The Countdown Continues the Crime Spree

And the summer-long countdown of The Best Episodes of the Season rolls on. Before we get to this week's entries, here's a look at the rules for this year's winners. LillyKat and I ended up with 36 incredible episodes that demonstrate the diversity and quality of the current television state. The shows and their episodes are from both NETWORK and CABLE television. All episodes aired between June 2007 and June 2008. Each episode that made the final list moved us in some way; either by making us laugh out loud, cry our eyes out or just left us 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, we will reveal a few each week all summer. So, be sure to tune in every Thursday to find out which episodes are on the countdown! Today, we're going to take a look at numbers 30-28.

30: "Lights, Camera... Homicidio" - Psych
What do you get when you mix Shawn, Gus, and a Spanish telenovela? Comic gold! I'm not sure what had me laughing more: Shawn getting a recurring role and speaking with a Spanish accent in English or Gus' reaction to it (and his obsession over the identity of the father of Serena's baby). These two never fail to put a smile on my face anyway, but this midseason outing had an extra skip in its step. In between rolling his "Rs," signing autographs and posing for pictures, Shawn was trying to solve a real-life onset murder that took place on camera. So, who switched the prop weapon with the real deal? Well, there was a cast of the usual characters to throw the fake psychic and his loyal sidekick off. Luckily, Shawn always gets his man (or in this case woman) with ensuing hilarity (Shawn's the father of Serena's baby!). Written by Andy Berman and directed by Matt Shakman.

29: "Wicked Game (Parts I & II)" - Medium
Any show that gives the amazing Anjelica Houston a chance to show off what she does best is an instant winner for me, but this 2-part emotional outing was above and beyond. The Academy should just go ahead and hand Houston her Emmy now because watching her go through the rollercoaster ride of hoping your daughter is still alive all these years later to finding the person responsible for her disappearance to learning that she is dead and finally, seeking out the individual responsible and killing her was nothing short of brilliance on screen. My heart ached for Cynthia and I wanted nothing more than to find Susie alive and well, but alas, it was not meant to be. That ending scene with Cynthia and Allison was so poignant, disturbing and shocking that it left me with a feeling of emptiness. This episode demonstrated how Allison's dreams can only take us so far; show us only so much. And that's a tough pill to swallow, especially for Allison. Written by Diane Ademu-John (Part I) and Robert Doherty (Part II) and directed by Peter Werner (Part I) and Arlene Sanford (Part II).

28: "It's Alive" - Dexter
We have learned - in a very short period of time - Dexter Morgan does not disappoint. So, after the genius of the first season, how in the flippin' heck were the Dexter folks going to top themselves for Season 2? By having Dex’s “graveyard” of “victims” discovered, of course. Silly scuba divers, stumbling across Dex’s own version of Davy Jones Locker – don’t they know better? In all seriousness, “It’s Alive” did more than just set Dex on edge and create an entire new nightmare for him to handle - it set the table for the entire second season. Notably, his struggle to find and identify himself after killing off bro’ Rudy (which included – gasp – getting cold feet when he tried to resume killing once again); and, the menacing (or should we say ongoing?) tit-for-tat with Sergeant Doakes – relentlessly on Dex’s trail, obsessed with tying to pin Dex to the Ice Truck Killer and/or figure out just who in the heck Dexter Morgan truly is (boy, did he ever). And it all started with this episode; a brilliant beginning to what ended up being quite the whopper of a season. Written by Daniel Cerone and directed by Tony Goldwyn. - LillyKat, PTR Senior Staff Writer

So, there's a look at the next set of episodes on the countdown. What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Leave us a comment with your thoughts. And be sure to tune in next Thursday for #27-25 on the list.