I missed this feature last week, mostly because I had guests around on the Sunday and as such had less time to spend writing. That is in part why last week was rather update light, but ho hum we must press onward.

Community: "Debate 109"

If you're sick of my praising Community already then I'd skip onto the next entry in this, because this week's episode was another huge hit for me. It's been a long time since I've watched a sitcom which clicks so completely and feels like it's speaking to me. The last sitcom to make such an impression was Arrested Development, and while Community isn't at that level - it feels like it could get there.

I'm really enjoying the way the show is building on it's past episodes, keeping characters who could easily have been one off guest stars in the rotation. Including the awesome John Michael Higgins, who made a welcome return as Professor Whitman and the lovely Holland Roden as "girl" (second appearance for her).

The two main stories split up the usual pairings somewhat by having Pierce "hypnotise" Britta, Jeff team up with Annie in the debate competition (have I mentioned how awesome Alison Brie is? One to watch there) and the exceptionally amusing Shirley/Abed B Storyline which had her constantly accusing him of witchcraft and wizardry.

As for the end of the episode with Sandeep Parikh and Manley Henry (at least I believe it was them). Just brilliant.

The Office: "Murder"

In contrast The Office just wasn't on form this week, I can't put my finger on why. On the surface it should have been a fantastic episode, you've got everyone (apart from Oscar and Jim) taking part in a murder mystery game instated by Michael to try and distract attention from a possible company bancrupcy. This results in ridiculous accents, accompanied by pedantic correction of ridiculous accents and a chance for Dwight to get over enthusiastic about the entire thing.

But they are moving the Andy/Erin thing forward (haltingly), but they seem to be drifting back towards relying on the tired will they/won't they trope. Thinking about it, that might be the reason why the episode didn't do it for me. We spent ages waiting for the Pam/Jim story to resolve and I for one am not interested in walking into another version of that involving Andy and Erin. Still it's early days yet, they might move things forward with a more reasonable pace this time.

30 Rock: "The Problem Solvers"

I am disappointed with the direction this season has taken, and this episode was no exception. What happened to the 30 Rock I know and love? I do adore Jane Krakowski, that is all.

Parks and Recreation: "The Camel"

I picked up P&R last week and got up to speed with it this week, so I'm afraid I'll be skipping past all the episodes which have already aired in previous weeks and going ahead from this one. Which was by all accounts a great episode. I adore the ongoing series of 'inappropriate murals' which the show has and focusing around one - or the act of replacing it at least - was a lot of fun.

This was also the first episode to actually make Tom a likable character for me, while he is clearly a well written and amusing individual I find Aziz Ansari irritating to a high degree. This week though his obsession with the abstract painting he commissioned was endearing and funny.

Elsewhere it was the Ron and Andy storyline which did it for me, those two characters are brilliant and putting them together then creating such an awkward moment was hilarious. Especially afterwards where Andy's desperate attempts to avoid Ron just result in him spinning on the spot before having a faulting and slightly humiliating conversation. But the crown in the cap was Mark's suggestion for the winning mural, a completely inoffensive 'old man in park' which was delivered with such cynical intent that it was impossible not to love it.

Oh and bashing Jerry's frankly brilliant "murinal" because he mispronounced the word was hilarious, especially as he had a fantastic idea which would have certainly won.

Curb Your Enthusiasm: "Officer Krukpe"

Two episodes away from the "Seinfeld" episode and we had a pretty decent, but not overwhelming, episode of Curb. Myself I'm enjoying the Seinfeld moments more than the Curb ones now, which isn't a good thing for the show if I'm honest. It's reminding me just how great Seinfeld was - and the two auditions for the part of George's wife demonstrated to me how I prefer the pitch and pace of Seinfeld over Curb. Don't get me wrong, Curb is great, but it's no Seinfeld.

How I Met Your Mother: "The Rough Patch"

Not a great episode on the whole, it was entertaining, but it didn't feel like it brought much to the show beyond the ridiculously hilarious "fat Barney" (A nod to Friends and fat young Monica there?) Still that was a lot of funny and alongside Lily and Marshall's secret porn obsession it was pretty good.

The end of the episode was amazing.

Doctor Who will have it's own seperate post.

Other News:
I'm making a big push to finish watching the first season of Sons of Anarchy so I can deliver a verdict on it. I also received Moon last week and while I don't write about films that often I think it bares repeating to say that it's an excellent film with plenty to recommend.

