Stock Episode Titles

""'Demons, Demons, Demons.' Wow. They put a lot of thought into that title.""

- Cordelia Chase, Angel

"Scudworth: I'll title it, "What It's Like to Be a Teenage Clone, colon, A Rope of Sand."

Mr. Butlerton: Good title, it draws the reader in without giving too much away."

- Clone High

Sometimes, writers are imaginative. They think up the most amazing plot twists, the funniest dialogue, the best characters possible for their episode.

And then they have to think up an episode title. Sometimes with Idiosyncratic Episode Naming it's easy, but most shows don't have that, so the writer is forced to make it up himself. And sometimes, he turns to the Stock Episode Title.

What makes a Stock Episode Title? Well, the minimum requirement is five separate shows using it (and not just one writer using it over and over again, like Aaron Sorkin does with "What Kind of Day Has It Been?"). For example, the episode title "My Brother's Keeper" has been used fifty-two times over the years, probably because it's a Literary Allusion Title from The Bible. Most Stock Episode Titles are either Literary Allusion Titles or simple, single word titles. A great many Stock Episode Titles relate to the Wedding Day.

Because a writer may be able to write a great episode, but will still bang his head against the wall when trying to think up a title.

See also Stock Subtitle.

A chart of the most popular Stock Episode Titles. Note: Two- or three-part episodes have been counted as one.

Further note: While the pilot episode of a show is very commonly called "Pilot" - 1715 times, in fact - it doesn't really count, does it?

''Seriously, what's with all these episodes about pilots? ...Wesley?'