The Summertime Blues

Now that TV is officially on summer vacation, my DVR sits dormant, with nothing to tape on a nightly basis. Until TV resumes in September, I've had to find programming to watch in the interim.

Oh, I know I could catch up on my reading, sure. Chuck Palahniuk has a new book out, which I actually started. But it's written in such an unreadable prose that it makes A Clockwork Orange read like Fun with Dick and Jane. So, I'm pretty soured on reading right now.

However, there are still things to watch on TV, and here's what I'm watching to pass the summer months:

Rescue Me (FX)
Rescue Me should be done by now, but FX has been nice enough to produce a double season of 22 episodes, so there's still half a season to go. And, now that The Shield is gone, this is the best show on FX, which, honestly, is really saying something. And, once that wraps up in September, stick around for Sons of Anarchy.

Jon & Kate Plus 8 (TLC)
I really hate this show. The few episodes I've seen in the past have basically been about how boring it is to have eight children. And, when you've got a show this boring, you've got to spice it up a little to keep people watching. So, all of the sudden, both Jon and Kate are "having affairs." Suddenly, they're on the cover of every tabloid and their show is hot. Not that I will watch it, because it's still a stupid show about having eight kids, but it is something to watch. (And what's up with Kate's hair? Russell Brand wears that same hairdo for shock value, but does she really think that looks good?)

Life Without People (The History Channel)
An absolutely fascinating show that speculates what would happen to our planet if the human race were to just suddenly cease to exist. It's somewhat depressing to think that the only reason Mother Nature hasn't completely destroyed civilization is that humans are able to rebuild it faster than she can tear it down.

Mythbusters (Discovery Channel)
This has been on forever, and never fails to be interesting. I'm amazed at the lengths they'll go to disprove the dumbest things. And tune in an hour early to catch Time Warp, which shows what science looks like at 5000 frames per second.

Nurse Jackie (Showtime)
Ever since Six Feet Under and The Sopranos aired their long-overdue finales, and Rome and Deadwood got canceled, HBO has ceased to be the place for "Must See TV" on premium cable. That mantle has been taken over by Showtime, which puts out show after quality show. Their newest is Nurse Jackie, in which Edie Falco plays a saintly nurse who also happens to be a terrible human being. It doesn't technically start until June 8, but you can check out the pilot on-demand. And, if you tune in on the 8th, be sure to come a half hour early and catch the fifth season premiere of Weeds.

Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Seeing as ABC was dumb enough to air their ratings darling Dancing with the Stars during the spring, they've got absolutely nothing to show during the summer. So, they're showing all the remaining episodes of the shows they canceled this season. Which gives everyone a chance to watch Pushing Daisies before it goes away forever. There's only three episodes left, and ABC, for some unknown reason, has chosen to pull the previously-available past episodes from their website (yet you can watch as many episodes of According to Jim and Supernanny as you please). So, if you miss them, you miss them. And that would make you an idiot.

Three months seems like a long time, but it goes fast if you've got good shows to watch.