I've also started to watch Legend of the Seeker, I've read the books since the first one was released over here - I'm not exactly a fan of the series, at times the writing is stunning but at others it's pretty flat and Terry Goodkind tends to rely on the same tropes over and over - so this means I'm actually pretty open to a re-envisioning of the story. Only seen two episodes at the time of writing this though, so I need to hang fire on judging it.

The last thing is a quick quesiton for those of you who care. I happen to already own the entire collection of The Shield on DVD, but I keep staring at the collected edition box set and being tempted to purchase it. Would it be overkill to own the series twice?
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The usual sitcom suspects are all present, Dexter was planned for watching this weekend but was bumped due to real life commitments. From what I've heard I'm definitely interested in catching up, I have some holiday time I need to spend before the end of the year, so I'll probably use that for doing so.

It's also been hard to get excited about Dexter because I'm watching and writing about the third season of The Wire for the third part of my Watching the Wire feature - it's my favourite season and as great as Dexter is, it does struggle when I'm watching at the same time as The Wire. I know I shouldn't compare them, but it does happen and Dexter always comes off unfavourably - which spoils my enjoyment of Dexter. I know this time last year I was watching the final season of The Shield and Dexter was positively awful in comparison. I know it was a weak season for Dexter, and comparing it to the strongest season of The Shield (and The Shield's swan song) is completely unfair. But it happened, and as such I'm trying to avoid that happening with the fourth season.

Community:
"Introduction to Statistics"

The episode was so great that it made it into my favourite Halloween episode list on Saturday. I shan't repeat myself too much here - I think it's enough to say that Community presses all my buttons comedy-wise. A great cast with fantastic stories and jokes. That is all.

The Office:
"Koi Pond"

For a show which has managed such amazing Halloween episodes in the past The Office didn't really try this year. It gave us a Halloween themed cold opening and then moved onto the main story, I guess the writers didn't really have much they wanted to involve Halloween in this year and as such they only included the opening skit to make it a Halloween episode.

For once I did think that everyone overreacted a little too far to Michael's costume of a hanged man, Halloween should be about scaring kids - within safe boundaries which do not put them in physical danger. I do think children are a little too protected these days and a good scare is not a bad thing for them. (Talking about suicide is a different matter though, even in the context of "it's wrong".) I'll tell you one thing, I'm glad that the present Michael had hanging over his crotch was not where the children were supposed to collect their candy from. Aborted joke maybe?

The rest of the episode was reasonable fair, I didn't really enjoy Pam and Andy out on sales calls, it felt exceptionally forced and unpleasant. Andy's a great character, but at times the writers take him a little too far along the scale and place him in overly creepy land. Considering what's happened to him it's not surprising he reacted the way he did, but ugh. It was not pleasant to watch.

On the other hand Michael falling into the Koi pond was pleasant to watch, as was the revelation about Jim's reaction at the time. This co-manager thing is really working well for The Office, I wasn't sure it would - but it's great.

Last of all, I did like the final pay off from the Pam/Andy storyline with Pam talking to Erin about Andy. Erin's just a lovely breath of fresh air in the show, she's nice, lovely and doesn't do the unpleasant things everyone else seems to get involved in. I could tolerate an Andy/Erin matching, but I'm pretty sure Andy would botch things in his usual indomitable fashion.

Curb Your Enthusiasm:
"The Bare Midriff"

An odd one for Curb, it travelled off into toilet humor - something I don't normally associate the show with. I'm not sure why to be honest, the shows first ever episode is titled "The Pant Tent" and is about erections. But I think it's the utterly slapstick way Larry's peeing is depicted, the amount of splash and the volume of the stream is ridiculous.

Still, the episode was frankly fantastic - if exceptionally Seinfeld in it's feel. Larry is falling into the role of George when Jerry's around on screen, this is not surprising as George is based on Larry, but it is giving the show a different feel. You could probably swap out the Curb theme and put in the Seinfeld music stings instead and you'd have an episode of Seinfeld. This, of course, is not a complaint - it's an observation.

30 Rock
"Stone Mountain"

An episode with some good moments, but on the whole it was pretty mediocre. As observed over at Cultural Learnings (a site I recommend you consider adding to your reading list) 30 Rock is very uneven in quality when you're dealing with their holiday specials. This one was not great.

The better moments included a few throwaway gags like Jack McBrayer appearing in the background as a "Female Kenneth" and a "Mustachioed Kenneth" and the always entertaining Tracy Jordan method of just setting him off in a direction riven with paranoia. But it didn't grip me too hard, Halloween felt like a barely present event. Now you don't have to do a Halloween featured episode in every sitcom, that's not a law
(though maybe it should be), but if you do include it either embrace the event or have a short segment on it and then move on. Don't have it sitting about like an elephant in the room all episode without handling it correctly.

