The Weigh In #59

Over the last few weeks I have spent most of my time here with you taking more than a casual glance at the summer movie season. This week I wanted to take a break from the hype and brouhaha of the big screen and look at a completely overlooked topic, the summer television season.

Yeah I know what you are thinking.. this is just a filler article. Dana is running late and is too lazy to do a real article so we get to read about why television re-runs are a good thing. Well, here’s the thing. Broadcasters do have original programming during the summer months. I know, I was surprised to learn about this too. This week I am going let you in on this new revolutionary television breakthrough.

When we were kids, programmers used the summer as a chance to catch up on television shows that viewers may have missed the first go round. There was never anything on television and as the summer drew to a close the best you could hope for was the anticipation of the new fall lineup. With the exception of a few summer promotions by Fox in its infancy, the big networks had pretty much given up on new programming between June and September. Then cable television began gaining momentum. Premium cable like HBO tried to compete with free television by having first run weekends and special promotions that you could only get on their stations. Basic cable was left to run whatever syndicated reruns they could snatch up, some of the biggest examples of these ended up being USA, TNT, and TBS. Then cable became profitable. Cable stations starting running original programming, attempting to compete head to head with the big networks. While they still don’t have the audience that you will find for most of the hits on ABC, CBS, FOX or even NBC, they are creating their own niche. Since the big networks have traditionally stayed away from releasing big hits during the summer, it seems like a perfect fit for cable channels trying to lure viewers their way without having to compete for viewers of free television. Summer is a big time industry for cable networks, and now that network television is getting into the act, each year you should see more and more new programming during the summer months.

So, if you find yourself home one evening and are wondering if there is anything good on television check a few of these out. This is your guide to some of the original programming being released this summer (courtesy of usatoday.com)(listed by station ‘EST’ and all times and dates are subject to change).

While so far, the television networks seem to be using the summer to test out reality television shows to see if the become popular, you may be pleasantly surprised by some of the programming that the cable networks have put together. I am personally a fan of Rescue Me and Monk. If you get a chance, check a few out and let me know what you think. I’ll revisit the subject at the end of the summer and we’ll see if any of you out there may have found the next diamond in the rough.

The week in Superman Returns News:

• While you wait for the release of the film, here are a few nibbles of the soundtrack. (Courtesy of Rhino records).
• Watch the Science of Superman on the National Geographic channel.
• The Superman Returns myspace page. We could all use a friend like Superman.

This weekend at your local multiplex (6/16/2006):

Nacho Libre: Comedy
Jack Black, Ana de le Reguera, Hector Jimenez
Plot: A cook at a Mexican orphanage dreams of one day fighting as a Luchador and when he has the chance he has to hide behind a mask for fear of losing his place at the orphanage.
Buzz: (see review)

The Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift: action/adventure
Lucas Black, Bow Wow, Nikki Griffin, Sung Kang
Plot: To get out of trouble with the law, Sean Boswell is sent to live in Tokyo with an uncle and is introduced to the world of street drifting.
Buzz: This is going to be the film that capsizes the franchise. Either this will be the last, or the rest will be direct to DVD.

The Lake House: Romance
Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dylan Walsh, Shoreh Aghdashloo
Plot: When a young architect movie into a lake house he soon realizes he is communicating with a woman across. A serious relationship follows.
Buzz: (see review)

Garfield: A Tale of two Kitties: Children
(voice) Bill Murray, Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Billy Connolly
Plot: When an English noblewoman dies and her cat receives her entire inheritance, a plot by her nephew to kill it get convoluted when Garfield arrives in England and is the spitting image of the English cat.
Buzz: (see review)

This week on DVD (6/13/2006):

As always if you want to chat or just drop me a line, you can do it at Dplace76@yahoo.com. You can check out my random musings at www.livejournal.com/users/bigdpimpin.  Or come on by and be our friends at our myspace account at www.myspace.com/stumblebumstudios.