Worth Considering

• True Blood (HBO, Sunday) is back and things are running amok in Bon Temps. Bill is missing, Tara is still confused and newbie Alcide is gorgeous. While I don’t want to be the first one to say it (and risk an online onslaught), this show is teetering on the edge of the shark for me. I keep watching each week. But each week, until the last 10 minutes, I am tempted to revoke its season pass.
• Apparently, it’s still last summer for the gang on “Royal Pains” (USA, Thursday). Last season ended with the end of summer, and when the show started again this year, no time has passed. Ignore all of the timeline issues and just love it. It’s super summer fun - a little pretty, a little funny, a little serious and there are no cops. Perfect.
• “Burn Notice” (USA, Thursday) airs right before “Royal Pains” and it can’t be helping its ratings. I love Michael Weston to the point where I use to make plans with people to watch it en masse. But this year, it isn’t living up to its reputation and it certainly is lacking in my favorite part - teaching me how to take care of business using cell phone parts. I still love the gang and am sure they will find their groove before Labor Day, but I wish they would hurry up.
• One of my favorite shows of all time is back and almost finished with its (I am assuming) penultimate season, “Friday Night Lights” (NBC, Friday) is still the best written, best shot, best ensemble cast show on TV. And still no one is watching. Fans can find comfort in knowing we are promised one more season so the show can end as intended, but with the new Emmy nominations, we may get an additional season. Please watch it. I swear it’s good.
• “Mad Men” (AMC, Sunday) returns on July 25. I have only seen a few episodes of this show and don’t get it. I know I’m the odd man out, so don’t forget to set your TiVo®. I am sure there will be advertising, smoking, great clothes, cocky smiles and everything else that makes this show continue to dominate Sundays.
• HBO is in the middle of running a series of weekly documentaries. These documentaries are the quality of the HBO we knew and loved from its peak four years ago - amazing. Definitely worth watching is “I Knew It Was You : Rediscovering John Cazale,” about the actor everyone knows, but no one remembers. “Gasland” is a must see if you care at all about the price we are all going to pay if we don’t start paying attention. You won’t believe what is going on in towns that sit atop natural gas wells. “Every F****ing Day of My Life” is the story of the lengths a woman goes to when she has to protect her family. Each documentary is better than the next (with the exception of “Smash His Camera”). Most are available On Demand, so don’t miss out.

New Offerings

• The Facebook campaign that gave Betty White her umpteenth redemption also launched a new comedy on TV Land, “Hot In Cleveland.” (TV Land, Wednesday) Starring Wendy Malick, Betty White, Valerie Bertanelli and Daphne from Fraiser (Jane Leeves). It’s a three-camera comedy (think everything before 2001) and has a laugh track. That is enough to make me tune out, except that the premise of the pilot was that Daphne may be trying to have sex with the son that she gave up for adoption. It’s funny in the way that “Too Close For Comfort” and “One Day at A Time” are funny. If you don’t remember those shows, you probably won’t like this one, either.
• “The Good Guys” (Fox, Monday) stars Colin Hanks and Bradley Whitford, the latter in a hilarious moustache. The premise seems rehashed and trite, like every straight cop, drunk cop show that has ever aired. However, the dialogue is snappy and the show is kind of funny. It’s over the top, very silly and definitely worth checking out.
• “Covert Affairs” (USA, Tuesday), is another spy show about a young CIA agent, fresh from “the farm” and thrust into the spy life before graduating from her official training program. Part “Alias” (ok, a lot Alias) and part “Veronica Mars,” the show is lots of fun and definitely rates a season pass.
• “Rookie Blue” (ABC, Thursday) is the number one show on ABC this summer. And for good reason. It’s “Grey’s Anatomy” for rookie police officers. If you are a Grey’s fan, then this is probably the show for you. They are a few episodes in, but you can catch up on ABC.com, Hulu or On Demand. Like Grey’s, the cast is not that recognizable, except for Missy Peregrym, who you may remember from “Life As We Know It,” “Stick It” or “Reaper.” The cast is cute and the stories don’t focus on the gore that goes along with being on the job. Still, it’s glossy, without a lot of depth, which is probably why it started during the summer season.
• “The Glades” (A&E, Sunday) began this past Sunday. It’s another formulaic detective show with a quirky sense of humor (which may or may not be bad). I dug the pilot and will definitely watch again. But there is no denying that this show has stolen a page from the wildly successful female detective show, “The Closer.”
• If you like sometimes crude, uncomfortable, observational humor, “Louie” (FX, Tuesday) is for you. You should know that my definition of crude may be different from yours, so don’t hold it against me if you watch and are offended. Part “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” part “The Sarah Silverman Program,” if you like that kind of funny, this show delivers.
• British Broadcasting Corporation of America (BBC America) has two shows I can’t wait to check out. The first is the return of “Being Human,” the saga of a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost forced to live in a flat and deal with the real world. Last season wasn’t ground breaking, but it appears to be taking a new direction this year, so I’m in. The second is “The Choir,” a show about a teacher trying to save school choirs one step at a time. The show has riveted audiences in England and according to the ads on the telly, “The Baltimore Sun” hails it as the one new show to watch this summer.

