Watching television during the summer usually entails reruns, reruns and more reruns. But unless you have multiple televisions, you must have missed something. Whether you were out of the country or just too busy to catch your favorite shows during the year, now is the time to catch up with all the good television you missed.
Some shows most worthy of mention are those that were cancelled at the end of this year's television season. On NBC, "Homicide: Life on the Street" was finally given the ax, despite a growing fan base and endless critical acclaim. "Homicide" is usually seen in the 10 p.m. time slot on Friday evenings. Catch it while you can.
The final episodes of "Mad About You" (NBC), "Home Improvement" (ABC), "Newsradio" (NBC), and "Caroline in the City" (NBC) were shown this spring, and while most of these shows are generally in syndication, this is probably the last chance you'll have to see the episodes of their final seasons on network television.
As the fall season approaches, other shows to catch up on are the new ones returning for their sophomore seasons. Some of the shows that found the most popular support (and benefited from creative scheduling) are "Jesse" (NBC), "Providence" (NBC), "Will & Grace" (NBC) and "Futurama" (Fox).
"Jesse" and "Will & Grace" were both part of NBC's powerhouse Thursday night lineup. "Providence" enjoyed support from a large contingent of women who gave the drama high ratings in its Friday night slot at 8 p.m. "Futurama" is a mid-season replacement series and the newest effort from Matt Groening, the creator of "The Simpsons" (also on Fox).
Another mid-season replacement was "it's like, you know" (ABC), billed as a "'Seinfeld' in Los Angeles." It features the return of Jennifer Grey ("Dirty Dancing"), who plays herself with a running joke about how her nose jobs have rendered her unrecognizable.
Despite low viewership, the funny and sharp "Sports Night" returns this fall on ABC. It suffered from competition from "Will & Grace" on Tuesday nights, and is up against it again this coming season.
If you missed "Sports Night" in its first season, check it out this summer. One piece of trivia about the show is that its script claims that one of the anchors, Dan (Josh Charles) is a Dartmouth alum -- but it mistakenly claims that Dan took "Econ 101" at the College.
If you missed any of the episodes of your favorite shows, now is the time to see them. Whether it's the episode of "Friends" (NBC) with Ross and the leather pants, or a revelation the famed "X-Files" (Fox) conspiracy, you probably missed something good.
Thursday night was dominated by NBC this year, and the reruns of "Friends" and "Frasier" are just as funny as they were the first time. "Frasier" earned the right to the "Seinfeld" throne and did not disappoint with story lines that usually revolved around the love lives of Frasier (Kelsey Grammer), Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and their father, Martin Crane (John Mahoney).
"Friends" experienced a breath of fresh air this year, with the new romance between the characters of Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry). Aside from the leather pants, one episode that should not be missed in reruns is the season finale, which ended the fifth year of the series with yet another marriage twist.
Also on NBC are reruns of shows such as "Law & Order," "ER," "Just Shoot Me" and "3rd Rock From the Sun." Check out the reruns of "ER" for the last few episodes of George Clooney as Dr. Douglas Ross. Clooney left the series part way through the season to work on films full time. Benjamin Bratt as Detective Rey Curtis also departed "Law & Order" at the end of the season, and his presence in the series will be missed come fall.
If you didn't see an episode or two of "The Practice," "Dharma and Greg," "Spin City," "The Drew Carey Show" or "NYPD Blue" (with new addition of Rick Schroder to the cast), now is the time to find them on ABC.
Other worthwhile reruns include "Ally McBeal" and the continuing adventures of the funniest family on TV on "The Simpsons," both on FOX. Also keep an eye out for some of CBS' hit shows, including the critic's darling, "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Chicago Hope" and "JAG."