30 Rock seems to have slipped a little in it's standard this year. But it's early days, so I'm hoping it'll pick up again.


In other news How I Met Your Mother wasn't on this week (so no return of the Slutty Pumpkin, which is something I hope for every year), and on the DVD front I've just been enjoying my way through the first three seasons of Futurama. Sons of Anarchy and Breaking Bad are still 'to be watched' and 'Parks and Recreation' has made it's way onto my to be watched list as light entertainment.

I was going to pick up the fourth season of Bones, but it was completely sold out everywhere I looked for it, there were piles and piles of Tru Blood and Lost season 5s around, but absolutely no Bones Season 4. I found this amusing for some reason.
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I'm getting towards watching Dexter honest! But I have sidelined watching it for another week, in fact I'm now considering watching the show as a marathon after Christmas, but we'll see.

As for the rest, I've been keeping up to date with everything pretty well.

Community:
"Football, feminism and you"

Just to continue to beat that drum, if you're not watching Community you should be. This week's episode was another close to pitch perfect piece with Jeff playing a bit more of a defensive role than normal after the Dean blackmails him in order to take advantage of Jeff's influence over Troy. Either Jeff convinces Troy to join the College football team (named The Human Beings) or pictures of him attending the college are mailed out to various professional firms (including law firms). Revealing that Jeff's been forced to attend what is a pretty crappy college and tanking his future.

On the other hand Annie doesn't want Troy to start playing football again, she crushed after him all through high school and is just now getting to know him. This kicks off a tug of war between Jeff and Annie over Troy, both of whom have selfish reasons for wanting to dictate what Troy does.

Mix in two entertaining side plots, one with Britta learning how to connect with other women in the bathroom and the other having Pierce and Dean Pelton trying to come up with a racially sensitive human being mascot - and things are just great. As for Abed? His "Aspergers" plays up to the point that he decides he's been too prolific in last week's episode (his words) and he will lay low for this episode. Enjoyable fourth wall shaking from what is a pretty entertaining character - and sure enough, he's hardly seen in the episode.

Seriously, why on Earth are you not watching this show?

Curb Your Enthusiasm:
"Denise Handicap"

I don't know about this week's Curb - Curb has two settings for me, immensely enjoyable or frustrating with occasional funny. While last week's episode was in the enjoyable category, humiliating without being overly filled with irritants (just enough to keep it fun), this week's was. Well. Eh.

It just felt rather predictable, while often you can see where Curb is going to take you, and I enjoy that because it makes Larry's inevitable fall more amusing, this one really felt like it was just rehashing old ground with new paint. It had a few good moments, Rosie O'Donnell and Larry fighting in public over which of them gets to pay the cheque (they both wanted to) was a lot of fun, as was the beach moment with the Blackberry. But the main plot with Anita Barone? It just lacked, well everything.

30 Rock:
"Into the Crevasse"

Last week's season opener was a little uneven and not exactly inspiring, this weeks was a lot better but still not up to the standard of the 30 Rock we know and love. The big part of the funny was brought by the fantastic Will Arnett who plays Devon Banks with such aplomb that it's impossible not to enjoy the moments where he and Jack rant at each other.

The other funny parts include Frank breaking down over his inability to evenly microwave a burrito and his ranting at Liz over her "deal breaker novel" ruining his chances with a woman once she saw his action figures. In fact most of the men in the office were taking out their frustrations on Liz after their significant others had read the book and become aware of their failings. Tracy's reaction was (as always) priceless.

On the other hand I'm already a little tired with the two 'stars' Tracy and Jenna both acting up over the decision to add another actor to the show, Josh has already walked out so I don't see why we need both Tracy and Jenna acting in bizarre fashions (well more so than usual). Jane Krakowski is fantastic, 30 Rock needs to make better use of her. Having said that, the Iceland filming/night/werewolf fiasco was a funny concept.

The Office:
"The Lover"

The Office continues to develop, building on that wonderful Niagara episode with a stronger offering than last week's episode of 'Mafia'. This one has Jim and Pam returning to the office to find out that Michael has a new woman in his life - Jim finds out first that it's Pam's mother.

Pam's reaction when she finds out is just priceless and it sparks off a host of fantastic moments, including Michael being kind to Toby in order to try and get Pam to stop haranguing him (Toby's talking head moment on this is priceless, poor guy)

There's also a fantastic callback to the previous episode - with Ryan spending the entire episode wearing a flash gangster-esk hat without comment all the way through it and then refusing to let Kevin know where the hat came from because 'he can't say'.

