Cultural Learnings

April 12, 2007 · 10:09 pm

Thursday Night TV Club – April 12th, 2007

[Another week, another set of repeats from Thrusday Night’s dramas. The result? Another Thursday Night TV Club focused on NBC’s Comedy Night Done Right.]

The Office

“Safety Training”

This week’s episode of The Office represents an important development for the series: it’s its first attempt to officially integrate a new character into its motley crew of characters. There was very little of Andy, except for Dwight shunning him, and it’s kind of tough for us to really accept him or notice him early in the episode. And, while I think that this would have been fine if the rest of the episode was very successful at providing comedy, it just really wasn’t that great a half hour of the show.

The episode instead dealt with…well, nothing really. After a series of episodes which offered either broad comedy or real plot development, it’s weird to see the show head back to its old roots in ridiculous office situations. This doesn’t mean the show isn’t funny, or that the episode was a waste of time, but rather that it seems inconsequential. It didn’t show a real character shift in anyone, didn’t address any true issues in office work, and just felt like the show was treading water. Considering that we just came off an extended episode which was complicated and interesting, this just felt like a step in the wrong direction.

The focus on safety and Michael’s search to prove himself is nothing we haven’t seen before, and it never really got to be resolved in a meaningful way. The betting sideplot which accompanied it was cute, sure, but it hasn’t been asked to carry an episode since the days of Office Olympics (And even there it had real ramifications for characters). Instead, all we got was some rather humorous but not laugh-out-loud funny moments. The bets included: guessing the number of jelly beans, seeing how long Ryan can talk to Kelly (With sidebets regarding how many times she says ‘Awesome’ or mentions romantic comedies), and whether or not Creed will realize when they switch out his apple with a potato. He doesn’t. That being said, they were still very small-scale, and didn’t really make an impact.

And the problem was that this episode really did have to do something more than this. It really needed to integrate Andy into the office atmosphere and make me see a purpose for him: and it didn’t. Andy was shunned by Dwight, which was humorous, but it was humorous for Dwight and not for Andy. If all he’s going to do is be a nothing character, then why bring him back full time? And while I think he can be established with time, and this episode didn’t sink their ability to bring him into the cast, I really think that a better effort needing to be put forward.

30 Rock

“Corporate Crush”

Where the Office finds itself in a bit of a rut, 30 Rock is the exact opposite; every single one of its storylines is a continuation of last week’s episode, and it all feels natural and interconnected. It’s shown itself capable of balancing storylines, and yet managing to provide a varied smattering of comedy each week. It’s situational, it’s absurdist, and yet it remains grounded in the principles of the show as it was organized: Liz is a lovelorn writer, Jack is the powerful yet insecure executive, and Tracy is the absurd actor. In this episode, each of them got to grow as characters and show new sides of themselves. This is precisely what The Office didn’t manage to do, and why 30 Rock was the better show on this evening.

Liz and Floyd’s relationship was nice and established until Jack came along, and Floyd and Jack started mandating. Jack, you see, is struggling with depression ever since his fireworks extravaganza last week went horribly awry and Don Geiss (President of GE or something) took away his prized Microwave Oven division. After Liz tells him to stop trying to steal the Floydster (Jack’s nickname for Floyd), he decides to find his own Floydster by dating his art dealer, and then proposing to her in order to fulfill the executive stereotype brought up at the beginning of the episode. Meanwhile, Tracy tries to get his Norbit-style Jefferson biopic made, and even when he fails he decides to finance it himself.

See how that all relates back to last week’s episode? To the basic nature of these characters? To everything the show stands for? For actually managing to contribute to the show in a meaningful fashion, and yet remaining funny, 30 Rock succeeds once again.

