It’s telly, but not as you know it: in these daring instalments the action unfolds back to front, underwater and possibly in a dream
The Seinfeld backwards episodeThe Betrayal (season nine, episode eight)Of course, in theory, all sitcom episodes are concept episodes. But some take this one step further, making daring structural changes that subvert the form as well as the content. Case in point: Seinfeld’s famous Harold Pinter-influenced, back-to-front episode from the show’s final season. Events unfold in reverse chronological order, starting with the end credits and working back to reveal the tale of a doomed Indian wedding.
The I Hate Suzie masturbation episodeShame (season one, episode four)Suzie (Billie Piper) tries to take her mind off a disastrous work call with some precious alone time. Though her fantasies keep being interrupted by her best friend and manager Naomi’s digressions on intersectional feminism, she edges her way to the episode’s climax (a record for TV masturbation), in a moving exploration of female desire.