The calm before the fall TV storm

Next week is what I like to call the TV calm before the storm.

The summer TV season tapers off and the new fall TV season officially begins the following week with the return of "90210" and the premiere of the new "Melrose Place" on September 8. The season premiere of "Glee" follows on September 9 and then we are off and madly programming our TiVos.

So I thought today would be a good day to reflect on the summer season. Starting with what was your favorite new show of the summer? Thank goodness we had cable to carry us through these long summer months since the networks treated June, July and August as a place to dump series they didn't believe in and engage in reality shows most of us didn't want to watch.

My favorite new show this summer is "Drop Dead Diva" which definitely has lived up to the promise of its pilot and turned out to be an increasingly entertaining series. I'm more invested that I ever thought I would be in the Jane and Grayson relationship (although who couldn't see his kiss with Kim coming?) and Brooke Elliott continues to be positively delightful. But what has really impressed me is the development of the secondary characters particularly April Bowlby as Jane/Deb's best friend Stacy and Ben Feldman as Jane's guardian angel Fred (and fret not, I've been assured Ben Feldman will be back). The guest stars have been great so far and I'm probably far too eagerly anticipating the guest appearances from Paula Abdul on September 13 and October 11. I like the show so much that I'm even able to forgive its shameless plugs for "Project Runway" (besides who wouldn't want Tim Gunn's advice). By the way, the October 11 episode is also the first season finale, is entitled "Grayson's Anatomy," and will feature guest star Devon Gummersall as a man from Jane's past. That all spells big cliffhanger to me.

What has been your favorite new show this summer? Talk about it below.

The season finale of "Weeds" or Do I have the strength for this?

So this week, the Showtime publicity department sent out an email to all TV critics that promised the season finale of "Weeds" (Monday at 10 p.m. on Showtime) is "going to blow your mind."

I'm not sure how much lower the show can go, are you? To me the series hit rock bottom in the scene that found Andy helping Nancy relieve the pressure in her breasts in a restaurant bathroom (it took me a long time to come up with a tactful way to explain that scene). Seriously where do you go from there? Even having her son get shot didn't seem to shake any sense into Nancy. She married Esteban AFTER the shooting. She's more passive than she's ever been and I still find her romance with Esteban inexplicable. And I don't particularly care about Esteban's political career. I'm happy that Nancy seems to be having some realization that she has totally goofed up her children. For too long, she's seemed totally oblivious to what was happening to her family. But it certainly hasn't affected how she treats her baby. Since he's been born, we haven't had that many scenes between mother and child. She's content to let Lupita take care of him. When the show first started Nancy did what she did - not matter how wrong it was - for the sake of her children. Now, as Andy so rightly told her, she's totally self-centered. It's nearly impossible to get behind a protagonist like that. I also find that I still miss Heylia and Conrad. I know shows have to evolve and change as the seasons progress but Nancy putting a hit out on the woman who gets in the way of her husband's political career? That seems crazy, even for this show.

To me the other challenging part of the series is that the rest of the characters are in completely separate story lines. I'm not sure we even need to follow what Celia, Doug and Dean are up to. I can't quite seem to break up with the series. I think there's part of me that still believes it will return to be the show I so enjoyed in its early seasons.

How about you? Have you enjoyed this season of "Weeds?" Are you looking forward to finale? Will you watch next season? Talk about it below.

Where Have I Seen Them Before?

Marsha Thomason was the manager who told Kaylie she didn't have the drive to be a champion on "Make It or Break It." Thomason was Naomi on "Lost" and Nessa on "Las Vegas."

David Barrera was the horse cabbie arrested for beating his horse and assaulting an officer on "Raising the Bar." To me, he'll always Dr. Victor Carreras who treated Bobby's heart condition on "NYPD Blue." Ever since then, I've thought he deserved his own show. Barrera was also the medical examiner on "Shark" and Gunnery Sgt. Griego on "Generation Kill."

David recognized a "The 4400" reunion happening on "Eureka." Billy Campbell, Jordan Collier on "The 4400," Carter Buckley on "The O.C.," and Rick on "Once & Again," was Dr. Manlius on "Eureka." Laura Mennell, who played the young Audrey Parker on "The 4400," was Dr. Rivers.

Connor Trinneer was the man whose mustang had been used by the serial killer on "The Closer." Trinneer was Trip on "Enterprise" and Michael Kenmore on "Stargate: Atlantis." We saw him last season on "24" as the security guard who thought he was helping Hodges smuggle in electronics but helped Jack once he realized he was smuggling weapons. We'll see Trinneer soon in the season premiere of "Lincoln Heights" on September 14.

Xander Berkeley was the detective from El Paso looking for the serial killer on "The Closer." Berkeley was George Mason on "24" and Sheriff Rory Atwater on "CSI."

Haviland Morris was Claudia Joy's doctor on "Army Wives." I'll always think of Morris as Caroline Mulford in "Sixteen Candles."

Erynn wanted to make sure everyone knew that Natalie Zea, Karen Darling on "Dirty Sexy Money, " is playing Jemma on "Hung."

Embeth Davidtz was Rebecca Pryce on "Mad Men." She was Amy on "In Treatment" and Natasha on "Bridget Jones's Diary." She also has a recurring role in the new season of "Californication," which begins at the end of September. Abigail Spencer was Miss Farrell. Spencer was the star of the Lifetime series "Angela's Eyes" and played Ted's crazy girlfriend in the "Blahblah" episode of "How I Met Your Mother." We also saw her last season on "Private Practice" as the new mom suffering from post-partum psychosis.

Alexandra Holden was Zoey, the woman who was hallucinating on "Royal Pains." Holden was Suzy on "Friday Night Lights" and Ross's girlfriend Elizabeth on "Friends." Samantha Mathis was her older sister Amy. Mathis was Amy in "Little Women" and Nora in "Pump Up the Volume." We saw here last season on "Grey's Anatomy" as the mother of the sick little boy Bailey was very attached to.

Joe recognized Niall Matter and Erica Cerra, Zane and Jo from "Eureka," as the gambling artifact couple on "Warehouse 13."

Quotes of the Week

"Jesus and I agreed to see other people, that doesn't mean we still don't talk from time to time." Lafayette on "True Blood." Thanks to Hilary and Devon who were the first to submit this week's most popular quote.

"When I said I wanted kids, I didn't mean other people's." Fritz to Brenda when she tells her niece she can stay with them a little longer on "The Closer."

"Grace, we all deeply regret you having sex." Adrianne on "The Secret Life of the American Teenager." Thanks to Lisa for the quote.

"Do you ever wish you could go back to right after dad died and do things differently?" Shane to Nancy on "Weeds."

"I'm not someone who just cools down about things." Jerry to Bobbi in the understatement of the year on "Raising the Bar."

"Wow, you realize this isn't 'Sweet Valley High,' right?" Kat to her sister on "10 Things I Hate About You."

Amy Amatangelo, TV Gal®