It’s often said the summer is all about the three ‘esses’ (sun, sea & sand) but the fourth, and arguably most important S, is that SFA on the telly.

Kim: Flickr Creative Commons

Yes dear readers, it’s that time of year again. The World Cup has ended and those of us who still like to indulge in a bit of old fashioned TV are discovering just how difficult it is to find something to sit down and watch of an evening.

Fear not though, for it is indeed possible to get through these long days and nights. Here’s your guide to surviving Silly Season.

NOTHING WORTH A LOOK? BURY YOUR HEAD IN A BOOK

Remember the days when we didn’t spend most of our time glued to a TV or computer screen? Well, summer is the perfect time to take a trip down memory lane and lose yourself in a nice old novel or non-fiction tome.

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I’ll even be blogging about some of the best book bargains you can pick up in charity shops so you’ll have NO excuse not to give it a go.

AVOID SILLY SEASON JOKES AND CATCH UP WITH THE FOLKS

Those people you live with? Or the ones that you SHOULD really be calling?

They’re actually quite good for a laugh and conversation isn’t something you used to do before you spent your time hooked up to those screens.

WHEN IN DOUBT, JUST GET OUT

See those things attached to your backside? They’re called legs and they can take you anywhere you want to go.

Why not try using them, eh? Sure didn’t you used to spend your summers playing Tip The Can, Rounders and Wimbledon on the street? Now’s a good time to give that a go again. Just mind the cars…

IF YOUR LEGS ARE LIKE JELLY TRY TERRESTRIAL TELLY

Quite a few new shows are popping up on Irish telly this summer. RTÉ is serving up a variety of US offerings including The Good Wife, Mom, Devious Maids, CSI: Las Vegas, Person of Interest, Reign and The Americans.

Plus, they’re airing a really interesting new series about life behind the scenes at Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel. It’s no Francis Brennan with a bus full of tourists but it’s quite good.

Meanwhile over on TV3 Aussie drama Wenthworth Prison is probably the best drama to hit Irish TV screens since Broadchurch.

If you’re lucky enough to have “The Channels” you can catch the third season of Scandal and the last season of Nikita on Sky Living, get down with teenage dystopia in E4’s new addition The 100 or even try to get your head around Utopia on Channel 4. Ray Donovan’s also back in action on Sky Atlantic, along with Banshee.

Speaking of Channel 4, its hit drama The Mill returns for a brand new series while the Beeb is offering up absolutely everything Commonwealth Games related that they can think of and brand new Dr Who from August.

That’s just in the next week or so by the way: I’ll be keeping you posted on the best of the rest throughout the summer.

And don’t start with your “but I watched them all online” banter. Plenty of us are too busy watching everything and anything the TV will throw at us to bother peering at a laptop screen.

FOR A FINE BOX SET MIX HEAD OVER TO NETFLIX

That said, if you’re the kind of person who can’t stand the ads and prefer to have your TV and movies in more convenient doses then Netflix is your best bet.

They’ve really done a lot of work to update the back catalogue and there are plenty of new additions to waste your days and nights watching.

If you haven’t watched their original offerings like Hemlock Grove, House of Cards and (of course) Orange Is The New Black, then there’s no better time to get around to it.

AND BEFORE SUMMER ENDS CATCH UP WITH YOUR FRIENDS

Sure it’d be a sin to stay in when the weather’s nice, wha? Go on, give ’em a buzz and make some mad plans.

Featured Image: Kim @ Flickr Creative Commons