Yahoo News 12 live special episodes ranked
With Inside Number 9 announcing a live Halloween special to broadcast later this year, it got us thinking about the various challenges of live TV.
Whether it's the risk of completely breaking the format, an inability to edit out mistakes, or potentially wasting the added expense of the extra crew members required to pull off such an ambitious feat on a rubbish episode, there are plenty of ways live TV can go wrong.
We've ranked some of the most significant live episodes of our lifetime, starting with those for which the gamble probably wasn't worth it, ending on some of the most memorable telly events of all time. (Obviously we're not including normal, regular live TV: no X Factor, no Top of the Pops, no This Morning. These are all live "specials".)
12. The Only Way Is Essex – Christmas special
Not just the worst live episode, but some said it was the worst television episode ever, TOWIE Live wasn't just bad, it was fully incompetent.
With off-screen crew members shouting cues to a cast who seemed as baffled as the audience, several awkward silences and key narratives that didn't make sense, the first ever reality show to broadcast live was an unmitigated disaster. Still, it was for charity, so it did serve some purpose.
11. The West Wing – 'The Debate'
When a West Wing live episode was announced, fans wondered how they'd include the most iconic elements of the show – such as the quickfire walk and talks – in a live setting. The answer? They didn't.
Instead, they played it safe with a live debate format, which is just a bit easier to shoot than the normal dynamic camera-moves and fast-paced back-and-forth dialogue. It's a decent enough episode, but still feels like a bit of a cop-out. Though compared to the TOWIE episode, it ranks with the best of the series.
10. ER – 'Ambush'
Like The West Wing, the ER live episode removed the elements that made the show work in the first place – the fast editing, the complex choreography, the zooming shots – creating a slower and, let's face it, more boring edition of the popular medical drama.
And, as with The West Wing episode, it included deliberate mistakes (in The West Wing, it looks like Alan Alda's forgotten a line, here Gloria Reuben seems to mess up a line for an in-story camera crew) which is a meta-step too far.
9. Will & Grace – 'Alive and Schticking'
To open the final season (before the revival) Will & Grace took a risk that didn't entirely pay off.
A sitcom's probably the easiest format to perform live (it's interesting that Friends never attempted it), as you can stick to a couple of rooms and the camera's fixed.
But, with a mixed level of experience (Debra Messing had never performed live, while Eric McCormack had a long theatre background), it didn't completely gel.
The cast seemed slightly nervous, with the tension frequently broken by corpsing, with Messing the worst offender. Sadly, the corpsing moments were probably the funniest moments on the show.
8. The Simpsons – 'Simprovised'
While it wasn't a full episode, the fact that an animated series would attempt any kind of live element (outside of a spoof) is impressive.
Using motion-capture technology to match Dan Castellaneta's voice to Homer Simpson's mouth (in an otherwise static shot – with pre-animated silent cameos from other characters), Homer answered live questions from callers, after making a brief reference to recent events.
The segment only lasted three minutes, and Homer sounded more like Castellaneta than ever, but this was still a brave experiment.
7. Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps – 'When Jonny Met Sharky'
The risks of live telly are large, but the rewards can be even bigger – 897,000 viewers watched Two Pints' live broadcast, with a further 291,000 tuning into the later repeat, giving the episode the largest ratings of the show's entire run.
It might be packed with in-jokes, including the cast seeing themselves on BBC Three, and Natalie Casey singing 'Chick Chick Chicken' (a song she released as a single when she was a child star), but the episode breaks the fourth wall less than you'd expect.
Despite the titular reference to jumping the shark, the episode works as a traditional instalment.
6. Undateable – 'A Live Show Walks Into A Bar (Parts 1 & 2)'
Messy and chaotic, Undateable's first live episode featured guest stars (including Ed Sheeran!), accidental improv, moments where the audience laughed for so long it broke the flow of the narrative and stars frequently breaking character. In other words, perfect live TV.
The episode was so successful it led to the entire subsequent season being shot live.
5. 30 Rock – 'Live Show'
As it's a show that regularly deconstructs sitcom cliches while delving into the history of the format, it felt completely appropriate for 30 Rock to go live.
And, whether Alec Baldwin was commenting on the visual difference ("Does it look weird in here to you? It looks like a Mexican soap opera!") or the camera crew were pulling off complex moves, 30 Rock's live episode was ambitious, creative and, most of all, funny.
It was such a success, they did it again the next season ('Live from Studio 6H') – with a slightly less complex set-up that more closely resembled the Saturday Night Live structure the show parodied.
4. The Bill – 20th anniversary episode
The Bill did not one, but two live episodes, marking its 20th anniversary with a tense drama-packed hour-long special, then again two years later to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ITV.
Of the two, the first was the most impressive – mainly because it was the first live television broadcast of a programme where filming was not largely confined to a studio, a feat which required 200 crew members to pull off.
Centred around a hostage situation, it made for compelling television.
3. EastEnders – 25th Anniversary episode
Some live editions are a bit throwaway, but the BBC made sure that the 25th anniversary episode of Eastenders mattered, picking up immediately after the previous show's cliffhanger and concluding a major storyline: Archie Mitchell's murder.
With the reveal of the killer such a closely-guarded secret, actress Lacey Turner didn't find out her character Stacey Slater had done it until 30 minutes before the episode was broadcast.
It reportedly cost £700k to make, and was worth every penny for fans. The experiment was so successful it lead to an entire week of episodes to mark the 30th anniversary of the series – even if Jo Joyner's Tanya did call Ian Beale "Adam" (ie actor Adam Woodyatt) that time around.
2. Coronation Street – 40th anniversary
Inspired by live episodes in America (including ER's 'Ambush'), the Coronation Street team decided to celebrate the show's 40th anniversary by returning to the roots of the show with the first live episode since 1961.
The hour-long special savvily incorporated pre-recorded footage of a visit to the set from Prince Charles earlier in the day, which was filmed and shoved into an in-episode news broadcast. Add in a cameo from Noddy Holder, and this was a pretty surreal watch.
The special was watched by 17 million people, and the trick was repeated for the 50th anniversary in 2010 and ITV's 60th anniversary in 2015.
1. Emmerdale – 40th Anniversary
With a wedding, two births AND the death of a major character, Emmerdale threw everything at its hour-long 40th anniversary special, utilising 27 cameras to capture the drama as it unfolded in real time.
Brilliantly, ITV also streamed live backstage footage to their website, giving a different dimension to the action on screen. The episode ended on fireworks, a celebration earned after a flawlessly professional episode.
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