It is physically impossible to watch every episode of every good TV show.

Yet we actually feelguiltyfor not keeping up with our shows.

Did you seeBetter Call Saul?

Ironically, cord-cutting has made TV viewing feel less free, more completist.

While some shows are more intensely serial than others, nearly all of them have a few weak episodes.

And for every decent show, some fan has compiled a viewing guide that tells you what to skip.

Here are some of the best.

But amend this guide according to your tastes, especially during those crucial first episodes.

If youre squeamish about violence or tense kidnapping scenarios, dont watch the unusually gruesome S1E2 and S1E3.

(If you do watch E3, skip through the cheesy flashbacks.)

If you like the comedy and character development of the pilot, do watch S1E4 and S1E5.

Everyone who hates that episode is wrong.

Whatever you skip, read plot summaries onWikipediaor theA.V.

The Sopranos

No one has produced a reliable guide that skips more than one or two episodes.

As withBreaking Bad, checkepisode summariesfor whatever you skip.

Mad Men

Every show has a different fundamental unit by which its remembered.

OnSeinfeldits the episode; onThe Wireits the season.

Then readWIREDs guideto the series different eras.

When youre done, move right ontoTemkins guide for Deep Space Nine.

There are plenty of alternatives for every Star Trek series.

Redditors have compiledmultiple guides, and io9 ranked the top 100 episodes across the entire franchise.

The Office

WIRED provides a best-of and a worst-offor this long-running sitcom.

you might just watch the good or just skip the bad.

But do catch the cast reunion in the series finale.

Vulture ranksall 202 episodes, and Screen Rant calls out thetop 12 standalones.

Speed Round

Lost:You know this all goes downhill.

Walk away after season 3 and try the full-series parodyWrecked.

Or tryChoire Sichas episode guide.

Homeland:Quit after Season 2.

Or even after Season 1.

This is not controversial.

Twin Peaks:The creator himself bailed on a few episodes of this show.

So as soon as Lauras killer is identified, skip to the finale.

Sherlock:There are just 13 episodes so far, but each is 90 minutes.

Skip the second episodes of S1 and S2.

The Office:Skip season 1 and watch the UK original instead.

The approach works great for comedies, but for dramas, find a backup list to cross-check.

The crowd-sourced TumblrSkippablehas just a smattering of shows, but its ruthlessly efficient in curation and presentation.

Its especially useful for cult hits likeBuffy the Vampire Slayer.

Clubrecap and rate a wide range of shows.

Whatever approach you take, youll inevitably miss a good episode or sit through a bad one.

This stuff is subjective, and thats the tradeoff.

Just remember all the time youll save for watching more shows.