Quibbling Siblings – What we hate most about summer TV

Debbie:

Summer TV … a blessing and a curse. It wasn’t too long ago that there was close to no new programming during the summers and we’d be stuck with repeats and the occasional horrifying reality show.

This really worked for me. I’d enjoy catching a favorite show’s rerun now and then and I’d be able to leisurely revisit beloved DVDs: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Keen Eddie, Veronica Mars … those were the days.

Now, it’s kind of annoying to me that some of my favorite shows are on during the summer: White Collar, Burn Notice, Leverage, Psych. That means I have to have several weekly appointments with my TV when I’d rather be sailing. OK, not sailing because I get really seasick, but you get the point.

I have a hard time balancing the free and easy spirit of summer with original summer programming. Some may really enjoy the fact that there are new shows on during the summer, but I’d rather lay like broccoli and watch oldies but goodies at my leisure (in-between my beach-reads), no appointments necessary. The regular TV season burns me out these days.

OK, Bob, let me have it for being an ingrate that I love the summer shows!

Bob:

I think you are an ingrate, to some extent. As a viewer who wishes there were better shows on during the summer, I’m jealous that some of your favorites are on. I do enjoy a lot of the summer programs (particularly Leverage), but for the most part, I’ve been looking for something with a little more bite to it. Of course, that’s sort of the whole point of summer shows. Like the season itself they are light, breezy, and come without hard and fast commitments. I’m getting very excited for the return of Mad Men , one of the few shows to air in the summer that doesn’t fit into the “summer” mode. Also, it’s one of the best shows on TV.

Maybe I can help you come to terms. You must be watching fewer shows now than during the regular network seasons, right? You still have the easy going summer schedule, relatively speaking. Plus, you want to be leisurely? We live in the age of the DVR!

Anyway, my problem with most summer programming is that they are just “fun” and not much else. This season in particular, the shows just aren’t working for me. I think it’s because the past few summers I’ve been doing virgin diaries for some great classic series like The Wire, Carnivale, and Six Feet Under. When you put White Collar up against those … well, they’re just very different.

Debbie:

I hear you on the lack of meat with the summer programming, but these days I really am liking the fun shows more than anything else. I do enjoy Mad Men when I catch it, as Keith is doing his virgin diary and sometimes he lets me watch with him, if I’ve been a very good girl.

Um, yes, Bob, I do use my DVR, but it is still more TV than I can keep up with or care to watch during the summer. Don’t forget I have a five-year-old who doesn’t sleep well, so my evenings of TV watching don’t start until much, much later than I’d like. One show a night is about all I can handle, and then Keith and I duke it out for which show gets watched!

It seems that we have the same problem with summer TV — it’s fun! Problem is, one of us likes having fun (that’s me, for those of you not following along closely enough), the other, not so much (Bob, the self-proclaimed TV snob). My fun is putting a damper on my summer!

Bob:

Why am I always accused of hating fun? I do like fun shows, I just think I need some balance, and there is not much on this summer that has any depth.

So, what do you all think? Am I an ingrate? Is Bob no fun? Should we just shut up and watch whatever we want to watch?

Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Jul 21, 2010 @ 13:00 EST5EDT