Summer Viewing

For many years, in America at least, summertime has provided us with some great television. Formerly a time for endless repeats on the network channels, cable and the relentless pursuit of another dollar, made networks realise there was money to be made when the temperature got above eighty. I first remember watching new summer tv in the early 90s with Beverly Hills, 90210. I don't remember much, expect Brandon wasn't strong enough to be a lifeguard in the ocean, so he became a pool boy instead. Or something like that. Summer is a great time to run shows with fewer episodes, and because there is still less programming than in the Fall, a lot of buzz can be had. For example, Mad Men made its debut after May sweeps, and we all know how that has turned out.

While I don't feel this summer is the strongest in recent memory, I have found a few shows worth mentioning:

Friday Night Lights (NBC)
The show is in its final season, about halfway through its run on NBC. I have a longer post about FNL once it finishes, but it is always a pleasure to watch.

Switched at Birth (ABC Family)
Okay, try not to make too much fun of me. The name of the show reveals the ridiculous premise of two girls (one, Bay, the daughter of a former baseball player, the other, Daphne, comes from a single mother home) who were, you guessed it, switched at birth. Oh, and Daphne is Deaf. Once you get beyond this concept (and the various contrivances that lead to both families living together) you get an interesting look at, among other things, class and race divisions, Deaf culture, and teenage identity. The show is not perfect, the most recent episode veered dangerously close to being too soapy and characters suddenly seemed to grow different personalities. There is also a tendency for hearing characters to act as though Deaf people are stupid (Do hearing people still really think this? If so, they are clearly the stupid ones.), and Daphne so far has been painted a little "too" perfect. Still, for what could have been too cheesy for words, the show tells these stories in pretty honest way (so far).

So You Think You Can Dance (Fox)
There is so much reality tv out there, it can be tempting to just dismiss the whole lot of it. But, if you are willing to try and separate the wheat from the chaff, you find shows like this gem. It is the same show as in the UK, where dancers from all various genres compete for a prize. The show has produced some really amazing dances (and I have it on good authority from an actual dancer that there is good technique often times as well) and showcases some of the most innovate choreography around. There are tons of You Tube videos of great dancing. Start here, but be warned, you are likely to be busy for the next three hours once you hit play.

Cardinals Baseball (Fox Sports Midwest)
Not since 2004 have I had the ability to watch St. Louis Cardinals baseball on a regular basis. I forgot how much I enjoy the sport, and how nice it is to have it on in the background when doing other things. Yes, there are lots of criticisms that baseball is too slow, but I like it. In a mid-summer twist, worthy of a sweeps month, the Cardinals have lost more games than they won in June, had to place the best player in baseball on the DL (disabled list), and have hit into more double plays than any other team by a long shot. Still, they are only a few games back from first place, and I think a late season comeback is, shall we say, in the Cards.

Hulu (online)
Having been out of the US for the better part of three years, there are a lot of shows that I missed. (I got to see some great ones in the UK of course, and am still figuring out how to stay up to date on those). Hulu is this nifty website where you can (legally) watch streaming video from several different channels. I've been able to fully catch up on Parks and Recreation (RIP, Li'l Sebastian), watch last summer's teen drama Huge, and access Arrested Development episodes without having to scratch up my DVDs. While I am a big Hulu fan, I do wish that more shows were available (especially from other countries), but overall a great way to watch a variety of tv.

Any suggestions for shows I should be watching this summer?