7 TV Show Substitutions to Tide You Over Until Fall

If you're like me, you're eagerly waiting for the return of your favorite fall shows. Sure, there are some great summer shows (such as Breaking Bad and shockingly Teen Wolf), but fall programing offers a much wider selection. While you're waiting, here are substitutions for some popular fall shows.

1) If you like Once Upon a Time, you should try The 10th Kingdom.



If you're still watching Once Upon a Time, you're clearly fine with cheesiness. You may find this hard to believe, but Once Upon a Time isn't the cheesiest of them all. The 10th Kingdom, a mini-series from 2000, is quite possibly the cheesiest show I've ever seen, and I devoured all 400 or so minutes of it in one weekend. Like Once Upon a Time, it mixes the fairy tale world with our world; a girl and her father from our world are sucked into a magical world with an obligatory evil queen. There's also plenty of familiar faces, including Ed O'Neill as a troll and Gilmore Girl's Scott Cohen as a werewolf.

2) If you like Hart of Dixie, you should try Everwood.




Admittedly I've only seen about one and a quarter episodes of Hart of Dixie, but Everwood's premise is so similar that I feel it would make a good substitution. Both shows feature a city doctor's move to a small town. Granted, widowered father of two Andy Brown of Everwood is somewhat different from the shorts-wearing young woman Zoe Hart of Hart of Dixie; so if you're just watching Hart of Dixie for the hot southern guys, you may not fill that void with Everwood. If you, on the other hand, love the small town medicine in Hart of Dixie, Everwood might be right up your alley.

3) If you like The Vampire Diaries, you should try Buffy the Vampire Slayer.



I have such a weak spot for supernatural teen dramas. The Vampire Diaries started out as Twilight-esque mess worth of little more than eye rolls, but by the middle of the first season, it had developed into a fun, twisty ride worthy of only a few eye rolls here and there (although season three drew quite a few more of them). If you're a Vampire Diaries fan and have never experienced Buffy the Vampire Slayer, get thee to Netflix and get your marathon on. The shows share more than a few elements in common, and there's seven whole seasons of Buffy to tide you over until The Vampire Diaries returns. You might be thrown off by the extreme 90s cheesiness of Buffy at first, but once you get to season two, you may even find yourself looking forward to the next Buffy episode more than the next Vampire Diaries one.

4) If you like How I Met Your Mother, you should try Happy Endings.



Unlike the other substitutions on this list, Happy Endings is actually still on the air. It's such a great show that I couldn't help but include it. It doesn't have the same framework as How I Met Your Mother, but they both fall into the group of Friends-esque comedies. While I was ready to swear off Happy Endings after its lackluster pilot, it quickly found its footing. Season one had some great episodes, but season two was full of them. There's nothing wrong with just re-watching How I Met Your Mother reruns of FX (particularly if they're from the golden years of HIMYM), but if you're looking for some new material, Happy Endings shouldn't disappoint you.

5) If you like Castle, you should try Firefly.



On the surface, a police procedural and a sci-fi western may not seem to have that much in common. Okay, they may not have that much in common internally either. What they do have in common, however, is Nathan Fillion. It's hard to imagine Castle achieving the level of success it has had without Fillion's charm, and those of you suffering from Nathan Fillion withdraw can get that fix from Firefly. Don't be turned off by the show's genre; a sci-fi western didn't sound very appealing to me, but I thoroughly enjoyed the show's short run. Plus, after watching Firefly, you'll be able to understand the references to it on Castle.

6) If you like The Office, you should try Summer Heights High



If you've never seen Summer Heights High, you're in for a treat. Like The Office, it's a mockumentary featuring kooky cast of characters. Unlike The Office, the three main characters are all played by the same actor.  Chris Lilley plays all three excellently, but I'm partial to snobby, private school girl Ja'mie. While Summer Heights High features a similar off-color humor as The Office does, I should give a warning that the language used on it is somewhat stronger than the language on The Office. I doubt that many people are actually looking forward to The Office's next season (sorry, I had to throw a jab in), but if you are or are looking for a show that's reminiscent of The Office in its glory days, you should check out Summer Heights High.