The Office is living evidence that the will they/won't they trope can always be resolved and still keep the show entertaining. So Bones, you've got no excuse now - resolve the Booth/Bones thing this season, we're tired of it, K?

How I Met Your Mother:
"Duel Citizenship"

I'm not really sure what to say about the latest HIMYM, it was pretty much a solid affair but nothing special. There were a few good moments, mostly involving the caffeine laced soft drink 'Tantrum' but it was the first episode this season which felt like filler. Nothing overly funny, nothing particularly bad - it was just there and then done.

In other television related things I'm continuing to work on the third season of Watching The Wire, which starts this Sunday - this does mean that I'll be down to three posts during most weeks, but there will also be the Wire update on Sundays to make up for that. I'm also still (slowly) watching Sons of Anarchy and Breaking Bad - but due to a friend forcing me, I'm now also watching Ally McBeal (and I wouldn't admit it to her, but it's a fun show because I like David E. Kelley's dialog). And I have been keeping up with Family Guy/American Dad, but the episodes aren't worth commenting on, they just occupy time and space with mild entertainment.
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I'm afraid I'm still being lax where Dexter is concerned. I'm now three episodes behind with my viewing, I can't put my finger exactly on why I'm behind with watching it - I think it's a combination of my disappointment over the third season and the sheer amount of television I'm behind on already.

I have queued up to watch the following:
The Sopranos Season 3, 4, 5 and 6
Sons of Anarchy (Halfway through season one)
Breaking Bad - Season 2

And I'm back watching the third season of The Wire ready to start writing about it.

Mix this in with the ridiculous amount of time I spend commuting each day and I dunno, Dexter's just sort of languished and been left unwatched. I guess I'm saying "convince me to watch Dexter guys!"

Onto the television I have been watching:

How I Met Your Mother:
"The Sexless Innkeeper"
Another frankly fantastic episode from the HIMYM crowd, for once it wasn't the Robin/Barney or Lily/Marshall storyline which got the biggest laughs from me. It was actually Ted's 'Sexless Innkeeper' story. Especially the "It's a poem" justification as to why the tales of the sexless innkeeper were being told as if it was Dickens.

I'm absolutely miffed that this show hasn't released more Region 2 seasons on DVD. Get your butts out to the shops and pick up the first season guys. Convince them to hurry up and release the next three seasons. If not for the enjoyment and hours of excellent comedy you'll get from it, then for me!

Community:
"Advanced Criminal Law"
The little comedy engine that could continues to pick up speed and pile on the steam, this weeks episode was nothing short of superb. I just love the way the show took the core concept from the pilot episode and expanded on that - creating this growing, living universe filled with bitter, cynical comedy that also feels uplifting and upbeat.

When Senor Chang threatens to give everyone a zero unless whomever it was who cheated on the test with a crib sheet, Britta stands up and takes the fall. Then Jeff offers to give her legal counsel on the entire thing - which results in this wonderful flip-flopping of events that bring the brilliant Jim Rash (who played Fenton in That 70s Show - one of my favourite recurring characters) back as Dean "I go both ways" Pelton, Senor Chang and Professor Duncan together as the tribunal on Britta's case.

You've also got Abed learning about how 'friends mess with each other' and then taking it to a new level in an attempt to get back at Troy, while Annie and Pierce (Chevy Chase who's on amazing form) sort of bond together over the creation of a song for the college.

The episode ends with a classic and somewhat beautiful Pierce moment, which was quite moving and beautiful. But still laced with that cynicism which I'm beginning to love about Community.

Curb Your Enthusiasm:
"The Hot Towel"
This episode was a step back from the breakneck joy of the Seinfeld reunion storyline, giving us classic Curb - but with a subtle and brilliant Seinfeld reference built into it. After Larry hurts his hand with a hot towel he's unable to undo a bra because his 'undoing left hand' is out of action. The resulting scene homages a conversation from Seinfeld (George of course being based on Larry David.)

JERRY: Don't be so sure. Look at George - he's on his ninth date with Betsy, he still hasn't gotten anywhere with her.
ELAINE: What's his problem?
JERRY: Well, every time he tries to make a move, something screws up. Like on their last date, they were on the couch, but she was sitting on his wrong side.
ELAINE: Wrong side?
JERRY: Yeah, she was on his right side. He can't make a move with his left hand. Can't go left.
ELAINE: He can't go left.
JERRY: No! I'm lefty, can't go right. What about women? Do they go left or right?
ELAINE: Nah, we just play defense.

