History OneSceneWonder / LiveActionTv

* Seth Green and Breckin Meyer in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', as a pair of comic book store employees who have the "best day ever" when they briefly get to help one of their favorite characters.
** ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' also has Creator/JohnGlover as [[spoiler:Samson Gray, Sylar's real father]].

** Mr. Flibble, a ''penguin hand-puppet'', visibly played and voiced by Chris Barrie during the last scenes of "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonVQuarantine Quarantine]]", never to be seen or even mentioned in the show again... but he's one of the most popular supporting characters, almost to the point that you could consider him the show's mascot, and he's got [[http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/features/interviews/mr-flibble/ his own section]] on the show's official website, where he acts as an interview host.

* For about five minutes, ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'' stopped being an Franchise/ArchieComics show and suddenly became a [[AmbiguouslyEvil Farmer]] [[ScaryBlackMan McGinty]] show. That's what happens when you give Creator/TonyTodd a sinister walk-on role, let him creep everyone out with chilling calm, and then leave.

** The ''What Up With That'' faux-talk show/musical variety that Kenan Thompson hosts frequently has two special guests cameos of real celebrities playing themselves as if they were on a normal talk show. Those cameos are played straight and frequently steal the scene (though JasonSudeikis often steals it back). Cameos include UsefulNotes/AlGore, Creator/MikeTyson, Creator/MorganFreeman, Creator/RobinWilliams, Creator/BillOReilly, and Creator/SamuelLJackson, who used profanity on the live show.

* A few examples in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': Sonya Gomez, the famously bumbling junior engineer; Nick Locarno in "The[[{{Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E19TheFirstDuty}} The First Duty]]" (so much so that they wanted to use that character in ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager Voyager]]'', but had to settle for just the actor); Robin Lefler (due to the fact that she was played by ''[[Creator/AshleyJudd Ashley fricking' Judd]]''); Commander Shelby in "[[{{Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E26S4E1TheBestOfBothWorlds}} The Best of Both Worlds]]"; [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E10ChainOfCommand Captain Jellico and Gul Madred]] (played by Crator/RonnyCox and Creator/DavidWarner, respectively); etc.

* Comedy actor Guillermo Francella ([[DyeingFortheArt without his trademark moustache]]) played the until then unseen BigBad of Argentine [[SoapOpera telenovela]] ''Vidas Robadas'': he appeared in three scenes in the last two episodes, and completely owned the show. To picture the impact of TheReveal, imagine: the MagnificentBastard head of a human trafficking net is finally seen on camera - and it's a completely serious and creepy-looking, say, ''Adam Sandler''.

* David Rees Snell, who played AscendedExtra Ronnie Gardocki on ''Series/TheShield'', played season four BigBad Leon Drake, an evil [[GIJoe Cobra Commander]]-type terrorist who was the BigBad for the fourth and final season of ''Series/TheUnit''. Despite appearing in only seven episodes (with most of those episodes featuring him in one or two scenes, barking orders to his army of minions from his secret lair), David Snell's role is largely the only notable thing about the show in the eyes of fans of Shawn Ryan's other, more famous show ''The Shield''.

** One of the most emotional scenes in the entire series shows Champa (Gugan Deep Singh), a strong enforcer type initially desperate to escape a dying space station along with a mob of other abandoned Belters[[note]]residents of the working class asteroid belt used to being exploited by Earth or Mars, instilling a cynical and often brutal outlook[[/note]], being convinced by main character Naomi to help her control the mob and limit the evacuation to the 52 people the ship can carry. He gives an impromptu speech to muster the pride and grit of all the Belters present and then guards the door while children and young men and women are allowed to board. At the end [[spoiler:he turns down the seat Naomi bribed him with, telling her "you're not done yet" as he pushes her into the ship. He watches stoically through the airlock window as Naomi tearfully salutes him and leaves with the rest of the survivors.]]

-->'''Stephen Colbert''': Dr. Kissinger, what time is it?
-->'''Henry Kissinger''': Stephen, [[RockMeAsmodeus it is time to rock]].

** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E3SchoolReunion]]" has Creator/AnthonyStewartHead as the episode's one-shot villain, Mr Finch, delightfully switching between being a SoftSpokenSadist and ChewingTheScenery as the scene requires, and being an absolutely ''masterful'' ManipulativeBastard, who very nearly tempts the Doctor into joining him with what is either a brilliant sales-pitch born of genuine respect for the Doctor, or superbly playing on his ego. If it wasn't for Sarah-Jane Smith, he would have succeeded.

* Adam Arkin as Theo Tonin, TheDon of the Detroit Mob in ''Series/{{Justified}}''. [[OffscreenVillainy Reputed]] to talk to a severed human ear when he's angry.

* ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' had the FisherKing, an ageless old king who has waited years for Merlin to arrive and release him from his eternal life. The actor (Creator/DonaldSumpter from ''Series/GameOfThrones'') infuses the character with so much gravitas and poignancy that he turns a single scene into a bona-fide tear-jerker. The lighting and music only adds to the epic nature of the scene.

* ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'' has none other than a nearly-unrecognizable '''Creator/GuillermoDelToro''' buried under heavy makeup, [[ChewingTheScenery screaming at the top of his lungs]] about [[EatsBabies eating his own children]] and having a complete mental breakdown in court. It truly must be seen to be believed.

