Linda Holmes

This was voluntary, I promise.

This was voluntary.

You used this milestone as an excuse to write a full exhaustive ranking of all 50 seasons that will go up on NPR.org later this month.

But we thought it would be fun to talk about the five best seasons as you ranked them.

They are all available right now via Paramount+.

Let's kick it off with the season that you have at number five.

It's very interesting that this is the first one we're talking about because I cannot stand this season.

Wow.

I thought this season was so not my speed for this show.

Interesting.

You know that I do not like Rupert.

You know that I find Rupert's entire shtick exhausting.

I find Johnny Fairplay's shtick exhausting.

To me, this is the season where the show begins to circle the, we're going to make it all about self-defined bad guys and self-defined heroes.

And...

That, to me, has always been deeply and profoundly boring.

And I will say the episode that you are praising, the opening episode, where Rupert, I think it is, decides to steal everyone's shoes.

Like, what?

Why?

Why?