Needless to say, I enjoyed the return to classic Curb as it mixed things up. I also loved Christian Slater's part in the show.

The Office:
"Niagara" & "Mafia"
Seriously, how good was Niagara? It was pretty much the best episode of The Office I've seen in a long time and well deserving of the hour long episode. It also could have served as a fantastic season ender - or even a wonderful note to end the show on. So in some ways I'm a little surprised they've 'spent' it so early on, but I assume they've got some great comedy direction for Jim and Pam now they're married.

Who'd have thought it all those years ago eh? Unlike their British counterparts J&P have actually ended up together. It was a wonderful and sweet episode that is amongst the best I've seen in a long time, not so sold on the morning sickness joke, it was clever - but also exceptionally lowbrow, a little too lowbrow for The Office I think.

Mafia was back to a more standard form, I did enjoy Oscar explaining that the balance of reason in the office was out of kilter with Jim and Pam away on holiday. I also enjoyed watching Kevin single handedly ruin their honeymoon without even meaning too. But the main plot, Michael worrying about an Italian American selling him insurance turning out to be a member of the mob, was a little too late. A few years earlier, with The Sopranos still on the air, and it would have worked.

30 Rock
"Season 4"
I'm not sure about the season opener for 30 Rock. It had it's share of funny moments, many of them revolving around Tracy Jordan, but it was also a little uneven at times. The dynamic between Kenneth and Jack was fun, with Kenneth proving to be an almost unassailable wall of incorruptible virtue - until he got his own way and then realised that he'd have to lie to cover up what actually happened. I also appreciated seeing more of Scott Adsit who often feels woefully underused, he's a funny guy, exceptionally funny, and he needs more screen time and more story lines.

Solid, but it didn't blow me away.
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For the immediate and foreseeable future I'm going to use Wednesdays to revive a series which I started a long while back and then left to languish. The "Why You Should Watch" series, where I take an in depth look at a TV series and try to highlight the appeal of the show. I almost called this "101 Shows You Should Watch Before You Die" in homage to the 1001 series of books, but I realised I'd be committing myself to nearly two years of this then and that seemed a tad unwise.

This week it's the turn of NBC's comedy beau - 30 Rock.



Created by Saturday Night Live alumni and Sarah Palin impersonator Tina Fey, 30 Rock is in it's third season at the time of writing. The title of the show refers to 30 Rockafella Plaza, the location of the GE building which houses NBC Studios and the show itself is a single camera show based around a fictional comedy sketch show called "The Girlie Show". Following the arrival of new network executive Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) the show is relabeled "TGS with Tracy Jordan" despite show runner/head writer Liz Lemon's (Tina Fey) objections after Jack decides to include the somewhat deranged movie star Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) in an attempt to appeal to a wider audience.

The show contains an ensemble cast of ten members; alongside Liz and Jack we also have Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) a deeply insecure but talented woman who stars in TGS; Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit) producer of the show and Liz's closest friend; writer, inappropriate hat wearer and general slob Frank Rossitano (Judah Friedlander); Cerie Xerox (Katrina Bowden), Liz's assistant and wearer of inappropriately hot outfits; James "Toofer" Spurlock (Keith Powell), a Harvard graduate writer; Josh Girard (Lonny Ross) TGS co-star, writer and impressionist; and NBC Page Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer).

Also of note are Grizz Chapman and Kevin Brown who play Grizz and Dot Com, members of Tracy's entourage, bodyguards and general common sense reminders for the star and Jack's PA Johnathan (Maulik Pancholy) who slavishly works for the man and handles many of his problems.

The series mostly focuses around the interaction between Liz and Jack, who often butt heads over conceptual changes in the show and the various problems raised by the writing team and the stars of TGS. Especially Jenna - who is something of an attention seeking diva - and Tracy - who is just plain loco. But 30 Rock is a show which also evolves over time, relationships between characters change and grow. Tracy takes Kenneth under his wing, Jack and Liz gradually become friends and Frank becomes a decent human being and stops ragging on Toofer - wait, no he doesn't.

Performances from the cast are fantastic right across the board; Tina is great as the hapless and insecure Liz Lemon - providing a real smart, sexy, funny combination, while Alec Baldwin gives one of the best performances of his career as Jack. Kenneth (Jack) is another stand out character, his combination of niceness, naivety and country charm make him the perfect combination to play off Tracy Jordan's intense energy, Scott Adsit's turn as Pete is great - he provides a lot of the exposition and straight man material (which in some ways is a shame as he's also a great comic) and Frank is just plain wickedly funny.

