NBC's Thursday Night Comedy

A very quick, very dirty review of first impressions from the premiers of NBC's Thursday night comedy line-up (sans 30 Rock):

SNL Weekend Update Thursday - Completely unnecessary. I understand that this was widely popular during the run-up to the election last year, but a.) you had Tina Fey as Sarah Palin and b.) well... Tina Fey! I think Seth Meyers is a great writer and has clearly ushered in a new era of SNL watchability, but this format needs to go away quickly. Most of the bits were unfunny (Kristen Wiig is becoming one of my least-favorite cast members), and "Really?!? With Seth and Amy" missed the most obvious subjects of ridicule... the public (over)reaction to Kanye/Serena!
Grade: D

Parks and Recreation - Season 1 definitely ended on a high-note with "Rock Show," and this season started strong with "Pawnee Zoo." The concept of Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) getting in trouble for marrying two male penguins is both hilarious and a little too realistic. Although I'm interested in how they'll move forward with the budding relationship between Ann (Rashida Jones) and Mark (Paul Schneider), I'm sad to see that Andy (Chris Pratt) will likely have a smaller role in the show... he killed in the season finale last year! I really hope people start watching this show, and I know that the writers will start using Aziz Ansari and Aubrey Plaza more. Underwriting for those two would be a crime.
Grade: B

The Office - I have to say it: this show is getting unwatchable. It's not necessarily bad, but it's less and less funny, and the mini-renaissance it had last year with the Michael Scott Paper Company plot line is over. I understand that they work from a very specific concept, but the scenarios they're writing are just unbelievable. No one is as dumb as Michael, and I think that was proved with this week's ludicrous "Start rumors to hide rumors" plot. I feel like I'm watching The Office out of loyalty to their earlier seasons, which is never a good thing. It's not something I look forward to every week, and while I hope they can turn it around, I'm worried this cast has become stale.
Grade: C+

Community - What can we really say after just one show? A lot of the really funny scenes were in the extended preview that NBC gave us a while back, so there wasn't a lot of new plot or dialogue on display (although the test answer tete-a-tete between Joel McHale and John Oliver was pretty funny). That being said, I feel like the cast has a lot of potential to display strong chemistry, and it'll be very interesting to see where they take the show over the course of a season (right now, the plot is relatively narrow). Still too early to call, but I'm predicting a solid first season.
Grade: B-

Thursday TV Wrap-Up

The Office (NBC) – While The Office doesn’t generate the same cultural buzz that it once commanded, this season ushered in a much-needed mini-renaissance. With the Pam-and-Jim storyline kind of on a holding pattern (which is moderately annoying, but whatever), they were able to focus on some other characters and bring in great guests for multiple-episode arcs. Amy Ryan did a fantastic job as Holly, Toby’s replacement in HR and Michael’s flame-not-to-be. Although she added to Michael’s awkwardness, when the two were together, it was more bearable for some reason. And obviously, Idris Elba was excellent as Charles Miner, Michael’s replacement at the Scranton branch after he started the Michael Scott Paper Company. Miner’s hatred of Jim wasn’t that believable, but it was pretty funny… almost as funny as when he finally realizes that Dwight is insane. But the best storyline of the season probably revolved around Dwight, Andy, and Angela. Their love triangle finally fell apart, and the evolution of Dwight and Andy’s friendship has been as funny as anything else on the show this season. A welcomed resurgence from the folks at Dunder Mifflin!

Parks and Recreation (NBC) – Are people already writing this show off? Are you kidding me? It’s only been 6 episodes!! This seems eerily reminiscent of how quickly people were willing to write off Arrested Development, and if anything’s been shown to be almost universal in television, it's that shows need a couple of seasons to get off the ground. Parks and Recreation has a phenomenal cast, and although Amy Poehler’s character (Leslie Knope) seems to be going for the "female Michael Scott" feel (not sure if that’s good or even necessary), everyone else has been stellar. Rashida Jones and Chris Pratt have a great dynamic as Ann (responsible nurse and parks sub-committee member) and Andy (the can't-quite-make-it rocker). The government staff is hilarious: the sleezy but innocent Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari), the dry-humored Mark Brendanawicz (Paul Schneider), the completely anti-government Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), and the young, disinterested intern April (Aubry Plaza). This show is good, and it really hit its high on season finale “Rock Show.” If you didn’t catch it this season, make sure you check it out in the fall, when NBC’s Thursday night comedy lineup is going to be incredible.



30 Rock (NBC) – Wow… this season ended with a bang, didn’t it?!? Between “Kidney Now” and “That’s a Dealbreaker, ladies!” we had a lot on our plates. I like to think of myself as a good person, but if the opportunity arose, I think I would steal Tina Fey away from her husband so fast Usain Bolt would be jealous (not of… you know, me getting Tina Fey or anything, but of the… the fastness.. you know, because, uh... he’s really fast… right??…). 30 Rock remains the best comedy on TV because it’s smart, lightning quick-witted, and ultra-consistent. The star power they rolled out for guests this year was obscene: Will Arnett, the cast of Night Court, John McEnroe, Jennifer Aniston (who actually was pretty terrible), Salma Hayek (kind of ditto), The Oprah, Megan Mullally, Steve Martin, JON HAMM, and Alan Alda… not to mention the myriad musicians on hand for the season finale benefit parody. How I Met Your Mother may have a tight-knit cast, but 30 Rock has the best cast. Between the big-timers (Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski) and the supporting cast (too many to name, but absolutely essential to the show), everyone comes with top-notch performances for every episode. I’d like to think that if Arrested Development were still on the air, it would continue to be amazing and stand alone as the best comedy on television. But even if it was, I think 30 Rock would give it a run for its money. The subtle humor and linear storytelling feel very similar, and while not as subversive as AD, 30 Rock is pretty damn close to going punch-for-punch on the jokes. And that’s probably the greatest compliment I could give to any show. That, and the fact that we named this blog after it!!!