My Surprise Summer Favorite?
Right now, the only TV show that I make an appointment to watch each Friday night may surprise you. I don’t watch game shows, most reality shows (”The Real Housewives of New York City” not included) or dancing shows. It’s not a comedy and despite making headlines (hence ruining the suspense of the storyline), I wait each week to see how the crew of the Bob Barker, Ady Gil and Steve Irwin are screwing up and/or kicking butt. What rocks my boat is the reali-mentary (part reality, part documentary), “Whale Wars.” Sailing the southern seas to stop the Japanese from illegal whaling is the amazingly dedicated and dangerous (often to themselves), volunteer crew of Sea Shepherd. One week they are launching butyric acid with homemade slingshots and the next week they are trying to find fresh drinking water on melting icebergs to avoid literally dying. Paul Watson is certainly a polarizing figure and whether you agree with their mission or not, I dare you not to sing along when their theme song comes on.

The only thing better than “Whale Wars,” is “Dolphin Wars,” which is in production now. The latter show chronicles the team from 2009’s Oscar-winning documentary, “The Cove,” as they try to stop the slaughter of dolphins around the world.

You Can’t Pay Me To Watch…
The worst new show to debut this summer? In my opinion, it has to be the miserable network attempt at a vampire show, “The Gates” (ABC, Sunday). It smacked of unholy desperate housewives, but with bad actresses we don’t already love from the 90s and a glossy premise that no one cares about. If you want good vampire TV, forget this show, cancel HBO and watch “Vampire Diaries” (CW, Thursday). The actors aren’t bad, and the main female lead is actually likeable. Forget Team Edward, Team Bill or Team Jacob. I’m Team Stefan all the way.

This summer, television was more lackluster than blockbuster for me. I loved Whale Wars (I could totally end up on that show with the crew of the MV Steve Irwin), Torchwood, Royal Pains, Burn Notice and True Blood, but otherwise Doctor Who and SVU reruns filled my TiVo.

Will the upcoming fall season be any better? There are a few shows that have managed to pique my interest. The trend appears to be based in the sci-fi world, thanks to all of the vampires that are influencing every aspect of our entertainment lives. There are some old favorites I can’t wait to see and some new offerings you can’t pay me to watch.

Glee (Wednesdays, 9 p.m., Fox) is about a struggling Glee club at a school that doesn’t appreciate them. The pilot aired at the end of the spring season and I have been waiting with bated breath since then. This Glee club is more like the famous PS22 Chorus, but older, without the celeb attraction and way dorkier. I loved the pilot.

V (Tuesdays, 8 p.m. ABC) is back! If you are my age or slightly older, you will never forget this scene. This remake takes place in a darker, post 9/11 world and despite that, I really hope it is just as fun as the original. Early reviews are mixed, but as a child of the 80’s, I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Life Unexpected (mid-season replacement, CW) is about a girl who bounces from foster home to foster home and eventually tries to emancipate herself. While this sounds like trite and worn territory, early buzz on this is favorable and rumored to be the sleeper hit of the season.

Community (Thursdays, 9:30 p.m., NBC) is the show I am most excited about. From some of the minds behind the best single-camera comedy of recent times, Arrested Development, comes Community. It’s the story of a group of misfits who manage to get to know each other while attending Greendale Community College. Joel McHale (The Soup) is the lead and advance reviews can’t find a single note wrong with this show. I can’t wait.

The Vampire Diaries (Thursdays, 8 p.m., CW) are sure to have a following, but the word on the street is that its cliché characters and story lines have been done much better, many times over. Still, this novel-turned-television series, which was written years before the Twilight craze, has a legion of fans, so plan on it making it past season one.

Person Unknown (mid-season replacement, NBC) is a mystery about people who find themselves thrown together for no discernible reason. Part Lost, part Saw and part Cube, this show is supposed to keep viewers glued to their seat from the start.

Flash Forward (Thursdays, 8 p.m., ABC) is about a mysterious event that causes the entire world to black out momentarily. Humanity is given a glimpse into its near future, and every man, woman and child is forced to come to grips with whether their destinies can be avoided or fulfilled. I’m game for this, as long as it isn’t over wrought with obvious emotional pleas that you can see coming from a mile away.

Old favorites I can’t wait to be reunited with? 30 Rock (Thursdays, 9:30 p.m., NBC) is one of the funniest half hours on TV. The Office is a close second and of course, I am considering ordering Direct TV, just to be able to watch Friday Night Lights sooner than later. If you still aren’t on the Friday Night Lights bandwagon, what are you waiting for?!

What won’t I be watching? Cougar Town (ABC), Monsters Inside Me (Animal Planet) and the new Melrose Place (CW). Don’t get me wrong. I love cheese, but even I have standards.