30 Rock is one of the finest sitcoms on television right now alongside The Office and How I Met Your Mother. It's great light entertainment which both lampoons and homages the entertainment industry. Tina's experiences on Saturday Night Live translate well as do the skills she gained from her time there; in 30 Rock she's created an exceptional comedy show with a unique voice.

Notable episodes:

"Cleveland" - Tracy discovers that the "Black Crusaders" are after him, a clandestine organisation with a long reach, initially sparked by a magazine article which stated that Bill Cosby hated Tracy. He decides to go on the run to Cleveland to survive. It's a great episode where Tracy's insane notions are played up to the fullest and as such it delivers a lot of laughs.

"SeinfeldVision" - the premiere of the second season; remains one of the stand out episodes of the show. Jack hits on the idea of using digitally edited footage from Seinfeld into his advertising campaigns and programs. In particular for his pet show MILF Island - a Survivor style voting reality game with contestants who are hot mothers (or MILFs). Unfortunately for Jack Jerry sees this campaign and is not to pleased with it, and Jerry is a powerful man. The results of this confrontation create one of the more subtle running jokes in the series - and one of the less subtle ones.


If you enjoy 30 Rock you should also consider trying The Office (USA), Seinfeld, Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm and How I Met Your Mother.

Season One is available on DVD in Regions 1, 2, 4 and 5, Season Two is already out in R1 & R4 and will be released for R2 on the 25th of May in Region 2.

Official Site for 30 Rock
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The Week That Was returns to it's usual spot at 'Sometime on a Saturday'.

This week is pretty sparse, shows are just starting to return to normality after the Christmas break, so it's going to be pretty light this week.

Scrubs:
There were two episodes of Scrubs this week and it's clear that in both of them that the dedicated decision to scale back the wacky and return to the tone of the first few seasons has been followed. The first episode introduced Courtney Cox as Kelso's replacement and a whole batch of new interns. Cox is very good, but the new interns are all best described as the Rude One, the Annoying One, the Brown Noser and The Rest. I'm not fussed on them.

The second episode guest starred The Wire's Glynn Turman as George (at least I think that was his name) a dying man who's kept company by JD and Turk. It was the better of the two episodes, both for the comedy moments and the more thoughtful ones. Glynn gave the entire thing a real sense of gravitas and dignity, it's been a while since the show has had such a strong actor playing a one-off patient. I have a good feeling about this season of Scrubs, but I do hope it's the last one if Zach is leaving.

My Name is Earl:
Sometimes I find myself wondering why I keep watching 'My Name is Earl' and for some of the latest episode this was one of those times. I guess I'm not the worlds biggest fan of forumlaic shows and My Name is Earl is pretty much the pinnacle of forumlaic alongside House M.D. and CSI. But then I got swept up in the story of Earl's attempt to get a young lad he was responsable for causing the pregnancy of (there must be a better way to write that) to fly straight and grow up. It was fun and the B story of Mr Turtle being lost was entertaining as well.

I just wish that Earl would resist going back to the start every single episode, this is a show that's meant to be about someone growing and making amends for what they've done, but it doesn't seem to go anywhere and the characters don't grow much either. Maybe I'm just expecting too much from this, I've already seen three and a half seasons so I shouldn't be surprised anymore...

30 Rock:
Also returning this week is the businesses favourite comedy 30 Rock. Salma Hayek joins the cast as Eliza, a nurse Jack has hired to look after his mother. Liz on the other hand meets a UN Member (name forgotten and not present on the imdb) played by Peter Dinklage when she mistakes him for a little boy. The show is filled with some excellent comedy, overall a little weak plotwise but there were so many funny moments I didn't really care. 30 Rock continues to be a little up and down with it's quality, but when it's on it's so good that it more than makes up for the lulls.

The Guild:
Rounding up this comedy edition of TWTW is the Web based show 'The Guild', I've written a little about it in the past and I've enjoyed it enough that I wanted to find a way to support it each week. As each episode is just less than ten minutes in length it's hard to write a full review on each episode. So I'm just going to give it a slot in TWTW each week instead.

We're up to episode six at this point and I have to say this second season is a lot sharper and funnier than the first season. Paring up Vork and Zaboo together has been nothing but comedy gold, Zaboo is inappropriately homo-erotic towards Vork constantly and the dysfunction between them constantly has me laughing. Add to this Clara's repeated griefing of Vork, her sleep deprived delusions and the awkward attempts by Codex to get to know her stunt man/martial artist/all round awesome neighbour after she puked on him and it's amazing to think these episodes are so short. They're packed with as much action as an episode of Treehouse of Horror or Harvey Birdman.

