Summer TV 2011: (aka The Shows That Will Keep My DVR Busy)
Summer used to be known as the time of year when all the re-runs play. However, it’s become a pretty nice launching pad for programs in recent years. While it may have generated absolute crap (V) and sometimes it killed shows that I did like (FlashForward, I may have hated the idiot FBI Agent Mark, but Simon was awesome!! I also kinda sorta miss American Gladiators, is that wrong?) this summer looks to have a few shows to keep us entertained while we await the return of fall programing. So here’s a few things that I’m telling my Tivo to record over the next couple of months….and a few shows that will never show on my “To Do” list:
Definitely Recording
Wilfred- Elijah Wood plays a depressed man who sees his neighbor’s dog as a rude Australian man in a dog suit….It sounds really silly, but it was a smash hit in The land Down Under (aka Australia) and the man who played Wilfred reprises his role in the US version as well. It’s a zany concept, but I think it’ll turn out pretty funny.
Futurama- Last season the show came back from the dead and still had the same magic as before and put out some pretty great episodes, which is good because the direct-to-video movies were somewhat hit and miss (Bender’s Big Score was good, but Into The Green Wild Yonder…not so much). So, I’m pretty thrilled to see the Planet Express crew back on the TV.
Torchwood: Miracle Day- I feel awful, so very awful, for not being familiar with Torchwood, but I am very intrigued with the concept of this new series. One day nobody on earth dies, causing a population boom, which in turn, causes resources to become limited giving the human race about 4 months before we all die of no food, water, etc. Sounds pretty awesome to me!
Falling Skies- Alien invasion? Noah Wylie? Humans fighting back? Sounds like a winner! Plus, with recent aliens-on-TV disappointments like V or The Event, it’ll be nice to have one that looks like it may be awesome…..I haven’t caught the pilot episode yet, so I can totally be wrong.
True Blood- I gotta admit, as much as I hate Twilight and how it’s giving vampires a bit of a bad name, I’m pretty drawn to this show. I don’t know how I feel about witches, werepanthers and faeries showing up this season, especially with the massive void of awesomeness that Vampire King Russell Edgington left behind after last season. But either way, I’m sure in good True Blood taste Bieeelllll will be kinda douchey and further complicate his relationship with Suuuhhkiee, Jason Stackhouse will do something stupid, Eric will continue being awesome, and we’ll see lots and lots of nudity (they have that 1 nude person per episode quota to fill).
Things I Want To See, But Still Haven’t Seen Previous Seasons
Breaking Bad- I have some really credible friends tell me this show is awesome.
Weeds- Somehow, this show has escaped my TV watching eyes…I need to fix this.
Curb Your Enthusiasm- I’ve seen some episodes last season and I liked them, Larry David is pretty much a combination of all the Seinfeld characters. One day I’ll sit down and watch more episodes.
Louie- Like Curb Your Enthusiasm, I saw some episodes of this show, but never sat down to watch them all together.
Children’s Hospital- I keep forgetting to set this on my DVR and I’m a season behind.
Tempting Shows
101 Ways To Leave A Game Show- I like shows like Wipeout and MXC (same show basically) so this looks like it may be pretty fun!
Celebrity Rehab- I like Dr Drew and this time he’ll have attention whore Micheal Lohan…we’ll see how this goes.
Franklin & Bash- Looks like it could be kinda funny….or lame.
Alphas- Apparently it’s said to be like Heroes….but actually good! Hmmm I’ll see what the reviews say first.
Almost Dead To Me (AKA, Shows That Will Need To Redeem Themselves)
Ugly Americans- Last year when it premiered, this show was really, really fun. It continued to be fun up until it took a mid-season hiatus, then it came back as a shadow of it’s former self and I grew tired of the stories, humor, and characters. I’ll give it one more go, though.
Hell’s Kitchen- I loved the show a while back, but I skipped most of last season just because Gordon Ramsay was pretty much everywhere with his multiple shows now. I like the guy and all, but there IS too much of a good thing. Now, that I’ve taken a break from Hell’s Kitchen, I think I may be up for another offering.
Off The “To Record” List
Warehouse 13- I watched the first season and it was reasonably OK, I mean it had a lot of cheesiness, but I like cheesy shows (see my last article on Star Trek for example), and they even threw in some actors from Firefly in, but season 2 kinda lost me and now I just don’t care anymore. Sorry Artie and Claudia; you guys were the most fun but the leads started to really annoy me.
Wait, What?
Teen Wolf- So when he’s all wolf-ed out he doesn’t look like a wolf?? He doesn’t play basketball??? A extra doesn’t waive his penis around at the end?? Damn you Twilight!!! Why must you ruin everything? (yes that’s “wolf-form”…*sigh* Humanity is doomed)
Combat Hospital- Remember when this was called M*A*S*H? I’m OK if that’s the angle they want to go with, but something tells me it’ll be Grey’s Anatomy in a Middle East war-zone.
Happy Watching!!
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