Alternative: I hated to give another currently airing show as my main suggestion, but fans of The Office should also consider watching Parks and Recreation if they've yet to do so. It's similar to The Office but with more heart. It starts out a bit weak but really finds its footing starting in season two. It's hilarious, and the characters are fantastic.
 
7) If you like Revenge, you should try Veronica Mars.



I confess: I raked my brain for any current show resembling Veronica Mars because it felt wrong to write a list of TV show recommendations and not include it. Revenge and Veronica Mars aren't exact matches, but they have plenty of similar elements. Although Veronica is more of white hat and and Emily's more of a black hat, both enter their series with revenge for a loved one on their mind. Both are strong female leads, both go on undercover missions, and both pilots start in medias res (okay, the similarities are getting little thin). I'd recommend Veronica Mars to just about anyone, but I feel like Revenge fans will particularly enjoy it.


What fall shows are you eagerly awaiting the return of? Do you have any suggestions of TV show substitutions? Leave a comment, and let me know.

How I Met Your Mother: 7x20, "Trilogy Time"

It feels like it's been a while since we've gotten a new How I Met Your Mother (three weeks according to IMDB). So I was pleasantly surprised to see "Trilogy Time" listed on my DVR's scheduled recordings for tonight.

"Trilogy Time" began with college-aged Ted and Marshall in 2000. As they began a tradition of watching the Star Wars trilogy every three years, they also imagined what their lives were going to be like in three years. Then the episode flashed to actual 2003 and showed the reality of their lives. This alternating pattern of their imagined lives and their real lives (including Barney's once he enters into the time frame) continued until it reaches 2015.

I think this pretty much sums up the episode.

The format of "Trilogy Time" is a fun idea, but in practice, it became a little repetitive. While the Barney ushering out a girl he never plans to see again shtick was intentionally repetitive and used to prove a point about Quinn, it grew kind of tiresome. Similarly, seeing Marshall and Ted fantasize about different versions of Lily and Robin became slightly boring as well. I did enjoy the fantasies to a degree, particularly the touches like Ted's long hair; I just wish they hadn't have been so repetitive.

The episode was also somewhat predictable. From the moment the format of episode was revealed, it was pretty clear that Barney was going to stop imagining the "saying goodbye to a random girl" in his future, and instead plan to still be with Quinn. It was also clear that Ted was going to worry about his future and that we'd be shown some kind of flash forward that would tease his post-meeting-the-mother future. That being said, I enjoyed both of these parts of the episode.

I actually really like Quinn, and I think the storyline between Barney and her was done really well tonight (although I wasn't a huge fan of the fart jokes). I enjoyed the contrast in maturity levels between old Barney and the 2012 version of Barney. I think it's more likely that Robin and Barney will end up together, and I don't necessarily mind that. However, Quinn has been a good fit for Barney, and I like her as well.

I also enjoyed seeing Ted with his daughter. I had thought that 2015 Ted was merely going to be shown talking about his wife; so it was nice and surprisingly touching to see him holding his daughter. As much as I may complain at times about How I Met Your Mother not being as great as its earlier seasons or dragging the mother storyline out, this moment showed me that I do still care about Ted meeting his wife and getting the family he's been wanting. This moment also proved that the mother should enter Ted's life soon if he's (presumably) married with a baby by 2015. Anyone want to bet how they're going to draw it out? Pull a 24 and convert each season into the span of a day? Pull a Dallas and declare this last season a dream? Actually, gasp, show the mother within the next season or two? Only time will tell, I suppose.

Overall, "Trilogy Time" was a slight boring but decent episode with some nice moments.

What did you think of "Trilogy Time?" Are you enjoying the Barney/Quinn relationship, or do you prefer Barney/Robin? How did you feel about Ted's flash forward tonight? Whatever your thoughts may be, feel free to share them below.

