The Summer 7: My Favorite Shows of Summer 2010 by Heather M

Fall arrives this week, so it’s a good time to recap the summer TV season. This summer, I resumed some longstanding favorites and picked up a few newbies. I also divorced a couple of shows – I didn’t go back to Army Wives when they dispatched all the spouses back into action and I decided to skip True Blood because I was burned out after the Maryann takeover last year. I did follow it via recaps and nothing I read made me wish I’d was watching it. So long, TB. In no particular order, these were my DVR/appointment shows for summer 2010:

1. Eureka, Syfy
I’ve covered the fourth season for the blog, and it bears repeating that this was the show’s strongest season since its first. With a time travel bent influencing the action, everybody came back better and happier. The show is coming back to resume season four early next year and then we get season five. You can watch the last few episodes at syfy.com.

2. Haven, Syfy
This quirky noirish drama could have been over-the-top like Happy Town but it instead fell somewhere squarely in the middle of Twin Peaks and Northern Exposure (two shows I loved back in the day), setting a fish-out-of-water tale of FBI agent Audrey Parker in a picturesque town with more than one secret. We don’t know yet whether they’re coming back. I hope so—I like this cast a lot. Syfy Rewind has the episodes posted the day after they air.

3. My Boys, TBS
Just unceremoniously dumped after the conclusion of its fourth season (after being off the air a ridiculous 13 months between seasons), this gem rebounded from the departure of Jim Gaffigan with a new dynamic that brought PJ’s sole gal pal, Stephanie, fully into the fold. The seasons were always too short, and now, the series officially was, too. I have no doubt all of these folks will land other gigs, but I’m highly annoyed at the way they, and the fans, were treated (and that NBC torpedoed Jordana Spiro and Kyle Howard’s second-position jobs on its network because a decision hadn’t been made on My Boys yet). You can catch the last few episodes online.

4. The Gates, ABC
The absolute definition of a guilty pleasure, this delightfully trashy supernatural melodrama mixes sex, intrigue, vampires, werewolves, witches, and succubi, oh my! And it’s been fabulous. I knew a lot of this cast from other work, but several are new to me. Some of the arcs were a little heavy handed and eyerolly, but I actually came to give a damn about the adoptive vampire parents who worried they’d be outed and the whole alpha female dynamic. A big thumbs up to ABC that they have actually aired all of the episodes. It wraps on Sunday with a two-hour finale. You can catch the last five episodes on Hulu. No news on a renewal yet. The other awesome thing? They shot it in a well-to-do enclave in Shreveport, Louisiana of all places. Woo hoo Louisiana revenue!

5. Movies of the week, Lifetime/LMN/Hallmark Channel
Guilty pleasure #2. Once the domain of the "big" networks to keep their lead actors employed during the hiatuses, movies of the week have become the bread and butter of basic cable. Cast with a variety of familiar faces (many of them doubly so to genre and sci-fi fans) like Julie Benz, Emma Caulfield, Leslie Hope, Natasha Henstridge, Gabrielle Anwar, Charisma Carpenter, and Dina Myer, etc., they're usually paint-by-numbers feel-good or gal/guy-in-peril stories. Mostly female-driven, the movies' recognizable leads are backed a host of (often Canadian) HITGs. I dig the MOWs because I usually can six-degrees-of half the folks in them and because the (also mostly) Canadian locations (usually Vancouver/Montreal/Calgary) are a vicarious travelogue. I’m apparently not alone—Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network debut at least two original movies a month, sometimes one a week, (usually on Saturday or Sunday evenings) and Hallmark Movie Channel usually has at least one new film a month. Once aired, they then get added to the networks’ already robust MOW libraries, where they run year-round, and their DVD library (yes, people pay for them). You can also see the Lifetime flicks online.

6. Covert Affairs, USA
Y’all know how I feel about Chris Gorham. The real surprise in this spy yarn from USA is that Piper Perabo can do light and funny and kickass and serious all at the same time. I haven't seen more than ten minutes of Coyote Ugly, so I only knew her from farce work (Slap Her…She’s French), romcoms (Imagine Me and You/Because I Said So) and a heartbreaking coming of age film (Lost & Delirious). She’s also done her share of accents, so I was pleased to see her rock her mother tongue. The only downside—a ridiculously overlong hiatus until season two, slated for next summer. USA seemed to have gotten with it, shortening the hiatuses of their other shows, so I don’t get the slow drag to a second season for their newest hit, especially when the first season ended the only way it could have (I think). Catch up with the season via the full episodes at USA's website.

