“TV” bringing it this summer

Remember when we were growing up, when television in summer was an endless string of reruns? Maybe a “replacement” show or two if you were lucky.

Like so many things now accepted as givens, we didn’t know what we were missing.

I find it funny that in an era in which we speak of TV “seasons,” they don’t really follow the seasons at all. “Season Two” or “Season Eight” or whatever you want to call your new set starts and stops whenever you want to start and stop it. It doesn’t match the school year as programs did in the 20th century. (But we didn’t call them “seasons.” I know that in September 1985 a new set of Cheers episodes began, but did I call it “Season Four”? Now I do, but back then it just would have sounded pretentious.)

All this to say that good things come in all seasons. There are at least two on “TV” right now, broadcast over the next month or so, that are worth your investment. One I mentioned last week. That would be ESPN’s The Captain, a new documentary on the life and times of Yankee legend Derek Jeter.

The other is a little more off beat, but no less interesting or worth your time. It’s Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal, and it’s on HBO.

Don’t know the name Nathan Fielder? Remember How To with John Wilson? Fielder is one of Wilson’s guys behind the scenes, and from what I understand it’s actually Fielder who’s the spiritual guide and mentor of the younger Wilson; I just happened to find Wilson first.

The Rehearsal? Like How To it’s actually better the less you know going in. So no spoilers here, just a hearty endorsement from a TV-watching devotee.

Whatever the season.

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About moc

My name is Mike O'Connell. I am 41 years old and live in Northern Virginia. I am a teacher, a musician, and an enthusiast of all things American.

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