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TWoP 10: Summer Shows We Never Thought We'd Watch

by Angel Cohn July 22, 2011 6:00 AM
TWoP 10: Summer Shows We Never Thought We'd Watch

We have to admit that during the year, we are very hard on shows (it's our job!), but in the summer, there are only a handful of series like Breaking Bad and True Blood that are Emmy-worthy. To get us through these barren months, we've got our reality staples like Big Brother and So You Think You Can Dance, and teen guilty pleasures like Pretty Little Liars and Degrassi, but that's not enough to fill our DVRs. So, we routinely lower our standards to discover some shows that might not be must-see during the regular season, but are tolerated -- and maybe even appreciated -- in the summer television doldrums.

10. Love in the Wild
Both this show and The Challenge have people hooking up randomly, being paired in teams with someone they don't necessarily like and doing outrageous things in Costa Rica. However, Love in the Wild does this with uncharismatic people who are tediously boring. This could have been the next Paradise Hotel, but instead we fight to stay awake... and yet we're still watching.

9. NY Ink
We enjoy the Ink shows in general -- we've watched NY Ink star Ami James since Miami Ink -- but these often air on over-crowded evenings and we catch-as-catch-can with episodes in reruns. Recently, however, we've had the luxury of being able to watch this installment as it unfolded (and we plan to do the same with the trainwreck that will be Kat Von D and Jesse James on LA Ink). We've enjoyed the fighting almost as much as seeing the intricate tattoos.

8. Entourage
Formerly on our must-watch list, over the years this one has fallen off, but we're sort of excited for the final season, so it will make the cut as we watch Vince and the boys act ridiculous for a few more episodes.

7. Roseanne's Nuts
We might have found time to watch an episode out of curiosity, but we certainly wouldn't have stuck around for multiple episodes to see the comedienne shooting at pigs, destroying trees and forgetting to wear underwear.

6. Teen Wolf
This show has actually gotten halfway decent, and if it had debuted in September, we'd have likely written it off after its subpar pilot. Instead, it's become one of our guilty pleasures. Any show that has an entire episode that just features teenagers running around trapped in a high school while being chased by a vicious killer is OK by us.

5. Masterchef
Hell's Kitchen-lite isn't really compelling television, it's sort of akin to The Next Food Network Star (which we've also been tuning into for no good reason). These "at-home" non-professional cooks are dull and lack pizazz (except for Suzy, who knows how to bring out the self-confident bitchiness that competitive reality truly needs). But still, we'll tune in regularly to see Gordon Ramsay cut someone down with comments about their food looking like the contents of a colostomy bag.

4. The Nine Lives of Chloe King
Much like Teen Wolf, this show would have been eliminated from our DVR list after the first episode. But we gave Chloe King a second chance and kept watching. It's not as addictive as Pretty Little Liars, but a good mindless way to wind down on a Tuesday night. They eat pancake and bacon sandwiches sometimes. It's fascinating.

3. Rizzoli & Isles
Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander have great hair, there are fantastic shoes and there's a pet tortoise for some reason. Did we mention this is a show about cops and an ME? An ME who likes to eat in her exam room? It's quirky and fun, but hits with the drama when you least expect it. At least it's more balanced than say, Harry's Law.

2. Storage Wars
How do we spend an entire day sitting and watching adults stare into dusty dirty spaces to buy what's likely garbage for inordinate prices during marathons of this show? It's a true puzzle. But from Dave's annoying bidding tactics, to Barry trying to justify spending hundreds of dollars on a worthless trunk, to Jarrod and Brandi's bickering... we're completely hooked. On a show about opening storage lockers. And sifting through trash. Yes. Really.

1. Hawthorne
This show features the acting talents of Marc Anthony, and that's not even the most ridiculous thing about it. It's a medical drama but mostly involves Jada Pinkett Smith's title character just stomping around and yelling at people, and caught in one awful situation after another... when she's not caught in sexy love triangles. There's a lot of insanity here, and it makes about as much sense as Nurse Jackie sometimes, and plotlines are forgotten... but yet we just can't quit this show. Behold the mysterious allure of Michael Vartan and his puppy dog eyes.