How I Met Your Mother: 7x16, "The Drunk Train"

Last week's episode of How I Met Your Mother, "The Burning Beekeeper," was pretty bad. It was clear that the segmented format of the episode was an attempt to recreate the magic of an episode like "Brunch," but it was almost sad how much it failed to do so. With "The Burning Beekeeper" fresh in my mind, I didn't have great expectations for this week's episode, "The Drunk Train." Perhaps it's partially because my expectations were so low, but I surprisingly really enjoyed "The Drunk Train."

Photo: Ron P. Jaffe/CBS © 2012 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This week's storylines featured the following pairs: Barney and Ted, Lily and Marshall, and Robin and Kevin.

Barney and Ted received the title storyline, the drunk train. In addition to Barney and Ted's attempts to capitalize on a train full of drunk girls, there was also a focus on Barney's infatuation with Quinn, a girl who's smart enough not to fall for his tricks. Barney and Ted being paired up often leads to some pretty fun storylines, and this episode was no exception. The drunk train bit was fun, and it's the kind of storyline I could see fitting into an episode from some of the earlier seasons. I particularly liked Ted's realization that the key to the drunk train is to "get drunk." (Side note: Between "This ain't my first word search" and "Last week, I went out with a girl whose favorite band is Glee," Ted had some great lines tonight). The "girl who's wise to Barney's lines" storyline feels like territory that the show's covered before (Nora springs to mind), but I thought it worked pretty well. Quinn was likable, and I liked the reveal that she knew so much about Barney because she works at the Lusty Leopard (I had to rewind that last scene to make sure it wasn't just one of Barney's fantasies).

The Lily and Marshall storyline was cute, albeit a bit forgettable. I enjoyed the absence of Lily's father because his character has become overused. I can't quite remember if he moved out in the last episode or if he was just missing for this episode, but either way, it was a good move not to include him in "The Drunk Train." The look forward to Lily and Marshall post-baby was interesting, and I'm curious how their characters are going to handled once they become parents.

The first comment I'd like to make about the Robin and Kevin storyline is Hallelujah. Kevin and Robin's breakup was probably the best thing to come out of this episode. I have nothing against Kal Penn, but I'm of the fairly common opinion that Kevin has been this season's Zoe. Both characters dragged down the show and were much too unlikable to appear in as many episodes as they did. It's a credit to Cobie Smulder's acting that I felt so bad for Robin despite my joy at what is hopefully the end of Kevin. I think their breakup was handled really well. I love that Robin was open and honest to Kevin, and it was refreshing there wasn't any wacky sitcom shenanigans involved in their split.

I'd be remiss if I didn't address that scene between Robin and Ted near the end of the episode. I'm not quite sure what to think about Ted's declaration of love, but my gut reaction was "not this again." I've always liked Robin and Ted together, and I think they made a really cute couple. However, it just seems like the show's treading water at this point. We already know the Robin's not the mother, and they've already even briefly revisited the idea of Ted and Robin. It seems odd that Ted would express feelings for Robin when they broke up for similar reasons to those that Kevin and Robin broke up for. Ted's outburst could have several different outcomes, so I'll wait to see what happens before fully making a judgment on the scene. Still, I'm somewhat skeptical about it.

Did you watch "The Drunk Train?" What are your thoughts on the episode? How do you feel about Kevin and Robin splitting up? What are your thoughts on Ted declaring his feelings for Robin? If you want to share, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

28 Netflix Streaming, free Hulu, and TheWB.com TV Recommendations: Part 2

It's time for part two of my Netflix Streaming, free Hulu, and TheWB.com recommendations. I hope you all enjoyed my first 14 picks in part one. Here's a reminder as to how to list is set up:

First of all, Netflix Streaming recommendations have red text next to them, Hulu recommendations have green, and theWB recommendations have blue. Secondly I've put parentheses next to each suggestion with the available seasons and the total number of seasons. For example, if it says (2/5), that means that season 2 is available and that there are five total seasons. That does not mean that the first two seasons are available. Lastly, the second set of parentheses is either (sc) for series complete or (ca) for currently airing.

Quirky

These shows are all creative and somewhat offbeat. While they all lasted at least at least two seasons, none lasted beyond three. After watching one of these picks, you can join the legion of fans who are outraged at its cancellation.