** Also [[GenreSavvy Christina of Milan]] and [[TheHeretic Anne Askew]].

** ''Series/TheDailyShow'' had a CrowningMomentOfAwesome involving [[http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-november-19-2009/gaywatch---peter-vadala---william-phillips Mick Foley]] defending a kid who supports gay rights.

** Dame Creator/DianaRigg who is in two scenes. In the first she gets a condom flicked onto her head while she's eating soup, and instructs the perpetrator (Creator/DanielRadcliffe!) on how to politely ask for it back again. In the second she wearily tells him to go away because [[CrowningMomentOfFunny he's been trying to hit on her all day]]).

* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' had Creator/JohnGlover make a guest appearance as a high-powered executive at the radio station. And [[LargeHam It]]. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Is]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjWipjKclBY Glorious]]. The scene managed to earn Glover an Emmy nomination.

*** [[IWillWaitForYou Her Christmas Eve phone conversation with Desmond]] at the end of ''The Constant'' is one of '''the''' [[TearJerker most]] [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming popular scenes]] in ''the entire series!''
*** Her reunion with Des in the fourth season finale (her only scene in that two hour episode making it a literal example) is a [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming is a ray of hope and happiness]] in an otherwise [[CrapsackWorld grim episode.]]

** In episode 2x12, despite featuring major advancement on most of the season's main storylines and one character's CrowningMomentOfAwesome, most of the online chatter about the episode centered around former ''Series/TheShield'' star Kenny Johnson's surprise cameo as an out-of-town member of the Sons of Anarchy biker gang summoned to help participate in a planned rumble with a rival Aryan gang.

** Creator/StephenHawking's appearance as his holographic self in the pre-credits scene of "[[{{Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E24S7E1Descent}} Descent]]". Not only was Stephen the first, and, thus far, the only person to appear AsHimself in a Trek production, but [[CrowningMomentOfFunny he]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome wins]] his game of poker against Data and fellow holograms UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein and Sir Isaac Newton.

* [[TheAce Lord Flashheart]] in ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'', especially in the second series where he appears out of nowhere, goes through his monologue, and disappears again in less than two minutes of screen time, and totally runs away with the episode.[[spoiler:And the girl]]. [[spoiler:"Woof!"]]
** [[WordOfGod In an interview]] Creator/RikMayall said he only agreed to play Flashheart if he got more laughs than the main character in that episode.
*** Peter Cook as Richard III in the first ever episode of ''Series/{{Blackadder}}''.
*** Creator/StephenFry too, in ''Blackadder the Third'' as Wellington, to the point that his mannerisms were carried over to General Melchet's character in ''Blackadder Goes Forth''.

*** Creator/TomBaker as Captain Rum. "Arr..." (Although in the last two cases it's more of a One Episode Wonder.)
*** Denis Lill as Sir Talbot Buxomley in ''Blackadder III'' episode "Dish and Dishonesty". He appears for about two minutes and dies at the end of his scene. But he is absolutely unforgettable.
* Danny Trejo on ''Series/BreakingBad'' as Tortuga, the cartel snitch. Technically in for two scenes, the second one being somewhat more memorable.

** Mike was originally intended as a one scene wonder, but Jonathan Banks pulled it off well enough that he became an AscendedExtra, and eventually the {{Deuteragonist}} of the sequel, ''Series/BetterCallSaul''.
* The ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "Conversations With Dead People" features a very entertaining WarriorTherapist vampire who died at the very end of the episode. According to the DVDCommentary for the episode, Jonathan M. Woodward's performance as said vampire was such a scene stealer that he subsequently landed larger roles on ''Series/{{Angel}}'' and ''Series/{{Firefly}}''.
** Then there's producer David Fury's 15-second appearance in the musical episode "Once More With Feeling", singing about the dry cleaner.

** And then there was the Cheese Man from ''Restless''.

** Cyril Luckham (the White Guardian) of the "Key to Time" storyline. He does nothing but sit in a chair and set up the plot for the season in the first five minutes of the first episode, but eerily sticks in your mind.

** Peter Capaldi (or more accurately, his [[DeathGlare eyes]]) as the Twelfth Doctor in "[[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor The Day of the Doctor]]".

** The Robert de Niro episode qualifies as this, since the sheer amazingness of having de Niro as one of the celebrity characters is lampshaded with a lot of gushing about how amazing it is that Andy is going to meet Robert de Niro, and then subverted when he decides not to. In the end he's only in the show for a minute, and spends that minute being inordinately amused by a novelty pornographic pen. Needless to say, it's one of the most memorable guest spots of the series.
** The George Michael scene from the Christmas special probably also qualifies. Although Michael is probably the biggest name in that show, he just wanders unexpectedly into the scene without any fanfare and not in his capacity as a celebrity, to deliver a hilarious performance centering on his own reputation for getting arrested for having sex in public places, which is simultaneously played straight (he drops by the "queer bench" in the park to ask if there's "any action") and subverted (he does this during his lunch break while on community service, which he's been sentenced to for... helping a fellow celebrity illegally dispose of a fridge-freezer).

