The 10 Greatest ‘Rashomon’ Sitcom Episodes

10 Diff’rent Strokes: “Rashomon II” (1983)

The appropriately titled Diff’rent Strokes episode “Rashomon II” tells the story of when the Drummond family were taken hostage by a gunman. Later, the police get everyone’s account of what happened and the wealthy Mr. Drummond (Conrad Bain) and his adopted sons Willis (Todd Bridges) and Arnold (Gary Coleman) tell their differing accounts, each portraying themself as the hero. It gets a little repetitive hearing the same story so many times, but the episode is pretty funny.

9 The Dick Van Dyke Show: “The Night the Roof Fell In” (1962)

The Dick Van Dyke Show was likely the first sitcom to employ the Rashomon trope, which it used to recount a fight between the show’s main couple, Rob and Laura Petrie (Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore). Because this was a new format, the presentation is a bit straightforward, showing the “what really happened” first, which somewhat undercuts the more skewed perspectives from Rob and Laura. Still, this show was always well written and the actors clearly have some fun playing the scene three different ways, so it’s quite good, if a bit basic.

8 Johnny Bravo: “Rashomoron” (1999)

In just six-and-a-half minutes, Johnny Bravo pulled off an excellent Rashomon episode. The inciting incident takes place in a park where Johnny Bravo is hitting on a pretty lady, his nerd friend Carl is playing with a robot and his little-girl neighbor, Suzy, is having a picnic. Everything goes wrong, however, when a swarm of bees attack. 

Each of the three perspectives shared is wildly different and equally silly. For example, Suzy’s story ends with Johnny getting trampled by a unicorn, while Carl says it was a police horse and Johnny claims he was actually attacked by a rabid donkey. As a comedic bonus, when each character tells their version of events, they provide voice impressions of the other characters. The results are hilarious and totally in keeping with the spirit of the format.

7 How I Met Your Mother: “The Ashtray” (2013)

How I Met Your Mother’s central premise is that it’s narrated from the future. So it’s a bit strange to layer a Rashomon story into such a series, yet they somehow pulled it off. The story focuses on a gallery opening attended by the main characters excluding Barney (Neil Patrick Harris). Used to being the center of attention, in this episode Barney regularly interrupts everyone else to insert himself into a party he didn’t attend. 

While most Rashomon episodes present a single perspective at a time, this one sees its characters constantly interrupting each other to contradict the other’s versions. And it works! The trope is infused with an energy that most Rashomon sitcom episodes don’t have.

6 Frasier: “Shrink Rap” (1995) and “Perspectives on Christmas” (1997)

Frasier has two excellent Rashomon-like episodes and I’m probably cheating by including them both here, but each is solid in their own way. Season Three’s “Shrink Rap” tells the story of Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce) going into private practice together, only for it to blow up in their faces. Both recount their sides of the story to a couples’ counselor while also presenting their biases against one another (Frasier sees Niles as particularly jealous and snarky, while Niles sees Frasier as insufferably egotistical).

However, it’s worth noting that the episode fails to include the most fun part of a Rashomon show: contradictory accounts of the same story. Instead, Frasier and Niles pick up where the other left off.

Season Five’s “Perspectives on Christmas” makes better use of the Rashomon trope in this regard. Daphne (Jane Leeves) and Martin (John Mahoney) are part of a B-story that weaves in another common Frasier device: farcical comic misunderstandings. Martin is embarrassed that he’s roped into a local Christmas pageant, so he doesn’t want Daphne to know. But when Daphne discovers he’s been suddenly attending church, she assumes he’s dying. On top of that, much of Martin’s dialogue could be interpreted in different ways, feeding into Daphne’s fear. 

Somehow, “Perspectives on Christmas” does all that while also telling a satisfying Rashomon story. No wonder this show won so many Emmys.

5 All in the Family: “Everybody Tells the Truth” (1973)

The All in the Family take on Rashomon tells the story of the day the surly, racist Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor) comes home from work to discover that his refrigerator is broken and he, his wife, his daughter and his son-in-law have to wait for the repairman and his young Black apprentice. The episode mostly highlights the perspectives of Archie and his liberal son-in-law Michael (Rob Reiner), both of whom cast severe judgements on the apprentice. While Archie sees the apprentice as a militant Black Panther Party-type, to Michael he is an “Uncle Tom” for taking orders from a white repairman. 

