"Summer TV." The words alone are enough to send chills of indifference up your couch-curved spine. But is that an unfair assessment? After all, some of the best TV ever has premiered in the doggy days of summer—shows like Mad Men and True Blood, and going back further, The Amazing Race, The Wire, and yes, even Seinfeld. So put down that beach ball and sit right down! Really? You're fine with that? All right, then! All that's left now is to determine what kind of summer TV watcher you are. Here are a few viewer personality profiles. Which one defines you best?
Competitive Reality Fan
Whether you're cheering on dancing gnomes on America's Got Talent, getting plastered while playing The Bachelorette drinking games, or merely hitching your cab to the Hot Tamale Express on So You Think You Can Dance, you simply can't get enough of summer's reality competition offerings. And lucky for you, there's a hell of a lot of them! You're not even picky: Platinum Hit followed by a The Glee Project chaser? Sign you up! Hours and hours of Gordan Ramsay on Hell's Kitchen and MasterChef. So long as there's a talking head interview in which someone is yammering on about how he's "not here to make friends," you're game.
ExploiTV Aficionado
Or maybe the kind of reality you crave is of a different sort: You prefer cable documentary shows about crazy people! Shows like A&E;'s Intervention and Hoarders, or TLC's Toddlers and Tiaras. Luckily, all of those shows and more just like them make the debuts in the summertime. Start hoarding them on your DVRs now!
Premiere Floozy
When it comes to summer series, you may not be up for serious, long-term commitments— but you certainly enjoy indulging in a wide variety of meaningless flings! Franklin & Bash were too needy, Love Bites turned out not to be the real thing, Teen Wolf needed some manscaping, and Falling Skies was from Mars. Maybe Wilfred will prove to be the one! But don't count on it, dawg.
Premium Cable Snob
Well smell you, swishing around that snifter of brandy and rambling on about how you only dine on the finest cable dramas money can buy. The Big C and Weeds on Showtime make for tasty appetizers, followed by a generous helping of True Blood on HBO as the main entree. Served bloody, of course. Garcon! More breadsticks, please!
Creature of Habit
Premium cable is a little too rarefied for your taste; you prefer the Chipotle of the TV world, serving basic-cable action and procedural fare. The "last" button on your remote is used primarily to toggle between USA Network and TNT, where shows like Burn Notice, White Collar, Royal Pains, HawthoRNe, and Leverage, race to blow up the bad guys and/or solve the case (or diagnose the disease, or whatever) before the hour is through.
Big Brother Freak
There are summer reality fans, and then there are the people who watch Big Brother. Not the casual, "Hm. I wonder who's H-O-H this week, and who's eating bean dip out of a sombrero in the kiddie pool?" But, rather, the ones who bookmark every 24-hour camera feed available and obsessively monitor the cast's every bodily function, as captured by night-vision camera. If that's you, you know who you are. It's a full-time job.
'Fess up: What type of summer TV viewer are you? Answer the poll below, then head to the comments to make a case for your summer shows of choice.
When I was a kid our scholar summer vacations (january and first week of february) we watched films of Trapalhoes (brazilian group of comedians very popular with the children) and Turma da Praia (Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, etc.) with films of Disney (Herbie and others) in the middle.
O tempo caminha ( Time walks).
Harder to choose than I thought... I watch EVERYTHING. :)
I'm none of these! I watch SYTYCD, Burn Notice, True Blood, and Intervention/Hoarders (occasionally, when there's nothing else or I'm really bored). I also rely heavily on my DVD collection and Netflix Instant Watch (through Roku). You should really have an option for those of us who don't fit into any category. :P
Creature of Habit, since I can't afford to be a Premium Cable snob.
Did anybody love Wifred?
None of this - True blood in box set, and perhaps Fringe series 1 and 2, Battlestar Galatica from the beginning. Catch up on series not seen as yet.
None of this really, but I'm a hardcore kid-Channel watcher.
... Or I'll de reading the second Song of Ice & Fire book!But seriously, how can you not include Louie & Breaking Bad here? Those are what I'm watching this summer!
Premium Cable Snob and Creature of Habit!
USA all the way, baby!
I'm a "Creature of Habit". I habitually watch too much tv!