** Dame Diana Rigg who is in two scenes. In the first she gets a condom flicked onto her head while she's eating soup, and instructs the perpetrator ([[Film/HarryPotter Daniel Radcliffe]]!) on how to politely ask for it back again. In the second she wearily tells him to go away because [[CrowningMomentOfFunny he's been trying to hit on her all day]]).
* [[CrazyAwesome Jubal Early]] in ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', who only appeared in the last episode yet was perhaps the greatest part of an already great series.

* Both ''Series/{{Friends}}'' and, more recently, ''Series/{{Skins}}'' make a habit of doing this for the main characters' parents. Chandler's dad steals most of his scenes, Joey's mum likewise for her single appearance, and perhaps the most memorable scene that had Creator/HughLaurie lecturing Rachel on the plane to Britain; meanwhile ''Skins'' had cameos from Harry Enfield, Bill Bailey, Peter Capaldi, Arabella Weir, Josie Lawrence...

* Pretty much any show where Creator/SummerGlau ends up being cast as a bit character ends up with her stealing the spotlight in her scenes. A good example is the ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "Waiting in the Wings".

** ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' also has John Glover as [[spoiler:Samson Gray, Sylar's real father]].

* Not exactly a One ''Scene'' Wonder, but in the fourth series of ''Series/JonathanCreek'' Adrian Edmondson turns up about once an episode and manages to steal every scene he's in as Carla's clueless, pretentious but strangely lovable producer/husband Brendan.

* Brian Cox as Vesper Abaddon in ''Series/{{Kings}}''. A deposed tyrant, he has two scenes where he tries to make his captor, Silas, as vile as he is, and another where he speaks to TheHero, David, before he is to be executed. Scary as hell, incredibly complex, and has only a few minutes screentime.
* A 1994 episode of ''The Late Show With Creator/DavidLetterman'' had Dave ask "Johnny Carson" to deliver the Top Ten list. Larry "Bud" Melman delivered it posing as him. Then Dave said there was something wrong and this wasn't the list and called for "Johnny" again ... and out steps the ''real'' Johnny Carson, to nearly three minutes of continuous standing ovation. He sat in Dave's chair, and left without saying a word. This turned out to be Johnny's last television appearance.

** Mr. Flibble, a ''penguin hand-puppet'', visibly played and voiced by one of the regular cast during the last scenes of a single episode, never to be seen or even mentioned in the show again... but he's one of the most popular supporting characters, almost to the point that you could consider him the show's mascot, and he's got [[http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/features/interviews/mr-flibble/ his own section]] on the show's official website, where he acts as an interview host.
** Lister's friend Petersen, who has appeared in only two episodes ("The End" and "Stasis Leak") plus a few flashbacks in the first two series is nevertheless one of the most liked characters in the series. The fact he wasn't able to be brought back for Series 8 is a serious WhatCouldHaveBeen for most fans.

* Anyone who comes without previous warning in ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. In an episode hosted by Roseanne Barr, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqPiJ0L7YmY Coffee Talk with Linda Richman]]", there was a sketch which frequently discussed Barbra Streisand, and already had a guest appearance by {{Music/Madonna}}... then Babs herself appeared!
** One skit had an interview with Wilson the volleyball from ''Film/CastAway'' When the skit ended, Wilson said his ride was here and Tom Hanks casually walked onto the set. He didn't say anything, he just walked onset, stood there for two minutes waiting for the cheering to die down, picked up Wilson, and left. ''That'' is a One Scene Wonder.
** Another Tom Hanks example was his surprise appearance (AsHimself) on ''Celebrity Series/{{Jeopardy}}''. He wasn't hosting that night (Will Ferrell was), but he came on to be one of the contestants. To say he blew the scene out of the water might have been an understatement. From getting his hand stuck in a pickle jar to suffocating in a plastic bag to banging his head off of the podium and ''breaking it'', let's just say SNL might need a new ''Jeopardy'' set; Tom Hanks is all done chewing it to bits.
** Steve Martin has made it a habit of just dropping in with no warning, often sending himself up as a major egotistical star and the crowd goes nuts every time. Once, Martin just showed up in the middle of "Weekend Update," saying he wasn't there to plug a movie or anything. "I just felt like a cameo."
** It is also a virtual certainty that if the show has any recurring feature that pokes fun at a specific actor or political figure the person being mocked will eventually show up in the middle of the feature and completely steal the scene. For example, one open had Creator/TinaFey as UsefulNotes/SarahPalin doing a press conference. In the middle of it, cut to back stage, where Lorne Michaels is talking to the ''real'' Sarah Palin about the skit...and then Alec Baldwin comes up and mistakes Palin for Fey.

** For most of 1995-96, a recurring sketch would be "The Joe Pesci Show" with Jim Breuer as a Pesci who would talk like his movie characters, get nuts and hit guys with a bat. Colin Quinn played Robert [=DeNiro=] as if it was still the 1970's and talk in "one word sentences." It all ended with the real Pesci and [=DeNiro=] coming on to beat the two up.
** Jimmy Fallon would host the show in 2014, with musical guest Justin Timberlake; the two naturally would participate in a ''[[Music/TheBeeGees Barry Gibb]] Talk Show'' sketch. At the ending theme of the sketch, the real Barry Gibb would sing the falsetto parts on the "Nights On Broadway"-soundalike theme song alongside Fallon and Timberlake.

