game changers

The first couple seasons for a show are critical.  You are constantly wondering if they will get picked up for a second or third season.  There is something that I like to call the “game changer” that solidifies a show as one that will be around for the long haul.  These so called game changers are those shocking, dramatic and downright fantastic episodes that leave viewers with their jaw dropped.  Although some of these shows are full of game changing moments and plot lines, these game changers were the episodes and moments that I go back and re-watch.  I can remember exactly where I was when I watched the episode and that was when they went from being just a show I watched to being a show that I couldn’t stop watching.

photo courtesy of google images

One Tree Hill is one of the few shows that I started watching from the very beginning.  It started when I was in high school so there was an obvious connection to this teen drama.  Although I didn’t go to a school like Tree Hill or have those kinds of high school experiences the characters were very relatable and I was hooked from the start.  The show was full of ups and downs with friends, lovers, school, sports and families.  For me the game changing episode for this series was called, “"With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept" and it was in season 3.  For fans of the show this is the school shooting episode.  Not only was this episode emotionally driven as our favorite characters were either being held up with a gun or bleeding out in the library, but that episode ended with a bang. Literally. The last moments of this episode turned tree hill upside down and changed the whole series forever. The episode ends with Dan picking up Jimmy Edward’s gun and shooting his brother Keith square in the chest.  Tree hill was never the same and the show wasn’t either.



photo courtesy of google images

Grey’s Anatomy has always been one of my favorite shows.  I used to watch ER with my mom growing up so Grey’s became my doctor show.  Grey’s has had a lot of game changing moments starting right from the start.  Season one, which was only 9 episodes, ended with the reveal of Addison Montgomery, “And you must be the woman that is screwing my husband”.  After that cliffhanger, audiences were bound to tune back in for season 2. Now for those of you who haven’t watched from the beginning Grey’s Anatomy originally aired on Sunday nights with desperate housewives. Shocking, I know, that there was a time when Grey’s didn’t consume your whole Thursday night.  The game changing episode that I am talking about is the bomb episode.  It was a two hour special episode that came on after the super bowl.  It was the highest rated episode of season two.  The two part episode started with a man coming in with an un-exploded bomb in his chest on being held together by a timid paramedic. Code Black.  The hospital is put on lock down as most everyone does the best to stay away from the bomb, including the paramedic, Hannah, who does not want to die.  The first part ends with Hannah running away and Meredith replacing her by putting her hand on the bomb. Along with being two hours of constant suspense and emotion, this episode was a turning point in the MerDer relationship. This episode highlighted the incredible writing skills and mind of creator Shonda Rimes and really showed audiences what a medical drama could be.  If this captivating episode was foreshadowing for seasons to come, I know why I kept watching.

Every show has game changing moments that keep audiences watching and those were just some of my personal favorites, comment below and let me know some of yours!