I can't wait for True Blood, Weeds, Breaking Bad, and Covert Affairs. I love the new Love Bites, Franklin & Bash, and I'm looking forward to Falling Skies. I like America's Got Talent and MasterChef, but they're the only reality shows I can tolerate. I can't stand big brother, survivor, and dancing crap.
I'm a combo of "creature of habit" and "premium cable snob!" Weeds and True Blood! But also Burn Notice! Really the only 3 shows I watch over the summer!
no mention of AMC Breaking bad? that must be a Snob show cuz it's addictive like true blood
true blood, maybe a new series or 2... but not one specific category. I would rather have 10 root canals than watch reality shows of any kind. Most summers I catch up on shows I may not have watched before
True Blood, Men of a Certain Age, Memphis Blue, Rescue Me, the Closer, Burn Notice,the Glades,Warehouse 13. But always NCIS on CBS or USA no mattaer how many times I've seen an episode, I always learn something new. Can't look at Mark Harmon enough!
Summers means "Leverage" Time for me... ;) Also, i'm looking forward to second season of "The Haven"...
Creature of Habit
I'm the snob one.
i am most definitely a creature of habit, and i prefer Chipotle over fancy food
Down with reality show's True Blood is one of the coolest show That I've ever seen.
Where is Breaking Bad? How do you not mention the best show on during the summer? And True Blood is vampire fetish porn, not quality television.
Creature of habit most surely. NCIS, White Collar, and a horde of others, action, drama, and Sci-Fi draw me in like clockwork. I do like to check out the occasional premiere. Might find a new hour to watch. Reality shows should be trashed for the trash they are. Big Brother is a waste of air time. Hoarders, what a crock. Toss it in with the rest of the trash.
No doubt...I'm a creature of habit...hehehe...
Probably creature of habit. I usually alternate between TBS, Comedy Central, TNT, and Adult Swim.
Based on your list, I assume I'm a Creature of Habit. White Collar, Covert Affairs, Burn Notice, and Leverage is what I'm watching.
cross between creature of habit and premium cable snob
I went for Premium Cable Snob but in truth I'm just as much Creature of Habit (and I will probably watch a fair proportion of the premiers too).
abc family has some good summer shows scret life of of the americian teenager, switched at birth, pretty litle liars and melessia and joey
I'm a "creature of habit" with a dash of "premiere floozy" mixed in.
I may not get the live feeds, but I'm easily Big Brother freak.
I'm mostly a creature of habit because of USA network, TNT and SyFy shows, but also I love Showtime and HBO, so I'm also part Premium Cable.
Summer can have some great shows, This year there's TEEN WOLF and LEVERAGE but even better there's FALLING SKIES and TORCHWOOD: MIRCLE DAY. Plus The Glades also deserves a mention.
Not sure where I fit in
Pour the cabernet sauvignon into the decanter and label me a Premium Cable Snob. Breaking Bad, Mad Men, True Blood, and Weeds are without a doubt the best delicacies the summer has to offer. Bon appetite mon amies.
none of those fit me. watched all the shows mentioned in Premiere Floozy but i plan to actually watch them or there's no point watching the pilots, i also watch Premium Cable Snob, and Creature Of Habit (minus Burn Notice).. so i'm not picking onein the poll lol
Cable FTW. Breaking Bad, True Blood, Torchwood, Damages etc.
I chose Creature of Habit just because I watch a couple of the summer shows on USA. I would be part of jtrolio's DVD Warrior group if it were on the list. I watch a lot of repeats on USA and Sleuth, plus shows I've DVRed and some old favorites on Netflix (Studio 60) and DVD (Arrested Development).
Premium cable snob for sure!
What about the sci-fi junkies? There's a lot of sci-fi this summer with Falling Skies, Torchwood, Eureka, Warehouse 13 and Alphas. Of course it's not good sci-fi like "The 4400" or "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" but, you do the best with what you have.
@aliSuz - Don't be ashamed, I'm an ABC Family addict as well. I swear they should be renamed the Guilty Pleasure channel.
curb your enthusiasm & true blood
Breaking Bad and Damages are my only MUST watch shows this summer. I'll check out Burn Notice, Weeds, Louie and Futurama too... but they have nothing on those two shows.