Scrubs

“My Words of Wisdom”

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Filed under 30 Rock, NBC, Scrubs, Television, The Office

Tagged as Thursday Night TV Club

April 11, 2007 · 9:34 pm

Lost – “One of Us”

The True Believer:

The Manipulative Ms. Juliet

Throughout this week’s episode of Lost, it became incredibly clear that Juliet’s story is incredibly important to where the Others currently stand on a variety of issues. And, based on the cure provided to her sister by the mysterious Jacob, it can’t be too surprising that Juliet is in fact a true believer in everything the Others stand for. It puts a fair amount of the island’s past into perspective, and we learned more about how they operated in the days before the giant purple flash from the Hatch.

Let’s look at some of Juliet’s past actions and try to reconcile them as more or less Ben’s manipulations, shall we? It’s a little game I like to call:

Juliet’s Manipulative Past:

Genuine or False?

The Mutiny – Genuine

Remember back at the beginning of the season when Juliet presented the “Some of us want a change around here, do the surgery and then have him killed” plan Bob Dylan-style to Jack through the video? I think that it was actually Juliet’s plan to have Ben killed and to in some way take his place; while she is certainly a believer in the cause considering what happened, I still think that she and Ben have trust issues. Here, she seemed to be representing some form of movement within the Others against Ben’s leadership, and I think this was a truly genuine belief.

The Promise – Undecided

When Ben promised Juliet that getting Kate and Sawyer off the island would get her home, I am conflicted as to whether this actually happened. We never actually got to her what Ben said at this point, and this could have been the point where Juliet realized that the best option at this stage was to begin to gain Jack’s trust. However, Ben could have actually promised Juliet that he would let her off the island if she followed his plan, although the fact that we never got to hear him say it makes me think that it was certainly more manipulative than we realize.

The Submarine – Undecided

I think it really depends on whether Ben actually promised her anything; I think it’s clear that she wants to go home, and yet her desire to leave has never truly been seen. If the promise was genuine, and Ben was going to let Jack and Juliet go home, then she was more than prepared to leave. It would also mean that Ben allowed Locke to blow up the submarine entirely to screw over Juliet and keep her and Jack on the island. However, what if they had never planned on taking them home all along? What if they had planned to simply have the submarine head to a different location and screw over Jack? What if it had all been planned from the point where Juliet was in the operating room with Ben? In the end I’m leaning towards it being a genuine desire to go home…but how does that explain what followed?

The Infiltration – False

The problem is that there’s no question that the infiltration was false, that she was lying to Jack and Kate and all of this. However, why would she agree to this? Was the submarine being blown up enough to have her just immediately assimilate back into the society? Or, was the entire submarine thing all designed to increase Jack’s trust in her? Hell, it’s still entirely possible that Juliet is in some way playing with Ben and is subverting his authority in some way.

What’s the result of all of this? We really don’t know all that much about her at all. In fact, to be honest, I think we are less sure about her motives now than we were before. Her faith in what they stand for, in Jacob’s healing ability, adds a newly complicated perspective on her past. Now, rather than being someone who was kept against her will and who had no connection to their beliefs, she appears to be a true fundamentalist, a believer in what has occurred. This is a very interesting development, I think, and one which still doesn’t define her as good or evil. Much like when she was introduced, she remains a reminder of the complicated network of individuals that make up the Others.

As for the rest of the episode: Sawyer and Sayid remain skeptical (Let’s hope they stay that way), Kate remains bitter about the whole scenario with Jack and Juliet, and Desmond is still another sort of oddball who likely has some questions for Juliet that would prove quite interesting. If you want to know what else went down, go ahead and read the full recap after the jump.

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April 11, 2007 · 3:23 pm

Why You Need to Watch ‘Friday Night Lights’

Tonight at 8pm EST, there’s a few television options for the average viewer. You’ve got the wonders of America’s Next Top Model, the dwindling Jericho, the forensics of Bones and the…well, the less we speak of ABC’s aging comedies the better. And yet, despite all of those options (I’d actually consider the first three to be decent ones), the best show airing at 8pm on Wednesdays is one that you’re not watching, and one that finishes its season early this evening.

