Finding the Good Stuff on TV This Summer

As we do our best to endure this incredibly long summer of our discontent, televisually speaking, I think that it's really important to remember that it won't last forever.  It's also important to note that you can go out and pick and choose old shows that you were interested in but never got the chance to see, and watch them in repeats (because, as we both know, there are plenty of repeats out there).

I've actually just started to do this, I'm now watching House.  It's a show I've always been curious about, a show that I've always wanted to see, but something I could never quite wedge into my viewing schedule.  After a couple of seasons I gave up on the idea of ever getting to watch it, and resigned myself to that fate.  Now, as long as FOX and USA are showing repeats all summer, it seems like a pretty good time to try and get involved.  Plus, FOX is going to be moving new episodes to Tuesday nights at 8 this fall, and I'm not planning on viewing anything else at that moment (save perhaps some of the plethora of shows from Monday that I'll be forced to save till Tuesday because I only have five or so hours to devote to TV watching a night).  So, this fall House fits right into my viewing schedule, I've loved Hugh Laurie since his Jeeves & Wooster days, and who doesn't like that funny kid from those pot movies.

Another thing to remember, is that there is actually new scripted stuff airing, you just have to go slightly out of your way to find it.  In the coming weeks we'll see the returns of The Closer, Saving Grace, Psych, Monk, Eureka, Mad Men, and Burn Notice.  Additionally, the new season of Doctor Who is currently on, as is In Plain Sight, and A&E's The Cleaner starts up next week.  Oh sure, it's hard to fill five hours a night with that stuff, but it's a beginning, and a pretty good one.

You're probably not watching Psych, it's much more likely that you're watching Monk (though the odds may be against that too).  You're missing out.  I think that Monk, over the years has reached greater heights than Psych has in its first couple of seasons, but if you put the last year of each show head-to-head, I think you'll find Psych a better program.  But, even if you only have time for one or the other, you're not really making a mistake, whichever one you choose, there's a reason Tony Shaloub has won awards for Monk, and James Roday and Dulé Hill certainly ought to be considered for their work on Psych.

Both those shows, while at times serious, tend to be light and frothy, if you want your summers dark and serious, check out The Cleaner.  It focuses on a guy (played by Benjamin Bratt) who, after fighting his own drug addictions now goes out and helps others fight theirs.  And, it also features Kevin Michael Richardson, who Erin Medley and I will be talking to tomorrow night, Wednesday, at 9:00pm (eastern) on our radio show.  Check it out here.

So, this is what I'm suggesting – go out and find some TV to watch.  It's not going to just come to you like it does during the regular season, but it's out there if you know where to look.