Ahhh. Summer TV, where reality reigns.
Tonight sees the premiere of two new offerings in the genre that just won’t die. At 10 P.M. on ABC we have “The Glass House,” a show that is so obviously a complete rip-off of “Big Brother” that CBS sued, trying to have it pulled before it even premiered. But a judge nixed that, so the show will go on as planned. “Big Brother” doesn’t premiere until July 12th, so if you just can’t stand to wait that long to watch attractive idiots doing nothing, have at it.
Meanwhile, over on Bravo at 10 P.M. is “Miss Advised,” a show about three female relationship experts who apparently can’t take their own advice, and are on the lookout for love. The show’s got local ties in the form of one Emily Morse, who lives in S.F. and hosts a podcast and radio program called “Sex With Emily.” I’ll watch it because I STILL miss that stupid dating show that was set in San Francisco, but was cancelled before we found out if any of the women got laid.
On Tuesday, June 19th, Bristol Palin gets her own reality show. Of course she does. And it’s called “Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp.” OF COURSE IT IS. If you don’t want to watch such a travesty, don’t turn the TV to Lifetime at 10 P.M. You’re welcome.
In much more welcome TV news, on Wednesday, June 20th, “Futurama” returns for yet another new season, with two episode starting at 10 P.M. on Comedy Central. Is it just me, or does it seem like people were clamoring years and years for the return of the show, but then when they did start airing new episodes, everyone stopped talking about it, as if no one seemed to care?
If you prefer your young, unwed mothers to be a little on the trashier side than Bristol Palin, MTV’s got you covered on Thursday, June 21st, with the premiere of “Snooki and JWoww,” another “Jersey Shore” spin-off. Will a sober Snooki be an entertaining Snooki? And can we watch her shenanigans without constantly worrying she’s gonna harm that meatball growing inside of her? Tune in to MTV at 10 P.M. and find out.
Fridays on Turner Classic Movies are usually a welcome respite from boring TV fodder, and Friday, June 22nd is no exception. This time they’ll be showing the classic 1980 teen comedy Little Darlings, and this is worth watching because, one, it’s a great movie, and two, it isn’t available on DVD, and this version will be uncut, and widescreen. 11:15 P.M. on TCM.
You might want to watch Courteney Cox’s directorial debut Saturday, June 23rd, just because it seems like an odd combination of things. For one, it’s a Lifetime movie directed by Courteney Cox! For another, it’s called Tall Hot Blonde, but it stars Laura San Giacomo, who is neither tall, nor blonde. Garrat Dillahunt, who plays the goofy dad on “Raising Hope,” plays her husband, an Internet gambling addict who takes things in a creepy direction when he starts to have an online affair with an 18-year-old. And not to give anything away, but we all know how those kind of things turn out. 8 P.M. on Lifetime.
Which brings us to Sunday, June 24th, and television’s attempt to make the loss of “Mad Men” a little easier to take.
First, there’s Aaron Sorkin’s return to TV, for what basically sounds like a mash-up of his previous shows, “Sports Night” and “The West Wing.” “The Newsroom” stars Jeff Daniels as a cable news anchor who’s mad as hell, and not gonna take it any more. Or, at least he’s bored as hell, and decides to change things up on his nightly news show. 10 P.M. on HBO.
Finally, hey, remember Monday night, and that reality show that was suspiciously like another reality show? Well, tonight, we’ve got another reality show that’s kind of like yet another reality show. It’s “The Great Escape,” and it’s like “The Amazing Race,” if those racers had to break out of prison first. Tonight’s escape is from Alcatraz, so that means at least one episode is worth watching. 10 P.M. on TNT.
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