Come Monday, the new TV season will officially be in gear (except for Fox, who blew their wad a little early), and the summer season will be over. This is a tribute to the few, the proud, the summer shows. The crappy ones made me look forward to the fall season even more, and the good ones sustained me through lean times. Here are my top five, in no particular order except that Project Runway is the best ever:
Project Runway: Legitimately one of my favorite shows, summer or no, Project Runway needs no further explanation except to thank Bravo for airing it in the summer this year. Way to give me something that's actually good to watch this summer, Bravo!
Falcon Beach: Laugh if you will, but this OC wannabe kept me entertained all summer. Bad acting, poor production values, laughably melodramatic writing, and insanely convoluted plots all came together in just the right amounts: enough to make it funny, not so much that it was unwatchable. I can't say that I actually cared when Erin got pregnant, Lane got busted for dealing drugs, or Paige's dad got caught up in a corporate scandal, but I kept watching/laughing, and that's what matters. And you can see for yourself with streaming episodes online. Thanks, ABC Family!
The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency: All crazy bitch, all the time. This show featured Janice Dickinson, fired from America's Next Top Model for being, well, a crazy bitch, and her "modeling agency." The models may have been inexperienced (all), homeless (Teresa Cutie), or muscle-bound crybabies (Sorin), but Janice was gonna whip them into shape! That is, when she wasn't getting trashed and falling into fountains while wearing one-of-a-kind couture gowns. Thanks for fulfilling my weekly quota of crazy bitch, Oxygen!
Psych: Perfectly paired with that other quirky detective show, Monk (on Friday nights, unfortunately), Psych is about a fake psychic who helps the police solve crimes. Yeah, the premise seemed a little weird and limited to me, too, but I watched because the previews looked good, and because I love Dule Hill (Charlie on The West Wing), who plays Shawn's (James Roday) long-suffering best friend. I was rewarded with an offbeat show that's legitimately fun to watch. Thanks for bringing it back for the winter, USA!
Eureka: I've already expressed my love for this show, but in short, this was my big surprise find of the summer. It's not amazingly fantastic television by any means, but it's fun, entertaining, and getting better every week. Thanks for giving it a chance, Sci Fi!
I'm sure I missed plenty of great shows, but hey, it's summer. I was supposed to be outside or something. What were your top summer shows?
Friday, September 15, 2006
A Tribute to Summer Television
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6 comments:
I have to agree that psych is a very fun show.
Yeah, I'm definitely liking what I've seen so far...I just wish it weren't on Friday nights, 'cause I keep missing it!
(Must...get...Tivo...)
I was wondering what bothered me about this post until I reread and caught the jab at Fox starting it's season before the other networks.
They start early because of baseball playoffs. Apparently, people, somewhere, somehow, like baseball. I don;t really know why. But Fox, in (wrongly) thinking it broadcasts sports well, gives over it's schedule for much of the fall, nd shows go on hiatus forever. Remember the X-Files, which would always start so late? This is the new strategy -- get people hooked, then hope they come back after baseball season. The fools.
Yeah, neither strategy is really great for Fox. I do remember when X-Files would start in, like, November, which was kind of ridiculous (although less reruns, I guess?), but starting this early and then going on hiatus for a while is a riskier move to me.
At least the other way, their shows would be premiering right around sweeps, and would miss the giant glut of new shows, where it's easy for a show to get lost in the mix.
Summer is for comedy. It's always sunny!
I've heard so many good things about It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but I still (shamefully) haven't seen it yet.
Summer is definitely for lighter fare, though...I'm worried that all these dark serial dramas this fall are going to bring me down.
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