With more channels than ever, it’s hard to keep it all straight. But the bigger question is, with so many shows, is anything actually worth watching?

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.