The Countdown Gets Closer to the Finish Line

Last week, we barely dipped our big toe into the Top 10 of the summer-long countdown. But this week, we're diving straight into the deep end with three more episodes that shone brightly this season. But before we get to them, we have to go over the rules for the countdown. LillyKat and I ended up with 33 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 2008 and June 2009. 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 Friday to find out which episodes are on the countdown! Today, we're going to take a look at numbers 9-7.

9: "The Double Death of the Dearly Departed" - Bones
I LOVED the pure comedy of this episode. It had me laughing so hard I had tears running down my face ("We can't see him like this," "Like What?," "Hitler."). The whole thing had a Weekend at Bernie's feel to it with Booth and Bones stealing borrowing that body from the wake and then propping him up in the car to make him look alive for the ride back to the Jeffersonian. It was completely ridiculous, but that's what made it so darn funny. And then they managed to drag everyone else into it making the story even funnier. The funniest part of the episode, though, was Booth and Bones referring to murder with the key word "translation" (as in, it looks as though this guy was actually translated - HILARIOUS!) and Angela telling the family that they couldn't view the body because of a mortuary issue that had him looking like Hitler. So freakin' funny! Gotta love it when Bones tickles our funny bone. Written by Craig Silverstein and directed by Milan Cheylov.

8: "Cherry Bomb" - The Closer
During our visit to the set of The Closer in June 2008, the cast was relieved to have just gotten done filming this episode. When it aired, I understood why. It made you want to take every teenage girl you knew and say beware of arsewipe, cocky son-of-a-bi*tch dreamboat boys suddenly wanting to be your boyfriend. They aren’t interested in you, and you can and will do better. The case was a highly political one involving the son of a commander in the LA County Sheriff’s Office who sexually assaulted a girl a week prior to her ending up dead from an apparent suicide. Turns out slimeball arsewipe son of the commander and his friends invented a game called “Cherry Pickin’” whereby each put up $50 to see who could sleep with the most virgins by the end of the school year. He who picks the most cherries wins the cash. And the fame. And WTF else. Complete with “LookIt” Page (read: MySpace-esque homage) with each girl’s picture adorned with a little cherry graphic. Turns out the commander's son really had to really work to get our victim's cherry in this episode - and he beat her to a pulp in the process. It’s rare to see Brenda shaken up by a case, but this one got to her and found her even more steadfastly determined to nail the commander's son. You knew she would somehow, some way get the confession – even if every conceivable odd was stacked against her. Whether it was going toe-to-toe with the father, searching out another victim to get a tear-jerking account of how she was assaulted, or having to settle only for the assault conviction, she got justice in the end. I don’t know what was more infuriating – the boys and their game, or the fact these girls fell prey to the game. The closing sequence, with another cherry pickin’ victim coming back to Brenda’s office to change her mind and press charges was classic. I had visions of The Accused whilst watching this ep. When Brenda arrests the group of Cherry Pickin’ friends, I had visions of Kelley McGillis’ character going after all of the idiotbot men who cheered on the sexual assault of Jodie Foster’s character in that movie. She got justice in the end, too. Thank. God. I predicted this would be favorite episode on PTR’s list for this year. Poignant, powerful and tough to watch. Written by Michael Alaimo and directed by Rick Wallace. - LillyKat, PTR Senior Staff Writer

7: "The Long Blue Line/Into the Blue" - Cold Case
This episode was pretty much perfection for me. I remember saying at the end of it, "OMG, Cold Case just Sixth Sense-d us! I can't believe it!" When Moe told Lilly that from where he sits, she's still in that "box," I began to see Bruce Willis, that scary little kid and the entire previous hour flash before my eyes while Lil was watching water fill the room as the mirror began to shatter and her mind raced to figure out what was going on. She was still in that car trapped in the water unconscious and everything that had transpired in the last hour had been a hallucination. The episode was one big Lilly-fest from start to finish and part of that Lilly-fest included a huge chunk of the missing pieces of her past. Stillman was the cop who caught the man who assaulted her as a young child. She left an impression on Stillman and when she came up through the rank and file in PPD, he took notice of her astute observations and impeccable instincts and took her under his wing. And we also learned that Lilly's father left because of her mother (no surprise). This was one of the rare outings that mastered both the case-of-week and the personal story. And managed to throw a little surprise in there as well. Written by Jennifer Johnson and Greg Plageman and directed by Roxann Dawson (Part 1) and Jeannot Szwarc (Part 2).

So, there's a look at numbers 9-7 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 Friday for #6-4 on the list.