Summer TV

I don't know why I expect to have much to say on this topic since I only get two channels, but I love this time of year on TV. Maybe I should say this time of year on NBC. When I was a kid (late 70's-early 80's), I thought that Summertime was reserved for reruns. During the "season" it was all new shows, and then at some point, which I think coincided with the end of the school year, they started from the beginning and showed the season all over again. Now it seems much more complicated with shows replacing shows mid-season and reserving all the "good stuff" for sweeps week, etc. I don't understand it at all. Except that during the Summer we get new stuff of different shows. Like "Last Comic Standing" and variations of dating shows ("Average Joe", "Age of Love"). "Last Comic Standing" and "America's Got Talent" are two that I easily get sucked into. During the regular season, I also get into "Biggest Loser" and "The Apprentice", and of course the Thursday night lineup of "The Office", "30 Rock" and, to a lesser degree, "ER". I love "My Name is Earl" as well, but V doesn't go to bed in time for me to catch it. Something I do miss is on the other channel I get, public television. They used to show these series where a group of people live in a house together in a different "era". Sort of like "The Real World" meets "The Time Machine": "Manor House", "Colonial House", "Texas Ranch House", "Frontier House". Those were fantastic shows. When I have the opportunity to see cable television, I pretty much only watch "The Food Network". Not only do I like the shows, but it's the only channel that I know I will not show something my daughter should not see. No questionable language, no pushy commercials aimed at children, no scantily clad women. Just food and how to prepare it. The rest of the time, I consider TV mostly a waste of time. I get news and information from the internet, watch "The Daily Show" on the Comedy Central website, show V my favorite clips from "The Electric Company" on YouTube, and rent movies from the local independent film library or the public library.