** Another ''Series/TheShield'' cast member Walton Goggins comes in later and steals the show as a transgender prostitute.

* Several examples in ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': Lt. Riley, who appeared in only two episodes; [[GrandeDame T'Pau]] and [[ChildhoodMarriagePromise T'Pring]] from "Amok Time"; [[FollowInMyFootsteps Sarek]] and [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents Amanda]] in ''Journey to Babel''; the Romulan Commanders in "[[WorthyOpponent Balance of Terror]]" and "The Enterprise Incident"; Baalok from "The Corbomite Maneuver"; the [[PsychopathicManchild Squire of Gothos]]; the [[SiliconBasedLife Horta]].
* A few examples in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': Sonya Gomez, the famously bumbling junior engineer; Nick Locarno in "The First Duty" (so much so that they wanted to use that character in ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager Voyager]]'', but had to settle for just the actor); Robin Lefler (due to the fact that she was played by ''Ashley fricking' Judd''); Commander Shelby in "The Best of Both Worlds"; Captain Jellico and Gul Madred (played by Ronny Cox and David Warner, respectively); etc.
** Creator/StephenHawking's appearance as his holographic self in the pre-credits scene of "Descent: Part I". Not only was Stephen the first, and, thus far, the only person to appear AsHimself in a Trek production, but [[CrowningMomentOfFunny he]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome wins]] his game of poker against Data and fellow holograms Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton.
* In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', there was the Klingon chef who owned a restaurant on [=DS=]9, and also played Klingon folks songs to customers on the accordion. (Actually appeared in two episodes, "Melora" and "Playing God"; novels claim his name is Kaga, possibly meant as {{Homage}} to Chairman Kaga from ''Series/IronChef'', which debuted the same month as "Melora".)

* ''Series/TheTudors'': Peter O'Toole as Pope Paul III only appears in some episodes, never interacts directly with the main cast (being as he is in ''Rome'' all the time), and completely steals the show. Peter O'Toole should play the Pope in anything that has a Pope.

* Creator/AlysonHannigan as Trina Echolls on ''Series/VeronicaMars'' might qualify. She shows up completely unexpectedly and completely dominates the intro scene with herself, Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring.
** And in a later episode she reunites with her ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' co-star Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia) playing Kendall Casablancas. Trina runs into Kendall after she just spent a night with Trina's brother Logan and they have a fun, catty conversation.

* President Bartlett was originally supposed to be a OneSceneWonder on ''Series/TheWestWing''; the show was meant to focus on the senior staff, with the President appearing maybe once a month or so to emphasize the distance between the man at the top and the people working for him out of the spotlight. But Martin Sheen's performance was made of too much awesome, and on top of this it was decided that it would be silly to have a series set among the senior staff of the White House where the audience never saw the President, and so he got promoted to a member of the main cast.

** Peter Boyle as the one-off character Clyde Bruckman, in the episode ''Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose". One episode. Not an important episode. Not a character important to the myth arc. But he's one of the most memorable characters in the whole show, partly because it was one of the most highly-acclaimed episodes ever, and because...well... it's Peter Boyle.

* ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'' has none other than a nearly-unrecognizable '''Creator/GuillermoDelToro''' [[ChewingTheScenery screaming at the top of his lungs]] about [[EatsBabies eating his own children]] and having a complete mental breakdown in court. It truly must be seen to be believed.

* In the ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' episode "Suicide Squad", ComicBook/HarleyQuinn makes a five-second cameo, with a line supplied by Crceator/TaraStrong herself. It is probably the most memorable part of the whole episode.

** For most of 1995-96, a recurring sketch would be "The Joe Pesci Show" with Jim Breuer as a Pesci who would talk like his movie characters, get nuts and hit guys with a bat. Colin Quinn played Robert DeNiro as if it was still the 1970's and talk in "one word sentences." It all ended with the real Pesci and DeNiro coming on to beat the two up.

* In the ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' episode "Suicide Squad", ComicBook/HarleyQuinn makes a five-second cameo, with a line supplied by Creator/TaraStrong herself. It is probably the most memorable part of the whole episode.

* The ''Series/{{Castle}}'' episode "Overkill" somehow manages to have ''two'' One Scene Wonders within ten minutes of each other, in the form of Stephen Full as Benny, a charmingly sleazy and hungover motel clerk, and Jennifer Hall as Rebecca, a weepy lab technician who's 'cry-talk' Beckett has to decipher.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': David Rintour shows up for all of three seconds, in a flashback as the Mad King, but he ''owns'' those three seconds.

* In the ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' episode "Suicide Squad", HarleyQuinn makes a five-second cameo, with a line supplied by Creator/TaraStrong herself. It is probably the most memorable part of the whole episode.

** It is also a virtual certainty that if the show has any recurring feature that pokes fun at a specific actor or political figure the person being mocked will eventually show up in the middle of the feature and completely steal the scene. For example, one open had Creator/TinaFey as SarahPalin doing a press conference. In the middle of it, cut to back stage, where Lorne Michaels is talking to the ''real'' Sarah Palin about the skit...and then Alec Baldwin comes up and mistakes Palin for Fey.

