TVSquad

Summertime and TV in my house means three things: Watching new summer programming, catching up on TV shows I missed during the conventional September-through-May TV season and baseball, specifically Boston Red Sox baseball.

In fact, on summer evenings, my TV is most likely tuned in to a baseball game. But when the Sox are not playing -- or when they're getting clobbered or if they're playing a really late west coast game -- I turn on other shows such as:

1. Entourage. Yes, they're spoiled adolescents. They're narcissistic. They play video games all day and party all night as if they're entitled to live lives of luxury. But the guys from Entourage greatly amuse me and I love hating Jeremy Piven's Ari Gold.

2. Big Love. I find myself oddly drawn to this show about a Utah polygamist family with three wives and a boatload of kids. Jeanne Tripplehorn is the primary reason. Her portrayal of the first wife Barb Henrickson -- who was emotionally coerced into a polygamist situation by her husband as she was recovering from cancer -- is riveting.

3. The Office. Yes, I know I should be horse-whipped for failing to watch this Steve Carell dry comedy during the regular season. But I just couldn't fit it into my schedule. Thus I plan to spend the summer overdosing on repeats and Office DVDs.

4. The Starter Wife. Nothing screams "chick flick" more than something like The Starter Wife. But hey, it is the summer. This is a light confection of a show that's not too taxing, unlike wading through and deciphering this season's Lost episodes. And besides, I like Debra Messing.