TV “networks have a lot to gain by switching away from traditional seasons, and viewers do, too, since new shows are easier to check out when they come in small doses. It’s impossible for a normal person who has any kind of life to see all the shows that début in the fall, and within a couple of weeks it can be too late, since shows not infrequently get cancelled after just two or three episodes. But something has happened to summer in the process. Reruns are disappearing from the landscape; soon you’ll no longer have the chance to see that episode of your favorite show which you missed because your tango class interfered, and you won’t happen to catch a show that you ignored during the regular season, and that turns out to be good.”