* "Sebastian" on ''Series/BabylonFive''--only in one episode, arguably the most memorable character in the whole series. Even if he's remembered, not as a hero, not as a messenger, not even as Sebastian... [[spoiler:but only as "[[UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper Jack]]".]]

-->'''The Doctor:''' You mean nothing will happen to me?\\

** Creator/JohnCleese's magnificent minute-long cameo toward the end of fan-favourite [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath "City of Death"]]. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mmal0PMkmI Exquisite.]]
** The Raston Robot Warrior in [[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors "The Five Doctors"]], which makes the most of its screen-time by slaughtering a horde of Cybermen. (It's even better for those who regard the eighties Cybermen as a DorkAge.)
** The Special Weapons Dalek only makes a brief appearance in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks "Remembrance of the Daleks"]] and a few small cameos in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E1AsylumOfTheDaleks "Asylum of the Daleks"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E2TheWitchsFamiliar "The Witch's Familiar"]]. It has a huge fan base clamouring for a return.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E11Utopia "Utopia"]] in the new series gets ''two'' of these. First is Creator/DerekJacobi's wonderful performance as Professor Yana, surpassed by Derek Jacobi again in his two-minute-long appearance as the Master.
** Peter Capaldi (or more accurately, his [[DeathGlare eyes]]) as the Twelfth Doctor in [[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor "The Day of the Doctor"]].
*** Creator/TomBaker as the Curator from that same episode.
* The Robert de Niro episode of ''{{Series/Extras}}'' qualifies as this, since the sheer amazingness of having de Niro as one of the celebrity characters is lampshaded with a lot of gushing about how amazing it is that Andy is going to meet Robert de Niro, and then subverted when he decides not to. In the end he's only in the show for a minute, and spends that minute being inordinately amused by a novelty pornographic pen. Needless to say, it's one of the most memorable guest spots of the series.

** Creator/PatrickStewart appears for a single scene, in which he explains a screenplay he's writing wherein he plays a [[Film/{{X-Men}} Professor Xavier]]-type character who uses his powers to make women's clothes fall off.

*** Creator/TomBaker as Captain Rum. ''Arr...' (Although in the last two cases it's more of a One Episode Wonder.)

* In the new ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' series, none of the MauveShirt Viper/Raptor pilots are more memorable then the "Tattooed Pilot" whose actually more of an extra since he plays no vital role and has only one speaking line in the entire series.
** Racetrack has a bit of a following too, despite never having actually had her own storyline, she's probably survived more raptor mishaps than Athena and Boomer put together, especially in later seasons.
* [[CrazyAwesome Jubal Early]] in ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', who only appeared in the last episode yet was perhaps the greatest part of an already great series.
* Creator/JimHenson showing up in anything done with Franchise/TheMuppets is always special.

** Cyril Luckham (the White Guardian) of the "Key to Time" storyline in original series. He does nothing but sit in a chair and set up the plot for the season in the first five minutes of the first episode, but eerily sticks in your mind.
-->"You mean nothing will happen to me?"\\
"Nothing at all. Ever."
** The episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E11Utopia "Utopia"]] in the new series gets ''three'' of these. First is Creator/DerekJacobi's wonderful performance as Professor Yana, surpassed by Derek Jacobi again in his two-minute-long appearance as the Master, which is surpassed ''again'' by Creator/JohnSimm's even briefer role as the Master (though the last one may not qualify, as Simm spends the subsequent two episodes being a legendary MagnificentBastard).
** Creator/JohnCleese's magnificent minute-long cameo toward the end of fan-favorite "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath City of Death]]". [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mmal0PMkmI Exquisite.]]
** The Special Weapons Dalek only makes a brief appearance in "Remembrance of the Daleks" and a few small cameos in "Asylum of the Daleks" and "The Witch's Familiar". It has a huge fan base clamouring for a return.

** During the 1970s, Vega Nexos, a weird-looking alien killed off about five minutes into "The Monster of Peladon", who received disproportionate fame in fandom thanks to being added to make up the numbers to a series of breakfast cereal trading cards.

