TV Episodes Can Be Mini-Movies

If you have Blockbuster.com or Netflix you have to unique opportunity to watch episodes of your favorite TV shows without having to buy a whole season. This is fun because you can watch some great two part episodes (often season cliff hangers) like mini-movies.
Even if you haven't seen some shows for a while, you can still enjoy a good hour and half of it - free of commercials. I have to admit that my suggestions are all sci-fi shows...but fun stuff and you don't have to be following the show closely to enjoy (I know this because my husband watches these with me and hasn't followed these shows closely, if at all). Be warned that because some of them are season cliffhangers that you will have to get two separate discs and they both may not be available.

Star Trek: Voyager: End Game: Season 7 (last disc has both episodes): Voyager's final episode of the entire series! I believe the best of the mini-movies. It features messing around with the timeline AND the Borg queen. Yeah, I know she was killed off in a Star Trek movie...but there are many timelines and they ARE Borg. Alice Krige reprises her movie role as Her Slimy-ness and really makes this episode a treat.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: All Good Things: Season 7 (last disc has both episodes): This is another final episode of a great series. Another timeline mind bender with Captain Picard traveling through time and he is the only one that is aware of it. This episode also features John Delancie as Q who is always a fun and unpredictable character. A stellar episode to end a stellar series.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Best of Both Worlds: Season 3 (last disc) and Season 4 (first disc): Picard as a Borg. Gotta love that! Captain Picard is captured and turned into a Borg and in the process destroys most of Star Fleet. This season really turned the tide for this otherwise struggling series. Characters got fleshed out and plots became more daring. As a result of this encounter with the Borg, Picard's character gains an insight into himself and haunts him for the rest of series and into the films. Great stuff!
Other great Next Generation two parters also include Redemption (Klingons) and Unification (Spock returns!!).

Babylon 5: In The Beginning (made for TV movie): Okay, I'm cheating, this was already a movie but the best of the B5 movies. This movie was produced by TNT who took over the syndication rights part way through the 5 year run of the series. This movie is actually a prequel to the entire series taking place just before the war with the Mimbari that almost lead to the extermination of humanity. This is really for a fan although there was enough action and plot to keep my husband interested (he never saw B5 in his life).

Babylon 5: War Without End: Season 3 (episodes 16 & 17): I like this one because it takes a departure from the rest of the season - of course it does matter to the entire plot line of the entire 5 year series (as all the episodes do). This episode follows the original Captain of B5, Jeffrey Sinclair (now a Ranger), Captain Sheridan and Delenn (and company) as they travel through a time rift to Babylon 4 to mess with the timeline. There is a character named Zathros who may be one of the best sci-fi characters ever created. Great stuff for a fan of show!

Star Trek: Deep Space 9: Emissary: Season 1 (disc 1): This is the feature length pilot episode of DS9. Probably the best episode of the entire series. I am afraid the series did lose interest for me over it's run but this pilot can stand alone. Captain Sisko is to take over command of a dilapidated old space station that has been taken over by Star Fleet. Not a high profile command by any means and Sisko is fine with that. Sisko is trying to escape his demons of the death of his wife in a battle with the Borg (with Locutus/Picard in charge). There turns out to be a wormhole next to this station and now the real estate is very popular. Sisko goes through a very life altering experience that maybe we could all learn from.