The Countdown Continues

It's week 8 of our summer-long countdown of the Best Episodes of the Season and we're cracking the Top 15. 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 closer look at numbers 15-13.

15: "Boy Crazy" - Cold Case
I lament the state of Cold Case these days. I don't like the fact the show has slipped into a predictable formula, and Detective Lilly Rush is a shell of her former self. And yet, they can still deliver some serious gems of episodes when they put their minds to it. One of those was indeed "Boy Crazy." It’s not often I get really attached to the victim of the cases, but this one was just too good, too compelling, too heartbreaking and too poignant. Writer Joanna Lovinger created an amazing character in Sam, which gave us an unflinching look back at a time when non-conformity was punished in the cruelest and most insane ways. For me, the jaw-dropping moment of the episode came when the girls at the hospital were showing the truest effects of their ECT therapy, and Sam stood up against it ANYWAY even though she knew she would be next. Then when Dom finds her zombied out, yet still wanting to be set free … just a wowzer all the way around. It’s tough to look back at parts of our history when we know we just got it way wrong – whether as a society, or as individuals, or both in the treatment and/or standards of others at the time. Cold Case has, over the years, shown us on more than one occasion where people are able to persevere irregardless – but also pay the price for doing so. And the show is at its best when it does so. Written by Joanna Lovinger. Directed by Holly Dale. - LillyKat, PTR Senior Staff Writer

14: "Authority" - Law & Order: SVU
What happens when we don't question authority? This outstanding 200th episode of the best L&O franchise tackled this very question and came up with some compelling answers. I'm not one for stunt casting, but watching the impeccable Robin Williams manipulate, connive, and ultimately prove one hell of a point made me forget all that stunt casting lamenting I'm prone to doing with this sorts of shows. Of course, we shouldn't blindly follow the leader, but what happens when those in authority are there because they have more knowledge on the subject in question? Can we really blame Williams' distraught Merritt Rook character for listening to his wife's doctor? I can't, but the grieving husband and should-have-been father had no problem pointing the finger back at himself for taking the doctor's word for it and not questioning his decisions. And what about Elliot's decision to not do what Rook said as he saw Olivia "screaming" in pain? In the end, Elliot did what Rook could not and Rook proved his point. Unfortunately, it was all a case of too little, too late for his doomed wife, but more than enough to make this one powerful outing. Written by Amanda Green and Neal Baer and directed by David Platt.

13: "There's No We Anymore" - Damages
We follow up last week's Damages installment with the episode that aired immediately after the Ray suicide shocker, titled "There's No We Anymore." And really, there wasn't. This was the episode where the line in the sand finally gets drawn by none other than Ellen. As in, she's holding all the cards - especially Gregory Malina’s last gasped video taped confession that explains how Arthur Frobisher was in cahoots with the Securities and Exchange Commission investigator George Moore. This episode was also key in putting the finishing touches on past meeting present, explaining why Ellen has been sitting in the police station, beaten, battered bruised but in control. And although we had been lead to believe Ellen was just Patty Hewes' slave toy, it turns out the two of them were actually in cahoots together. When we flashback one last time to Ray's brains splattered all over Patty’s office, and Patty’s call to Ellen (before she calls the authorities) asking Ellen to help her: a) hide the file that shows Ray in cahoots with Gregory Malina and guilty of insider trading; and, b) swearing that no one can know that is why Ray was in Patty's office at zero-dark-hundred hours ... well, we knew we were in for one heck of a season finale, and that this show was unlike anything on television at the moment. Brilliant. Written by Daniel Zelman, Todd A. Kessler and Glenn Kessler. Directed by Mario Van Peebles. - 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 as we reveal #12-10 on the list.