May 09 2009
Summer Shows
Every year, the networks introduce a bunch of “hot, new shows” for the summer hiatus. As much hype as they dedicate to these shows, the fact remains: These are shows they don’t think are good enough to debut in the fall. If one of them does turn out to be a hit, great, they might bump it to the roster of real shows. Otherwise, it’s history.
I watch a lot of regular season shows on ABC (”Grey’s Anatomy”, “Desperate Housewives”, “Brothers and Sisters”, “Private Practice”, etc). As a result, I’ve seen the promos for their “hot summer shows you won’t want to miss” (http://abc.go.com/summer/index?pn=index) so many times I could probably recite them verbatim. Unfortunately, not ONE of those shows looks like it would be worth watching. Surprise, surprise - they’ll have a dumb, reality dating show! You couldn’t pay me to watch “The Bachelorette” (or “The Bachelor”, for that matter). Seriously, who wants to watch attractive people throw themselves at wealthy members of the opposite sex?
And it gets worse. There’s ANOTHER crummy reality dating show you won’t want to catch. It’s called “Dating in the Dark”. Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like - men and women are paired up in the dark so that “looks won’t matter”. As I recall, Fox tried a disaster like this a few seasons ago, only in that case the contestants had to wear masks. Does anyone in television EVER have an original idea? I mean, it’s one thing to rip off successful shows, but copying flops? Are they that desperate for show ideas?
I confess, I will be watching the premiere of Fox’s “Glee” on May 19. Hey, at least it has a script. I give Fox one point for that. And I admit it really does look interesting, especially for fans of American Idol. Yes, it is about a high school glee club, and yes, it does appear that there will be a lot of singing, dancing, and bad oldies. But it also appears to have some comedic value.
But the show I’m most excited about watching this summer is Lifetime’s “Army Wives”, which premieres June 7. I got hooked in season one. It’s like a soap opera that airs once a week at night. Actually, it’s kind of like the summer replacement for “Desperate Housewives”.
Last season ended with Denise and Frank “taking a break” right before he deployed; Emmaline running off with her older boyfriend; Joan being ordered to ship out;Roxy’s ownership of her bar being threatened. Lifetime is inviting speculation on the new season with a contest: http://community.mylifetime.com/community/army-wives/discussions/season-3-predictions.The only thing that bothers me is that “Army Wives” is a show I WOULD like to watch more than three months a year, and yet Lifetime refuses to move it to a regular season!
