Thursday Night TV Is STILL Back!
You know, I can sill remember those first tentative steps after double-hip surgery, just after my 48th birthday. You spend years thinking that this is just the way the the world needs to be: all pain, all suffering, all the time. And then, suddenly, with a few deft cuts of the doctor's blade, life is returned to light and color. I had never imagined it could be like this! If you're having trouble following this metaphor, what I'm saying is that all summer was like having two bum hips that ached when a storm was approaching and ground together in their sockets when you climbed the stairs. But that so far this fall's Thursday line up of sitcoms and comedy is like double hip surgery, bringing relief and joy into the world anew.
On the Thursday night installment of Saturday Night Live, which, incidentally, I understand that it's hard to figure out what to call it and how to brand it, since it's Thursday, and the show is called Saturday Night Live, but surely they don't have to actually start the show off by shouting "LIVE FROM NEW YORK IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT," that is just a step of cognitive dissonance too far, but anyway, Jason Suedekis introduced his Glenn Beck character.
Let us hope that he brings that one back for more than 10 seconds during the regular season. (Fingers crossed? Barely. He will obviously bring this one back for more than 10 seconds during the regular season.)
Community was great. The second episode wasn't quite the POWERHOUSE of the pilot, but it was still TBS Very Funny. Chevy Chase is so good. It's weird that no one knows who he is and that he's never been a well-respected comedian for decades.
And Parks and Recreation is seriously so much better this season. In last week's episode, when Leslie went to the zoo and someone had spray-painted "It's Flipper and Eve, not Flipper and Steve" on the penguin cage, I LIRLed.
Not to mention the Videogum "Louis C.K. Promise."
On It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the gang went on a road trip. In the historic sweep of this show, this was a middling episode. Comfortably situated between much better and much worse. But it had plenty of L's, and, you know, even middling hip replacements are better than NO HIPS AT ALL. (I should probably just keep using this metaphor forever, right? Right.)
And then there was The Office. Man, that show is just KILLING it. They should probably end the show after this season so that they can go out on a high-note. My favorite part was the "hanging on the flippity-flop" joke. Incredible. Hanging on the flippity-flop jokes are second only to Bruce Villanch jokes. FACT.
I FEEL LIKE A KID AGAIN! A 48-YEAR-OLD KID WHO JUST UNDERWENT AN INVASIVE SURGICAL PROCEDURE TO RETURN HIM TO NORMAL HUMAN FUNCTION!
Posted by Gabe at 2:45 PM in Love-Watching
Tags: Community | It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia | Parks And Recreation | Saturday Night Live | The Office
Score = 13
Way to switch it up.
Score = 8
Wait, what?
Score = 4
you asked for me?
Score = -1
only the finest animation here, guys.
Score = 9
This is neither here nor there, but I only figured out embarassingly recently that Gabe wasn't really that old. FACT! I really thought he was 53 or so because once he said he was 53 or so. Then the age kept changing and he made a reference about his childhood that would place him in his 30s and not his antiquarian years and thus a (very dim) lightbulb went off over my head.
The More You Know.
Score = 27
That's ok. For a long time, I could only imagine him to be Al Roker.
Score = 20
That or Old Gregg's deformed half brother.
Score = -2
Gabe is really old. He uses speech recognition software and he doesn't enunciate very well. That's probably due to the RA in his fingers. You can verify by watching the guides to "man style" He looks about 44 to me.
Also, I thought that community ep. 2 was funnier. Maybe because I had less expectations (but mainly the Spanish class presentation... Why did Jeff get the F-?).
Score = 6
I thought it was one of the best Always Sunnys in a while! I gave it an ocular pat-down and cleared it for security.
Score = 9
I'll go first. North Virginia.
Score = 3
I eat stickers all the time!
Score = 6
After last week's episode of Community, I told everyone to watch. I recommended that a friend come over and watch the show with me. I called my brother and told him to watch. "It's very funny," I said. "One of my favorite new shows," I said.
Suffice it to say, no one trusts my judgment in television anymore. My friend left halfway through the episode and my brother texted me: "This show is terrible. I turned it off." I have personally never seen a show take such a dive so early. I had my hopes set high, and man, what a miserable letdown. :(
Score = -6
I thought last nights episode was actually hilarious. The make up department is definitely taking an unwanted step up, but it was still very funny.
Score = 8
Oh, I was pretty excited after the second episode. but maybe I just have a directing crush on the Russo brothers.
Score = 0
i personally loved it, but everyone I talk to either really loves or really hates this show. it's disappointing when you cannot agree with your friends/colleagues/monsters on where to set the quality bar!
is this the same kind of thing as the Tim and Eric Viewer Opinion Divide?
Score = 1
When they were about to premiere the US Office, a lady at work heard myself and another UK Office-lover excitedly anticipating it. She came in the next day and said it was so terrible she turned it off before the opening credits were done! Then three years later she emailed me from her new job saying it was hilarious, asking if I had seen last nights episode. So maybe your friends will get cool new jobs, then in three years ask if you're still watching their favorite show, Community.
Score = 3
I am still going to stick with it! Maybe they front-loaded the season, leaving the second episode a little light on the humor. Who knows? It has not lost my viewership yet.
