TV Worth Watching this Summer

Are you finding yourself bored this summer not being able to watch some of your favorite programs because they are in re-runs and won't return until the fall? First of all, I recommend you spend part of your day outside and take advantage of the nice weather (especially if you live in a northern, typically cold climate) - then, you can succumb to the couch and flip through the channels on your remote control. I know, a lot of us have to work and then who feels like doing anything after you get home? Half the time I feel like taking a nap first before doing anything else. Well anyways, here are some television shows that I recommend everyone try checking out. At least watch an episode and see what you think. Lately I have become a big fan of the Discovery Channel and the plethora of reality-based programming on there. They certainly aren't scripted shows and whatever they film actually happened. So most of the shows you see on this list are from the Discovery Channel, but there may be one or two other exceptions.

America's Got Talent (NBC) - This is not a program from the Discovery Channel, but it's a show shown exclusively in the summertime on the Peacock Network (NBC for short). America's Got Talent is in its third season and it has proven to be a popular program for all reality junkies. It's produced by media mogul Simon Cowell and it's similar to American Idol - except anyone with a talent can audition, which includes singing. But, it's not exclusive to soloists, as many times you will see groups perform together as well. Also, people of any age can try out on this show. I've seen kids as young as four years old sing and an old lady attempt to tap dance while in her 80's. So the age range is pretty far but some of the people/groups that try out are quite talented. It seems to me they tend to focus more on the groups that move on than the people who absolutely stink at what they're attempting to do. And the judging panel, I'd say it's more tame than what you see on American Idol, although Piers Morgan does his best to be the Simon Cowell of his show. Sharon Osbourne is typically the nicest of the panel and does compare to Paula Abdul in some ways - but in no way is she as ditzy as Paula can be. And David Hasselhoff does a respectable job as a judge; gives a positive or a negative critique when warranted. America's Got Talent airs Tuesdays at 9:00 PM (EDT) - but we are only in the audition rounds so far. The future schedule of this show is subject to change.

A Haunting (The Discovery Channel) - Now we're going to start getting into many of the Discovery Channel shows I enjoy. The first one is a show on the supernatural which includes real-life stories of people dealing with ghosts and other supernatural entities. This isn't the show where a group of people actually enter a haunted house and try to find ghosts for themselves. This show features people and their re-created accounts of how ghosts impacted their lives at some point in time. If you don't believe in ghosts now, try watching this show and seeing if you change your mind. It really helps to open your eyes on the paranormal universe. A lot of the stories featured are of families dealing with haunted houses. One such story had a family of five moving into this beautiful farmhouse in the country. Everything about the house was immaculate except for one of the bedrooms which was in rough shape. It appeared teenagers were worshipping some kind of spirit in the room, as candles were aligned in a circle and weird signs were painted near an old firehouse. It turns out these teenagers ended up opening a portal to demons. One demon was terrorizing the entire family when they had some paranormal experts come in and "cleanse" the house. They got rid of the one demon, but a few weeks later, a new one makes havoc of the house again. The only way for the family to get any peace of mind were to move to a new place - which they did. The only question I have about the show is that more often than not, couples or familes end up moving away from the haunted house, but they always put the place up for sale and never tell anyone about their experiences. All they are doing is passing their terror right onto the next person. I guess they want their money back just like the people previous to them did. You can often find "A Haunting" around 2:00 PM (EDT) during weekdays (check local listings).

Dirty Jobs (The Discovery Channel) - I would have to say this is probably the first show I really came to enjoy watching on DC. Mike Rowe, the host of the program, and his crew go to the dirtiest jobs in all of America and gives us viewers a first-hand account on what makes them so dirty. This program has already done 100 episodes on a variety of dirty jobs and have criss-crossed the country finding these places. They've gone to underground mines, sewers, a taxidermy shop, a charcoal plant, farms - you name it, they've probably been there. And Mike makes a great host for this program because he's definitely not shy to tell people his true thoughts about what he's doing. He also displays a true respect for what many of the people who work these dirty jobs have to do for a living. After all, all he does is work in TV - he doesn't have to get dirty if he really didn't want to. But that is what makes this program so great. He's not afraid to get down and dirty and go to some of these faraway places to do so. As long as they are dirty jobs in America, Mike Rowe and the Discovery crew will find them. Dirty Jobs airs frequently throughout most days on the Discovery Channel, but Sundays at 8:00 PM (EDT) is a good time to catch new episodes.

The Deadliest Catch (The Discovery Channel) - This is a show I really started getting hooked on towards the end of last season and whenever I see this program on, I end up watching it until the very end. It's probably something that any regular Joe would never think of watching on television, but the drama aboard these ships is absolutely captivating. The Discovery crew features about four or five fishing vessels off the coast of Alaska as they attempt to catch the most crab out of anyone. You'd be surprised how much a pot (a trap) of crab would be worth but basically what it comes down to is this - the more crabs in a pot, the more money the boat and it's crew earns. And they don't go out into beautiful sunny weather to do their crab fishing either, afterall, this is Alaska. A lot of the times they face terrible conditions out on the open seas. From heavy freezing sprays, waves that frequently crash on the main deck of the ship, winds strong enough to knock anyone over, and horizontal precipitation. Believe me, the guys on these ships earn whatever they make crabbing. And the cast of characters on each of the different ships are one of a kind. You cannot script this program up because no way would it ever be the same. The crab season is relatively short and they need to do everything possible to reach the set quota of crab for their season to be successful. If one season ends up being a disappointment, well, there's always next year. "The Deadliest Catch" airs Tuesdays on the Discovery Channel at 8:00 PM (EDT).

How it's Made (The Discovery Channel) - This is another ingenious program to air on the Discovery Channel. Have you ever thought about how a particular product ends up being produced? Let's say an office chair, a fishing lure, a horse saddle, or even some of your favorite candies and sweets. I bet you never thought twice about how these items get made. Well, it just so happens that there is a program that documents how certain items get produced. They start from the very beginning through to the production line right up to the very finish of the product. Most of the items you see are able to be produced in a very short amount of time with the help of factory machinery and robots. However, other products need to be installed or stitched together very precisely - requiring human involvement all the way. It's another program that really helps educate the viewer on what all is involved in making a variety of these products. And I think a lot of time, people take for granted how many of these products end up being created. Well not anymore - especially not with a program like this. I tell ya, it really opens the eyes of anyone watching. "How it's Made" often airs throughout most weekdays around 4:00 PM (EDT). But you can also catch it in primetime at 8:00 on Wednesdays.

That about wraps it up this time around. But believe me, this isn't all of the programming you'll be able to find this summer. I'll be writing another blog in the future about a few more shows that I find to be quite interesting and ones I think you ought to check out. These listing of shows should tide you over until then. Happy TV watching!