The Countdown Hits the Halfway Point

We're halfway through our summer-long countdown of the Best Episodes of the Season, which means we're this much closer to revealing which episode topped the list this year. 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 18-16.

18: "I Hate These People" - Damages
Alas, we finally get to Damages here on our countdown. This show took me completely by storm last year - as in, it was so good that I ran out of words to describe what I was watching. Most of the time, I ended up staring at the television screen, mouth agape, blinking repeatedly, murmuring to myself, “Oh. My. God.” None more true than with the episode "I Hate These People." By this point in the series, so many of the storylines were coming to fruition, winding down toward the finale. Just when I thought I had started to piece it all together, we got thrown the left curve of all left curves with Lawyer Ray blowing his brains out in Patty’s office, and Patty trying to get her stuff together to do the right thing with Ellen. Who knew? Kicker number one: Patty kinda-sorta-almost graveling to get Ellen to help her get that last piece of evidence from Securities and Exchange Commission low-life George Moore. Kicker number two: Ray. The case now hinged on Ray’s indiscretions with Gregory Malina, but I did not anticipate Patty's insistence she’d overlook the whole thing so long as Ray threw the case in court. Kicker #3: Past became present. All those flash forwards got answered: The blood on Patty’s shoe? Ray’s; Patty bailing out of town? Because she was trying to recover from watching this man’s brains be splattered all over her office; The 1900 messages Tom left for Patty on her cell phone (ok, it was actually 57)? She’s not answering because she’s in shock from Ray’s suicide. Just. Plain. Brilliant. Written by Adam Stein and directed by Ed Bianchi. - LillyKat, PTR Senior Staff Writer


17: "The Constant" - Lost
Time travel of the mind??!! How brilliant was this idea?! The notion of time travel had been floating around on this show for a few seasons, but this episode definitely linked the island to the intriguing idea. Desmond started suffering the effects of the helicopter ride from the island to the ship parked somewhere offshore. One of those effects was his mind's ability to travel through time back to when he met a young scientist who told him that he needed to find a constant in order to make himself well again. Without the constant, he would be trapped in his time traveling mind. So, he chooses Penny and it leads to an emotional phone call between the two (in the present). Time travel, an emotional reunion, and few more pieces of the puzzle -- what more can you ask for from an episode of Lost? Written by executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindeloff and directed by Jack Bender. Screencap courtesy Lost-Media.com

16: "Shawn (and Gus) of the Dead" - Psych
TV's funniest crime solving duo borrowed a few pages from the Scooby Doo playbook as they investigated the bizarre disappearance of an ancient mummy at a local museum. And it led to some hilarious results. I haven't laughed as hard as I did at Gus's 11-point turn in a very long time. I'm not sure what was funnier: the ridiculous trouble he went through to get that little car turned around or Shawn's commentary ("Dude, he's not even going to be in California by the time we get out of here!" and "Dude, you got it. You clearly had it after the second..." and the very simple, yet very funny "Really????!!"). Couple that with Gus's constant disappearing act at any sight of the mummy ("Great. Now we got a mummy on the loose and the son-of-a-bitch knows how to drive a stick!") and you get one side-splitting hour that also managed to throw in a great cliffhanger ("Mom??"). Written and directed by series creator Steve Franks.

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 check out the second half of the countdown with #15-13 on the list.