Amazingly Addicting Summer Shows

Is it me, or is summer a time for addicting shows that have little or no substance? It seems like during the colder months we are all inside watching shows with plots and a ton of drama, but the summer feels like a time to stare aimlessly at whatever happens to be filling the television time slots.

One such show is, "So You Think You Can Dance," a program that is basically the "American Idol" of dancing reality. While the auditions seemed to go on forever, I still found myself watching every single moment of the dance hopefuls trying to get a ticket to Las Vegas. Even judge Mary Murphy is compelling to watch with her Paula Abdul types of behaviors and obnoxiously annoying laugh. Nigel Lythgoe is the Simon Cowell of the reality show, but seems a bit nicer and more involved in what is happening with the dancers. I just can't seem to turn this program off whenever it invades my television each summer.

Another television program that is hard to turn away from is ABC's "Wipeout." The idea for the show was taken from goofy Japanese game shows in which the contestants make fools of themselves for hours on end in the hopes of winning some cash. The set of the show is usually in some type of water or muddy pond with giant inflatable objects for the contestants to fall from. To add a twist, there are often moving objects that attempt to knock down the contestants, and this usually works quite well. For some reason, every person thinks the course will be easy to complete and it never is the case. Watching a plethora of different people fall off of the massive set pieces after usually becoming airborne is the most entertaining thing to see on television. While the show does lack any real emotion or substance, it gives the viewer a good hour to spend watching a pointless program for some entertainment.

Lastly there is "America's Got Talent," which seems to have a little bit more drama than the other reality shows for the summer. Jerry Springer did not return as the host this year, so he was replaced by Mr. Mariah Carey himself, Nick Cannon. This show has just about every unique talent in the world being shown to the judges, with a lot of drama thrown in for their elimination process. The judges rarely agree on anything, which makes for some anticipation during commercial breaks while the viewers wonder if the contestants will be able to go through to the next round. The show's producers always do a great job of finding the best talent along with the worst talent in this country. The worst talent can be funny at times, but it is usually just sad to know that certain people actually believe that they have anything going for them in the talent industry. This show will have viewers picking their favorites early on, thanks to the sappy music and life stories thrown into the mix, and it is always interesting to see who makes it to the end.

Of course, during the summer, we could be out enjoying the beautiful weather, but why bother when we have shallow and addicting programs to stay focused on for the next few months? Television has reached higher ratings with much lower standards.