In this episode, the gang find themselves transported into the bodies of black people, with the natural expectation of TV tropes being that they’ll learn some lessons along the way about “Walking a mile in someone else’s shoes.” Of course, in Sunny fashion, they turn the trope on its head and continue to fumble through just as racist as ever.

As the gang sings their way through the plot line trying to figure out the “rules,” they stumble upon a janitor played by Scott Bakula, playing a faux version of himself. The gang riffs on him a bit about him trying to steal their “leap” and Scott riffs on himself a bit about missing the “glory days” of 1989, being that he’s now presumably “washed up.”

Of course, the opposite is true, as Bakula continues to be a leading man in television even today. While I loved Bakula in Lord of Illusions and would have very much liked to have seen him in more movies, his television career is quite an achievement, which offer his fans plenty of years of entertainment to enjoy his work.

“Oh boy!”

Boy, what have I been missing all these years? Sure, it’s not perfect in every way, but the series is superb and most everyone agrees. A major reason why is due to the excellent voice work and character storytelling. That’s really what pushes this series to another plateau and due to it, I want to list what I feel are the five best characters in the show. Let’s begin with an honorable mention.

Honorable Mention – Jim Gordon

The good old commissioner, Gordon. He almost made it into my top five, but he just missed the cut. While Gordon is certainly not the most outlandish or charismatic character in the show, it’s always entertaining when he’s on-screen. He’s got a demeanor about him that makes you feel that everything is going to work out in the end. His voice work is spot-on, though virtually everyone’s is.

5. Harvey Bullock

I have to admit, Harvey Bullock is someone that grew on me throughout the show. At first, I didn’t really like him as he just came across as an obnoxious and disobedient cop. However, that opinion ended up changing by the 3rd season. Bullock brings a dynamic and original presence to the Gotham Police department. His complicated relationship with Batman (let’s just call it that) is also popcorn worthy. He adds a lot to the show, let me just say that.

4. Harley Quinn

In the lore of the Batman universe, I don’t love Harley Quinn. It’s only when Arleen Sorkin is voicing her that I instantly can’t wait to watch her. Sorkin has a way of voicing her that makes Quinn come off as loony, goofy, crazy, passionate, adorable, and psychotic all at the same time. It truly is a gift that she has, and she nails it every single time she voices Quinn. It’s also amazing watching how helpless she is to resist Mr. J. Sorry, I just had to do that, I even heard it said in Quinn’s voice.

3. Two-Face

Wow, the storytelling of Harvey Dent in this series is on another level. The other side of him, known as Big Bad Harv, comes out in spades. Eventually, it takes over his entire being when half of his face is burnt off. When he officially becomes Two-Face, he becomes the 2nd best villain in the series (that’s a hint right there). What you have to love about Two-Face is the fact that he leaves everything to chance, even if it affects him. The love of his coin is arguably more than his hatred for Poison Ivy.

2. Batman

Kevin Conroy is Batman and you’re not going to be able to tell me any different. There have been some terrific variations of The Caped Crusader, but Conroy is the GOAT. Now, this Batman may not have my absolute favorite art styling (even though it’s beyond stellar) but the voice work is legendary. There’s nothing more to really say really, it’s Batman!

1. The Joker

Come on now, you knew this one was coming. As with Batman, The Joker has been played by so many and excelled at by so many (Heath Ledger immediately comes to mind). Yet, Mark Hamill, to me, is the definitive Joker and will probably always be my favorite. It used to be Ledger until I saw this show. What I love about this Joker is that his comical side shows a lot. When it’s time to get serious, he most certainly does. However, it’s the carefree nature of this Joker that makes him so amazing to watch. Oh yeah, that laugh also isn’t too bad either. No one had a better Joker laugh, no one.

So, as I present this list of my 10 favorite episodes of all-time, you better believe that they’re all coming from the first three seasons. It’s okay if you think that isn’t fair as this is my list, right? For the record, this list is in no particular order and I even added an honorable mention because I couldn’t leave it out. So, without further ado, let’s roll.

Honorable Mention: “Christmas Who?” – Season 2

The reason this is an honorable mention is that Christmas was always a special holiday for me as a kid. As a tradition, I always watched this episode (about a dozen times) right before Christmas morning. It holds a special place in my heart and is one that I still love to this day.

“Texas” – Season 1

Oh man, this episode is just pure gold. Sandy gets homesick and wants to go back to Texas. So, SpongeBob and Patrick decide to cheer her up. But, before that, they make fun of Texas to prevent her from leaving right away. Things get dicey for them when they take their jokes too far. If you can keep a straight face during this episode then more power to you.