Watch TWoP's editors discuss the summer's addictive TV shows in this segment airing on the New York Nonstop News cable channel:

View more videos at: http://www.nbcnewyork.com.

24 Comments

July 22, 2011 8:25 AM
Kieran E
Reply

Don't all ME's on TV eat in their exam rooms for some reason?

July 22, 2011 8:57 AM
ct
Reply

Michael Vartan makes anything worth watching!

July 22, 2011 11:55 AM
Raven
Reply

I prefer Auction Hunters for my storage-locker-buying show - Alan Taff is kinda hot.

And how many repo shows *are* there on right now? I've been watching Repo Games, just because of the added twist of making people who aren't the brightest bulbs demonstrate their ignorance before getting their cars taken.

July 22, 2011 1:20 PM
nancy
Reply

I can't believe I'm hooked on Storage Wars either. Brandi is awesome.

July 22, 2011 2:18 PM
jen
Reply

At this point, Chloe King is about a thousand times more compelling than PLL. I had to give PLL up... nothing ever actually happens. You *think* something's happened, but then they erase that or call it into question immediately. What's the point of all these cliffhanger OMG moments and little reveals if they never actually add up to anything?

July 22, 2011 4:31 PM
gingersmom
Reply
replied to comment from Kieran E

yes, when I saw her pull out her lunch I just thought "oh, another one that eats in the morgue".

July 22, 2011 5:46 PM
Night Nymph
Reply
replied to comment from nancy

That she is.

Oh yes, and I'm hooked as well. It's Wednesday must see viewing for me.

July 22, 2011 5:58 PM
chloekinglover
Reply

Chloe King is totally addictive. When I saw the pilot and trailer I thought it was going to be stupid. But now it is the highlight of my TV watching week. I LOVE CHLOE KING!!!!!!

July 23, 2011 2:14 AM
Cat
Reply

Nine Lives? Nah, not so much. I'm addicted to Switched at Birth!

July 23, 2011 4:32 AM
Mar
Reply
replied to comment from Cat

Me too.
Last episode scene with Emmet and Daphne fighting without words was -amazing-.

July 23, 2011 8:11 AM
Mannie
Reply

I'm not sure why you think its the summer doldrums. My DVR has been busier than ever with all the cable dramas that are on during the summer - Burn Notice, the Closer, Rescue Me, Leverage, Falling Skies, Suits, Eureka, etc. No need to resort to reality tv.

July 23, 2011 4:51 PM
Glenda Anderson
Reply

What in the world is so "Fascinating" about so-called "reality" TV? I have never seen such unmitigated "TRASH" in sll my life. Who in thier right mind would ever think that most of what is shown as "reality" TV is truly "reality"? Have we as a nation grown so utterly stupid as to believe it? Give me a well-written story line any day, and keep your version of "reality"

July 23, 2011 6:25 PM
Nothing Much
Reply
replied to comment from Cat

I second (third?) what you're saying, Cat & Mar. I understand TWoP's skepticism of Switched at Birth based on the rushed pilot, but it quickly became the best summer show! I really wish it would be recapped.

July 23, 2011 11:10 PM
Amy
Reply

Michael Vartan is the reason to watch Hawthorne. I'd love to see him in a movie with Drew Barrymore again.

July 24, 2011 3:02 AM
Big Dan
Reply
replied to comment from Kieran E

I remember one Medical Examiner (Ralph Erdmann) who was caught by '60 Minutes' with condiments in his lab fridge next to various tissue samples and whatnot.

For some reason, Mike Wallace failed to find this quirky and endearing.

July 25, 2011 9:40 AM
HN
Reply
replied to comment from Glenda Anderson

Dear Glenda,
When people watch reality TV, they're not sitting on their couches saying "Oh Em Gee, this show is so REAL!" They watch it because it's entertaining. The premise that these shows are uncensored "reality" was left behind about a decade ago. Besides, who wants to watch a truly real reality show when reality usually consists of getting up, going to work and going home again, day after day? We have our own lives for that. We turn to TV for entertainment and escapism - whether it involves actors and scripts, or non-actors (and scripts).

July 25, 2011 6:19 PM
john b
Reply

Teen Wolf is getting good! we find out who the Alpha is tonite. Storage wars is addicting! Like Hoarders.

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