7. Warehouse 13, Syfy
An amalgam of funny, sweet, sci-fi, and rat-a-tat-tat line delivery between its Tracey and Hepburn leads made Warehouse 13 a surprising hit for Syfy, and in a lovely bit of karma, a long overdue one for series stars Eddie McClintock and Joanne Kelly, and especially Saul Rubinek. McClintock was sort of in Clooney territory with a large collection of unsuccessful pilots and one-season wonders. Until now. What could have been an X-Files rip with male and female federal agents has evolved into a much more familial ensemble venture. The show gives as much weight to its two leads as it does Artie, Claudia (a very smart addition in season two), and a parade of rotating guest stars. They’re finishing season two Tuesday night (after an all-day season two marathon) and will be back for a third season in the spring.

And that’s a wrap on summer. Come see us at TV Goodness, where we’re reviewing the new and returning fall shows, and where I’ll be reviewing Haven until its season concludes in early October. Thanks so much for reading!

The Summer 7: My Favorite Shows of Summer 2010 by Kara Howland

Ahhh. As summer comes to a close it’s time to look back and reflect on the summer shows I enjoyed. I’ve been a pretty active summer TV watcher for a while now and there has been a lot of great (and A LOT of bad) television. I don’t watch too much “reality” during the regular season but I allow it over the summer. Here’s what I enjoyed:



The Closer, TNT

I’m so pleased Kyra Sedgwick finally took home an Emmy for her portrayal of Deputy Chief Brenda Lee Johnson. She has always been my number one reason to watch this show. Even if I can solve the murder before Major Crimes does, I always enjoy watching Brenda Lee at work. She’s a smart, strong, and sexy female lead. And her relationships with Chief Pope, her squad, and her husband are always interesting. This season I’ve really enjoyed the move into the new building and Commander Taylor’s plight to get out of his cube. Watching Brenda deal with Mary McDonnell’s Captain Raydor is always great drama. I, like Brenda, am not sure she should be the next chief. I like to see her solving cases from week to week, even after six years.



True Blood, HBO

I love this show. All the supernatural elements are always interesting and often shocking. The large cast means there are always numerous storylines to follow if one or two should fall short (I’m talking to you Sam Merlotte). James Frain’s Franklin is my favorite addition to this year’s cast with Denis O’Hare’s King of Mississippi taking an extremely close second. I will never tire of Eric Northman or Alcide Herveaux (I’m so happy he’s returning next year) or their fight for Sookie’s affection. I thought I’d be a die-hard Sookie and Bill fan forever. Not so much after the finale. Now, I wouldn’t mind seeing her with Eric or Alcide. And what do we have to look forward to next year? More witchcraft, amongst other things. I can’t wait.



Rescue Me, FX

This show never disappoints and Denis Leary is a revelation. Whether it’s funny, daring, dramatic, or shocking there is always something here to satisfy. After Tommy pledges to go back on the wagon yet again, almost no one in his life believes him. Can you blame them? One thing I can always rely on this show for is authenticity. I feel like we know how real fire fighters are, how it is to struggle with addiction, what it feesl like to run into a burning building and emerge alive. That’s probably what I love most about this show and I’ll be sad when it ends next year. It’s been an emotional, violent, and ultimately cathartic experience. And I hope we see more of Sheila and Tommy extremely dysfunctional relationship. They are so wrong together it’s right.



Treme, HBO

After a somewhat slow start, this series really took off for me. I love music and this show does a fantastic job of infusing it into everything. Khandi Alexander needs to be nominated for something (an Emmy, a SAG Award, something) for her role as Ladonna, a struggling bar-owner with a weakness for her ex-husband and a burning need to know what happened to her incarcerated brother during Katrina. There are no weak links in casting here. John Goodman, Melissa Leo, and Clarke Peters - to name a few - have had great storylines. But maybe most importantly, this show has reopened my eyes to just how badly things were handled in New Orleans and it makes me want to visit this bowed but unbroken city. I can’t wait for season two.



Samantha Brown’s Asia, The Travel Channel

I am a huge fan of Samantha Brown and watch all the iterations of her shows – Great Weekends, Passport to Latin America, and Passport to Europe. What I’ve loved in particular about the Asia series is that Samantha is so excited to be there. I guess these trips have been a long time in coming and I can feel her wonder and excitement. I find these shows to be great vacation prep and I find Samantha to be a fun and knowledgeable guide. I like that she often takes the road less traveled and tries to have more authentic experiences. And now I have a huge list of places I’d love to visit.



