School’s out. Summer’s in. I feel like a kid again! The second retro summer remix is none other than…

Watching TV! Although Nickelodeon and Disney still thrive, they don’t run the classics anymore like Doug, Salute Your Shorts, and Hey Dude. Now, with the end of TGIF (which featured Full House, Family Matters, Growing Pains, and Step-by-Step)  it may seem there just aren’t any great shows on television, only reality TV.

However, I’ve found some programs to keep me entertained during summer primetime. Even if their seasons don’t run through the summer, I can watch reruns online, on-demand, or DVR to catch the episodes I was too busy to watch during the school year. Even better, many of these new shows feature long time actors who’ve remixed their careers.

Make it or Break it on ABC Family. Once running the stunning TGIF years ago, ABC has gone through lots of programming, mixing it up with ABC Family. Their tag line is actually, “A New Kind of Family.” I guess remixes are everywhere, though I’d say TGIF featured many shows with nontraditional fams (Full House and Step-by-Step).

One of their hit shows, Make it or Break it, features Candace Cameron Bure who played the hip older sister, DJ, on Full House. She’s a grown up now, but as most celebs, she looks the same.

I was initially drawn to MIOBI because it’s a show about gymnasts. If only you knew how much I wanted to be a gymnast as a kid… Anyway, I got hooked when I realized, though filled with girly drama, the characters are extremely compelling. I’ve cried a few times.

While we’re talking about ABC Fam, I must mention the June 29 premier of State of Georgia, featuring my girl Raven Symone, a remixed Olivia from The Cosby Show.

Parks and Recreation on NBC. While I’ve never jumped on The Office bandwagon, I am a huge fan of Pawnee’s Parks and Recreation Department. Produced in the style of The Office, I enjoy the sideways glances from characters, and the frequent asides. Leave it to NBC to turn a coma inducing setting like a small town government office, into one of the nation’s funniest TV shows. The writers have mastered the art of human quirkiness, and I love it, like “I can only drink warm tap water with cayenne pepper.” -Donna. If you’re looking for a more familiar face, you can catch Rob Lowe’s, probably pressed to a mirror somewhere.

Community on NBC. Speaking of retro actors, Chevy Chase returns as the oldest member of a diverse study group at Greendale Community College. He’s also the jerk, which might be a stereotype about old men, but it’s fitting for Pierce, Chase’s character on the show, who embraces his bigotry.

While all the characters are rad, you can’t miss the BFFs, Abed and Troy (Danny Pudi and Donald Glover). I’ve actually started acknowledging and confirming things by saying “cool, cool, cool” like the slightly robotic Abed.

I know the bad rep TV has gotten, but it makes me feel so darn good to catch a great show. And with online viewing and DVRs I don’t have to spend as many hours watching TV as I did when I was a kid. TV is not all bad, and hopefully I’ve done some of the channel surfing for you if you’d like to tune in.

Sarah L. Webb

See remix 1