Is it how it makes you feel when the episode is over? Is it what the episode says about humanity or society? Are the best episodes the ones that make you laugh? Or the ones that make you cry? Or the ones that make you think?
I honestly don't know. TV is way more difficult to pin down than film, which is by nature a microcosm of a story told in less than three hours, whereas TV is episodes of stories told in 30 minute chunks over a period of years. The options for TV storytelling are far more numerous, and just about anything can be done with any premise. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Like I said, it's hard to pin down why a show is good.
I recently started watching the BBC show 'Merlin'. I had seen the pilot back in 2009 and my first reaction was one of abject horror and dismay. "What the hell?" I thought, seeing Arthur as this bully jock and Merlin as a hopeless dork, and that absolutely annoying "oooh thank you, thank you, thankyou!!" line. Among other things, sexual tension between Morgana and Arthur? In the legends, they were cousins! Gross! Then again, in the legends, Guinivere was an actual princess, not a servant, so there's plenty that got butchered. Probably the worst offense was to have Merlin be younger than Arthur.
Nevertheless, I watched the second episode and found that to be another dumb show with more ridiculous elements, and a villain with less motivation than the first episode. At least Mary Collins wanted to kill Arthur to get at Uther for killing her son, Knight Valiant was evil for the sake of being evil! So, I gave up on the show.
Recently, at the behest of a friend, I watched an episode from late in the first season, 'The Labyrinth of Gedref'. At first, I thought "ok, unicorns? This show isn't even trying..." But, this is where I shut up and figured out why this show works. Merlin may be the title character, but the show is not about Merlin, it's about Merlin's relationship with Arthur. What intrigued me about this episode was something I had not seen in the previous two encounters - Arthur showed himself willing to die for Merlin - this is the key element of why this show works and why I decided to give it another chance. Have now seen every episode, and I can safely say that it found it's footing by the middle of the second season. What was once a mash-up of random retcons of Arthurian legend became an epic tale about a man destined to rule and a man destined to council the ruler. Their vitriolic friendship which belies a willingness to die for each other is the soul of this show, and the number one reason it is worth your time.
Recommended episodes:
* 'The Poisoned Chalice'
* 'Excalibur'
* 'The Labyrinth of Gedref'
* 'Beauty and the Beast' (this one is something of a guilty pleasure)
* 'Sins of the Father'
* 'Lady of the Lake'
* 'Sweet Dreams'
* 'Gwaine'
* 'The Changeling'
* 'Queen of Hearts'
* 'The Coming of Arthur'
All episodes are available here: http://merlin-streaming.blogspot.com/
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