Royal Enjoyment

There is a misguided conventional wisdom that summer shows are supposed to be frothy and fun, and that programs with substance and dark themes should be left for the dreary winter and spring months. USA's new medical/rich people dramedy mixes in a few heaping dashes of the heavy stuff, but Mark Feuerstein and Paulo Costanzo manage to be funny without having to sacrifice intelligence.

Royal Pains [10 PM, USA]

Hank (Feuerstein) and Evan (Costanzo) head to a private island (there are a bunch of these in the Hamptons), and have to deliver a baby with few resources available. Evan, as usual, doesn't get along with someone, but does it in a winning enough way that we can accept it happening each week. If all the medical stuff doesn't grab you, the through-story with Campbell Scott keeps adding new layers, and we hope that shark tank gets some use (despite the cheesy shark stock footage contained inside it).

The Fashion Show [10 PM, Bravo]

Yeah, it's not Project Runway, so either watch it for what it is (the millionth fashion-themed show on cable) or pick up some DVD's. Tonight, the designers conquer draping before creating red-carpet gowns. Isabel Toledo and Glenda Bailey are the guest judges.

Big Brother 11 [8 PM, CBS]

It begins... Julie Chen introduces us to a dozen new houseguests for the 11th season of the American version. For the true BB fans who have been stockpiling sleep the last couple of weeks so they can watch the overnight feed, bravo. For the casual fan who thinks CBS shows all the best parts, think the heck again. These contestants get very bored in the late hours of the night and start talking about their acting careers and their families and other topics that should humanize these reality drones but actually make them even more ridiculous.

Caddyshack [10 PM, AMC]

Describing this film as quotable is like saying that heroin is addictive: It doesn't go nearly far enough. It's not just that you can't play half a hole of golf without someone making a reference to the epic Dalai Lama speech or pretty much anything said by Rodney Dangerfield. The point of quoting a movie is usually to drop in a snippet when it is appropriate in conversation or related to the subject at hand, but nearly every line in this film about wackiness at Bushwood Country Club is funny in a vacuum. "Hey, Wang! What's with the pictures? It's a parking lot!" If there weren't so many cuss words bleeped out, Caddyshack would rank up near The Godfather in films that are impossible to avoid watching when you see them in the cable guide.