“Game of Thrones” creator George R. R. Martin is listing his favorite TV episodes of all time.
The author took to his blog in part to thank Vanity Fair for including his “GoT” episode “Blackwater” among the best TV episodes ever; however, Martin had his own ideas about the top TV moments of all-time.
“If I had to pick one episode that was even more perfect than all the others on the list… it would have to be the final episode of ‘Six Feet Under,’” the “Songs of Ice and Fire” writer penned. “I liked that series well enough, though I cannot say I loved it as much as I loved ‘Rome’ or ‘Deadwood’ or ‘Fargo’ or a few other shows missing from the list, but that last episode was far and away the best finale in the entire history of television, and I cannot imagine how anyone could possibly do better.”
The series finale of HBO funeral home drama “Six Feet Under” was written and directed by series creator Alan Ball and aired in 2005.
Martin shouted out “Mad Men” episode “The Suitcase” and “Breaking Bad” episode “Ozymandias” among more of his favorites. The “GoT” series executive producer, who wrote four episodes of the viral HBO fantasy show, also spoke of fellow HBO series “The Sopranos” and “The Wire.”
“‘The Sopranos’ had lots of great episodes, but ‘The Pine Barrens’ was special, and for the entire rest of the series I kept waiting for that Russian to turn up again when we least expected,” Martin wrote. “[‘The Wire’] was so good, it came close to perfection pretty frequently.”
He further added, “‘Black Mirror’ is an extraordinary series in so many ways, but ‘San Junipero’ is the episode I love to watch over and over, and tell my friends to watch.”
Martin previously spoke out about the divisive “Game of Thrones” series finale, first saying in 2019 that the series adaptation was not “very good for me” when it came to wrapping up the novel series.
“The very thing that should have speeded me up actually slowed me down,” Martin said. “Every day I sat down to write and even if I had a good day… I’d feel terrible because I’d be thinking: ‘My God, I have to finish the book. I’ve only written four pages when I should have written 40.’”
Martin confirmed two years later in 2021 that his book ending would be different from the show’s finale. He later said that the “Game of Thrones” showrunners kept him “out of the loop” when it came to the last few seasons of the show.
