"Like my comedies list, this rundown of 2012's best drama episodes has 25 slots but could have gone to 50 or 100; that's a testament to this amazingly fertile period of scripted TV. The list honors the best from ongoing scripted dramas, and also cites episodes from promising new shows that were cancelled this year, as well as two terrific pilots.
Again, as with comedies, I've awarded certain shows multiple slots rather than select one episode of a particular show and call it "representative" of others from that series (...). I looked for consistent excellence throughout an episode, but I also cited several whose undeniably weak elements were overshadowed by rousing sequences, gorgeous images, and indelible moments. There are also instances where I awarded bonus points for originality even if the episode was irksome in other ways, because that's how I roll."
-Matt Zoller Seitz
