18 Best TV Episodes Of 2017 (So Far)

1. Part 8 - Twin Peaks: The Return

At the TCA back in January, Showtime president David Nevin promised us one thing about the new season of Twin Peaks: "It's the pure heroin version of David Lynch." Given what's aired so far, it's almost certain he had Part 8 in mind when he made that claim.

How do you even begin describing this episode? With Twin Peaks: The Return, Lynch has shown zero interest in playing by the TV rulebook; in this episode, though, he tears it up completely and, after asking for a light, sets fire to it.

The 'normal' part of the episode is the creepy opening with BadCoop and the terrifying creatures who come to claim him, so dark you can hardly make out what's going on at times, the viewer left deliberately disturbed and confused.

From there we're plunged into the darkest recesses of Lynch's mind, as his obsession with 50s America takes us right back to its origin: the atomic bomb. The sequence itself could be stock footage (it's CGI), and the rest of the episode is the kind of imagery that will haunt you long past the season's end.

With gorgeous black-and-white cinematography and all manner of freakish characters, it's a visually and sonically dizzying tale of horror that largely stands alone, yet may actually have given some big answers about the series' mythology. It's the most ambitious, avant garde TV episode of at least the year, and perhaps of all time; hauntingly beautiful and entirely unforgettable. Gotta light?

What do you think is the best TV episode of the year so far? Let us know down in the comments.