So You Think You Can Dance, FOX

Season 4 will always be the high point of this series for me but I’ve enjoyed every summer airing as well. I think Cat Deeley needs to be Emmy-nominated for her hosting duties and I love it when she puts Nigel in his place. I also loved the new format - a top 10 (well 11) and the addition of the all-stars. The addition of new choreographers always excites me – even if it doesn’t work. We had a great group of kids to root for this year who danced their hearts out. I really thought Kent would take it all – those tween fans were insane – but I’m glad Lauren made a late surge to take it all. I didn’t buy tickets to this year’s tour but I did see the dancers from Season 4 perform at the Nokia. It. Was. Awesome.



Project Runway, Lifetime

I was so skeptical about the new 90-minute format and, quite frankly, I feel like there is the same amount of show with more commercials. In any case, I still love this show. I always enjoy the challenges and watching the contestants “make it work.” Tim Gunn is amazing as a mentor (I even enjoyed Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style when he was back on Bravo). My favorite part is always watching those designs walk the runway – whether they are atrocious or heavenly. This year has yielded a strong crop of designers but next season I’d like them all to stay out of the hospital. It makes me worry about how hard they are working. But I guess fashion is pain. Learn it. Live it. Love it.

The Summer 7: My Favorite Shows of Summer 2010 by Tina Charles

The Summer 2010 TV Season is quickly coming to an end. And I have to say I think I've watched more television this long hiatus break than ever before. So just as the Fall TV shows start to invade the airwaves here are the seven shows that snapped, crackled and popped on the small screen. They all made my must-see list this summer.

• Leverage, TNT: I decided to make the commitment and start watching TNT's grifter thriller in its third season. I quickly found out that it's a perfect summer show. It's fun, has a great cast, the cases are almost always intriguing and it is generally a great way to spend an hour. Now I'm going to have to make another commitment. I'm going to have to pick up Seasons 1 and 2 and catch up from the beginning.

• White Collar, USA Network: I quickly marathon'd Season 1 in order to watch Season 2 in real time. So happy that I did. White Collar returned and delivered great episode after great episode. Two reasons why I love this show are its stars Matthew Bomer and Tim Dekay. More reasons why I dig White Collar are its supporting cast in Tiffani Thiessen, Willie Garson, Marsha Thomason and Sharif Atkins. I just hope in upcoming seasons Marsha and Sharif will be even more involved in the action and get some back stories.

• Rizzoli & Isles, TNT: TNT's newest hit procedural has also turned out to be a hit with me. Detective Jane Rizzoli and Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Maura Isles are a dynamic duo when it comes to fighting crime. What's even better is that some of the issues that I had with this show at the beginning of the season have finally worked itself out. This show has plenty of potential to live on for a long time.

• Chopped, Food Network: All I know is that this show has such a simple concept and it's provided me with hours of entertainment. The wannabe Chopped champions really earn their 10,000 bucks and I love to see what these cooking MacGyvers can make out of the wildest ingredients. Make a potato dessert? No problem. Shuck a bunch of clams or oysters in the allotted 20 minutes for the appetizer round? No problem. Find a way to make an edible concoction out of curry paste, arugula, peanut butter and pork loin? No problem. Plus it seems that the cheftestants that were part of this summer's lineup were particularly interesting as well as talented. Then Food Network upped the ante by beginning to air the Chopped Championship. We're two episodes in and I'm loving all these champions that have returned for a chance to win 50,000 dollars. The competition is fierce.
  

• Childrens Hospital, Adult Swim: I don't know what compelled me to start watching this web sensation turned Adult Swim newbie, but I'm sure happy that I did. This bite-sized comedy series features an all-star cast. The Rob Corddry-creation reeled in big names like Megan Mullally, Henry Winkler and one of my personal favorites, Ken Marino. And it did something that NBC's Surface wasn't able to do. It got me to like Lake Bell. While Bell left the show at the beginning of Season 2 (although good news, she will be back later this season), we're now getting used to Watchmen blonde babe Malin Akerman. Haven't figured out her character yet but I'll be around to find out. One of my favorite characters from the first and a little bit of the second season is the patient (Nick Kroll) who suffered from the aging disease. Hilarious doesn't even describe him. I hope this series that comes in a little package (each episode is only about 11 minutes long) continues to bring the laughs for a long time to come.

