why are these always the best episodes?

i'm thinking along the lines of Pine Barrens in Sopranos.

peggy and don being stuck in the office during the big fight

rip torn wandering around the office in larry sanders

that breakfast club homage in ER where they're stuck waiting for the sexual harrasment lecture.

do you know what i mean?

i love these episodes. sort of waiting for godot esque. just people hanging around when the normal pace and style of the series usual takes in more characters, time and environments....so these stand out.

you get the sense that writers love doing these too. like they can stretch their legs a bit without needing to worry about all the usual factors of the show.

do you like these?

let's make a big list of these types of episodes in different series.