What I'm Watching: Summer TV

Recently one of my friends asked me what shows I was looking forward to in the fall. It's not a question that should have surprised me, since I watch a lot of TV--probably more TV than anyone else I know. However, I found I had trouble answering it. I knew there were a ton of shows coming in the Fall, shows I've missed in the summer hiatus, I just couldn't think of what they were. So I figured I would give it some thought and then write a blog post about it. And here we are!

But before I delve into what I'm looking forward to in the fall, we should have a discussion of what I'm watching right now. Some of these shows may surprise you, since they're not all Science Fiction or Fantasy. But well, I'm also a girl, and I have only ever been honest about my love of chic-flics, so whatever. To make things easier on my poor little mind, I'm going to go in order of the days of the week the shows come on:

Sundays: 

• Falling Skies: This show is basically an alien apocalypse story. It follows a militia who are trying to survive and fight back against the aliens who have invaded and occupied our planet. This is supposed to be taking place a contemporary time, not in the future. The main characters are a family: a dad and his three sons. Really, everything about this show says I should love it. And I do. But if you're going to get into this show, you must start at the beginning. Watch season one on netflix. The current season is the second season, and since it's a summer only show, it's finale just happened this past weekend.

Monday:

• Eureka: Ok, you caught me. I'm not currently watching this show, but it was one of my traditional summer shows. However, this was the last season of the show. After five seasons, it came to an end. I couldn't leave it off this list, because if you missed it, you really should watch it. It's about a small town where our nations best and brightest scientists and engineers live, and the hijinks and shenanigans that happen there, which have to be sorted out by the ordinary, but lovable Sheriff Carter. It's a great show.
• Warehouse 13: The premise of this show is that amazing people or significant events can basically impart a bit of their characteristic awesomeness into an object, thereby making it a magical object, like Lewis Carroll's mirror in which a person can become trapped. These objects are collected and kept in a warehouse, where they can't cause trouble. The show follows the warehouse agents, two secret service agents, a cranky but lovable old man, and a young computer whiz. I really love this show, another Syfy summer show, and it's only a couple of episodes into its season right now.
• Bunheads: The first non-SF/F show on this list, this show just started this summer and had it's finale this week. Though a show about ballerinas doesn't seem like it would be my thing, it's made by the creator of Gilmore Girls, and fills the nitch that Gilmore Girls left in my life. If you are a Gilmore Girls fan, you will see many familiar faces and you'll find the banter to be similarly witty, fast-paced and filled with pop culture references that I don't get at all. Like Gilmore Girls it has a balance of teenage and adult angst. And I've really enjoyed the first season.

Tuesday:

• Surprisingly, I watch nothing on this day. Nothing. Which works for me, because that's the night I have my local friends over and I expose them to series they've never seen before. Like Sherlock. 

Wednesday:

• Melissa and Joey: I started watching this show when it first came on because of the leading actors. And really it's a fun little thirty minute sitcom. It's not going to change your life, but if you're looking for a summer sitcom, this one is a pretty good (and really your only) choice. Mel is a Toledo councilwoman who inherited her sister's kids after her sister got herself thrown in jail. Because she works full time, she hired a nanny to help her take care of the kids: Joe, a former businessman who lost his job due to the crime that put Mel's sister into jail. Together they are raising two teenagers. It's a fun, light show.

Thursday:

• Tron: Uprising: I love Tron, and in many ways this animated show is what Tron Legacy should have been. A show about the grid and about Tron. This show takes place between Tron and Tron Legacy. It follows Beck, a young mechanic program that is unhappy with the dictatorship that Clu is setting up. He ends up meeting Tron, who is too injured to continue his fight, so Tron begins to train Beck to take up his mantle. This is a "kid's show" but if you like the Tron movies, this has everything you could possibly want: a great cast, a great story line, and tie-ins to the movies. 
• Project Runway: Another non SF/F choice, this season of Project Runway just started a few weeks ago. I love the fashion and the designs. I don't necessarily love the drama. Essentially, everything I know about fashion I learned from this show. Of course, I'm not very fashionable, so that may not mean much.

Friday

• Say Yes to the Dress: I don't watch this with dedication. It's not set on my DVR and I'm not upset if I miss it. However, if I'm home and it's on, I watch it. It's entertaining, and the dresses are nice. However, it galls me that people spend so much money on wedding dresses. If you want to spend $1,000 on your dress, that's between you and your budget, but I feel like spending more than that is unconscionable. You could put a down payment on a really really nice house with some of the money these people spend. Heck, you could buy a nice car. It's rather shocking.

So that's my summer cable TV schedule, but it's not all I'm currently watching. What does that mean, you ask? Well, there is a whole world wide web out there with it's own programming. More on that on Friday.