How is Will Traveler

We are currently in the television wasteland. I'm definitely not one to subscribe to the view that all television is a wasteland. I love TV. But I haven't yet recovered from the overwhelmingly disappointing finale weeks, and the summer series I follow are still weeks away. So, what's a TV loving guy to do? Catch up on those DVD TV boxed sets: Slings and Arrows Season 2, Moral Orel Season 1, St. Elsewhere Season 1 and next week Mile High Season 2. But heck, the 2006-2007 season ended two weeks ago. The DVD collection is nearly exhausted.

Enter Traveler, a summer ABC series Wednesdays at 1o p.m. It's not hard to imagine the concept meeting for this one: "It's a mash-up of 24 and The Fugitive, but the guys are hotter." The basic premise is that three recent college grads and roommates are about to set off on a cross-country road trip. After roller blading through the Metropolitan Museum of Art--don't ask--Will Traveler, the friend who was videotaping the stunt, calls the boys on their mobile and offers a brief apology right before a wing of the met explodes. The two buds, Jay and Tyler, become the immediate terrorist suspects and the chase ensues.

I'm a longtime fan of Logan Marshall Green, and Matthew Bomer is quite likable, so the boys on the run are engaging. At the moment, we're only seeing Will (Aaron Stanford) in flashbacks because, oh yeah, he never existed and they found his charred remains at the Met.

I am intrigued that the writers chose the Met as the great American institution that would be the focus of the series. Although by the second episode it has faded into the background--no CSI here--I kind of like the fact that an art museum is the symbol of national pride that has brought everyone together.

So, am I watching it because its an engaging show or because there's nothing else on? I'd say it's engaging enough. It took me a half-dozen eps to get into Heroes, so I'm intrigued enough to keep watching.

And while I'm waiting for new eps of The Closer, Weeds and...wait for it...wait for it...Kyle XY, I can ponder whether I will have the stomach to watch another season of Grey's Anatomy and Smallville, which had seasons horrible enough to make me hate TV and finales that made me wonder what I ever saw in them. It does cause me pain to know that Veronica Mars will be no more, but I'm totally looking forward to the new season of Bones. In the meantime, maybe I will figure out who is Will Traveler.