It used to be that once the spring TV season ended, Iâd pretty much shut off my TV and take a break for the next three months. Occasionally, I might check out a rerun, but by and large, the time between the end of basketball season and the start of football was always a TV wasteland for me.
Of course that was before TiVo. Once I got a taste of time shifting, I realized that my television season never had to end. Over the years, Iâve missed a lot of good TV, but between the TV syndication agreements and TiVoâs ability to automatically record every episode, the summer has turned out to be a perfect time to catch up on shows that Iâve missed. Whether itâs been going back and watching every single Twilight Zone or catching the X-Files a decade after it aired, TiVoâs season pass functionality has supercharged my reruns in a way, that was never possible before.
Some shows are better suited for summer TiVoing, but when it comes to episodic content, there is a downside to TiVo reruns. The shows arenât always in the order that they originally aired and itâs almost always impossible to catch the first episodes. This isnât a big deal for sitcoms and some reality shows, but when it comes to episodic content, it leaves you confused over the storyline and can spoil earlier episodes, you havenât seen yet.
That is where my Netflix account kicks in. If I know that I really want to see a series that tells a story, Iâll use Netflix to make sure that I get to see it in order. If Iâm not sure if a show will be interesting or not, Iâll record a couple of episodes on TiVo and test drive it before committing to watching the entire series. This has improved my overall television experience because there is always at least some fresh content that I can watch.
Over the last few years, the studios have also started releasing more and more new series each summer. Itâs a chance for them to try out more experimental shows or concepts. A lot of these new shows are things that I probably wouldnât check out during the normal TV season, but with a little extra downtime, Iâm willing to experiment with new programs, even if there is a good chance they wonât be back again next summer.
So far there have only been a couple of the summer premiers, that have become favorites, but if I can find two or three decent shows to start following, it would be enough to keep me busy. Here are some of the new shows, that I plan on checking out over the next couple of months.