That show is Friday Night Lights. And it is what you should be watching this evening. Now, I’ve got a multitude of reasons why I think you should watch this show, and in my attempt to convince you I am likely to use a large variety of football metaphors. In fact, I may or may not equate every single player to a specific position. And yet, I want all of you who might not understand these metaphors to know that the show is not about football. It is about real life, and how football is actually a manifestation of true emotion for these high school kids and for the people in the town of Dillon, Texas. I’ll let the recent Peabody Awards press release make my case for me:

“No dramatic series, broadcast or cable, is more grounded in contemporary American reality than this clear eyed serial about the hopes, dreams, livelihoods and egos intertwined with the fate of high-school football in a texas town.”

And that’s the reality of it; no show has been as successful at crafting a true ensemble character drama in a small town setting, and I was an early doubter of the show’s ability to succeed. While every storyline has not been perfect, and every character has their off moments, somehow it all comes together into something vividly real. While some people like to bash its jarring camera work, I think that it works to the show’s advantage. It makes it feel less like some slickly produced drama and more of a fly on the wall experience.

Which is why this show absolutely needs to be saved. It is the best new drama on television at this moment, and it is absolutely integral that everyone needs to tune in for the Season Finale tonight (And it WILL be the season finale). And, to help convince you of this, I want to present why this show’s characters are so damn intriguing. Individually, so many of them deserve the attention of both viewers and the television academy.

But, much like a football team, this really is a group effort on the part of the show’s characters. They make this thing work together, and as a result I think we need to treat them like the unit that they are. As a result, I present:

If the Cast of Friday Night Lights were a Football Team…

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April 10, 2007 · 8:08 pm

Liveblogging American Idol’s Top 8

9:00pm: We’re down to the final eight competitors now, and Seacrest was two words for us as one of the Monkeys (Dolenz, I think) is shown: Jennifer Lopez. He calls her silver screen work prolific. Really? Prolific?9:02pm: Lopez is here to pimp her album as she coaches the top Ocho. If my Spanish was better, I’d try to interject it into this portion of the liveblog, but alas. Lopez is talking about people feeling good, and she watches it at home. She even has her favourites, but isn’t telling. I bet she likes…other peoples.

9:03pm: Melinda is performing ‘Sway’, and this is a bit of a departure for Melinda. Lopez wants her to be sexy and sultry, and Melinda’s not having it.

9:04pm: The crowd opens the performance by cheering her choice of attire, and she opens singing this entirely like you would expect Melinda to sing a song like this. She is certainly not Latin in her inflections or anything, but her voice is already so rich with sound that it really doesn’t matter in the big scheme of things. She isn’t getting a real power moment in the song, but she’s continuing to stand out against the rather aggressive band and backup singers…and ends on the power note.

9:07pm: Randy believes it is another solid performance, not quite her best, and there was some…Salea Cruz? Okay. Paula calls it subtle and sexy. Simon Cowell? He didn’t like it. He just found that the song was all about personality, and she appeared far too old considering her age. He throws around lazy, wooden and lacking in the ‘Wow’ factor.

9:08pm: Melinda’s glad that Simon has finally been able to say something bad about her, which actually sounds more condescending than I would have thought.

9:12pm: Oooh, we’re opening with Melinda AND LaKisha? This is rather dangerous for likely both of these individuals, in terms of perhaps finding themselves in the Bottom 3 for the first time. LaKisha is here to make a better life for her and her daughter…I can’t argue with this. Continue reading →

Why Sidney Crosby Has Ruined CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada

I knew it would happen eventually. As a resident of Halifax, Nova Scotia, I felt it was my duty to be annoyed at the amount of media coverage received by Sidney Crosby. While I would never doubt his ability, I got sick and tired of hearing about it in the municipality of his childhood throughout his QMJHL days. It came to the point where Crosby was receiving more attention than Halifax’s actual Quebec Major Juniour Hockey League team, and this frustrated me to no end.

