There was a time when summer television programming was all reruns. But since the overwhelming success of summer-premiered Survivor, American Idol, and America's Next Top Model among others, networks have looked to summer as the golden goose for debuting light, uncomplicated fare. In some shows, it's people having to prove they've got skills or face elimination; in others, it's people looking for love or, well, facing elimination.

Are these shows worth staying inside for or not worth wasting the brain cells? You decide, and tell us what you think!

So You Think You Can Dance (Fox, May 21)

Don't kid yourself: you think you can dance, but you can't. Neither can many of the contestants in the audition episodes. But the ones who get through? They know how to groove and they do it well.

Image © Fox Broadcasting

Wipeout (ABC, May 27)

People making fools of themselves. It's never been more obvious than in this obstacle course show whose hallmark test of skill is having contestants attempt to cross a series of inflated rubber balls over a pool of water.

Image © American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.

Top Chef Masters (Bravo, June 10)

This is no regular Joe chef show. Watch world-renowned chefs in action, crafting mouth-watering delicacies that you wish you could afford. Attempt to recreate the dishes and fail.

Image © Bravo Photo Jaimie Trueblood

Great American Road Trip (NBC, July 1)

Summer is the time for road trips - long hours stuck in a car, plumbing the depths of family frustration. Or stay on the couch and watch other families fall apart as they attempt to complete challenges. It's okay for a dad to yell at his kid if it's set against the majestic Grand Canyon, right?

I Survived a Japanese Game Show (ABC, July 8)

Those Japanese skilled in the art of war, but they also know the art of humiliation. So what's more fun than watching unsuspecting Americans attempt to master the physical competitions of the supposed game show, while also getting to watch the contestants living together and trying to follow Japanese customs outside of the show, Big Brother-style. Culture shock at its best.

Image © American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.

The Bachelorette (ABC, May 18)

The Bachelor rejected Trista, so ABC gave her a consolation prize: her own chance to find a husband. It's the only Bachelor series match that's stuck. Will lasting love come around again or can we hope for a gender reversal of the latest Bachelor's love bait-and-switch?

Image © American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.

Hitched or Ditched (CW, May 26)

For many long-term couples, this show marks the time to sink or swim. Each week a couple has one week to decide whether to get married or break up.

Image © 2009 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Dating in the Dark (ABC, July 20)

Don't we all feel like we're fumbling around blindly in this crazy, mixed up world? These people are doing it for real. Viewers get to watch through night vision technology as single men and women go through the standard rituals of dating without seeing each other.

More to Love (Fox, July 28)

Summer body image issues be damned! It's The Bachelor, starring a Kevin James type. This is not a makeover show, so don't expect Big Losers. Searching for love in the double digit sizes.

Story by Ariel Vered

Starpulse contributing writer