The Best Shows of Summer 2013

Remember back in May when I posted the rankings of the 31 shows I watched from September 2012 to May 2013? Well, naturally, I couldn't include summer in that time period. So, I'm doing it now! Keep in mind, the shows included are only the shows that I viewed. Also, I will not be including Late Night with Jimmy Fallon because it's a year-round program. Just know that it'd probably be near the top.

14. Deal With It

Don't get me wrong. I thought this show was great. It's got some great humor. On the other hand, I've only seen one episode. I have three recorded for the treadmill, but a foot injury has temporarily derailed that. This show has people push the boundaries of society. There are some lines you just don't cross, but the celebrity guests (such as Yvette Nicole Brown) do not care about those lines and that is what made it funny.

13. Hot in Cleveland

This is one of three scripted programs on this list. I guess summer isn't really a time for scripts. This show has basically always been the same. It's got the standard sitcom episode format for each one. There's still humor, though. I'm actually regretting putting this above Deal With It. I guess I put it above for the pretty quality live episode with Brian Baumgartner, William Shatner and others. Also, the guest appearance from Gupta was amazing. Betty White might be the one who helped boost the show. Don't get me wrong, I like it, but I'm not going to put it as the best show ever. It might be the best original show in TV Land history, but it's not a deep history. Oh, also this:



12. Million Second Quiz

Numbers can be deceiving. The Quiz (as we call it on the street) comes in at Number 12, but it could very well be higher if I decided to wait even longer to make this list. I don't know how it will end so it could be some terrible ending. It could be great, though. The way it's going it seems like it's possible that the prize could be very big. Plus, Seacrest isn't that bad as a host. People pan him, but he's quality. There's also some good personalities that people can actually root for (Brandon, the King of the Nerve Wracking). If it ends well, it'll be higher, but we'll never know because I won't post a revised edition.

11. Suits

I didn't really pay attention 100% of the time, but when I did, it was awesome.

10. Wipeout

Wipeout had a resurgent summer. I hadn't watched it in over a year. Maybe Winter and Spring Wipeout were just too much. It's meant to be a summer program. Back in 2008-2010, it was one of my top ten favorite shows from every season. Then, it fell. Now, it's back in a top ten. I don't know if it was the return of Jill Wagner replacing Vanessa Lachey. Maybe John Henson went back to how he once was. Maybe it was the addition of new characters like Juan Barlos and the Yum Yum Candy Gang to mingle with Ballsy. Then again, it might very well have been this.



Sorry, about the quality, but AT LEAST IT'S SOMETHING!

9. Hollywood Game Night

So many great games.



So many great guest stars.
Josh Gad, Al Roker, Angela Kinsey, Jason Alexander, Ellie Kemper, Amy Poehler, Max Greenfield, Matthew Perry, Kristen Bell, Alyson Hannigan, Rob Riggle, Jason Suedikis, Anthony Anderson.

There's only one issue with the best game show since Steve Harvey's edition of Family Feud.

The regular people.
They are the worst.

8. Adam Richman's Fandemonium
7. Hotel Impossible

These two are placed together due to the Travel Channel association. I think Adam Richman clocks in at eight because if you know me, you know I'm not really much of a mud-wrestling, deer-hunting, NASCAR-watching kind of guy. The episodes so far, in order, are about: Rednecks, Daytona 500, Alaska Man, Medieval Madness, BBQ World Championship, Kentucky Derby, Indianapolis 500, Bikers and Boats, Country Superfans, Calgary Stampede, 21st Century Woodstock. I put the non-mud, deer, NASCAR type episodes in italicized. If you know me, I'm not much of a medieval guy. I don't really like horse racing. Or motorcycles. I'm also not a hippie. I think my problem is that I'm not invested in the events that take place. I know that the purpose of the show is to showcase all walks of tradition and culture. Don't get me wrong, this show is incredible. I love watching it. I enjoy watching it. I just don't get invested in the events. I appreciate the dedication of the people, the devotion of Adam Richman.
Somethings I can get into, though, are hotels. That's why I love Hotel Impossible. The assertiveness of Anthony Melchiorri, host, and the cluelessness of the hoteliers is always so much fun to watch. Especially the episode from September 8, when the parents of the bride checked out of the wedding's hotel and Melchiorri literally had to get on his knees and scrub the bathroom before the bride come in. I love watching him make a fool out of fools. If only I could find a clip instead of full "episodes" on YouTube.

6. Burn Notice

I do not think that Burn Notice would have gotten as high as it did without me watching the finale literally only a few hours before writing this post. It's so fresh in my memory. The finale was extremely filled with quality and you'll have to see my entire post of the finale recap that is commonplace once a show that I view regularly comes to a close later on this weekend. I will say that it climbed all the way to six because it didn't go the stereotypical cable drama route of the same thing every season, except the opposition is tougher. Instead, it brought the conflict internally between Michael and himself. Again, everything I could say in this paragraph will be written in a quickly upcoming post.

5. Whodunnit?

I'm not even sorry.