You can watch the full episodes for free on msn or via Xbox Live.

Other News:
In other news my copy of BSG Season 2 arrived damaged, I thought about complaining but it turned out I would have to return the product and then wait for a new one, costing me both time and money. I decided to use an iron, glue and good old skill to repair it instead. You'd never know it was broken now.

I also purchased season four of Battlestar Galactica as well because I honestly haven't watched Razor or the fourth season yet -- That's for next week. Amusingly this means that part of my collection looks like this now:


Yes, that's right. I don't own the third season, I just have a gap instead. (I'm also missing the final season of The A-Team still, I keep meaning to get it and then putting it off.) For the curious who don't recognise everything up there on sight, if you click the picture there's an 800 x 600 version. (For the doubly curious, the dragon doesn't have a name, but I like to celebrate my nationality! Call him Welshie after the Futurama character.)

I'm also waiting on deliveries of RescuMe's second season and the first two series of Wire in the Blood. I'll probably write about them at some point. RescuMe in particular has really grown me, despite the fact that I can't write it's name correctly and have given up trying.
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Link to Top 50 Position.

Starring:
Scott Adsit as Pete Hornberger
Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy
Tina Fey as Liz Lemon
Judah Friedlander as Frank Rossitano
Jane Krakowski Jenna Maroney
Jack McBrayer as Kenneht Parcell
Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan

Current number of seasons: 2 (3rd comfirmed)
Runtime: 448 mins (21 Episodes)
Number of Discs: 3
Awards: 2 Golden Globes, 1 Emmy, 2 Gracies, 1 Peabody, 1 PGA, 2 SGA, 1 TCA, 1 WGA


30 Rock is a 20 minute-ish comedy show from Tina Fey about the goings on in and around a fictional television show run entirely inside 30 Rockefella Plaza (located in the Rockefella Center, NY and home of NBC). Tina stars, writes and produces the show so it's very much her baby and it shows in it's quality.

Liz Lemon (Tina) is the head writer for a moderately successful comedy sketch show called "The Girly Show", but when a new executive - Jack Donaghy - is transferred and takes charge of the show he rapidly installs dramatic changes. Hiring the somewhat mentally disturbed film star Tracy Jordan in order to appeal to more demographics and renaming the show "TGS with Tracy Jordan" or "TGS".

Initially the show struggles a little to find its place, the first few episodes are amusing but not that funny, it's not until around episode seven (or so) that the writers find the dynamic that works best and suddenly the show transforms from being sort of funny to comically brilliant. The working relationship between Liz and Jack becomes one of the core dynamics of the show and things really begin to spark.

Once you get beyond the slightly rough start the show is consistently clever, satyrical, witty and funny. Tina gives a stunning performance as the dorky and unsure Liz, Tracy is just brilliant as 'Tracy', Judah manages to consistantly be hilarious as the unashamedly porn-obssessed nerd Frank, Jane is top notch as the insecure aging Jenna and Jack is laugh out loud funny as the country boy turned enthusiastic page Kenneth. But the real star turn is from Alec Baldwin who is just effortlessly brilliant as the bombastic and egotistical Jack, his performances are consistently brilliant and he's just great in his scenes with Tina.

I got into watching 30 Rock off the back of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, as I was looking for another show which was based on the backstage goings in of a fictional sketch show. 30 Rock satisfied that need in some ways but ended up becoming a far more enjoyable experience in many other ways. I loved Studio 60, but the antics of the TGS crew have won a space on my DVD shelf entirely on their own merit. It's a great little comedy gem and I hope it manages to keep going and improving (which it does in the second season).


The product comes packaged in a cardboard dust jacket with three almost identical slimline DVD cases. I am a little confused by the choice of artwork (see top of this post), it has this strange lime green colour choice for the background buildings and the three stars (Tracy, Tina and Alec) all have a slight second after image. Maybe you're supposed to view the case with some of those non-tinted 3D Glasses or something. Also the colour filters used on the actor's photographs are a little strange. Alec looks like he's a waxwork version of himself, maybe he is. Perhaps he was too busy with his custody problems to pose so they had one made up for the shot. Who knows?

Sadly, there's not a lot to talk about here beyond the packaging. This Playback release is very much no-frills. In fact, it's so no-frills that they decided to cut out the subtitles as they're obviously just an extra for people who like to read. They're not important, no of course not.

Mind you, when it comes to the extras it seems we're not missing out too much. So I won't complain that much this time.

