10 Reasons We're Glad This Lame Summer Is Almost Over

We're over this summer's TV snoozefest

Every year we start to get excited this time in mid-August because the crisp smell of fall TV is in the air. And while not all that many of the fall shows actually look promising, it's got to be better than most of the dreck that we've been stuck watching since June. This summer in particular seems to have had a lot of duds and disappointments (and very few highlights), so we're extra excited for it to be over. Here's why.

1. Too many dating don'ts.
Based on the premise alone we had such high hopes for More to Love (aka The Fatchelor) and Dating in the Dark, but neither really lived up to the hype. In fact, both are kind of horrible looks at the way society views relationships and size and differences... not that it stopped us from watching, but we might have had their been better options available.

2. The never-ending nightmare that was I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.
After the beginning with the Spedi nonsense this show got excruciatingly boring to watch. It seemed such an obvious outcome that either Sanjaya or Lou Diamond Phillips would win, which was made worse by the fact that it just kept going on and on, with seemingly random rules about evictions and end dates. And god forbid we ever hear the term "Sanjolly" again. Shudder.

3. There were no Olympics.
Not everyone is a big fan of the Olympics, but it certainly did fill last summer with some watercooler fodder that actually got people excited. Aside from the recently returned incredible Mad Men and the jaw-dropping cliffhangers of True Blood, we all are forced to stand around and talk about world events and stuff. No one needs that.

4. Big Brother has been more exciting to read about than to watch.
There have been some fabulous house-wide wars this summer and some massive meltdowns, but unfortunately (as always happens) we read about them from folks watching the Live Feeds, way before we ever get them. Which wouldn't be so terrible, since we could avoid spoilers, however, those live feed watchers tend to give out lots of details and quotes and screengrabs, and then the entire battle is edited for television and we get two minutes of why, for instance, Chima was kicked out. The feed watchers also catch content before it gets hit by the censor button, so they are extra helpful about filling in the dirty words. In fact, we kind of wonder why we even need to watch the show when we can watch the happenings unfold via Twitter.

5. We're sick of pretending we care about Jillian and Ed.
Look, we watch The Bachelorette but it doesn't mean we actually like it. Seriously, watching Jillian "Guys Are Like Hot Dog Toppings" Harris sift through a bunch of guys to wind up with one who quit and reportedly has girls on the side? That's just a waste of time. And when we finally thought it was over, they took over the newsstands, so now we can't even walk past a magazine rack without being haunted by the duo.

6. Top Chef Masters started with a whimper.
Believe it or not, this show actually got really good, after they got through the initial rounds of paring down the master chefs. Unfortunately a lot of people tuned out because the competition wasn't cutthroat enough from the get-go. Too bad, those people missed the bad behavior of Michael Chiarello and some stunningly tasty looking dishes.

7. There's only so many times we can make fun of Katie Holmes on SYTYCD.
We love the show, but their 100th episode featured Katie Holmes doing a singing and dancing version of "Get Happy" for charity. It wasn't exactly what you'd call good, but now that it's over a month later and we're just waiting for the VMAs to see if someone else does something embarrassing, because now it just seems like easy potshots to pick on the former Dawson's star.

8. Hung seems to go all night (and not in a good way).
Such an exciting premise (and title) and so boringly executed. It's not that it is a terrible show (it's got a good cast!), it's just that it tends to make us fall asleep, and shows about male prostitution should be able to keep our attention, especially since if it is only a half hour long.

9. Great American Road Trip was the most boring thing on the planet.
We were skeptical after the forgettable family edition of The Amazing Race, and it turns out that was rightly so. This Road Trip put families in RVs and pitted them in simplistic challenges as they had the daunting task of driving down one road! Rte. 66. You can't even get lost or scream at someone at the airport if you are on the same highway for the whole summer. Please, please, please don't renew this for a second season.

10. Most new scripted shows were mediocre... at best.
Sure, we love Nurse Jackie and are OK with the solid freshman shows Royal Pains and Warehouse 13, but there was a whole host of other new series that were filled with unoriginal dialogue and clichΓ©d plots, like The Listener and HawthoRNe. And even the slightly more action-y Merlin and Philanthropist really failed to excite us much at all. No wonder we're excited about the Lost-wannabe FlashForward. It's like a shining gem compared to what we've been exposed to the last few months.

Are you impatiently awaiting fall TV as well? Sound off below.

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