It is therefore mildly fitting that Crosby’s newfound superstardom, including a well-deserved Art Ross Trophy this season, has officially come back to bite Canada in the ass.

CBC Livid as NHL Bows to Americans

(The Globe and Mail – April 10th, 2007)

The CBC is furious over the National Hockey League’s decision to schedule Saturday’s Pittsburgh Penguins-Ottawa Senators match in the afternoon instead of prime time.

The Canadian network wanted the game in the evening timeslot to maximize viewership for the traditional Hockey Night in Canada Saturday night show.

But the league bowed to NBC, which limits telecasts to the afternoon and wants the game because of the marquee potential of Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby.

That’s right: because of the apparent stardom of Canadian superstar Sidney Crosby, Canada will not be able to watch its only Eastern Conference hopeful in prime time. It’s a rather bitter pill to swallow for the CBC, and I think for good reasons.

– There is no guarantee for prime time Saturday Night broadcasts featuring Canadian teams unless Dallas/Vancouver goes to 6 games.

– They’re being forced to show Tampa Bay vs. New Jersey in Primetime on Saturday, which is just an embarrassing Hockey Night in Canada lineup.

– The league is arguing that NBC deserves to have the game scheduled for them because it will give the game a chance to grow in the U.S. Guess what, NBC? It ain’t happening, Crosby or no Crosby.

Really, Crosby’s fame has begun to work against Canada; he’s officially the next great hope, the one who will be able to save the game in the eyes of broadcasters. I think this is a fairly huge mantle to be placed upon him, and I don’t think it’s necessarily a fair one either. Crosby cannot be expected to carry the entire game of hockey forward, it’s as simple as that.

But from a broadcasting perspective, the CBC should be pissed right now. Hockey Night in Canada is a tradition that has treated the NHL incredibly well over the years, and yet they’re willing to bow to U.S. pressure. They’re abandoning their core audience of Canadian fans for an American audience who really doesn’t care in the least. So often I think the CRTC are just worthless hacks who fail to see the reality of programming, but their principles are something I agree with in a scenario like this. If a game features Canadian teams, one of only three in the playoffs, then that game should be played in prime time on Hockey Night in Canada. I don’t think it’s that hard, really, and it’s a principle which the NHL should have been following from the beginning.

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Filed under NBC

Tagged as CBC, Hockey, Hockey Night in Canada, Sidney Crosby, Sports

April 9, 2007 · 4:01 pm

Dead on Arrival: Andy Barker’s Final Episodes Move to Saturday

Well, looks like NBC is already realizing that Andy Barker was simply too unsuccessful to keep around on Thursdays, as I had previously discussed here at Cultural Learnings.

NBC Bounces Barker to Saturday – Zap2it.com

NBC has bumped “Andy” from its Thursday schedule this week and moved the show’s final two episodes to the barren wasteland that is Saturday night network primetime. The remaining two episodes of the show will air back-to-back at 8 p.m. ET Saturday, April 14.

“Scrubs” will take over “Andy’s” 9:30 p.m. time period a week earlier than originally planned (Thursday April 12th)

This indeed signals the end of Andy Barker, but this does mean that all of the show’s six episodes will be seen on NBC, which is great for Canadian viewers who were unable to access to episodes on NBC.com. In fact, I have to wonder whether the episodes being available on NBC.com ahead of time were perhaps detrimental to its ratings success. The show was never going to gain enough hype to really catch on, so perhaps those extra thousands of viewers could have been useful? Either way, it was an interesting experiment.

So, now it’s only Scrubs which is currently on the bubble in terms of NBC comedies…perhaps we’ll be waiting until the NBC Upfronts before we get a good idea of where things are headed, and our answer might be found just days later over at ABC.