4. The Hero

I thought this was going to be a show about money-blinded people screaming at each other because they didn't get their way. It was like that, at times. But, in the end, it became about more than that. Marty and Shaun and Rachel and Lydia aside, each person proved that they had courage, teamwork, trust, heart, honesty, endurance and sacrifice. These were also aptly the episode title names. I did not include finale. Athena was alright, Dr. Dave was okay. Patty was good, she was a deserving winner of The Hero. Although, I hoped that Darnell would win because he was just an overall awesome guy. The man who vaulted this show to fourth place was Charles. Charles saw that someone had to be eliminated to form a top five that would be voted on for The Hero by America. He decided to withdraw himself from consideration. A truly noble sacrifice. That's what got the show where it is. Here's just a small taste:



3. Whose Line Is It Anyway?

The new Whose Line's motto should be: Always Be Funny. Because it is. It is non-stop funny. It is funnier than most of the scripted comedies on television today. Improv is so hilarious when it is done right, and Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, and Wayne Brady are the kings of Improv. Here are just a few examples of why it cracked the Top Three.





2. American Ninja Warrior

It's like Wipeout on steroids. I look forward to each new episode because I want to see the amazing athletic feats from each competitor like Drew Dreschel, Captain NBC, Brent Steffensen, The Weatherman, Beardy and that doctor guy. Just look at this:

You can't tell me that's not awesome. Also, it's fun to hear Matt Iseman say, "Akbar Gbaja-Biamila."

1. Wilfred

Was there ever any doubt in your minds? Because there was in mine. Basically, I juggled ANW, Wilfred, The Hero and Whose Line around until I settled on this order. It's hard to describe the greatness that was the third season of Wilfred. It's even harder because there are absolutely no video clips to be found of it. Well, real video clips. Not the fake episodes from the infectious accounts. Anyway, the great thing about Wilfred is that it's got awful humor. It's funny, but there's just so many things that are strictly wrong with the comedy. Yet, it's still hilarious. For example:

Wilfred is jealous of the athleticism and overall warm-reception of neighborhood dog, Jellybeans. Therefore, he decides to wait for a car to come down the road and just as it's close to Jellybean's front yard, he tosses the dog's tennis ball into the road. Jellybeans chased and was killed by the car.

Wilfred wants to be seen as a hero dog. Therefore, he decides that it'd be rational to burn his house down so he can call 911 and save his owner, Jenna and her husband, Drew. However, he is unable to call 911. Ryan goes in the house to save him and Wilfred's first reaction is to make sure that is stuffed companion, Bear, dies in the home. Can Wilfred see Bear as Ryan sees Wilfred? We'll never know, now.

But there's more to Wilfred than just TV-MA-LVS (Television intended for Mature Audiences due to Language, Violence, and Sexual Situatuons). There is a deeper meaning. For example, the picture that Kristen actually drew of Wilfred and not Ryan. The picture's questions are never answered. The therapy for Ryan sends him back to when his mother was institutionalized and he spent the day at work with his father and sister, Kristen. If you look closely, as the camera pans around the office, the top of Wilfred's head is visible outside the window. This day could be the first day that Ryan sees Wilfred as it is the first day his mother is gone and he begins to resent his father.

Then there is the theory that Ryan is dead. The theory that his suicide was successful and there is no Wilfred or Jenna or Drew or Geoffrey or anyone. After all, Wilfred once said to Ryan, "Remember the night before we met, the pills you took? They worked, mate."

One theory that I prefer is the television theory. It's not a theory within the actual show, but of it's production. Over the course of the show, there have been many direct and vague allusions to LOST. Such as this scene from an ordinary Wilfred playing outside scene.

Looks an awful lot like the finale of LOST, doesn't it?

There's something more direct, like this:

Also, the third season finale of Wilfred had a comment from my parents that the closing scene was like LOST, in that Ryan's in a jungle-type area and he found a miniature statue of Wilfred. It's a very similar scenario to The Stature of Taweret in LOST.

Something that I'm starting to believe is that ever since LOST ended, television producers and executives have been desperately searching for the "next LOST." Shows have come and gone. Persons Unknown wasn't the new LOST, The Event wasn't either. FlashForward tried and failed. Alcatraz even had Jorge Garcia as a cast member, but it was unsuccessful. I don't even know what happened to Terra Nova and I have no idea how Revolution is still alive.

Check this Entertainment Weekly article: The "New LOST" shouldn't be anything like LOST.
Think about this and bear with me. Wilfred is not at all like LOST, except for that the fact that the reason for everything that has occurred is unknown. The true underlying depth of the story is unknown. Maybe, just maybe, Wilfred is the new LOST. I know you will scoff at me. It's just a dog that has sex with a stuffed bear and then smokes a bong with Elijah Wood. I tell you, pay attention to the show. That's not what the show is about. It's not even what the scene is about. It's just something to keep FX stoners in the loop.

Wilfred was incredible this year and I can hardly wait for its return with what is guaranteed to be an amazing season four.


If I had to sum up Summer 2013 television in one word: Giles. If I had to pick a show, Wilfred. I could have just written that and this post would have had the same impact. Oh, well.