** Creator/TomBaker as the Curator from that same episode.
* President Bartlett was originally supposed to be a OneSceneWonder on ''Series/TheWestWing''; the show was meant to focus on the senior staff, with the President appearing maybe once a month or so to emphasize the distance between the man at the top and the people working for him out of the spotlight. But Martin Sheen's performance was made of too much awesome, and on top of this it was decided that it would be silly to have a series set among the senior staff of the White House where the audience never saw the President, and so he got promoted to a member of the main cast.
** His appearance in the pilot (which was presumably filmed with the above intent) definitely counts, however; he only shows up at the very end, but when your first appearance involves bursting into a tense meeting between White House staff and religious leaders proclaiming "[[ItMakesSenseInContext I am the Lord thy God, thou shall have no other gods before Me. Boy, those were the days!]]" people are gonna remember it.
** Roger Rees as Lord John Marbury isn't quite a OneSceneWonder -- he was in five episodes over six years -- but you can't deny that he was disproportionately memorable in his few scenes as LoveableRogue.
* 'Sebastian' on ''Series/BabylonFive''--only in one episode, arguably the most memorable character in the whole series. Even if he's remembered, not as a hero, not as a messenger, not even as Sebastian... [[spoiler:but only as "[[UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper Jack]]".]]
** To an extent, Bester as well. His first appearance was the standard "corrupt Earth official who comes to make Sinclair's life hell" that typified many Season 1 episode villains but Creator/WalterKoenig infused the role with so much fun energy and serious emotion you looked forward to those times he came back to plague the main cast. Notably, he was one of the few series villains who could regularly show up, [[MagnificentBastard have a hostile face-to-face dialogue with the protagonists, accomplish his goals and walk away scot-free at the end of the episode.]]
** Morden in his early appearances. He just oozes intrigue and menace, and he's only on screen for about five minutes.
* ''TheTudors'': Peter O'Toole as the Pope Paul III only appears in some episodes, never interacts directly with the main cast (Being as he is in ''Rome'' all the time), and completely steals the show. Peter O'Toole should play the Pope in anything that has a Pope.
** Also [[GenreSavvy Christina of Milan]] and [[TheHeretic Anne Askew]].
* Seth Green and Breckin Meyer in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', as a pair of comic book store employees who have the "best day ever" when they briefly get to help one of their favorite characters.
** ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' also has John Glover as [[spoiler:Samson Gray, Sylar's real father]].
** Creator/ChristopherEccleston's memorable turn as Claude Rains began as an EnsembleDarkHorse, but since he never returned and was only in 5-ish out of nearly 60 episodes, he has evolved into a much-loved OneSceneWonder.
*** One of the first words spoken by him in the show is a brilliant ShoutOut to his stint as [[Series/DoctorWho the Doctor]].
--> '''Claude''': Fantastic!
* Brother Mouzone in ''Series/TheWire'' only appeared in six episodes, most of them for just a few minutes, or seconds in the case of his introduction. An erudite, soft spoken, Harpers magazine reading, suit and bow tie wearing gentleman... who also happens to be one of the most feared and respected hitmen on the east coast, and whose popularity rivals some regulars.
* Comedy actor Guillermo Francella ([[DyeingFortheArt without his trademark moustache]]) played the until then unseen BigBad of Argentine [[SoapOpera telenovela]] ''Vidas Robadas'': he appeared in three scenes in the last two episodes, and completely owned the show. To picture the impact of TheReveal, imagine: the MagnificentBastard head of a human trafficking net is finally seen on camera - and it's a completely serious and creepy-looking, say, ''Adam Sandler''.

* Ian [=McNiece=] as the [[KentBrockmanNews Forum news reader]] in ''Series/{{Rome}}'' is just ''[[HamAndCheese grand.]]''
* Danny Trejo on ''Series/BreakingBad'' as Tortuga, the cartel snitch. Technically in for two scenes, the second one being somewhat more memorable.
** The junkyard owner who saves Walt and Jesse from discovery by Hank in the third season and the armsdealer who sells Walt his gun in the fourth season also count.
** Mike was originally intended as a one scene wonder, but Jonathan Banks pulled it off well enough that he became an AscendedExtra, and eventually the {{Deuteragonist}} of the sequel, Series/BetterCallSaul.

*** Also from ''Series/JonathanCreek'' is one of Adam Klaus [[GirlOfTheWeek girlfriends]], who sweetly kisses him, gives him a kimono, and waves goodbye as she gets out of the car. That's it. She doesn't get a name, or a single line. However, the whole cameo becomes HilariousInHindsight considering the Chinese calligraphy on the kimono reads: "I am full of shit." Adam wears it around the theatre all day long before a theatre critic who speaks fluent Chinese tells him what it says and that the girl who give it to him definitely has his measure.

* The Robert de Niro episode of ''{{Series/Extras}}'' qualifies as this, since the sheer amazingness of having de Niro as one of the celebrity characters is lampshaded with a lot of gushing about how amazing it is that Andy is going to meet Robert de Niro, and then subverted when he decides not to. In the end he's only in the show for a minute, and spends that minute being inordinately amused by a novelty pornographic pen. Needless to say, it's one of the most memorable guest spots of the series.
** The George Michael scene from the Christmas special probably also qualifies. Although Michael is probably the biggest name in that show, he just wanders unexpectedly into the scene without any fanfare and not in his capacity as a celebrity, to deliver a hilarious performance centering on his own reputation for getting arrested for having sex in public places, which is simultaneously played straight (he drops by the "queer bench" in the park to ask if there's "any action") and subverted (he does this during his lunch break while on community service, which he's been sentenced to for... helping a fellow celebrity illegally dispose of a fridge-freezer).
** Creator/PatrickStewart appears for a single scene, in which he explains a screenplay he's writing wherein he plays a [[Film/{{X-Men}} Professor Xavier]]-type character who uses his powers to make women's clothes fall off.
** Dame Diana Rigg who is in two scenes. In the first she gets a condom flicked onto her head while she's eating soup, and instructs the perpetrator ([[Film/HarryPotter Daniel Radcliffe]]!) on how to politely ask for it back again. In the second she wearily tells him to go away because [[CrowningMomentOfFunny he's been trying to hit on her all day]]).
* AlysonHannigan as Trina Echolls on ''Series/VeronicaMars'' might qualify. She shows up completely unexpectedly and completely dominates the intro scene with herself, Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring.
** And in a later episode she reunites with her ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' co-star Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia) playing Kendall Casablancas. Trina runs into Kendall after she just spent a night with Trina's brother Logan and they have a fun, catty conversation.
* AlysonHannigan again in ''Series/That70sShow'', where she plays a cop [[LoveTriangle for whom Kelso and Fez immediately declare their love.]]
* Both ''Series/{{Friends}}'' and, more recently, ''Series/{{Skins}}'' make a habit of doing this for the main characters' parents. Chandler's dad steals most of his scenes, Joey's mum likewise for her single appearance, and perhaps the most memorable scene that had Creator/HughLaurie lecturing Rachel on the plane to Britain; meanwhile ''Skins'' had cameos from Harry Enfield, Bill Bailey, Peter Capaldi, Arabella Weir, Josie Lawrence...
* Try to find a season of ''Series/CriminalMinds'' that doesn't have at least one of these. The woman at the convenience store that grabs a shotgun in "Identity" is an example. The single-episode characters are usually so interesting that even the main actors have said in interviews that they wish they could guest star on their own show.
** The concept has carried over to SpinOff series ''Series/CriminalMindsBeyondBorders'', usually in the form of the local authorities that the IRT is coordinating with. [=S1E7=], "Citizens of the World", features a [[UsefulNotes/{{Morocco}} local]] policeman whose answer to everything is to beat someone up.
* Pretty much any show where Creator/SummerGlau ends up being cast as a bit character ends up with her stealing the spotlight in her scenes. A good example is the ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "Waiting In The Wings."
** She appears AsHerself on a train in ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', where the characters come up and try to hit on her one at a time. Her reactions to their awkward advances are hilarious.
** In the ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' episode "The Left Hand" (2x06), there is supposedly some ''other'' plot involving Echo and Senator Perrin, but it's hard to pay attention to that when you've got Summer Glau and Fran Kranz on the same screen together.