“No Weenies Allowed” – Season 3

It’s safe to call both SpongeBob and Patrick weenies. Yet, in this episode, SpongeBob is determined to get into the roughest joint in town. His struggle is real and this is bar none one of the funniest episodes in the series. Watching SpongeBob attempt to be tough is about as hilarious as it gets.

“Squirrel Jokes” – Season 2

Sandy and SpongeBob have quite a dynamic relationship in the first couple of seasons. They’re best friends, but they like to poke fun at each other. In this episode, SpongeBob goes a little too far. But, come on, some of the jokes the writers came up with here were pure gold. They still crack me up to this day.

“SpongeBob Meets the Strangler” – Season 3

Without a doubt, my favorite part of this episode is when Patrick thinks he’s The Strangler. He’s my favorite character in the show and this episode is one of the reasons why. On a side note, The Strangler has such a great performance in this one. It’s sad we didn’t see more of him.

“Big Pink Loser” – Season 2

“What’s so great about being a big pink loser?” This was the infamous quote that Patrick said to SpongeBob. Here, we see Patrick try everything to win an award of any kind. He attempts to copy SpongeBob with everything that he does. This eventually annoys him and leads to fantastic entertainment.

“Wet Painters” – Season 3

Most episodes are pretty simple with their setup. This one is certainly one of them as SpongeBob and Patrick spend their time in Mr. Krab’s house. Their goal is to paint the room, but the catch is they have to do so without getting paint on anything. The endless struggle is comedy gold and true fans remember how it ends.

“Sailor Mouth” – Season 2

To this day, I’m surprised this episode was ever a thing. SpongeBob stumbles upon a bad word, but he doesn’t know right away. He then gets Patrick to join him and they then become a couple of sailor mouths. Mr. Krabs eventually tells them the word is bad, but during a board game, SpongeBob slips up. Again, can you believe that this was aired for a kid’s show? I’m glad it was.

“Band Geeks” – Season 2

Most episodes are known for their comedy and while this one delivers it in spades, it’s also the end which still gives me chills. The song that SpongeBob and his crew were able to perform is still one of my favorite moments in animated history. Yeah, I’m taking it that far.

“Chocolate with Nuts” – Season 3

The true reason these are not in any order is that it’s too hard for me to rank them. But, this one here could have easily landed at the number one spot. It’s that freaking good and is an all-time classic if you ask me. From start to finish, the content is stomach-punishing hilarious.

“Life of Crime” – Season 2

Alright, this one might be number two if I actually ranked all these episodes. Watching SpongeBob and Patrick lose their minds over a stolen balloon gets me every single time. They literally leave town fearing for their lives. Man, the writers were amazing back in the day.

Dexter is a fairly popular TV show that centers upon the main character (Dexter) who spends his days hunting down and killing serial killers. While there’s plenty of drama and mystery along the way, this really is the main premise. Due to this, it’s natural that many characters ultimately meet their fate in the end.

But, it’s not just Dexter’s victims who end up kicking the bucket, it’s also a plethora of main characters. In this sense, at least for me, the show is quite controversial in how it’s executed. However, in a long-running TV series, it’s somewhat refreshing for plot armor to be somewhat disregarded (except for Dexter, of course).

At the same time, there’s a fine line between the willingness to kill off characters and simply killing off too many of them. For my liking, this show falls more toward the latter. To explain why, let’s take a look at some of the characters who wound up deceased.

Paul Bennett

Alright, so many wouldn’t consider Paul Bennett a main character. Yet, in the first season, he played an integral role in the story. He was a constant thorn in the side of both Dexter and his love interest, Rita Bennett. To keep a long story short, he ended up dying in prison after almost proving that Dexter was the one who landed him there.

This death wasn’t too bad as Paul came off as an antagonist the entire time. So, in my book, it was totally acceptable.

James Doakes

Look, the makers of the show had no other choice here. They either reveal Dexter as a serial killer or kill of Doakes in some fashion. But, when he died, a part of the show died. The dynamic of Dexter and Doakes throughout the first two seasons was sorely missed in the later seasons.

They tried to replace him, but there was only one Doakes. Again, however, everyone involved in making the show was handcuffed at the point of his death. In my mind, yet again, they did make the correct call here.

Frank Lundy

This one stings to this very day. Frank Lundy is arguably my favorite character in the entire show. While he only made an impact in two seasons, his impact was grand. His death just felt unnecessary and, for me, it’s when the show began to go downhill quickly. The first half of season four (with Lundy) is much better than the second half (without Lundy) if you ask me.

He added a special dynamic to the show and while his death wasn’t without logical reasoning, I still feel it could’ve been avoided.