Cultural Catchup: April 2nd-9th

Okay, so there’s isn’t a whole lot I didn’t get a chance to comment on, but I figure I’ll fill in some gaps here.

Ahead of tonight’s episode, I am perhaps the least interested in the season thus far. To be honest, there just isn’t anything really interesting happening at this particular point. Sure, Fahed has been captured and Gredenko is off bleeding into the pacific, and President Palmer has launched a nuclear missile, but I just don’t care at this point. When 24’s president launches a nuclear bomb, I should at least care; in this case, I thought it was ridiculous but didn’t overly care about its intended target (Especially when, although it’s for good reason, it’s known as ‘Fahed’s country in the Middle East’). At this point, something needs to happen which totally changes the way we look at the series, or at least provides an interesting construct. Jack going from torture session to torture session is not, in my view, interesting television, no matter how hard Kiefer Sutherland tries. They need to get back on their feet, ASAP on this one…we’ll see how they manage this evening.

Lost

This week’s episode of Lost, “Left Behind,” was unfortunately recapless here at Cultural Learnings due to the two 3500 word papers due on Thursday. However, I did get a chance to watch the episode live, and I must say it was quite enjoyable. We didn’t get any major revelations (Although the Smoke Monster flashes now), but we did get a great setup for future episodes. Juliet being integrated into the castaways is a fantastic way to move forward, as it makes a romantic square out of Jack/Kate/Sawyer/Juliet that I think works well. Plus, by uniting some characters together for the first time I think there’s a chance for some new dynamics, and some interesting changes heading into the final portion of the show’s season. It’s picking up a whole ton of momentum at this stage, and I’m guessing it will do quite well with it. This week’s episode promises to bring Jack back to the beach for the first time all season, and I’m sure we’ll see some spark fly between he and Sawyer.

American Idol

Gina Glocksen going home was annoying, but none too surprising. The real question right now is whether or not we’re heading for our 2nd all-female final between Lakisha and Melinda. I think that Jordin is the most likely to get Tamyra’d or Hudson’d in this scenario, perhaps exiting before Blake, but those two seem relatively unstoppable. Only time will tell what happens to Sanjaya, but in all honesty I couldn’t really be bothered.

Survivor

While I’m certainly still watching, I’m not too perplexed with this season of Survivor at this stage. I think that the merge upcoming this week will shake things up fairly well, but there’s just nothing to really shock me in the meantime. That said, this past week’s episode featured the awesome archery/spear powers of Yao Man, who basically destroyed everyone else with his unorthodox style. It’s nice to see someone like him sticking around, and perhaps even moving into a position to get into the final four. However, I have to think that the old guy who everyone likes is going to be pretty well doomed in a final three situation. No one will take him into it, and he’s far too weak to last in an endurance challenge of strength. Still, if the challenge is suited to him, he could well end up the Survivor champion. That would be a breath of fresh air, in my book.

Entourage

The episode last night was fantastic, and I am officially already annoyed that I have to wait an entire week after watching the rest back-to-back-to-back-to…you get the idea. The breakup between Ari and Vince being handled like an actual breakup was absolutely fantastic, with Lloyd and Drama on either side to help establish the scenario in their respectively awesome ways. It’s so funny that Vince is finally at the centre of the show’s drama; so often Eric gets placed as the real centre of things, but in this episode he was the money and the occasional mouthpiece. Vince is really running the show right now, and as the end of the episode shows this was a rather terrible idea. One person who certainly thinks so is new agent Amanda, who is played by the ridiculously stunning Carla Gugino. Pitting Ari against a power-female isn’t anything new (They do it with Mrs. Ari all the time), but it works extremely well here, and I think the episode bodes well for the rest of the season.

The Amazing Race

It’s really too bad that last night’s episode was quite so anti-climactic, because it contained some potentially exciting elements. Just one flight can kill a team, and it doesn’t make for great television. It does, however, make picking a winner incredibly hard.However, I’m nonetheless officially going to put on my “Prediction” hat and perhaps jinx a few racers in the process. As a result, here is my predicted finish order for The Amazing Race: All Stars.

