Summer TV

So I finally caught up reviewing all the films I’ve seen this summer. Now what? I guess it’s time for some TV. As I’ve mentioned before, I am much more addicted to television than movies, maybe it’s the access, but it probably has to do with longer storylines that make me care more about the characters. I’ve been going through serious television withdrawal this summer. I usually keep track of about thirty shows at any given time but this summer it was down to three. Three shows and only one of them worth my time. I’m trying to avoid reality shows but I got suckered into watching Last Comic Standing and Rockstar:Supernova this year. I don’t even watch the result shows as I could really care less who wins the competition. The one show I cared about this summer was Entourage.

The first season of Entourage was average but last year I found myself worried about the characters on the show. I was actually rooting for Vincent to get the lead role in James Cameron’s Aquaman. For those who don’t know, Entourage centers on new movie star Vincent Chase and his three pals from Queens, kind of like a male Sex in the City. Jeremy Piven (Old School, PCU, Serendipity) is Vince’s agent, Ari, who pretty much steals the show. The show is co-written by Larry Charles (Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm) and features a number of celebrities and slick Hollywood inside jokes. Being only a half-hour long, this is one of the few shows where I am left wanting more when I see the credits roll. Of course, Canada is way behind on showing this series, but you can catch the first season on City TV this fall. Just remember that while things get going in the second season, you’ll want to see it from the beginning.

The other thing I often do during the summer is try to watch some shows I might have missed during my packed viewing schedule. Last year, I watched both seasons of Dead Like Me and found myself enjoying the quick wit and Vanocuver locales. I even found my cousin and a former student in a couple of the episodes. Didn’t see that coming. This year I watched the fifth season of the always enjoyable Curb Your Enthusiasm. That Larry David is amazing. I also watched old CSI episodes (it’s on like five times a day) which was cool because I only started watching the show regularly during Season 4.

So I’m pretty psyched that the fall season is starting soon. Monday, in fact, with the return of Prison Break and the new show Vanished (I’ll talk about them later). So I’m going to take a break from the movies for a little bit and focus on television. In the next blogs, I’ll talk about the new shows, the returning shows and the upcoming Emmy Awards. Hope you don’t mind.