The main characters’ differing perspectives on each other also add a lot of fun to the Rashomon episode. For example, Archie views his wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) — who he often calls “Dingbat” — as even dumber than usual and his daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) as an insufferable crybaby. But the most compelling part is hearing Archie and Michael’s perspectives on one another. In their respective retellings, they both see themselves as conciliatory while they see the other as a hothead. This dynamic highlights how the ideological opposites ironically share similar temperaments.

4 King of the Hill: “A Fire-Fighting We Will Go” (1999)

This entire episode is a flashback, but only the last few minutes gets into the differing perspectives of the episode’s central mystery: which of the four main King of the Hill guys burned down the firehouse? This part of the episode, however, is so hilarious and inventive that it deserves a spot in the upper half of this list.

Each of the four guys blames the fire on another one of them in their own flashbacks. And — making full use of the medium of animation — exaggerate different aspects of the story. For example, in Dale’s version, the scrawny, balding, conspiratorial nutbag imagines himself as buff and handsome, with a Fabio-like mane of beautiful hair. Then there’s the mush-mouthed Boomhauer version. When he gives his account, he speaks perfectly clearly, while everyone else speaks as incoherently as Boomhauer usually does.

3 The X-Files: “Bad Blood” (1998)

Although obviously not a sitcom, The X-Files usually ran a few funny episodes per season, and one such episode in Season Five uses the Rashomon trope. The episode begins with Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) pursuing what appears to be a vampire before Mulder jumps on top of it and stabs it through the heart with a wooden stake. It’s only then that they discover the “vampire” was a man wearing fake vampire teeth. 

From there, the episode focuses on Mulder and Scully getting their stories straight, each telling the other their own perspective, complete with their judgments about their partner. In Scully’s version, Mulder is overly enthusiastic about a case involving vampires while, in Mulder’s version, Scully’s characteristic skepticism becomes downright mean and dismissive. Even better than some of the straight-up comedies listed here, “Bad Blood” exaggerates the characters for optimal comedy, without going so far as to make them unrecognizable. 

The local Texas sheriff in the episode is played by Luke Wilson, who only adds to the hilarity. Scully is attracted to him, so she portrays him as charming. Meanwhile, Mulder is jealous, so he sees Wilson as a buck-toothed yokel. 

2 Everybody Loves Raymond: “The Can Opener” (1999)

The Rashomon portion of “The Can Opener” occupies the episode’s first half and shares perspectives from both Ray (Ray Romano) and his wife Debra (Patricia Heaton) on a fight between the two over a can opener. Both characters — you guessed it — exaggerate the worst qualities of their spouse. In Ray’s version, Debra is especially mean, and in Debra’s version, Ray is dumber and more ungrateful than ever. 

What makes this episode unique is that the scripts for both of their perspectives are exactly the same. The differences between their stories comes down entirely to the actions and inflections of the actors. It’s incredibly clever.

1 It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: “Who Got Dee Pregnant?” (2010)

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has the best Rashomon episode for a few reasons. First, the Rashomon trope spans the entire length of the show, whereas many of the shows listed above only dedicate half (or sometimes less) of an episode to the device. Secondly, the party setting is perfect for this kind of story, as everyone is in the same environment, but they all have a limited perspective of what is going on. Add to that that the characters were all drunk, and it just enhances how unreliable each character’s narration is.

Also, the mystery in “Who Got Dee Pregnant?” is something the audience really wants to know, while several of the other episodes listed are simply about which person started a fight. Finally, this Rashomon parody does what the best parodies always do: It utilizes the tropes of the original while also subverting them. For example, not only does every storyteller in “Who Got Dee Pregnant?” exaggerate their own virtues while accentuating the others’ flaws, but one particularly good joke takes the trope further than any other episodes listed above. When Mac (Rob McElhenney) shares his flashback, he pictures Dee (Kaitlin Olson) — who is often teased to resemble a bird — as a literal ostrich. It’s the funniest joke in the episode, and one of the best in the entire series.