Episode Name Game

Features
By published

None

Ever noticed how some shows have, erm… unique ways of naming episodes?

Etrver

Ever noticed how some shows have favourite ways of naming episodes? Some stick rigidly to a formula ( Chuck , No Ordinary Family , Smallville ), others have favoured formulas they return to time and again ( Supernatural using rock song titles, Eli Stone using George Michael song titles, classic Who with “The X Of The Y”) while others just use the same sort of titles again an again until they start feeling a bit familar (actually, The X-Files managed to have two types of “standard” episode title – the silly long one and the short one that got you Googling for Babelfish).

Here are some suggested episode title we came up with (based on good old TV SF&F tropes that come up again and again). Feel free to suggest your own.

The time loop episode

  • Classic Doctor Who: The Terror Of The Time Eaters
  • No Ordinary Family: No Ordinary Clock
  • Supernatural: The Times They Aren’t A-Changing
  • Smallville: Loop
  • The X-Files: Zeitschleife
  • Chuck: Chuck Versus The Groundhog
  • Charmed: Witch Watch
  • Sapphire And Steel: Adventure Seven

.

The body swap episode

  • Classic Doctor Who: The Horror Of The Identivores
  • No Ordinary Family: No Ordinary Man
  • Supernatural: A Sam Named Sue
  • Smallville: Swap
  • The X-Files: Körpertauschen
  • Chuck: Chuck Versus The Freaky Friday
  • Charmed: A Spell As Somebody Else
  • Sapphire And Steel: Adventure Eight

.

The race against time episode

  • Classic Doctor Who: The Countdown Of Death
  • No Ordinary Family: No Ordinary School Run
  • Supernatural: Highway To Hell
  • Smallville: Gulp
  • The X-Files: Keine Zeit
  • Chuck: Chuck Versus The Melting Ice Sculpture
  • Charmed: A Witch In Time
  • Sapphire And Steel: Adventure Nine

.

The evil twin episode

  • Classic Doctor Who: The Double Of Doom
  • No Ordinary Family: No Ordinary Double
  • Supernatural: Flick Of The Switch
  • Smallville: Two
  • The X-Files: Doubleelboud
  • Chuck: Chuck Versus Chuck
  • Charmed: Witch Witch Is Witch
  • Sapphire And Steel: Adventure Ten

.

The flashback episode

  • Classic Doctor Who: The Memory Of Evil
  • No Ordinary Family: No Ordinary Slide Show
  • Supernatural: The Boys Are Back In Time
  • Smallville: Then
  • The X-Files: Dino Jalfrezi’s From 1942
  • Chuck: Chuck Versus The Ghost Of Christmas Past
  • Charmed: Wiccan You Fix It?
  • Sapphire And Steel: Adventure Eleven

.

The alternate universe episode

  • Classic Doctor Who: The Mirror Of Horror
  • No Ordinary Family: No Ordinary Diffrence
  • Supernatural: Sweet Home Alabama-ish
  • Smallville: There
  • The X-Files: Nicht hier
  • Chuck: Chuck Versus The Other Chuck
  • Charmed: Where When Witch And How?
  • Sapphire And Steel: Adventure Twelve

.

The musical episode

  • Classic Doctor Who: The Opera of Fear
  • No Ordinary Family: No Ordinary Talent Contest
  • Supernatural: The Song Remains The Same
  • Smallville: Sing
  • The X-Files: The X-Factor
  • Chuck: Chuck Versus The Sweet Transvestite From Transexual Transylvania
  • Charmed: Seven Witches For Seven Warlocks
  • Sapphire And Steel: Adventure Thirteen

.

The “It’s all a dream” episode

  • Classic Doctor Who: The Nightmare Of Death
  • No Ordinary Family: No Ordinary Night Nurse
  • Supernatural: Stairway To Heaven
  • Smallville: Snore
  • The X-Files: Sigmund Freud‘s Final Analysis
  • Chuck: Chuck Versus The Monster From The Id
  • Charmed: A Nightmare On Witch Hazel Street
  • Sapphire And Steel: Adventure Fourteen

.

The courtroom episode

  • Classic Doctor Who: The Wigs Of Doom
  • No Ordinary Family: No Ordinary Parking Ticket
  • Supernatural: Sharp Dressed Man
  • Smallville: Plead
  • The X-Files: The Testimony Of A Cigarette Smoking Man
  • Chuck: Chuck Versus The Twelve Angry Men
  • Charmed: Nothing But The Witch
  • Sapphire And Steel: Adventure Fifteen

.

The clips episode

  • Classic Doctor Who: The Horror Of BBC Cutbacks
  • No Ordinary Family: No Ordinary Cheapie
  • Supernatural: Medley
  • Smallville: Familiar
  • The X-Files: Presque Vu
  • Chuck: Chuck Versus The Very Long Flash
  • Charmed: A Broom With A View
  • Sapphire And Steel: Adventures One To Fifteen
sfx

SFX Magazine is the world's number one sci-fi, fantasy, and horror magazine published by Future PLC. Established in 1995, SFX Magazine prides itself on writing for its fans, welcoming geeks, collectors, and aficionados into its readership for over 25 years. Covering films, TV shows, books, comics, games, merch, and more, SFX Magazine is published every month. If you love it, chances are we do too and you'll find it in SFX.