*** OnceAnEpisode, one of the impersonated celebrities on ''What's Up With That'' is FleetwoodMac guitarist Lindsay Buckingham, as played by Bill Hader. During one WUWT sketch, ''the real'' Lindsay Buckingham shows up in the end singing the theme song with the sketch participants and Hader!Lindsay, and play guitar.
* A 1994 episode of ''The Late Show With Creator/DavidLetterman'' had Dave ask "Johnny Carson" to deliver the Top Ten list. Larry "Bud" Melman delivered it posing as him. Then Dave said there was something wrong and this wasn't the list and called for "Johnny" again...and out steps the ''real'' Johnny Carson, to nearly three minutes of continuous standing ovation. He sat in Dave's chair, and left without saying a word. This turned out to be Johnny's last television appearance.
* The ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "Conversations With Dead People" features a very entertaining WarriorTherapist vampire who died at the very end of the episode. According to the DVDCommentary for the episode, Jonathan M. Woodward's performance as said vampire was such a scene stealer that he subsequently landed larger roles on ''Series/{{Angel}}'' and ''Series/{{Firefly}}''.
** Then there's producer David Fury's 15-second appearance in the musical episode "Once More With Feeling", singing about the dry cleaner.
---> "They got the mustard... ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut!"
** And then there was the Cheese Man from ''Restless''.
* David Rees Snell, who played AscendedExtra Ronnie Gardocki on ''Series/TheShield'', played season four BigBad Leon Drake, an evil [[GIJoe Cobra Commander]]-type terrorist who was the BigBad for the fourth and final season of ''TheUnit''. Despite appearing in only seven episode (with most of those episodes featuring him in one or two scenes, barking orders to his army of minions from his secret lair), David Snell's role is largely the only notable thing about the show in the eyes of fans of Shawn Ryan's other, more famous show ''The Shield''.

