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So I decided to take the summer off. From TV, I mean. Then I figured cold turkey was no way to live, and I let a few hours leak back into my weekly schedule. After all, the last time I gave up television, I got all antsy and twitchy and couldn’t wait for the week — yeah, it was only a week! — to end.

Now, at the halfway point, it’s time to assess what I’ve seen. I have this to report: Summer TV, like summer itself, has high points and low points, but if it lasted all year, we wouldn’t appreciate how special it can be.

High point: “Swingtown”

I was skeptical, I’ll admit. A departure for staid CBS, that’s for sure. But a show about swingers seems to show its hand pretty early, right? But it’s maddeningly addictive and oh-so-much fun to watch.

I can’t figure what I like more, the style — cans of Tab with pull-tabs, 8-track tapes, spaghetti-strap jersey knit dresses with plunging V-necks, and tube socks pulled up over the calf — or the substance, which treads familiar lines of family dramas, but does so with refreshing wide-eyed innocence.

OK, it’s the style. I mean, where else can we see pool parties that aren’t teeming with nearly naked, mentally vacuous teens from wealthy ZIP codes, all shot in soft focus and set to the funky soundtrack of disco and “Soul Train”? Or Tupperware parties, seven-layer dip, unapologetic smoking, the Playboy Club, facial hair and skinny dipping? Yeah, that’s what makes it watchable, week after week.

(Funny story: During an episode I was late on the fast-forward button and caught an ad for a Time Life music collection called “Flower Power,” starring Peter Fonda, among others. With the psychedelic graphics and groovy tunes, I was fooled that it was an ad from the’70s — until I noted the Web address and, duh, the collection was a set of CDs.)

Low point: “She’s Got the Look”

This TV Land series for aspiring models 35 and older intrigued me on two levels: First, it triggered my well-known obsession with models and those who would be models; and second, it was closer to my demographic than the not-quite-20somethings of “America’s Next Top Model.” Things grew tiresome after the initial episode — could it be the auditions are the only inspired part of these competition shows? — and it turns out mature women can be just as catty and whiny as those less worldly when a modeling contract is up for grabs.

High point: “I Survived a Japanese Game Show”

Really, I added this ABC show on a whim, this and its partner,”Wipeout.” And I like this twist on the reality game show, where the game part of it is a real game show, only it’s in Japan, called “Majida,” which loosely translates as “You must be crazy!” It’s a total hoot, living up to the kooky reputation of that country’s television entertainment. I especially like the dubious rewards for the winning team — a tour of a fish market, anyone?

Low point: “Wipeout”

It should be a laugh riot, right? Hapless contestants forging their way through a wacky obstacle course designed to be nearly impossible to complete without falling a few hundred times. Thing is, it’s not all that funny, watching people fall in awkward ways. At least, it’s not funny after the first few times. Somehow, it’s hilarious when it’s called “MXC” (or “Most Extreme Elimination Challenge,” a Spike TV show that takes a Japanese game show called “Takeshi’s Castle” with voiceover American commentators). Maybe because we don’t know what’s really going on.

High point: “The Middleman”

Here’s a cartoonish romp through the action genre. The ABC Family series imagines the world is run by the kind of evil geniuses bent on world domination found in comic books, and the duo who would save the world is a straight-laced ex-Navy seal and a smart-mouthed slacker. This show is exactly what summer TV should be — silly, slyly funny and totally unbelievable. It’s “Alias,” without the superiority complex.

On the fence: “Fear Itself”

Noted horror film writers and directors dream up a mini-movie for primetime — should be a great summer fling, right? Well, not so much. In this NBC experiment, some episodes hit the mark, and others are mediocre spookfests. Yet when they’re good, they’re very good.

So I found a few gems; not bad for taking a break from my usual full schedule. But already, though, my summer staples are starting to come back: On USA, “Burn Notice,” “Monk” and “Psych” and on TNT “The Closer” have all returned. Season five of “Project Runway” is back on Bravo, I just signed on for seven episodes of HBO’s “Generation Kill,” and AMC welcomes back season two of “Mad Men” later this month.

I guess the break’s over.