1. Arrested Development (1-3/3) (sc) Watching Arrested Development will allow you to understand a much larger percentage of references on the Internet. This off-beat show is loved by many, and if you give it a shot, you'll likely join in on that love. It's funny on many, many levels and is ridiculously witty. Even after watching the series and reading some trivia lists, I'm sure there are plenty references and jokes I've missed. The show centers around Michael Bluth, a man dealing with his crazy family and trying to keep their family business afloat after his dad lands in jail. There's much more to the show, but it's best if you just discover it for yourself.

2. Better Off Ted (1-2/2) (sc) After you watch all three seasons of Arrested Development and are in the process of waiting for its new episodes to appear on Netflix, you can watch this gem to tide you over. It's not quite as good as Arrested Development, but it reminded me a lot of it. It has that quirky feel and it features Arrested Development's Portia de Rossi. Better Off Ted is a strange, satirical show about an evil corporation, Veridian Dynamics, and a single father and fairly-nice guy Ted Crisp who works there. I'll be honest, it took me a couple of episodes to really get into Better Off Ted, but once I did, I breezed through its short list of episodes.

3. Eli Stone (1-2/2) (sc) Eli Stone has one of the most ridiculous premises I've ever heard of: a lawyer with a brain aneurism begins have hallucinations (often in the form of a song) that lead him to help people. Yet somehow it manages to be a pretty great show. It's been a while since I've watched an episode of Eli Stone, but I remember really enjoying it. If you're looking for a quirky show, this one definitely manages to bring the quirk, along with some fun musical numbers.

4. Pushing Daisies (1/2) (sc) Pushing Daisies has to be one of the cutest shows about murder ever created. The show centers around Ned, a piemaker with the ability to bring the dead back to life with a touch. He must touch them again, taking that life back, within 60 seconds or someone else will die. Once he reawakens his dead childhood sweetheart, they and Ned's grumpy friend Emerson Cod use Ned's power to solve murders. There's a surreal fairy tale atmosphere to the show, and visually it's stunning. Each episode is truly a unique treat.


Foreign

These shows all come from either the UK or Canada. So, check oot what they're all aboot, and grab a cup of tea as you watch these blokes. No, that previous sentence wasn't forced or full of blatant stereotypes at all.

1. Downton Abbey (1/2) (ca) Downton Abbey is very much like a Jane Austen novel in television form. It follows an aristocratic British family and their servants in the early 1900s. It took me a while to warm to the series, but once I did, I was hooked. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the Crowley family's and their servants' drama. This is the kind of show that the phrase "clutching my pearls" is perfectly fitted for. I've yet to watch the second season of Downton Abbey, but if it's anything as good as the first, I know I won't be disappointed.

2. Doctor Who (revived series) (1-5/6) (ca) Doctor Who is about a time lord from another planet who travels around time and space in his TARDIS. Typically he brings a human companion with him in his travels. It's a show that can be pretty cheesy, but it's almost always fun. After hearing a lot of hype about it, I first tried watching Doctor Who last summer. To be honest, I thought it was pretty stupid. I was expecting some cheesiness, but I decided I just couldn't take it after watching three and a half episodes. Many months later, I thought I'd give it another shot and watched a highly-praised season three episode, "Blink," and I actually enjoyed it. So, I started with season two and found myself quickly sucked into Doctor Who. Plenty of people actually like Doctor Who from the beginning, but if try it and don't, you may want to try watching it in my order.

3. Being Erica (1-3/4) (?) Like Doctor Who, Being Erica features time travel; however, it's really more of a drama than a sci-fi show. The show begins with Erica running into therapist Dr. Tom after a terrible day. Unlike most therapists, Dr. Tom has time-traveling abilities and sends Erica back into different moments in her past to try to fix her regrets. Being Erica could have easily strayed into saccharine territory, but the lessons she learns almost always manage to seem fresh. Plus, time travel is always fun. Being Erica is a cute, sweet, and enjoyable Canadian gem that you shouldn't overlook. The series seems to be completed, but I can't find any definitive word as to if it is.