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Filed under 24, American Idol, Entourage, Lost, Reality TV, Survivor, Television, The Amazing Race

Tagged as HBO

April 8, 2007 · 1:39 am

Easter Sunday: What Would Jesus Watch?

First of all, a big ol’ Happy Easter to everyone. Since a large majority of North Americans are spending time with family today, what better time to sit in front of the television and enjoy hours of your favourite TV shows? There’s plenty of options for those family gatherings, should you be too full from feasting on Ham and such things to do something more active. So, let’s take a look at each hour of television to see what might be your best bet.

But, I figure it’s not really fair to just use my opinion, so considering the spirit of the day and the spirit of good humour (Seriously, this is intended in a light-hearted manner), let’s ask ourselves a rather important question:

What Would Jesus Watch?

That’s right, considering that today celebrates Jesus’ resurrection, I figure that it’s fitting to take a look at what he might view on television this evening. There’s a whole lot of TV, so he’ll have a lot to choose from. As a result, he’s got his TiVo ready to record a 2^nd program in every hour. He just couldn’t choose one, clearly. To offer a more diverse view (He is really quite set in his ways), I’ll then offer my pick of what I would watch during that particular hour. So, without further adieu, let’s took a look at what’s new on TV tonight.

8pm EST

What Would Jesus Watch?

7^th Heaven (The CW) – While he disapproves of some of the Camden family’s more immoral moments, Jesus enjoys their spirituality and the lessons which the show prescribes to its viewers. He’s very upset that the CW is planning to cancel the show, and has organized a letter campaign.

What Would Jesus Tivo?

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC) – Yes, Jesus has a Tivo for those moments when there are two shows he just can’t miss in an hour. In this case, Jesus can’t help but be moved by the stories of human triumph over adversity, plus that Ty Pennington is a real hoot.

What Would Myles Watch?

Amazing Race: All-Stars (CBS) – I’m going to have to disagree with Jesus on what to watch this hour, although I can’t blame him for not wanting to view The Amazing Race after the amount of annoyance it’s caused God all these years. With the amount of people who ask Him to help them win a reality TV show, I think there’s a heaven-wide ban on the program. And a letter-writing campaign against it.

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Filed under 7th Heaven, Entourage, Reality TV, Television, The Amazing Race, The Apprentice, The Sopranos

Tagged as Easter, HBO

April 7, 2007 · 2:59 pm

That Other HBO Show: The Return of Entourage

April 8th has been a day of much excitement for many television viewers, and television websites, as it signifies the beginning of the final season of The Sopranos. And, while this is surely a momentous occasion for all involved, it is important to remember that there’s another HBO show returning tomorrow night as well. That show is Entourage.

From a personal perspective, I didn’t know much about Entourage up until this past September. I had read that it had something do with Aquaman for a while, and I knew that Jeremy Piven played an agent named Ari Gold that was apparently quite good considering the amount of awards he was nominated for. However, I really knew nothing about the series; without actually getting HBO in Canada, and without being at home to see it on the Movie Network, I was basically incapable of really watching Entourage.

However, I took a weekend in September to get caught up, and what I found was an incredibly enjoyable series that overcomes any of its flaws with it’s own brand of posse brotherhood and agent/talent relations. Vince is the movie star, the standard model turned actor who struggles with the problems of credibility and relationship drama. His best friend Eric is his brains, brought to Hollywood to manage his career. He reads his scripts, organizes his meetings, and more or less has to keep Vince in line. Making this far more difficult are Johnny Drama, Vince’s half-brother who was once a television Viking, and Turtle, the posse’s driver and requisite spender of moneys. As a whole, they are the entourage, and tend to make Vince’s (former) agent, Ari Gold’s, life a living hell, not that he doesn’t attempt to do the same to Eric, Vince and Co.

