Summer is upon us. It’s Memorial Day weekend, and another sweeps month has come and gone. A few cable shows remain, but most of the good stuff on TV has ended it’s season or series. (Bye-bye Veronica. I sure would have liked to watch you take down the elite white-man secret society, as we were last week promised–and denied.) So, what do we do, faced with a few months of fending for ourselves, without the magic box lulling us nightly with its stories? Personally, along with plenty of slow dinners sipping margaritas on patios, I like to use summer downtime to catch up on those TV shows that I should have been watching all along, but somehow never did. Naturally, there are movies to be seen, but there’s something really involving and satisfying about watching a series from beginning to end, no commercials, no breaks, no reruns. Last year The West Wing and Deadwood were my projects. This year I guess I’ll start in on 24 and The Sopranos? I saw the pilots of those and wasn’t excited. Curb Your Enthusiasm and Sex and the City are also shows I’ve seen almost none of. What’s worth my time? I very much welcome your suggestions. Meanwhile, in return let me offer a dozen or so little gems a lot of people missed, which are all worthy of moving up your Netflix queue:

Friday Night Lights. Everyone go watch this so that it will have more viewers next year! You don’t have to like football. There’s honestly not that much football in it. Here is just a simple show that gives an honest portrayal of the claustrophobic feeling of living in a small town where everyone eventually hears about everything you do. The show features a fantastic ensemble cast and smart writing, and reads like a motion picture more than a TV show. Plus, here’s a bonus: you can catch all of the episodes on nbc.com for free!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The writing is amazing, the characters are complex and well acted. This show was the ultimate in mixing one-off episodes with long story arcs. (Like The X-files… only without ever collapsing under its own mythology.) The only criticism I’ve heard others offer is that it doesn’t all hold up, but to me that’s because this show was a groundbreaker. So I chalk that complaint up as similar to people not liking Casablanca because of all the cliches. If you don’t know this show, you should. It’s that simple. You can skip season one and not miss much, but from there you’re going to want to see it till the end.

Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared. Sadly, neither of these shows made it much more than about half a season. Both are the earlier, straighter work of Forty-Year-Old Virgin’s Judd Apatow, and both are worthy of your time. (Plus, Apatow and team did a great job assembling DVDs with useful extras.)

Veronica Mars. Season one of this show is fabulous. Decide for yourself if you want to invest your time in the two seasons that come after (I’m happy I did), but the first season is not to be missed. The dynamic between Veronica and her father is worth the price of admission alone, and the creative team keeps her crime solving from pushing believability or feeling repetitive. This is how strong female characters should be written. Nancy Drew she ain’t.

Wonderfalls. FOX is one of my least favorite networks when it comes to giving quirky new shows the fertile soil they need. Yes, they take risks on shows in a way other networks haven’t, but then they shove those shows into awkward time slots with no advertising, and meanwhile let Married with Children or The Simpsons limp on well past their primes. Here was a delightful show about a disaffected and directionless young woman who begins to hear the voice of God… through crappy Niagara falls souvenirs in the gift shop where she works. It won’t be much of a commitment for you to enjoy this little gem; they only made about 13 episodes.

Firefly. Everything I just said about FOX goes double for Joss Whedon’s third series to hit the airwaves. Well-crafted sci-fi is rare, but this show is it. It’s part Star Wars, part Rawhide, and it died far too early. The number of episodes is in the teens, with a couple more that were produced but never aired. At least a movie came along to tell the story of the second season. Anyone who is a fan of the new Battlestar Gallactica would probably enjoy the dark-yet-bantery tone of Firefly.

Arrested Development. Have I mentioned FOX canceling great shows yet? Another beauty that didn’t get its fair shake, Arrested Development is so far the greatest sitcom of this decade. At least they were able to make three seasons, if none of them full. Arrested Development is humor for educated grown-ups. I don’t think there was ever once a fart joke, and if there was it was probably wrapped in nine other sophisticated meta-jokes.

Carnivale. Artsy, pretentious, weird, and captivating. If nothing else, you’ve probably not seen a lot of television set against the depression, and The Waltons this show is not. Watch the first season, then stop.

Six Feet Under. Super-dark shows like Dead Like Me and Dexter owe their foothold to this Alan Ball (American Beauty) creation. When it came out, the pilot just floored me. Catch seasons one and two, and then feel free to skip to the middle of season five. Definitely avoid anything with Lily Tyler’s character in it. But then come back to the show for enough of season five to appreciate the finale. It is the single most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen on TV.

Star Trek Deep Space Nine. Of all the flavors of Star Trek, this series was the least Star Trek-y. It took place in the same universe with the same rules and species and all, but DS9 actually built its own world really nicely. This show fits into the history of Star Trek after the death of franchise creator Gene Roddenberry, and writers found themselves suddenly free of his mandate to create only a Utopian future for humanity. Utopia doesn’t yield a lot of conflict, folks, and conflict makes story. DS9 painted a corner of the galaxy that was consistent with Star Trek that came before it, and yet its own unique show. It’s also a good series for watching back-to-back episodes and really wanting to find out what comes next.

The Office (BBC) Most people who’ve seen both the British and American versions of this show prefer the British. Personally, I just think of them as two very distinct flavors of ice cream. Either way, you’re getting ice cream, so hurray. If you do go back and check out the original, don’t forget to track down the Christmas special that ties everything up after the two very short seasons.

Lost. This one was a smash hit instead of a hidden gem, so perhaps it doesn’t belong on the list. However, with a dwindling audience and amazing recent storytelling, I thought I’d give it a nod.The problem with this show is that its first season was fantastic, then it got a little stale for two and a half years. I know people who started as big fans, who have since dropped off. I also know people who have tried to join the show but cannot. But I’m here to tell you that the end of season four, and especially the finale, was INCREDIBLE. I can’t believe I have to wait until February. So it’s worth the pay-off. Take a chance to catch up with it now. See all of season one. Then randomly catch enough of season three to understand who “the Others” are. Then skip the beginning of season four, while Jack and Kate and Sawyer are stuck in cages. Pick up about when Hurley finds a van, and you’re in for some really good watching. With the show’s annoying habit of revealing a piece of the big picture only every several episodes, I bet DVD is the way to go.

Well, there’s some good summer watching suggestions from me. What else do you think people should check out?

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