Rita Morgan

Rita Morgan (she changed her name after she married Dexter) was arguably the third most vital character in the entire show (behind Dexter and Debra Morgan). When I first watched the conclusion of season four, I was convinced that her death never happened. I watched each and every episode that followed waiting for her reappearance.

Ultimately, though, it never happened. This death right here is the one that fans of the show will remember most. Not only did Rita die, but the relationship Dexter had with her kids faded over time. Rita and her kids kept Dexter real and while a few love interests followed, they were shallow in comparison. Why, why did they really need to kill off Rita?

Maria LaGuerta

Honestly, this may be the most random death in the entire franchise. I will openly admit that I always strongly disliked Maria LaGuerta as a character. She was self-centered, manipulative, and looked like an iguana (sorry, see, I don’t like her). But, her death kind of just happened.

She became to understand who Dexter really was and got killed for it. I didn’t lose sleep over this one, but I can see if it rubbed some people the wrong way.

Debra Morgan

The finale of Dexter has received harsh (I mean harsh) criticism over the years. In all honesty, it’s tough to conclude a show like this. Yet, killing Debra was probably not the answer. Sure, it got the message across that everyone Dexter loved ended up getting hurt. But, it just fell flat.

To me, the show should’ve ended with Rita finally understanding what Dexter truly was. Instead, we got Debra’s death and Dexter faking his own death.

Yeah, I think they killed too many darn characters in this show. Looking back, Deb, Rita, and Lundy should’ve never died. The others were understandable, but that’s just my humble opinion.

Although neither have expressed concerns about their networks being maxed out, and internet service providers claim they’re able to cope with the increase in demand, those who rely on the internet for work may worry. Perhaps surprisingly, there’s been no report of a sharp increase in traffic at peak times, although internet service providers did say that the evening peak (usually six to nine in the evening) is now starting much earlier in the day. For now, it looks like this move could help keep things running smoothly.

The EU’s markets and services commissioner Thierry Breton, said:

“Streaming platforms, telecom operators and users… have a joint responsibility to take steps to ensure the smooth functioning of the internet during the battle against the virus propagation.”

In response, a spokesperson for YouTube said:

“We are making a commitment to temporarily switch all traffic in the EU to standard definition by default.”

Netflix also said the company was complying with the request for a month:

“We estimate that this will reduce Netflix traffic on European networks by around 25%, while also ensuring a good quality service for our members.”

But could this news mean increased traffic sees games streaming services like Google Stadia and PS Now reduce streaming quality too? With more of us following social-distancing guidelines or self-isolating, the strain on these services is only likely to increase in the following months. Already gamers are reporting long queue times and outages for online games like World of Warcraft and Fortnite, with Xbox Live’s service down last week (although it’s unclear whether this was due to increased demand or a technical fault).

Now could be a great time to stock up on games downloads or physical games from your Amazon wishlist… what will you be buying?

It was a rough night, and I needed to unwind so I logged into Netflix and clicked on “Striking Vipers,” and that was the beginning of my Black Mirror craze. The episode opens our eyes to technology, homosexuality, homophobia and stereotypes.

It also looked into the ability of social media to make it easier for people to lead double lives.

Two of the male characters played the video game together and virtually, despite one of the them choosing a female player, would engage in coital activities.

The married one found it quite difficult to come to terms with his sexuality in real life, making him resent his friend for ‘awakening’ those feelings in him.

Social Media Approval

Yet another Black Mirror episode entitled “Nose Dive” continually showed that social media forces people to lead fake lives.

Throughout the show, we can see how fake the protagonist is, to the point of attempting to master a fake laughter that would be considered “classy” to the people with higher ratings.

The episode shows us the extent to which people portray fake online personas to mask their sad, empty, and destructive lives. It was an eye opener for me since I’ve also minimized sharing too much on social media.

The technology that binds us on the interwebs can easily be used as a tool for even further destruction.

Such cases have led to people, especially young girls, committing suicide simply because they didn’t receive enough interaction on their social media.

Is it really worth it to lose your authenticity over validation from online strangers?

Judging People

With the online fakeness and false curation, you realize that:

“Social media will have you envying someone you should actually pity.”

That quote is from a tweet that went viral on Twitter and I came across it, at a time when I needed it the most.

In “Nose Dive,” for example, the protagonist loses everything and she even goes down to almost a 1-star rating, but she does not refrain from judging other people.

Authenticity is, in fact, the only key to ensuring that people do not strive to lead fake lives behind their computer or phone screens.

I live by Anthony Bourdain’s quote which states that:

“Once your reputation is ruined, you can live life freely.”