Based on the lifestylings of Mark Wahlberg, who serves as executive producer, this premise is certainly not foolproof. There have been times which have certainly placed the characters in ridiculous scenarios, and sometimes the show has suffered because of it…and yet in the end it all works out. Sometimes it all seems too far-fetched, and yet others it could not be more grounded. I think that it’s Ari who truly humanizes the show at times, because he’s really just an average guy himself. He has a wife, he has kids, he has a day job that bleeds into his nights and weekends, and there’s something human about that. Mind you, Ari is also a hilariously bitter and angry man who has ridiculous mood swings, but it all seems to work because of Piven’s performance.

However, since it has been an incredibly long time since we last checked in with the boys, let’s perhaps consider where things were at last we checked: Continue reading →

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Tagged as HBO

April 5, 2007 · 10:58 pm

Thursday Night TV Club – April 5th, 2007

Supersized Comedy Night

Done Right

NBC’s Funny Foresome

So, while the last edition of Thursday Night TV Club dealt with primarily ABC’s drama lineup, this week provided a unique two and a half hours of fresh comedy at NBC. Supersized episodes of The Office, 30 Rock and Scrubs coupled with a new Andy Barker resulted in a very satisfying night of comedy. How satisfying was it? Well, I actually have a specific positive thing to say about every episode. This is quite rare, especially with a show like Scrubs that I’ve criticized often in the past.

But, the reality is that each show stepped up to the plate in their own way, and each deserves a special Thursday Night TV Club Award of Recognition.

Award of Recognition for the

Most Well-Negotiated Return

The Office – “The Negotiation”

After a long break, The Office returned with an episode that did everything right in such a situation. Having gone on hiatus with the dramatic ‘Cocktails,’ the show needed to balance the drama of Roy’s anger with the comedic elements the show is known for. The show took that drama and managed it; there was no true confrontation between Jim and Pam, there was no on-screen discussion of the scenario, it just happened in the cold open and was dealt with off-screen. This was a strong decision, and shows the deft touch of the show’s producers.

What it allowed was for the comedy to move forward. Whether it was Dwight the hero and Jim’s attempts to be nice to him, Angela’s sexual excitement over Dwight’s actions or Toby’s continued torture at the hands of Kelly, the show was packed with the type of character interactions that are integral to the show’s dynamic. Michael’s salary negotiation helped to reveal more regarding his relationship with Jan, his hatred of Toby and the show managed to return after a dramatic event without missing a beat. It was a well-negotiated return indeed for the recent Peabody winners.

Award of Recognition for the

Best Justification of Renewal

30 Rock – “Fireworks”

Tina Fey’s sitcom was recently renewed for a 2^nd season and tonight’s episode showed why. It was balancing all of the show’s elements with deft coordination throughout the episode. It dealt with Liz’s relationship problems, Tracy’s Paranoia, Jack’s insecurities, Special Guest Stars like Will Arnett, and the usual office madness which occurs. And yet, the show managed to do with ease. Liz’s relationship with Floyd went through a logical pattern, Will Arnett was as awesome as ever (“TV. On your PHONE!” I was just waiting for the ‘Come on!’). It was fantastic.

I’ve since realized why this might have been the case: Jane Krakowski’s Jenna was nowhere to be found. While her character isn’t a curse on the episodes she is in, the show just seems to work that much better without her. The character of Jenna just doesn’t seem necessary at this point, as this episode showed; did anyone really miss Jenna? Either way, the show continued its consistent streak, which was a powerful reminder as to why NBC made the decision to renew the show in the first place.

However, we can’t forget the show’s greatest moment: Tracy dreams that he is on Maury Povich to find his biological father, which is Alec Baldwin playing Thomas Jefferson, and hilarity ensues. I loves me some Maury.

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Filed under 30 Rock, NBC, Scrubs, Television, The Office

Tagged as Thursday Night TV Club