Summer TV: 2012 Edition

It's June 1st today (officially summer!) and that means it's time for the start of summer television.

Here's what to watch, and when to watch it:

Who won 'The Glee Project'?

Who won?

If you're watching it on Hulu you haven't had a chance to view the season finale yet, so don't read below because there are spoilers!

There were actually TWO winners. Damian and Samuel both won 7 episode arcs on 'Glee'.

Lindsay and Alex, who were the two runner-ups, both won 2 episode arcs on 'Glee'.

Originally 'The Glee Project' had only promoted the fact that ONE winner would receive a 7 episode arc on 'Glee', making the presentation of the additional roles a shock to the competitors.

My thought is that Ryan Murphy will use these arcs to judge how successful the four teens are on 'Glee', and will potentially ask one or more of them to remain on the show to fill in spaces left by the original cast (as this will be the final season for most them).

Damian Should Win Role on 'Glee'

Why Damian should win 'The Glee Project':

1) Um, because he's the only one still on the show who I like.

2) Seriously, Lindsay is annoying and seems fake, Alex is way too into himself (and while he's a great singer, he can't act), and Samuel isn't that appealing to watch (it's not that he's done anything wrong, I just don't enjoy watching him perform).

3) The winner of the show is only signing on for a 7 episode arc, and it will be easiest to use Damian for this length of time. Why? Because he's Irish! He can be an exchange student. Perfect.

wednesdays are for reality tv

Reality Television Night

I'm really not a big fan of reality television. I think most of it is incredibly junky, and I have an especially hard time watching other people suffer on screen. It's bad enough when it's scripted.

Regardless, summer is a time when I do tend to watch more reality television, more out of necessity then anything else. Unfortunately, almost all of my favorites air at the exact same time on Wednesday nights.

Here are my top 4 favorites (in no particular order):

1. Toddlers & Tiaras
TLC, Wednesdays, 10 pm
Each week's episode follows 3 different girls and their mothers as they prepare for a beauty pageant, and then compete. Pretty shocking stuff (fake tans on two-year-olds, false teeth on three-year-olds, acrylic nails on toddlers) combined with ridiculously inappropriate on stage antics pairs for a train wreck worth watching.

2. Love in the Wild
NBC, Wednesdays, 10 pm

Can't stand kids? Well, 'Love in the Wild' doesn't have any. Instead it's a show that focuses on a group of twenty-somethings thrown into a jungle in Costa Rica. Oh, and they all work (and sleep!) in pairs with a member of the opposite sex. At the end of each episode they can choose to stay with that week's partner or switch to someone "better" (aka hotter). I like this show because the contestants' quirks and flaws shine far more realistically when they're completing a realistic nature challenge (i.e. building a raft to get across a river infested with crocodiles, or climbing down rope ladders into caves filled with bats) than it ever will on 'The Bachelor'.

3. Dance Moms
Lifetime, Wednesdays, 10 pm
This show is clearly mimicking the successful model of 'Toddlers & Tiaras', but that doesn't make it any less compelling. It follows a group of pre-teen competitive dancers and their controlling mothers. Actually, the only one who's less intense than these moms is their dance teacher. Each episode begins with the children preparing for the weekend's dance competition, and ends with their competitive dance number. Well worth watching for the drama alone, plus the dancing actually is pretty impressive.

4. The Glee Project
Oxygn, Sunday, 9 pm
This show isn't exactly inspired. It's a competition show much like many that have come before it. Teenagers, lured by the chance to have a 7 episode arc on 'Glee', live together in dorms and compete daily in different singing/dancing/acting challenges. At the end of each episode the 3 weakest competitors are asked to sing for 'Glee's' creator (Ryan Murphy), who choose one to eliminate. There's just something about watching talented, but slightly whiny, teenagers compete that I find oddly compelling (probably because I'm not in high school anymore).