• True Blood, HBO: I've seen Seasons 1 and 2 of True Blood but I watched them both marathon-style after the finales and before the next season started. I never felt the need to watch real time. That all changed with Season 3. Now I am compelled (glamoured maybe?) to watch the over-the-top in a good way happenings of the Bon Temps residents whether they're human, undead, animal-like or even faerie (I still can't forget Sookie's reaction to finding out she was not quite human). Russell has been a formidable villain and his relationship with Talbot was definitely entertaining. Eric Northman just rocks every which way especially when he's in scenes with Pam. I have had a couple issues with Season 3 (namely Sam and Jason's story lines), but it really doesn't matter because everything else was just so damn addictive. The addition and then subtraction of Franklin was simply sizzling and the introduction of werewolf hottie Alcide was quite awesome. I've felt bad for what Tara had to go through and relished the closeness she had with her cousin Lafayette. And I'm really happy Lafayette got some TLC of his own in the form of Jesus. Now it's time for the finale and then we're going to have to say goodbye to a season that gave us Jessica and Hoyt and had one of the most twisted TV sex scenes of all time thanks to Bill and Lorena. Yup, True Blood has been truly blood-sucking good.
  

• Pretty Little Liars, ABC Family: I took an instant liking to this high school soap/murder mystery although I was originally cautious. I wondered how long I was going to be able to handle all the secrets like who this mysterious "A" texter really is going to turn out to be. But the story has developed nicely. I still have no clue whodunit which is a good thing and I really liked the summer finale. Hanna finding out who's terrorizing the friends and then getting hit by a car really drums up the drama and makes me want the winter to get here now so we can continue the action. My issue with this show is how every guy (and some girls) want to date these 16-year-olds no matter how old the guy is. Spencer has moments with both of her older sister's boyfriends? The teacher can't help but be drawn to Aria? I don't know if I'm totally buying all of that business. Regardless, I love the young cast. The adults are some of my favorites (Charmed's Holly Marie Combs, Chad Lowe from Life Goes On and especially Melrose Place's Laura Leighton). I'm not too cool with Bryce Johnson's sleazy cop but no matter, I already love him on Fox's Lone Star. Like many of the other selections on this list, Pretty Little Liars makes the perfect summer show and it'll definitely heat things up when the drama comes back in the winter.
  

The Summer 7: WGA Panel featuring Emmy-nominated Writers from Modern Family, Glee, FNL etc. by Tina Charles

7 things I learned at Thursday night's often hilarious Sublime Primetime panel that featured some of this year's Emmy-nominated writers from TV miniseries, sitcoms and dramas (courtesy of the Writers Guild Foundation):

• "Television, I don't know if anyone knows this, is super easy." - Glee's Ian Brennan said this after moderator and Lost guru Carlton Cuse pointed out how Brennan went from actor to being nominated for an Emmy for his very first writing gig.

• We now know the format for Conan O'Brien's upcoming TBS late night talk show: "Have you seen the other two? Kind of like that. Guests, a band, celebrities selling b---s--t. Pretty much like that." Love that this "insight" came from the always funny 2010 Emmy-nominee (and not to mention Conan sidekick) Andy Richter.

• Not that this is a shocker but The Office's Mindy Kaling is freakin' hilarious. As is Modern Family co-creator/Executive Producer Steve Levitan and Lost showunner/Executive Producer Cuse who had to face down a few jokes about the lack of answers from his Emmy-nominated show that's up for Best Drama series. He was a trooper.
  

• The audience loved CBS' The Good Wife. When it came time for the audience portion of the Q&A many questions were thrown at husband-wife writing team and creators of CBS' hit drama Robert and Michelle King. News (at least to me) was that the married couple originally pitched Good Wife to ABC but the alphabet network passed.
  

• None of the Glee "boys" (Brennan, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk) have seen Disney Channel's High School Musical. This band of three were referred to as "the Glee boys" or "the Glee guys" so often that Ian at one point insisted they had real names. Very funny moment.
  

• Mindy follows her Office character on Twitter.

• We learned what these writers watch on TV: Kaling adores AMC's Breaking Bad; Levitan tunes into Showtime's Weeds; Murphy is a big, big fan of A&E's Hoarders; HBO's Deadwood pretty much ruined TV for Richter because he loved it so much although he has been known to tune into Bravo's Top Chef and "whatever's on." The Pacific's Robert Schenkkan and Friday Night Lights scribe Rolin Jones were completely devoted to The Wire. Jones got real specific and said he was way into The Wire Seasons 3 and 4 the most.
  

The WGA event was definitely enjoyable and the panel was both hilarious and insightful plus Cuse was a great moderator. One of my favorite pieces of advice came from Richter on how to become the next big thing: "Don't be a sh--ty writer." And the entire panel ended on a high note with an audience member wrapping it all up by capitalizing on one of the evening's running jokes that would take too long to describe. Just trust me, it was as if the ending had been scripted.

