Swingtown (2008)
What We Got: In the 1970s, suburban life was turned on its ear by a period of sexual liberation, and key parties and wife-swapping became commonplace. One of the raciest shows CBS has ever aired, its retro stylings failed to catch on, but at least the network let it run its course on Friday nights.
Who We're Worried For: The Gates, which is also about a secretive residential community, although their sexual appetites seem to be complemented by more bloodthirsty ones. (Premieres June 20 on ABC.)

Keen Eddie (2003)
What We Got: Mark Valley, not yet a human target, played a New York cop who got transferred to London, where he helped Scotland yard crack cases and flirted with the squatter in his apartment. Whether or not they ever hooked up, we'll never know; the show only lasted 13 episodes.
Who We're Worried For: Memphis Beat, because "Memphis Cop who sings the blues at night" might actually beat "New York cop transferred to London" in the gimmicky-plot category. (Premieres June 22 on TNT.)

Pirate Master (2007)
What We Got: A reality competition show. In which the contestants are pirates. Looking for treasure. It was like Survivor meets awesome. Except it wasn't awesome, it was a little gimmicky, which is why the LARP-tastic show never had a second season. (Also, pirates were already passé.)
Who We're Worried For: Masterchef, because while Gordon Ramsey's Hell's Kitchen is an intense competition show between wannabe culinary professionals, watching ordinary folks try to be chefs seems even less interesting than watching ordinary people try to be pirates. (Premieres July 27 on FOX.)

Pepper Dennis (2006)
What We Got: Rebecca Romijn has never blown us away with her acting, but as a self-involved news reporter for a Chicago TV station, her attempts to advance her career and try to find love at the same time somehow worked. For us. Not for anybody else.
Who We're Worried For: 100 Questions, in which a woman has to answer all of the questions at a dating service, but each question invokes memories of her and her pals. We doubt she'll make it to question five. (Premiered May 27 on NBC.)

Traveler (2007)
What We Got: Before Matthew Bomer went white-collar, he was wanted for good old-fashioned terrorism after he and a friend were framed for a New York City bombing. The wanted pair began looking into their frame-y friend Will Traveler, while Traveler investigated his covert agency bosses, but we had to get the big answers from a blog post when the show was cancelled after eight episodes.
Who We're Worried For: Persons Unknown, in which seven strangers are put in a location and forced to solve a puzzle to get out. Something tells us that puzzle will never be completed. (Premieres June 7 on NBC.)

The Goode Family (2009)
What We Got: Mike Judge, the creator of the era-defining Beavis and Butthead and the long-running King of the Hill, turned his attention to overly-PC liberals in this short-lived cartoon. The family was certainly unique, but despite the presence of Judge's comedy stylings, it still lasted 11 fewer seasons than King.
Who We're Worried For: Neighbors From Hell , which is about a family of undercover demons living in suburbia. It has a great voice cast, so it could be another Family Guy, or it could be another Oblongs. (Premieres June 7 on TBS.)

Watch TWoP's editors discuss this summer's most promising new shows in this segment airing on the New York Nonstop cable news channel:

Does summer TV need to be fixed? Check out one solution.

See which past TV shows need to come back from the dead.

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