TVSquad

As I started putting this list together it occurred to me, "Holy crap, there is a lot of good TV this summer." The summer used to be the time when my VCRs cooled their worn out heads after nine months of hard work. And now I find myself needing the Tivo and the DVR to keep up with everything. That's progress!

The Loop: I really can't figure out the thinking behind Fox's handling of The Loop. The first season (available on DVD) was only seven episodes, which kind of led one to believe that would be it. For some reason though, they ordered a second go round. But then they postponed and pushed back the premiere of season two until we find it burning up on Sunday nights in the summer. How they came to the decision that Happy Hour was a better option for the fall schedule baffles me. I'll watch the run to the end of the series though, even if I am disappointed that they cut Lizzy and Piper out of the show while giving us more Derek.

Entourage: Almost as puzzling as Fox's handling of The Loop is HBO's decision to start up the new season of Entourage after taking just a couple weeks off. Not that I'm complaining. This is my favorite of the HBO shows, so the more episodes the better. Based on the previews, the action on the set of Medellín should be a lot of fun.

So You Think You Can Dance: American Idol's little brother is well on its way to becoming a summer tradition. And that's a good thing. Once they get past the AI-style audition episodes, which they did this week, it really is a good show.

The cooking tri-fecta: With the premiere of Bravo's Top Chef on Wednesday night I am now following three cooking competition shows. That one joins Hell's Kitchen and Next Food Network Star. Nobody that has had my cooking would ever confuse me with a chef. In fact, the other day I baked tater tots in a frying pan because that's what was clean and available. (They're great with chili on top.) Even with my questionable culinary skills, I still find watching people that can actually do it very interesting.

Eureka: Battlestar seems to get most of the press, but Eureka is my favorite of the Sci-Fi originals. It's like Northern Exposure with advanced math. And I mean that in a good way. With a great cast and fun stories, there is a lot to like.

Big Brother (maybe): This one is hit and miss for me, based on the casting. I start watching it every year, but it's 50/50 as to whether or not I'll stick with it. If they manage to put together an entertaining cast I'll go ahead and put up with the robotic Julie hosting and head over to Jokers to get all the little details about what we didn't see.

Burn Notice: Bruce Frickin' Campbell. I would watch anything with him in it. I even watched that bad SciFi movie he did with Renee O'Connor, Alien Apocalypse. I knew going in it would be bad, but it had Bruce, so I watched anyway. And it was great, while remaining so very bad.

My Boys: This one actually surprised me when it debuted on TBS last season. I wasn't expecting much, but it is a fun little show. I think Jordin Spiro is great as PJ and the Trouty character quickly became one of my favorites.

Racing: I gave up the stick and ball sports a few years ago for various reasons. Now my televised sports fix comes from curling in the winter, and racing through the spring and summer. I'll watch every Nextel Cup and F1 race, most of the IRL and NHRA schedule, and random NASCAR Truck, AMA, World Rally, and sports car races as time permits.

I Bet You: This one is a little bit obscure. I don't know how many people actually get MOJO. If you do though, it's worth a look. The idea is simple. Poker pros Phil Laak and Antonio Esfandiari walk around town making bets about all manner of things. From the simple, how much is that shirt in the window, to the elaborate, who can learn to surf faster.

Pages of books: Technically, I'll be "watching" them turn as I catch up on some reading that has been put off over the last few months. There is that new Harry Potter book coming out as well. You might have heard about it. Apparently it's pretty popular. And since I've read the first six, I figure I might as well see how it all turns out. But damn, if Hagrid starts singing Journey songs and then the book just runs out of pages unexpectedly, I'll be pissed.