Searching Out, and Finding, Summer TV Options

Today I awoke and found myself oddly pleased with the summer television fare available to me.  Usually, I dread summer TV, or, at the very least, I recall dreading summer TV, whether I did or not may be debatable.  In any case, I don't tend to think highly of my options for summer television, usually I find my TiVo noticeably empty and me scouring my DVD collection for something I haven't seen in ages.  I know it's only the beginning of July, but that hasn't happened yet.

Perhaps – and I'm willing to admit this – the reason I've found myself so content is that I was away for a week and a half in June and my TiVo was able to load up 10 days worth of shows for my viewing please.  That, combined with various review materials which piled up during my absence, may have been what filled my time, but I just don't think that's the case.

An example of why I think that's wrong lies with last night's televisual opportunities.  Last night I sat back, turned on my TiVo and found The Apprentice UK, Hawthorne, The Superstars, and Better off Ted all there waiting for me.  Okay, they weren't all quite waiting for me when I started, the first two were and the other two magically appeared as I watched the first two.  But, that's not the point, the point is that four hours of television was readily available to me last night, and not just any four hours, four hours which I kind of, sort of, almost enjoyed.

I know, I've seen the ratings, and based on the above list of shows I watched, you may have watched Hawthorne, but that's probably about it.  I'm not going to do anything foolish like go out and call Better off Ted or The Superstars great TV, but both are more than adequate.  I actually look forward to Better off Ted every week, it's the exact sort of funny, quirky comedy that ought to do better than it does.  It's the exact sort of funny quirky comedy which I enjoy – not love, just enjoy – and which I hope for the successive.  It's also the exact sort of quirky comedy which tends to disappoint in the ratings and soon enough leave me forever. 

Article Author: Josh Lasser

Josh Lasser, formerly known as "TV and Film Guy," and complete with a Masters Degree in Critical Studies in said areas, gives his opinions on TV, Film, and Entertainment in general. All of which he does in a shameless attempt to try to get paid to do the exact same thing. …

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