This past summer, I fell head over heels in love with three shows and had a tumultuous off and on affair with a fourth. This was truly a summer to remember.
First up was USA’s Burn Notice. I’m not the biggest fan of USA’s programming, but Burn Notice had an interesting premise; a spy get blacklisted or “burned” and tries to find out why.
The show had a stellar cast and pretty solid writing. I found the noir voiceover grating at the beginning, but it grew on me. I also enjoyed the balance between Michael getting his life back in order and him playing good guy for lost souls. I could have used the occasional “sad ending” (most eps ended with everything wrapped up nicely), but overall it was an entertaining hour spent.
This summer I also got into ABC Family’s Greek. I can’t tell you why I tried it out. Actually I remember I caught a rebroadcast of the premiere on a Saturday night and I was hooked.
Basically it’s about a freshman guy and his upperclassmen sister. She’s in a snooty sorority and he’s in the party frat. It’s deeper than that with plenty of ancillary characters including a closeted homosexual, a Confederate flag hanging Southerner and various love triangles.
It may sound soapy, and it’d probably be a “guilty pleasure” if it was so darn good. I honestly can’t wait for next summer when it returns.
The last show that I truly loved was AMC’s Mad Men. This was hands down the best show of the summer. In fact it’s probably second only to The Wire in terms of shows in production. That’s right, I said Mad Men is the second greatest show on television.
Mad Men is set in 1960, the dawn of the American Dream. It revolves about an ad agency and those who work there. Don Draper is a man of the times who isn’t quite what he appears to be. Pete Campbell is a guy stifled by his lot in life. Peggy is receptionist in the ultimate boy’s club.
Mad Men critiques the present by looking at the past. Race relations, anti-Semitism, sexual politics and family are just some of the topics broached in this series. It’s an engrossing show that I watched every chance I got.
And it’s so well written. The dialogue perfectly matches the amazing production design. Everything about this show is flawless. Which is why it’s so remarkable that it’s coming back for a second season.
If you haven’t watched Mad Men I urge you find it On Demand. The entire season should be available until 11/8. If you want to see one of the few shows to raise the bar and elevate television to an art, you need to watch Mad Men.
As for the shows that I had ups and downs with; it was FX’s Damages. It featured some stellar performances and was pretty engaging. But some of the episodes felt like wheel spinning. Some of the storylines felt like detours added to stretch the season out. The end result was worth the wait, but hopefully when (if) it returns they’ll tighten things up next go round.
Basically, you need to watch Mad Men and if you get a chance check out Greek and Burn Notice.
