What do you Mean There's Nothing On?!?!

Summer's here. That means you should be out enjoying the weather. You know, swimming, going to the park, taking walks, etc. But, sometimes it's TOO hot or it's raining or you are just tired. So, you decide to stay in and watch TV. Unfortunately, you remember it's summer. There's nothing on, right? WRONG! If you look in the right places you can find some fun, diverting television and maybe even some interesting new shows that are getting a summer run. Now, in all honesty, many shows on in the summer are not very good. The networks (and their cable counterparts) often dump reality shows that are cheap to do in this time of year. They also like to burn off episodes of cancelled shows or just run shows that might be ratings deprived during the fall. I will leave USA network out of this equation because they usually have interesting summer shows on ( The 4400, Psych, Burn Notice, In Plain Sight). But, for the rest of the channels summer can be more time filler than actual good content.

However, there are nuggets out there. Sometimes it's re-runs of a show you might have missed  or new shows that show promise or even something that takes a pig's ear and makes a silk purse out of it. I would like to introduce you, if you haven't already met, to the shows "The Soup", "The Dish", "Sports Soup", and "Web Soup". Each of these shows follows a very familiar conceit, wacky clips and snarky commentary and makes them into something interesting. Each one focuses on a different aspect of our entertainment culture and each has a different host, set, and tone. But, each offers some truly funny moments and are quite entertaining.

McHale and his green screen of funny

The Soup (E! Network, check listings) is the granddaddy of this genre. It began life many years ago as "Talk Soup". But, as talk shows started to become more sparse, the show went on a hiatus. When it came back it used it's general template to skewer many other forms of television. Host Joel McHale has great timing and has a great way with handling the absurdity of reality television, home shopping, and even telenovelas. The show uses a mix of comedic commentary, "celebrity" guests, and use of catchphrases makes it much watch television for people who like laughing at reality TV without having to actually sit through the banality. The show makes it all easy to digest and a lot of fun.   http://www.eonline.com/on/shows/thesoup/

The Dish (Style Network, check listings) is the most similar in tone to "The Soup". Sometimes, both shows have clips that overlap. However, the hosting of Danielle Fishel is more acting based than The Soup's Joel McHale. This is rooted in the fact that Fishel began her career as Topanga on "Boy Meets World" and seemed destined to become another child actor. But, she has become a deft comedienne as she has grown up. Her wit and timing make the show a nice female-centric romp. "The Dish" focuses much more on the worlds of fashion, celebrity magazine culture, and female based reality programming (much of the emphasis is on Style's own television programming) than the other shows. But, the fast paced nature and humor on display make you not miss all your magazine subscriptions as much.   http://www.mystyle.com/mystyle/shows/thedish/

Sports Soup (VS Network, check listings) is the highly butch brother to "The Soup". "Sports Soup" mixes interesting sports footage along with segments like "Bro-verload" (skewing extreme sports culture) and "Covering the Coverage" (comedic look at commentators and sports talk). The show uses a lot more comedic cut-aways and faked segments to fill in the time. But, host Matt Iseman is always game and is a master at comedic double takes. It's a newer entry and is still finding it's voice, but any sports fan will find at least one clip they enjoy. http://www.versus.com/sportssoup

Web Soup (G4 Network, check listings) is the newest addition to the Soup family. It has only been on for about a month but it has a seasoned host in Chris Hardwicke who is a stand-up comic and former host of MTV's "Singled Out". The show uses classic viral videos along with new items recently found by savvy viewers and the G4 staff. The shows fills the spot that VH-1's former show "Web Junk" held. The shows moves well and follows the typical "Soup" format. Some of the clips will be very familiar to anyone who spends time on You Tube with any regularity, but it has some nice perspective and can be very funny. Because it sticks with the internet and viral videos there is very little overlap with the other clip related programs.   http://g4tv.com/websoup/

Now, you have four fun shows to watch on the weekends. Stop complaining about this beautiful weather and sit down and watch some TV.