** From the same series you also have Cal '[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The Fucker]]' Richards, who is only in half an episode but gets some of the best lines of the whole series.
* ''Series/RedDwarf'':
** Mr. Flibble, a ''penguin hand-puppet'', visibly played and voiced by one of the regular cast during the last scenes of a single episode, never to be seen or even mentioned in the show again... but he's one of the most popular supporting characters, almost to the point that you could consider him the show's mascot, and he's got [[http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/features/interviews/mr-flibble/ his own section]] on the show's official website, where he acts as an interview host.
** Lister's friend Petersen, who has appeared in only two episodes ("The End" and "Stasis Leak") plus a few flashbacks in the first two series is nevertheless one of the most liked characters in the series. The fact he wasn't able to be brought back for Series 8 is a serious WhatCouldHaveBeen for most fans.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' has [[spoiler: the fourth Horseman, Death]], played by Julian Richings, who manages to exude pure awesome simply by being there, despite roughly six minutes of screen time.
** Surprisingly, Creator/ParisHilton, who plays a shapeshifting demon that takes on her form. Said demon [[SelfDeprecation doesn't think too highly of her]].
* The ''Series/{{Castle}}'' episode "Overkill" somehow manages to have ''two'' One Scene Wonders within ten minutes of each other, in the form of Stephen Full as Benny, a charmingly sleazy and hungover motel clerk, and Jennifer Hall as Rebecca, a weepy lab technician who's 'cry-talk' Beckett has to decipher.
** Drug dealer Vulcan Simmons appears in a three-minute scene in episode 3-13 "Knockdown" and isn't even guilty of the crime they believe he committed. He still manages to establish himself as a monster just by talking. [[OneSceneWonder See here]]. He'd be brought back in Season 6 [[spoiler:and killed off in that season]].
* Whenever Charles Widmore is in an episode of ''Series/{{Lost}}'', he usually only has one scene, but that scene is always a killer.
** "The fact that she never received your sentiments is good for her, because as far as she's concerned you've forsaken her. And that's the way it's going to stay."
** "You creep into my bedroom in the dead of night, like a rat, and have the audacity to pretend that you're the victim?"
** "Walk with me, Desmond." (Cut to Desmond standing around awkwardly while Widmore uses a urinal)
** "One sip of [[=McCutcheon=] whiskey] is worth more than you can make in a month. What you are not, Mr. Hume, is worthy of drinking my whiskey. How can you ever be worthy of marrying my daughter?"
** His daughter Penny also qualifies. She shows up even less often than her dad, rarely has more than one or two scenes, but they're always important, and [[ThePowerOfLove the intensity of her love for Desmond]] always shines through, so much so that she and Des are among the most [[EnsembleDarkHorse popular couples]] in the entire show, despite their limited screen time together.
*** [[WhamLine "What boat?"]]
*** [[IWillWaitForYou Her Christmas Eve phone conversation with Desmond]] at the end of ''The Constant'' is one of '''the''' [[TearJerker most]] [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming popular scenes]] in ''the entire series!''
*** Her reunion with Des in the fourth season finale (her only scene in that two hour episode making it a literal example) is a [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming is a ray of hope and happiness]] in an otherwise [[CrapsackWorld grim episode.]]
* A minor controversy erupted when the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences served up an extreme version of this in 2006, nominating Ellen Burstyn for an Emmy for her 14-second, 38-word cameo in the TV movie ''MrsHarris''.

* Brian Cox as Vesper Abaddon in ''Series/{{Kings}}''. A deposed tyrant, he has two scenes where he tries to make his captor, Silas, as vile as he is, and another where he speaks to TheHero, David, before he is to be executed. Scary as hell, incredibly complex, and has only a few minutes screentime.
* ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' had the FisherKing, an ageless old king who has waited years for Merlin to arrive and release him from his eternal life. The actor (Creator/DonaldSumpter from ''Series/GameOfThrones'') infuses the character with so much gravitas and poignancy that he turns a single scene into a bona-fide tear-jerker. The lighting and music only adds to the epic nature of the scene.
* ''Series/RobinOfSherwood'': Every fan talks about John Rhys-Davies' performance as King Richard. He was in exactly one episode: "The King's Fool".
* "Valentine's Day," the second-season episode of ''Series/TheOfficeUS'', Conan O'Brien appears in the background at Rockefeller Centre, as Michael is wandering around the streets of New York. Even funnier because Michael is watching a tall woman with glasses he thinks is Tina Fey.
* On ''Series/{{Glee}}'', one of the most memorable one-scene wonders is Cameo, an unruly student from a flashback to Holly's past that explained why she became a free spirit.
-->'''Cameo:''' "Tricks? You some kind of magician substitute? I'm a Christian, and that devil magic stuff OFFENDS ME!! (charges Holly and punches her lights out)
-->'''Holly (in the present):''' I woke up to an empty classroom. And worse, they took my Air Jordans!
* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' had Creator/JohnGlover make a guest appearance as a high-powered executive at the radio station. And [[LargeHam It]]. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Is]]. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjWipjKclBY Glorious]]. The scene managed to earn Glover an Emmy nomination.
* The BlindSeer from ''Series/OnceUponATime'', first appearing as a little girl and then a young woman over the course of a single episode. It's not only her stitched-up eyes or the fact that she has ''eye balls'' on the palms of her hands, but that she tells Rumplestiltskin a SelfFulfillingProphecy that pretty much kick-starts the plot of the ''entire show''.
** Zelena's adoptive mother is one simply because she is a loving, and above all normal, person. This helps make Zelena's backstory very realistic.
* In the third-season ''Series/LoisAndClark'' episode "Double Jeopardy", there's a seemingly throwaway scene where Luthor makes a back-alley deal with a rogue government agent. It's amazing.
* Mike Stamford in ''{{Series/Sherlock}}''. [[BadassAdorable Molly]] was supposed to be in one episode but England loved her so much, they expanded her role.
* Susan's parents in ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' are far more interesting than they have any right to be. Her father because of his affair with [[GeniusBonus John Cheever]], and his mother because of her [[DeadpanSnarker downbeat caustic attitude]] during her first appearance. ("If I had a nickel for every one (of the books in the library) he's actually read... I'd be broke.")
** Mr Bookman, the library cop from ''The Libary''.
* In the ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' episode "SuicideSquad", HarleyQuinn makes a five-second cameo, with a line supplied by Creator/TaraStrong herself. It is probably the most memorable part of the whole episode.
* Adam Arkin as Theo Tonin, TheDon of the Detroit Mob in ''Series/{{Justified}}''. [[OffscreenVillainy Reputed]] to talk to a severed human ear when he's angry.
* ''Series/TheThinBlueLine'': BRIGADIER BLASTER SUMP, DAMN YOU! (It's helped by the fact he's played by Creator/StephenFry).
* ''Series/JamAndJerusalem'': Creator/TimVine as a local politician who has NoIndoorVoice.