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Jul
18
Guilty Pleasures: Summer TV
2008 at 11am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Summer is in full swing here in Richmond, and that means that the weather is hot and sticky, most of the good shows are in reruns, and I’m ready for a little self-indulgence. I hate hot weather–the Chicago winters were always my idea of perfect–so summer also means more time indoors, which means more reading but also more time to enjoy some of those things I’m slightly embarrassed to admit I like but just can’t help enjoying.
#1: The Real World. I was ten years old when MTV premiered the first season of The Real World in 1992. I don’t know how I managed to watch it–I must have been sneaking reruns behind my parents’ backs–but I was hooked. Eric Nies was so hot (remember, I was ten), and I just had to know if Julie and Kevin would ever have a civil conversation and work out some of their racial tension. And don’t forget Norman! I couldn’t get enough. I loved it when people stopped being polite and started getting real.
I watched every episode, then continued with the next season, and the next…and well, you get the picture. I thought I was going to shake the habit during college, but MTV seemed to have a mystical ability to know when I was desperately in need of an excuse to stop studying, and they’d air a marathon of the current season, which I would, of course, watch in its entirety. Over the years, the casting has become increasingly stereotypical and the shows sadly predictable, but I figure I can’t turn back now. So here I am, a 25-year-old woman with a full time job, a husband, a serious reading addiction, all the joys and responsibilities of marriage and homeownership, and a season pass to The Real World on my TiVo. One of these things is not like the others.
#2 The Deadliest Catch. Thank you, Discovery Channel! It’s virtually impossible not to be hooked (no pun intended) on this most pefect of diversions. When else will I have the opportunity to experience life as a fisherman on the Bering Sea? Ever since the first 2-hour special (at least, I think that’s how it all began) several years ago, I’ve been fascinated by the lives and adventures of Captains Sig, Phil, and Johnathan. I look forward to our weekly date, to seeing how they’ll risk their lives, play pranks on each other, and go from laughing to crying and back again as those pots come up full of crab, and I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. Sig & Edgar Hansen of the Northwestern recently inspired a video game, and Johnathan and Andy Hillstrand wrote a book. It also doesn’t hurt that The Deadliest Catch is narrated by Mike Rowe, for whom I have a deep and unholy love. What is it about rugged middle-aged men? And oh, that voice….
#3 Project Runway The drama, the fashion, the fabulousness! What’s not to love? I think my fascination with this show stems from the fact that I don’t have an artistic bone in my body and can’t imagine being able to walk into a grocery store, shop for 30 minutes, sew for 12 hours, and end up with a funky yet wearable outfit made out of pasta, corn husks, candy wrappers, or plastic cups. Seriously. With Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, Michael Kors, and a whole slew of would-be designers who rant, rave, and create neologisms like “feroche,” Project Runway is always entertaining, occasionally inspiring, and a great way to waste an hour. So who cares if they rarely design something I can imagine a real person wearing?
And finally, a summer TV show I’m not ashamed to love…Weeds! Who’d have thought a dramedy about a suburban mom who becomes a pot dealer could be so smart, funny, and endearing? Granted, Weeds has its share of disturbing moments, but cleverness and wit like this are hard to find on TV today, and characters like Cousin Andy don’t come around often. Plus, Mary Louise Parker is irresistably cute. I mean, really.
Now, if only HBO would get on it and deliver the next season of Big Love, my self-indulgent summer line-up would be complete.
No related posts.
I haven’t seen Weeds yet, but have heard good things about it. The HBO show I can’t wait to see again is The Flight of the Conchords.
I have the first season of Weeds to watch, but for some reason, I haven’t been watching much this summer.
I love The Closer.
[...] is absolutely correct), but I can’t help myself. It’s a guilty pleasure I’ve discussed here before. I started watching with the very first season, and even though I’ve ditched plenty other [...]