Episode 4, Dawn of the Peck; Season 4, Episode 5, Turkey in a Can; and my favorite, Season 6, Episode 4, Gayle Makin' Bob Sled.
posted by SeedStitch at 6:30 AM on September 19, 2022
posted by SeedStitch at 6:30 AM on September 19, 2022
Best answer: I'm so glad I'm not the first to recommend Take Me Out to the Holosuite. Even though I know what's gonna happen, I sob happy tears every time Rom comes up to bat...
posted by avocet at 8:18 AM on September 19, 2022
posted by avocet at 8:18 AM on September 19, 2022
Eh, Blink is a complete story in an hour, with two happy personal relationships achieved, despite life/circumstances, and the only death is someone who dies of old age. It has scary elements but is poignant and lovely with a wonderful ending so I disagree with the negative views.
posted by gudrun at 10:22 AM on September 19, 2022
posted by gudrun at 10:22 AM on September 19, 2022
Best answer: Northern Exposure, "Spring Break" (S2, E5)
posted by bricoleur at 3:51 PM on September 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by bricoleur at 3:51 PM on September 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm a little late here, but we're watching the entire King Of The Hill series (again), and episode "Aisle 8A" (S4 E5) is really sweet, especially at the end. Some great girl-power vibes in that one. Written by Garland Testa, who I now see actually wrote several similarly themed episodes for the series (and is a POC). Yay diversity in mainstream TV! (20+ years ago)
posted by intermod at 7:18 PM on September 20, 2022
posted by intermod at 7:18 PM on September 20, 2022
I haven't seen most of these, but this list sounded promising.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:11 AM on September 21, 2022
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:11 AM on September 21, 2022
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posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:01 PM on September 18, 2022 [5 favorites]