Like all art forms, television is a grand experiment that seeks to discover quality for the enjoyment of others. The television’s prime time occurs from September to May each year, when sizable broadcast companies show off their latest attempts to garner the almighty viewership. Sometimes it’s a show you’ve already seen, but with a season that promises even more than the one that came before it. The rest of the time, it’s something new, something different, a roll of the dice. An experiment.

Companies have a lot to lose on an experimental show for which they’ve already paid, though, so they’re very careful about what eventually makes the fall lineup. This is why I like summer television — it showcases all the programs that may have been too much of a chance to show during the normal season. Summer shows are one more way of testing the waters for another year of programming.

One new show that pays off on the promise of quality this summer was USA’s Burn Notice, an investigative series following Michael Westen, a government agent who has been abandoned in Miami, sans contacts or financial support. He tries to discover who issued his burn notice and why, all the while trying to patch up things with his IRA ex-girlfriend and solving any crimes that come his way. It’s clever and funny, and always lets the audience in on the intricate tactics and methods of a government spy through Westen’s narration.

For those seeking a quirky comedy, look no further than HBO’s Flight of the Conchords, centering upon a New Zealand folk parody band of the same name. The band, whose various performances are just a YouTube visit away, spends each episode wandering New York City and having adventures, and their deadpan performances and tendency to break into song will either send viewers into hysterics or just plain weird them out.

HBO also began a new drama series this Summer called John From Cincinnati in pursuit of another Sopranos, Sex in the City or Six Feet Under. Sadly, this series — one that was not only well-written, but also subtly surreal in a striking way — which centers upon a coastal community and the Yosts, its famous surfing family, was canceled a week ago, just a day after the season finale.

Some new shows, on the other hand, are, for this writer, frustratingly bad. None more so than TNT’s Heartland, which stars Invasion and Studio 60 veteran Kari Matchett and Treat Williams, who played Dr. Andy Brown on The WB’s Everwood. The acting is flat, the medical environment lacks palpable drama, and the characters are patently uninteresting. This frustration is magnified by the fact that Treat Williams’ performance on Everwood was one of the most memorable and thoughtful seen on television in the last decade.

But TNT’s ventures this summer aren’t all bad — its miniseries The Company proves to be a positive entry to this year’s lineup. Starring Hollywood actors Chris O’Donnell, Alfred Molina and Michael Keaton, it follows the lives of people on opposite ends of the Cold War as they try to smoke out double agents, maintain covers and survive until the end of the day with their allegiances intact. Shot on the budget of a Hollywood production, it easily sucks the viewer in, and while it won’t change the landscape of television, it’s got solid programming and good acting.

No such article would be complete without a mention of returning series. Rescue Me is still the reason to watch television during the summer, with Denis Leary’s character of the NYC firefighter Tommy Gavin being one of the most fascinating and complex on television today. The Closer offers intense investigative drama with the tough-as-nails Kyra Sedgwick and a host of characters and surprises to keep things interesting. Those looking for their science fiction fix have the ever-unwinding story lines of The 4400 and The Dead Zone, and each of their summer seasons see a great many surprising changes that attempt to turn the kind of quality the series offers in directions that have mixed results.

All in all, it’s a good run of summer shows. Not enough that are truly awe-inspiring, but still a lot of above average quality overall.