The Countdown Returns!

My apologies for the unscheduled week off last Thursday. We were moving and the Internet was not up and running at the new place. I'm back, and so is the countdown. 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 15-13.

15: "Collision" - Heroes
What happens when fabulous characters who were previously isolated begin to come together? A fabulous episode of NBC's biggest hit from this past season. We knew their stories would have to intersect at some point, but it was fun to watch it unfold. The episode's best scene was its last. While Peter and Mohinder ride the New York subway, everything suddenly stops. Peter is the only one not frozen in time. Enter a sword-wielding Hiro, and suddenly things become a little clearer. He comes bearing an important message for the special powers chameleon: "Save the Cheerleader. Save the World." And thus the season's most popular catchphrase began. What does it mean and how does it work? That's for future episodes to reveal, but the new path is intriguing enough to keep us all hooked for the ride. Written by Bryan Fuller and directed by Ernest Dickerson. (Photo courtesy nbc.com)

14: "Fallout" - Jericho
This episode makes the list for a single scene. The powerful ending moments were disturbing, upsetting and shocking. It's stamped into my memory, which is saying a lot since I tend to retain all sorts of useless TV greatness. You probably know by now that the tiny town of Jericho, Kansas gets cut off from the rest of the world after a series of nuclear attacks elsewhere. But at this point in the season, it wasn't clear how many attacks and which cities had been struck. Thanks to government agent Robert Hawkins and his highly skilled abilities, we find out how dire the situation has become. Robert picks up a radio transmission and secretly writes down the list of names he hears. The closing scene simply shows a map of the U.S., and Robert placing pushpins into the cities that were hit. With each pushpin, the audience begins to think about the loved one they would have lost, and as the scene fades to black, more pushpins keep coming. And so do our emotions. Written by Stephen Chbosky and directed by Jon Turteltaub.

13: "Gilmore Girls Only" - Gilmore Girls
ROADTRIP!!! And who doesn't love a roadtrip that includes Lorelei, Rory and Emily?? As you can imagine, this episode makes the list for its comic relief. Everything from Emily's driving to Lorelei's choice of hotel (and Emily's reaction to it) had me laughing in true Gilmore style. Of course, it wasn't all fun and games, especially once the gang reached North Carolina and Mia's wedding. Things got tense when Emily realized how close her daughter and granddaughter were to their surrogate mother/grandmother. And it went from bad to worse once Lorelei found out that Emily visited Mia 5 years prior. Add an unwelcome surprise visit from Logan, and you have the usual Gilmore mix of hilarity and emotional drama. Written by David Babcock and directed by Lee Shallat-Chemel. (Photo courtesy Gilmore Girls Screencaps)

So, there's a look at episodes 15-13 on the countdown. What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Be sure to come back next week when the countdown breaks the Top 10!!