The One Episode That Catapulted These Shows To Hit Status

It can be tough for heavily serialized television series to find new viewers in droves, as the longer a show goes on, the greater the time commitment new fans must invest to catch up. Of course, that's not always the case, with the dilemma never seeming to be an issue for "The Walking Dead." Adapted from a comic book series of the same name, the series first aired in the fall of 2010. The show follows former deputy Rick Grimes, who rises to become the leader of a small group of survivors during a zombie apocalypse. The group travels the country looking for a safe place to call home, which eventually leads them to a rural farmhouse after a tragic mishap with Rick's son, Carl.

Fast-forward to the mid-season finale, "Pretty Much Dead Already," and a brewing conflict between Rick and fellow survivor and friend Shane comes to a boiling point, which also winds up solving one of the show's ongoing mysteries. A particularly brutal episode that showed many of the characters pushed to their breaking points, it's both one of the best episodes of "The Walking Dead" over a decade later, and responsible for catapulting the show to hit status. By just the next episode, "Nebraska," the show had gained a million and a half new viewers, and over two million more by the start of Season 3.

Cartoonist Matt Groening has given fans more than just "The Simpsons." One of his more noteworthy projects was "Futurama," another animated comedy series similar in tone but wildly different in setting, which followed New York native and millennium transplant Philip J. Fry, who wakes up in the year 3000 after a cryogenic freezing accident.

Fast forward to Season 4, and audiences were treated (or subjected, depending on how you look at it) to "Jurassic Bark." The episode begins with Fry's visit to an excavated pizza place from the 20th century, which he quickly realizes is the site of his old job. Among the rubble, he finds the fossilized remains of his dog Seymour, and embarks on a mission to resurrect his long-dead best friend. An incredible episode with an absolutely heart-wrenching final scene, "Jurassic Bark" isn't just the best episode in the whole series, but also the hardest to revisit.

Just like the show itself, "Jurassic Bark" is a bit of an oddball entry on our list, as it wasn't followed by a particularly noteworthy spike in viewership. What the episode did do, however, was show just how far beyond typical comedy fare the series could get given the chance. And while "Futurama" might have been remembered as an underrated cult hit without the episode, it helped to transform the series from just another solid comedy show to one easily able to stand toe to toe with Groening's best work.

First airing in 1963, the British television series "Dr. Who" would go on to be wildly successful, airing for over 25 years before eventually being taken off the air in the late '80s. Over a decade and a half later, it was time for the series to make a return to the BBC. With an all-new writing team and a new doctor to boot, the new version did well enough to prove to the network that there was still interest in the franchise among audiences. That said, it would take some time to truly retake its throne as a hit TV show, which all changed with 2007's "Blink."

One of the earliest contributions to "Dr. Who" by series regular Steven Moffat, the episode hardly even has the Doctor in it at all. Instead, it follows the goings on at an abandoned manor populated only by lifeless, stone statues of angels. At least, that's what we're led to believe, before realizing that "Blink" just introduced us to one of the Doctor's all-time greatest antagonists. A time travel mystery that's as intriguing as it is scary, it's not hard to see why the episode remains the greatest of "Dr. Who" to this day. And while it wasn't followed by a particularly significant jump in viewership, "Blink" instead gave modern "Dr. Who" the identity it needed to remain a lasting hit.

It's safe to say that "Breaking Bad," the immensely popular 2008 crime drama from creator Vince Gilligan, has become a veritable icon of modern pop culture. Endlessly quotable, supported by a film and spin-off series, and responsible for redefining and launching the careers of series leads Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, respectively, it's hard to find many critics of the 16-time Emmy-winning series. While there are almost no weak episodes in the show's five-season run, one in particular helped to solidify its reputation among the all-time greats.

Capping off the fourth season, the fittingly titled episode "Face Off" served as the explosive conclusion to the dangerous relationship between Walter and drug kingpin Gus Fring. The second highest-rated episode of the series (and the first at the time), the finale was, at least by "Breaking Bad" standards, met with fairly typical ratings, falling just shy of two million viewers. That said, the episode certainly got people talking and helped bring in millions of new viewers to the series by word of mouth, who now had to play catch-up. By the start of Season 5 less than a year later, viewership had climbed by a million strong and had ballooned to over triple that of "Face Off" by the middle of the fifth season.

Though "Breaking Bad" was always destined to be remembered fondly, "Face Off," as well as the incredible final season that followed, combined to transform the series from a modest hit to an outright titan.

Never absent from discussions and rankings of the best television series of all time, "The Sopranos" might just be the biggest hit we're covering. Without the luxury of relying on a pre-existing franchise to piggyback off of, and with some of the cast being unknown at the time, the series had to earn its way to the top. And earn its way it did, with a host of incredible episodes and performances all revolving around Tony Soprano, who lives a double life as both a family man and a surprisingly human New Jersey crime boss.

Over the eight years and six seasons that "The Sopranos" was on the air, there are many moments that remind us why we love the series so much. One episode in particular way back in 1999 during the show's first season was an early sign of what was to come. Titled "College," it saw Tony Soprano leaving his home turf to visit prospective colleges for his daughter Meadow. Along the way, the trip is complicated when he finds snitch-turned-witness-protection-member Fabian Petrulio, who Tony doesn't intend to leave alive.

Demonstrating a marked shift for a character who, until now, had done little to live up to his reputation as a mafioso in the eyes of audiences, the episode still seamlessly followed the delicate tightrope walk between Tony and his family. Though it's not the highest-rated episode of the series, "College" may have just been the most important, hooking audiences everywhere in for what was to come.

By the late '80s, sitcoms were a well-established pillar of prime time television. Typically, however, the order of the day was your standard formulaic and plot-forward affair. Often dubbed the "show about nothing," "Seinfeld" was a direct rebuke of the average sitcom, and broke the mold in so many ways. Since then, it's been rightfully remembered as one of the greatest television shows of all time, both by human critics and our AI companions. That said, it wasn't a bona-fide hit from the start, or even for the first few seasons, until one episode came along and changed everything.

The 11th episode of "Seinfeld's" fourth season, "The Contest" followed the gang challenging one another to partake in a sordid contest with money on the line. Though the series was known for its edgier stories, the episode still pushed the line even by "Seinfeld" standards, with censors expectedly forbidding certain language from appearing in the episode. The risky play paid off, however, with viewership for "Seinfeld" soon skyrocketing to make it a nationwide hit by the end of the season.

It's not just speculation and statistics that helped us pinpoint "The Contest" as the moment where everything changed for "Seinfeld," however; even series lead Jason Alexander confirmed as much. With a little nudge from the series' newfound time slot directly behind "Friends," as well as a hilarious plotline that's still remembered as the best in the series, it's no wonder the series was, as Alexander put it best, "sailing sweet" from there.