The Countdown Breaks the Top 20

Today, we're continuing with the summer-long countdown of The Best Episodes of the Season. But before we get to this week's entries, here's a look at the rules for this year's winners. I ended up with 30 incredible episodes that demonstrate the diversity and quality of the current television state. All of the shows and their episodes are from NETWORK television only, meaning that I did not take any cable series into consideration (since I only watch a few and felt that it would be unfair). All episodes aired between September 2006 and June 2007. Each episode that made the final list moved me in some way; either by making me laugh out loud, cry my eyes out or just left me with that "wow" feeling that stays with you for a few days. So basically, it's completely subjective! Since this is a summer-long countdown to the number 1 episode, I will reveal a few each week all summer. So, be sure to tune in on Thursdays to find out which episodes are on the countdown! Today, we're going to take a look at numbers 21-19.

21: "Kept a Guy Locked in a Truck" - My Name is Earl
One of Earl's charms is its "former screw-up does right by the people he wronged" theme. It makes the title character extremely likable and it lends a huge dose of heart to the otherwise over-the-top comedy. So while most of the show's funniest moments come from Joy, its more moving ones fall on Earl. Such was the case when he tried to make amends for locking a guy in a truck. Things got complicated when he found out that the guy just died. He decided to arrange for a funeral, but the guy was a loner, so Earl feared that no one would attend. He gathered as much information as he could about this guy and through the journey, learned that he had an entire legion of friends online. So, the guy who lived alone had a send off filled with people who cared about him. And Earl got to cross another bad deed off of his list. Written by Kat Likkel and John Hoberg and directed by Eyal Gordin. (Photo courtesy nbc.com)

20: "Bang" - Desperate Housewives
Even though this show has fallen into severe mediocrity, it does have moments of brilliance. This episode from early in the season was one of them. Carolyn Bigsby (the excellent Laurie Metcalf) finds out that her husband cheated on her with a woman who wound up murdered, so she holds his grocery story, and all of the people in it, hostage. As Lynette learns early on, there's no reasoning with her. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, indeed. Things escalate when she finds out that Edie is locked in her husband's office with him, and Carolyn goes from insane to all-out psycho! Since this show likes to surprise us and remind us that no one is safe, someone was destined to get shot. And that someone is Nora, and the shooting and her resulting death come swift enough to leave us all a little shaken. Of course, no one was quite as shaken as Lynette, who promised the dying Nora that she would care for her daughter. Written by Joe Keenan and directed by Larry Shaw. (Photo courtesy abc.com)

19: "Aliens in a Spaceship" - Bones
Imagine being locked in a car with no way out. And then imagine that that car is buried underground and there's nothing but dirt outside your windows. Your air is slowly depleting and the people who can save you can't figure out your location. Time is of the essence and the pressure is mounting, but somehow, you have to remain calm. It's not something that many of us could do, but Brennan manages to keep herself and Hodgins collected enough to save their lives. Using his soil knowledge and her cell phone rigging, the two are able to send a text message with a code that identifies their whereabouts. Now, it's up to the others to decipher it. Of course, they do and they reach their buried co-workers in time, but the journey to get there is sheer heart pounding, edge-of-your-seat intensity. They also threw in a bit of co-worker bonding for good measure (is there anything sweeter than Hodgins' feelings for Angela??). Written by Janet Tamaro and directed by Craig Ross Jr.

So, there's a look at episodes 21-19 on the countdown. What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Best Episodes is taking the week off next week to make room for Emmy nominations. So, be sure to come back in two weeks to find out which episodes are next on the countdown!!