1. I am the Director of Broadcast at gkv and, by default, the Executive Producer. It sounds fancier than it is. That means I oversee all aspects of production, from the start to the finish. I keep an eye on who is doing what spots and what they cost and technically how they did it. I am the one (working with the creative team) to figure out the best approach to make the spot on the storyboard come to life. I am also the one that negotiates the price and talks other people out of making a bigger profit on the bottom line. I make sure we follow union rules and that no one forgets to use the Client’s full, legal name. I have to keep up with what is technically possible and what price that technical magic costs. I am also the one who gets laughed at by Britney Spears’ agent and tracks down obscure song rights. Finally, I make sure my creative team remembers to eat during production, that they have the right dinner/airline reservations and that they have the appropriate cold medicine, when needed. And I try really hard to make sure we get everything we want, the way we want it, without going over budget.
2. Yes, I have met a lot of celebrities. Some of them are nice and some are a pain the tuckus. Andre Braugher and Keith David are extremely nice. Domenick Lombardozzi is also really friendly. Adam Carolla likes to sleep in the minutes between takes and is always funny when he is working. Ben Folds is very conscious of what his label will allow and Mia Hamm requests a lot of riders in her contract. I have been rejected by Oprah and accidentally called John Aylward “Dr. Anspaugh,” his character name on E.R. My favorite moments? When Henry Winkler told me that Leather was much nicer than Pinky Tuscadero and chatting with one particular agent who gives me the inside scoop on the Howard Stern Show.
3. Yup, your child should be in pictures. The first step is to have headshots taken. Please note, you will need to update these CONSTANTLY if your child is under 21. You will also have to take off from work to go to auditions you are likely not to land, unless you have twins. If you want to get paid real money, you will need to join a Union. Your best bet if you live in Baltimore? List your child with Taylor Royall, Linda Townsend Management or Camera Ready Kids. Don’t ever work with an agent who charges you for auditions or head shots. Finally, huge cattle calls are likely to result in you standing in the rain and having to apologize for wasting a perfectly good Saturday, while searching for somewhere to buy your kid makeup ice cream.

Now you know. If I left something out, please feel free to ask. I promise I won’t mind.

30 Rock is still great. Salma Hayek’s arc has ended and the show is safe to watch again. Tina Fey is one of the funniest chicas on television and delivers solid comedy each week. Which leads me to the biggest (although expected) let down of the mid-spring season - Parks and Recreation.  For a show created by half of the team behind the US Office, I had higher hopes. Without Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (The Office UK) guiding the ship, the characters feel like a really long SNL skit, albeit toned down in homage to Michael Scott. My feelings can be summed up in one word — blurg.

Also worth checking out are two new, wait for it, cop dramas (!) Southland and The Unusuals.  Southland is on NBC, Thursdays at 10pm, in the old ER slot. It follows several officers in LA on their daily patrols. The filming style and language beeping make me miss The Shield, but the characters and situations are worth following. Call me crazy, but the rookie cop has an Ed Norton thing going on and I like it. The Unusuals (which overall isn’t that unusual) (ABC, Wednesdays, 10pm) has some interesting characters and isn’t half bad. It has some snappy writing, which always makes me smile. Not a glowing endorsement, but pickings are slim right now.  It does beat Candy Girls (E!, Sundays, 10:30pm).

I am waiting with bated breath for the return of Burn Notice (USA, Premieres June 4^th, 9pm). This show follows a secret agent who is left behind by his government, hence burned. The zippy writing, fun characters and educational experience alone make this worth carving out weekly TV time. What have I learned from Burn Notice? Endless things you can do to spy on people with cell phones, how to fake C4 and how to react in dangerous situations. If you ever need someone to trick an arms dealer into believing I am your Baltimore connection so I can retrieve your kidnapped child unharmed, I am your girl, thanks to Michael Weston and his feisty sidekick, Fiona.

On Sunday nights, No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency is a great spring treat on HBO. Known for its foul language, gore and adult content, HBO opted for a palate cleansing change before the return of True Blood. Originally shot as a movie, no one was sure what to do with it — No. 1 didn’t fit in anywhere.  Kind, sweet, respectful and funny, No. 1 is great fun that will have you calling your girlfriends Mma on Monday morning. Jill Scott is perfect in her role as Mma Ramotswe and hopefully it will get renewed at the end of its six weeks.  Also in HBO news, East Bound and Down got picked up and Flight of the Conchords didn’t. True Blood is back in June.

Finally, if you haven’t heard me shouting with joy, Friday Night Lights got a two season pick-up. How, I have no idea, but yeah NBC! Not since Baltimore’s own Homicide has a show gotten so many chances. The third season was as wonderful as the first and I can’t wait for the fourth to begin. The third season is out on dvd this month, so you have no reason not to understand why I have to be physically restrained around JD’s Dad. Don’t miss it!

Happy watching — it’s probably raining. What else have you got to do?