Coming to an End

May is a month that avid television viewers dread with all our favorite series and guilty pleasures come to a close. Now that most of our beloved shows are singing their farewell songs, what is a couch potato to do? This television season has brought a lot of entertainment and great memorable moments with Brothers and Sisters finding water to bombs going off on Desperate Housewives finale to Sandra Diaz-Twine being crowned the last woman standing in Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains over fan favorite Russell Hantz. Also Atlantan Jordan Pious and his brother Dan crossed the finish-line first in The Amazing Race beating out the cowboys and the pageant queen from South Carolina, who a few years back couldn’t explain why 1/5 of our nation could not locate the United States on a world map. This television season has been so-so and hopefully it will improve this summer and the rest of spring. With temperatures ticking upward and episodes of Glee winding down, television aficionados will need new entertainment to occupy those hot summer nights spent indoors with the air conditioning up and the television blaring. Here is a highlight of what’s ended, what’s to come for the remainder of the spring and what new season premieres we can look forward to.

AMERICAN IDOL:
Is anyone watching this season? The ratings say no and, the word on the streets says no. This season has been dubbed “the worst” season of the program with no real stars stepping forward and becoming the next Carrie Underwood. Production seems to think that Ellen might be the reason why ratings have fallen evident by the online poll they have put up targeting her indirectly despite her daytime talk show holding its own in ratings. I think the real culprit was getting rid of Paula Abdul, Simon’s impending departure and the lack of superstar talent. Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze are the last two standing and no matter who wins they will both go down the same path as the previous idol winner Kris Allen who barely went gold. (Adam was robbed!)

LOST:
It is no surprised that a series that had its own dictionary had a very confusing finale. The 114th and last episode, titled The End, was very disappointing and shocked the viewers by revealing that all the characters were really on the Island and when they passed away they moved on to an alternate world where as soon as they made peace with themselves they could eventually move on to heaven. Confusing much? I am not an avid viewer so this is probably the reason for my fuddle. The entire finale seemed to be opening more doors then it was closing and the action was definitely entertaining to watch even if I was so confused.

CELEBRITY APPRENTICE:
This season Donald Trump kept his recruits on their toes with amazing projects and plenty of celebrity upsets. I did not think Bret Michaels was going to make it as far as he did, but he kept his focus and head held up high and got the job over actress Holly Robinson Peete. A lot of people thought that Peete would get hired, but a lot of viewers continued to cheer for Michaels. Just recently Bret was hospitalized for having a ‘patent forum ovale’ in layman’s terms a hole in his heart. He has suffered a lot of scares in the past do to his diabetes, but this one is definitely one for the books. Hopefully he will make a speedy recovery and back to making low budget reality television programs on VH1 where he will continue his search for his next love.

THE BIGGEST LOSER:
As the highest rated season of the show, people are growing more and more attached to these lovable losers while on their incredible journey. I never watched the show before this season so I can’t tell if these twists and turns are new or standard Loser procedure but I know I love it! In last week’s episode the final four were sent home for four weeks to train for a full marathon running 26.2 miles. Daris broke the Loser record and ran the race in four hours while the rest followed in the next couple of hours. At the weight-in, Ashley and Michael made it into the final three even though they finished last in the marathon and walked most of it while Koli and Daris are now depending on America’s votes to see who will be in this week’s finale. As for Ashley and Michael, I think it’s up to these two to win the gold. They both have lost a tremendous amount of weight and if they keep losing they’ll sweep the cash! Personally, I think Michael deserves it more than anyone, but it’s still anyone’s game.


What to look forward to: This summer we can expect to see a lot of reality television series return and some of our favorite guilty pleasures make their appearance after a long hiatus.

Work of Art: The Next Great Artist
Premieres June 9, on Bravo
In this Project Runway for the art world, 14 fine artists are charged with creating weekly masterpieces in a variety of artistic media. The hopefuls are assembled in New York and consist of the art world’s brightest up-and-coming Picassos, whose artworks are evaluated by a panel of accomplished judges. Last artist standing receives $100,000, a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the ego boost that comes with being crowned The Next Great Artist.

Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-list
Premieres June 15, on Bravo
Despite her A-list level success, Kathy Griffin kicks off the sixth season of her D-listed show by losing out on a Creative Arts Emmy made worse by the fact that she was hosting the Awards when it happened. Such is the poetry of Griffin’s life, which in this latest incarnation finds her marching on Washington for gay rights, paling around Alaska with fellow D-lister Levi Johnston, judging toddler beauty pageants, and stalking A-listers such as Kristen Chenoweth and Liza Minnelli.

The Jersey Shore
Premieres July 29, on MTV.
I know; how dare I put this on the ‘looking forward to’ section? This television phenomenon has changed the face of reality television showing that ANYONE can become a pseudo-celeb just by being a tragic mess. MTV takes a group of 8 Italian-Americans and put them in a house and films them documentary style as they consume all the free alcohol and Subway sandwiches they can handle. What other show has sparked enough fanfare to have parties themed after it. Everyone wants to be a ‘Guido’ nowadays so embrace it, it’s entertaining.

So if you are looking for forward to your favorite show to start or are in need of something new and fun to watch you are in good hands this summer with tons of the old and new great series just around the horizon.

More premieres to come True Blood on June 13 (HBO), Big Brother 12 early July (CBS), Hung June 27 (HBO), Hell’s Kitchen June 1 (FOX) and, America’s Got Talent June 1 (NBC). and many more.