To Summer: Hail and Farewell

I can’t believe HBO’s “True Blood” ended last night. Then again, the last few weeks have brought the season finales of many of my favorite scripted shows on cable.

These have been great months to just sit in front of the TV and enjoy as episodes of favorites “Rescue Me,” “Burn Notice,” “The Closer,” and “Weeds” unspooled.

Most left viewers hungry for more. Denis Leary lying bleeding on the floor of a bar in the final “Rescue Me” and Bill Compton suddenly vanishing as “True Blood” signed off were the kinds of cliffhangers that keep fans talking for months.

New favorites also emerged. The all-too-human “Hung” on HBO, the return of Edie Falco in “Nurse Jackie” on Showtime, USA’s engaging and amusing ‘Royal Pains.”

Though summer has ended, my DVR still runneth over. Watching “Entourage” is like eating popcorn, AMC’s “Mad Men” continues to be brilliant and beautiful even when it is ponderous and impenetrable, “Drop Dead Diva” on Lifetime has heart to sustain its irresistibly silly premise, and the second season opener of FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” featured TV toughest mama—Katey Sagal–being victimized in one of the most brutal scenes you’ll want to see on basic cable.

Frankly I’m still trying to figure out if I need to watch Syfy’s “Warehouse 13.” I like the characters, but the weekly capers mostly haven’t been compelling so far.

And there’s plenty to look forward to. Coming soon are the return of “Nip/Tuck,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Californication” and “Dexter.” I’m looking forward to see if “White Collar” is another winner from the hit factory at USA Network.

And it goes without saying that shows on the broadcast networks are coming back. Since you asked, my favorites include “Lost,” “Fringe,” “Chuck,” “The Office,” “House,” “Medium” and “24.” I don’t have DirecTV, so I’ll have to wait a bit longer for “Friday Night Lights.”

From this list of shows I follow, it’s obvious I like my TV scripted, the work of artists with great imaginations.

But since this blog is about cable programming overall, I’ll check in on “Intervention,”  “Project Runway” “Top Chef,” and maybe even try to figure out what the big deal is about “Jon & Kate,” if it isn’t already too late. (My favorite unscripted show has been “Hard Knocks” on HBO.)

And I’ll risk getting addicted to the real reality shows on History, Discovery and National Geographic Channel.

“The Hills,” “Rock of Love” and such? I don’t have to watch, do I? Maybe I’ll try.

The numbers tell you that more viewers are choosing to watch shows on cable networks than ever before. This blog will try to talk about what I’m watching, what’s drawing a crowd, what’s working and why. And when show crash and burn, we’ll try to figure that out too.

Be sure to tune in next time.

Thanks for reading.