Comedy

I feel like I should have come up with a funny way to introduce these shows, but if you really want to laugh, that's what these are for.

1. How I Met Your Mother (1-6/7) (ca) If you've never watched How I Met Your Mother, you might be kind of turned off by its name. It's true, the series uses the framing device of father explaining a long winded story to his kids about how he met their mother. Besides that, it's pretty much a Friends-eque "group of friends hanging out" comedy. It's kind of ridiculous how much I love How I Met Your Mother. I've seen every episode at least once, but I've seen the episodes in the first four seasons a ridiculous amount of times. It's got a great cast and plenty of hilarious moments. I could gush about How I Met Your Mother for paragraphs, but I'll just leave it at this: watch this show.

2. Parks and Recreation (1-3/4) (ca) I'd probably say that Parks and Recreation is my favorite comedy currently on television. It had a bit of a rough start; season one was uneven and was too similar to The Office. However, season two and onward have been hilarious. Parks and Recreation is about the Parks and Recreation department in the town of Pawnee, Indiana. The main character is Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) a go-getter with high ambitions for the departmen, but Parks and Recreation is one of those shows where every character is so likable that I just can't choose a favorite. I just want to smile the whole time that I'm watching it.

3. The Office (U.S.) (1-7/8) (ca) Go ahead. You can laugh at me for including The Office. I feel like 99 percent of television-watching people have seen at least part of an episode of The Office at some point. In fact, there's probably no reason for me to include a short synopsis, but for those of you who haven't seen it: it's a mockumentary about an inappropriate boss, Michael Scott, and the paper company he works at. Anyway I'm including The Office for two reasons. One, I wanted to make those who are big fans of The Office aware that it's available on Netflix. Two, if you've only ever casually watched The Office, I'd recommend marathoning at least the first few seasons in order. There are definitely some good episodes in the later seasons, but there's a freshness in the early episodes that works well for episode-marathoning.

4. Raising Hope (1/2) (ca) I've previously written about Raising Hope in more detail, but I'll briefly talk about it again. Raising Hope follows the Chase family as the son, Jimmy, raises the daughter he received after a one night stand with a serial killer. The show gets a lot of humor out of the Chase family's tackiness, but it always manages to laugh with them rather than at them. Plus, the babies who play Hope are among the cutest tv children I've ever seen.

Reality

This list is really short because a lot of my favorites aren't available on Netflix streaming or for free online.

1. Solitary (1-4/4) (sc) I think the fact that I enjoy this show says something disturbing about me. The premise of Solitary is that nine contestants are placed into individual pods with only the voice of Val, a computer companion, as company. They are forced to undergo uncomfortable situations and challenges during their time in this solitary confinement. I almost feel bad for enjoying this show, but it's pretty fascinating.

2. Primetime: What Would You Do? (2-5/5) (ca) I've never been able to figure out the pattern for when Primetime: What Would You Do? airs on television. My sister and I would just set it to record on the DVR and be pleasantly surprised when it appeared in our recordings. Primetime: What Would You Do? is a show where actors act out various situations such as a boyfriend speaking abusively towards his girlfriend or a shop owner showing racism. Then the show documents various people's reactions towards the situation. The situations are not necessarily the most accurate social experiments and the show has a tendency to villanize bystanders, but the show is interesting and enjoyable.

Short-lived

This really should have been placed in the previous list with the others in the short-lived category. However, I had only watched one episode at the time I posted my last list. Since then, I've managed to watch all 13 episodes. I can now say with certainty that it deserves its spot on my list.

1. Terriers (1/1) (sc) When I first read about Terriers, I took one look at the name and thought "thanks, but no thanks." Weeks into the show, however, I read an article that compared it to Veronica Mars. If you read part one of this list, you know that I adore Veronica Mars. So I checked Terriers out as soon as I saw it had been added to Netflix streaming. Terriers focuses on Hank and Britt, two unlicensed PIs who become involved in a scandal that's much bigger than they initially realized. It's not Veronica Mars, but it shares some similarities and is an enjoyable detective show.

