The Long Hot Summer

Even with the great increase in first-run summer TV programming, I find that I'm sticking to some familiar shows rather than trying the new (such as NBC's much advertised Windfall) or getting into returning shows like Rescue Me or The Closer. Rather, we've been focusing on similar troika as last summer:

* Last Comic Standing, which I care even less about now than I did during their ill-advised third season (which pitted finalists from the previous two seasons against each other). Out of the 12 finalists picked by a judging panel of Garry Marshall, Tim Meadows, and the rebarbative Kathy Griffin, I think I agreed with 3 of their selections.

It didn't help that they went from 40 semifinalists to 12 finalists in just two shows, showing 20 comics an episode. Even with the short interview segments, I can't say I built much interest in any of the finalists, even the ones I liked.

* The Gordon Ramsay double-dip of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares on BBC America and Hell's Kitchen on Fox. I sincerely hope there are more than the four episodes shown in the first run of the former show, as it's much more entertaining than the "reality" of Hell's Kitchen. Though that's entertaining enough, even if this year's crop of wannabes isn't quite as interesting as last summer's group.

* So You Think You Can Dance?, which is collateral damage from the wife's viewing. I've taken a NASCAR approach and watched mainly for the dancers who screwed up, which will be sadly reduced now that they've set their final 20. More time on the computer for me.

I've also taken in some of The History Channel's The Revolution, which is OK (it'd be better if it incorporated more graphics, like Battlefield Britain, and less of the re-enactment with voice-over that's the mainstay of History Channel shows). Otherwise, it's been World Cup, the Tour de France, and random catching up with DVR stuff (where I learned that I had seen the pilot for How I Met Your Mother and that The Apprentice finales are getting worse, which I may discuss in more detail if I can get motivated to do so this long after the fact).