The 62nd Emmy Awards air on Sunday, August 29th on NBC @ 8PM/Eastern.

The night's featured players included:

• From Lost: Carlton Cuse who moderated the evening.

• From The Office: Mindy Kaling
  

• From The Pacific: Bruce C. McKenna

• Also from The Pacific: Robert Schenkkan

• From Modern Family: Steve Levitan

• From Friday Night Lights: Rolin Jones

• From The Good Wife: Robert King

• Also from The Good Wife: Michelle King

• From Glee: Brad Falchuk
  

• Also from Glee: Ryan Murphy

• One more from Glee: Brad Falchuk

• Conan's Andy Richter

UPDATE: a link to a brief Steve Levitan interview courtesy of WriteOnline.com:

The Summer 7: Leverage by Tina Charles

Seven reasons to watch TNT's Leverage:

1. It's hella fun. Leverage does feature some dramatic elements, but the reason why I keep coming back for more is because it's a lot of fun. The way the characters come up with their plan of strategy regarding the week's big case; the way they execute the big plan almost always involves some sort of dress-up or acting in an over-exaggerated manner to fool the big bad of the week; plus they make the villain look really stupid so it's awesome to see him or her get arrested at the end. It's the perfect summer show because it doesn't overtax my brain or weigh it down with heavy drama.
   
2. The cast chemistry. I admittedly just got hooked on this show in Season 3 (I have a lot of catching up to do). But one of my main criteria for tuning into a show is cast chemistry. I have to instantly like the cast, I don't like to have to work for it. I can't believe I never tuned into Leverage before, because the entire cast works so well off each other. It starts with Timothy Hutton as Nate. He's like the Hannibal Smith of this "family." He shares a special type of chemistry with each cast member but especially with Gina Bellman's Sophie. My favorite pairings however, have to be between Eliot and Hardison as well as Hardison and Parker. Christian Kane, Aldis Hodge and Beth Reisgraf sparkle in their scenes together. They each play characters with distinct personalities and they make it all work in their case-centric scenes as well as the scenes when the characters aren't trying to get the bad guy.
3. The characters. I've talked about the cast, now it's time to talk about the characters. Like I mentioned previously, the characters all have distinct personalities. And I like that they each bring something to the table. Nate's the brains of the operation; Sophie's able to scam her way into any situation; Eliot's the muscle; Parker can steal anything and Hardison's the tech guy that can hack into anything. Everyone's essential to the family and each case and I love that. And the relationships between the characters is also interesting. I like to see how they interact and every time I learn something new about them it just adds to their well drawn out characters. They are more than just what they bring to the table however. The fact that the show utilized Christian Kane's singing talents and had Eliot sing in an episode was awesome. And yes, consider me a Parker/Hardison (Pardison? Harker?) shipper. I want these two together. Love that they're sort of exploring that this season. I wonder how far the show will go?
   
4. The cases. Whatever the case may be, I get pretty caught up in them. It's very Ocean's 11 the way they go about doing the good deed of the week. What I mean by that is that the way they go about it is usually very cool and slick and suspenseful. But this crew helps the good guys by nailing the bad guys. And I love trying to guess which way they're going to take out the villain-of-the-week.
5. The titles. This is a simple reason why I love Leverage. I just like the names of the episodes. The titles each have "the" and "job" in it and then some sort of description for what goes on during the hour. It's not the first show that's done something like this, but I like it. So we get names like "The Studio Job" and "The Double-Blind Job." It all adds to the show's cool factor.
   
6. The action. I love seeing how Nate goes about stealing a train to get Eliot and Hardison out of a sticky situation and how Hardison helps Parker get into and out of a high tech security situation. I especially love the action that Eliot provides. He's the one that gets into several fights every week. After all, he's the brawn to Nate's brain. I'm all for as much action as possible and Leverage provides a lot of it. It's not all talk. They do stuff.
7. The guest stars. This show doesn't make us guess who the bad guy is. We pretty much know from the beginning. So Leverage often features name guest stars as the bad guys of the week. I just hate on other shows that it's so easy to guess the bad guy because the guest star is someone pretty well known. What other part are they going to play? So on this TNT hit show, John Schneider and Bill Engvall can come on, and we're not trying to guess if they're the villain, we're just trying to guess how Nate and his team are going to bring these bad guys down. Richard Chamberlin did come on as Parker's mentor and that was such a good guest star get. And now we know Tom Skerritt's coming on the show as Nate's dad. Keep the great guest stars coming, Leverage!

Leverage has already been renewed for a fourth season which is very exciting. You can tune into this fun show Sunday nights @ 9/8C and 9PT.