Well, that marks the end of my list and my realization that I watch far too much television (okay, maybe that's more of a reminder than a realization). Hopefully, you found something interesting to check out.

If you want to share your thoughts on any of the shows in this list or add another suggestion, please feel free to leave a comment.

How I Met Your Mother: "Blitzgiving"

I can't remember if I've really talked that much about How I Met Your Mother on this blog. It's a show I love dearly, but on the whole, it hasn't been itself for seasons five and six. There's been a few good episodes (spoiler alert: Blitzgiving was one of these), but it's definitely gone downhill quite a bit. But, as I just said in my spoiler alert, Blitzgiving has given me some hope for How I Met Your Mother.

Blitzgiving was one of the best episodes of HIMYM that I've seen in a long time. The whole episode just clicked and really fit together. It was genuinely funny and didn't seem as try-hard as many of the recent episodes have. Even Zoey was tolerable in this episode, and I'm far from her biggest fan.

One reason that I Blitzgiving worked so well was that it focused on one of their coined principles, the "Blitz." For those of you who haven't watched the episode yet, the "Blitz" is a person who always leaves right before the night turns awesome. Like many of the HIMYM terms, this one rings true. Almost anyone can relate to being the Blitz for a night and waking up to a bunch of inside jokes that he or she doesn't understand.

I'd be a really bad lost fan if I didn't mention Jorge Garcia's guest appearance. (Side note, I have no idea why I can't turn off the italics.) Even though the "awww man"s started to get on my nerves, I thought the writers did a good job incorporating Jorge, or Hurley as I prefer to call him. His character didn't have a whole lot to do, but he fit into the story well. I definitely enjoyed the Lost references, particularly the one to "the numbers." And maybe this is stretching a bit, but I have to wonder if "The Gentlemen" bit was a reference to Buffy. It would definitely be an obscure reference (side note again: this italics is so annoying, and I wish I could get it to turn off because it's driving me insane.), but I definitely think it's possible. 


Ok, I finally got it back to non-italics. I don't have a lot more to say about Blitzgiving. It was a really solid episode, and it was definitely better than the horrid "Slapsgiving 3" episode that I had envisioned as a worst cast scenario in my mind.

Short Review Time

So, from now until the end of next week, I'm going to be totally swamped with work.
I don't think I have any regular readers that are going to be devastated at my lack of posting, but I feel like summing up my thoughts on the shows I've watched this week. For the sake of time and my laziness, I'm going to post a bunch of mini reviews. And please, don't judge me by the horrific amount of television shows I watch:

• How I Met Your Mother - "Baby Talk": I had mixed feelings on this week's How I Met Your Mother. It had some funny moments, and Laura Bell Bundy's reappearance. But I felt it was overall a little blah, and can't see myself wanting to rewatch it anytime soon (and I'm the queen of HIMYM rewatching). It felt more to me like an episode from the earlier seasons, but it seemed like a more mediocre episode than the majority of the episodes in the early seasons. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but I digress.

• Glee - "The Rocky Horror Glee Show": This was a somewhat fun episode even if it was almost plotless, but I think I would have understood it more if I'd seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Also, this episode brought Will's creepiness and inappropriateness to a whole new level, and his "creature of the night" face was one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen. And Finn looks completely adorable in those glasses.

• Raising Hope - "Happy Halloween": This episode was funny, as all of the other episodes of Raising Hope have been. This is getting to be a new favorite show of mine.

• Modern Family - "Halloween": Modern Family was excellent, and it continued to live up to my high expectations. Gloria's "American accent" was one of the funniest things I've seen on the show and had my dying. Also, Mitchell's spiderclimb down the building was an excellent payoff.

• 16 and Pregnant - "?": I don't remember the girl's name, but there was a girl who was 16 and pregnant. And she had a tire cake at her wedding.  
•  

• Grey's Anatomy - "These Arms of Mine": I have to admit, this week's Grey's Anatomy bored me, and I didn't really pay attention while I watched. However, they may just be because I started freaking out about all my work. So, I might need to rewatch this to form an accurate opinion.