The set can be purchased from Zavvi for £25 (which is 5.6p per min).


This is very much a lightweight release, you get the show and nothing else for your money. I must say (write?) it's a pretty poor decision to exclude the subtitle track and thus force any hearing impaired fans of the show into recording their own copy with subtitles. But this shouldn't take away from the experience for everyone else, the show is clever, funny and awesome in all kinds of ways.



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I've kind of held back from reviewing several shows that i'm watching (House M.D., Prison Break and Heroes) partly because I'm interested in seeing where they're going before I start typing about it and partly because I keep forgetting to watch Heroes.

I know! Sacrilegious and scandalous! But I've not even watched the second episode yet. Tuesday I found myself thinking "I know there's a show I watch on Mondays. But I already watched Prison Break so what was it?"
And it's only today that I realised I missed Heroes. I shan't be able to catch up on it till tomorrow evening. Tut, tut.

Anyhow, onto last nights offerings.

[This post may contain spoilers]

30 Rock - Seinfeld Vision
I picked up watching 30 Rock when I realised that Studio 60 wasn't going to make the distance *cry*. While the two shows have a very different tone, there are some parallels. Enough that I was willing to give 30 Rock a chance to grow on me. The previous season was good, but not amazing. It felt like it was missing that final bit of pazzaz to push it over the top. Last night it got it, Seinfeld Vision had that little something extra.

Problem is, I think that this extra is because Jerry Seinfeld was on the show. The various clips of him being digitally inserted into other shows was hilarious. Every moment with Jerry on screen was fantastic, there was a moment where I found myself wishing it would turn out he'd join the cast permanently. But it's maybe for the best that didn't happen as they'd need to re-write the dynamics of the show too much.

Alec Baldwin was on blistering form as Jack, the gusto with which he reeled of his 'summer hits' was so superb that I just couldn't stop laughing at 'Milf Island'. I still don't really like Tracy Jordan (played by Tracy Morgan), he's just so far out there and crazy that I find it difficult to tolerate him on screen. I guess maybe he's supposed to be like Chris Tucker, who makes a living out of being crazy and loud. But I just don't find it funny. That said, the scenes between Kenneth and Tracy - with Kenneth acting as his 'office wife' were very good. So I don't know, the jury's out on him I guess.

Very solid start to the season, and I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the episodes.

Oh, it also helps that I think Tina Fey is hot.

9/10

The Office - 402 - Dunder Mifflin Infinity
Speaking of characters I find attactive, we're onto 'The Office' and, you should have guessed it. Pam. The relationship between Jim and Pam is growing and I find it very sweet and endearing. There's something about the show I find really lovely. While many of the characters are an ass one way or the other I still like them. Flaws and all.
Jim is still my firm favourite, he's very 'everyman' and also seems to take on the position of the viewer in many situations. I find his looks punctuate situations and really add to the comedy. Out of all the characters, he's the one most likely to look directly at the camera outside of interviews.

Anyway, while the relationship between Pam and Jim strengthens (I'm going to be so bummed out when they break up - and you know the writers will do it at some point...) the relationship between Dwight and Angela shatters after Angela can't forgive Dwight for freezing Sprinkles the cat to death. To be honest, I can't really blame her - it's probably the worst thing he's done by a long stretch. Dwight's poor handling of the situation taints his attempts to assist Michael in winning back some companies who stopped ordering.
Michael and Jan's relationship doesn't look solid either. While it's never been solid, it's Michael's complete inability to notice any potential problems that's going to hurt him most of all. In truth I'm not sure what Jan is doing, both with him and in general. She seems to just be going through a bout of depression. Something Michael would of course miss and then make a mess of helping her through it.

The episode was another 40min episode, which is interesting. I guess they've moved to a 40 min format this year. Which is both a bold move and a clever one, it could have gone horribly wrong if they got the pacing wrong or didn't have enough material. But instead I think they've hit a great balance that works. I hardly noticed the time passing. 40 mins suits 'The Office'.

8.5/10

I also think a 40 min format might suit 30 Rock.
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Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. Jerry Seinfeld is going to be on 30 Rock tonight! It's like a meeting of awesomeness in my head! Even the advertisment on tv.com looks awesome. It seems that Jerry is about to be hit from behind by Alec Baldwin. Now that's entertainment!

" Jerry Seinfeld shows up at Jack's office in an upset mood after Jack announces his plan to use footage from Seinfeld to install Jerry into every current show on NBC, a strategy which he calls "SeinfeldVision"."
[tv.com]

Now that's an awesome plan.

More tomorrow...
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