Score = 0
so your friend only stayed at your place for 15 minutes?
Score = 4
Haha. He sat through SNL, P&R, and The Office just to get to Community, but then was massively underwhelmed and decided to get going.
Score = 1
It's getting harder and harder to figure out if you are being sarcastic or you are actually enjoying the programming.
Score = 5
I concur. Becuz 'Community' is really horrible. One-Liner City that town (show).
Score = -5
I feel ya dawg. Thursday Night SNL is quite the conundrum. Its confusing. Like Larry the Cable Guy Health Inspector. How can he be both? At the same time ? Yet he is. And so shall SNL Thursday Night.
Score = 10
I gave Flash Forward a chance last night and Seth McFarlane plays an FBI agent with two speaking lines. WHAT!? I thought I would share so everyone could appropriately freak out. The show itself was meh but we all know pilots are tough. It's no LOST pilot and it shows less promise then I was hoping it would but, I dunno, I'll give it a few episodes.
Score = 3
Here's the crazy thing about Flashforward. So everyone blacks out for two minutes, eh? Car and plane crashes, drownings, end of the world shit there. Basically the craziest and worst thing to ever happen ever. So Joseph Fiennes (Eyeliner guy from Lost's twin) is selected to be on the three (count 'em, one, two, three!) person FBI team assigned to figure this weird mess.
Three people teams selected on their merit of standing next to the head FBI dude is bad enough. But somehow Joseph Fienneis able to go home! To his wife! Who is a surgeon! I don't know, maybe on the day of the biggest crisis ever, a surgeon and a FBI agent in charge of figure it all out shouldn't be able to spoon together 12 hours later.
Of course, how they even got home is a mystery to me. One car crashes and I spend three hours in a traffic jam. Every car in the world crashes, and frankly everyone's six month vision into the future should be them about halfway done with their commute home.
Score = 24
And also the head of the FBI team's flashforward was literally a poop joke. nice.
Score = 2
Did anyone else happen to catch Seth "The Worst" Macfarlane on Flashforward last night? Major UGHs all around.
Score = 3
wow Late on that one i guess! major UGHs for me all around too
Score = 6
One word: STARBURNS
Score = 13
If I'm not mistaken, Starburns was Dino Stamatopoulos of Every Great Comedy Show of the last Fifteen Years. So that's cool.
Score = 4
YEAH! As soon as I saw him I pointed him out to my sister, who did not care at all because what the fuck does she care about 'comedy' shows. She'd much rather watch the same syndicated episode of America's Next Top Model over and over again, as she tends to do, then ever, oh, I don't know, watch and learn with Mr. Show, maybe? FUCK!
"You've got the goods."
Score = 1
I thought Flashforward was pretty good! Not perfect, but we can't ALL be Lost's pilot episode. Nonetheless, the first part was so good, and then yeah it slowed down a bit in the second half (WHAT Seth McFarlane?), but the kicker in the last 5 seconds was cool enough that I officially season-passed it. Good work, Flashforward!
Score = 1
I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I'm enjoying Parks & Recreation. Ron Swanson is very quickly becoming my favorite character.
Score = 5
I completely agree. I also love that Louis CK will have a recurring role as Leslie Knope's love interest.
Score = 3
Yes! Not that everything needs to be a reference to everything else (refer to my comment above ... Self zing?) but I really really loved the Officer Jim from Magnolia delivery of his to camera piece about Leslie.
Score = 3
Totally concur. He was born ready (to be my favourite). Although, I do love how Andy is getting to develop into this Creed from The Office off the wall type with genius throwaway lines like having a rock fight with a crazy guy who was running 20 minutes late.
Score = 1
I thought it the best Always Sunny in a while. And coincidentally, I have never eaten a pear.
I get the sense that people will soon be talking about Parks and Rec hitting its stride.
I find Community to be somewhat hit or miss right now, but I have decided (after being late to Mad Men) that I will now watch anything that has plenty of Allison Brie. More Allison Brie, I say!
Score = 7
And her last name is also the name of a delicious cheese! She is perfect.
Score = 6
wait, so i'm british and so haven't seen any of these episodes; did gabe actually enjoy community and/or the office?
Score = 0
last night's office was all andy: great cheese platter presentation and flirty cousin e-mails.
Score = 3
This was the funniest thing on television last night. I didn't even understand the New Jersey joke where he opened his eye but it was fucking hilarious.
Score = 4
I always feel like I'm the only one who finds that impression hilarious. I love his delivery of the New Jersey jokes.
Score = 4
The impersonation is spot on. Really funny and I think it would piss off a lot of blind people if they could only see it.
Score = 11
SNL: Still doing Bill Clinton impressions in 2009 (with Lewinsky jokes!) Ripped from today's headlines!
Score = 3
Listen, they gotta give Darrell Hammond something to do. Poor guy signed something like a 15-year Tim Meadows style contract. He's also still working on finding a character Lorne Michaels can spin-off into a movie. I personally vote for a sort of Being Sean Connery type film.
Score = 3
Just watched Community on Hulu. Gabe, fake rap was redeemed as a viable art form by the closing credits. I will not sign any petitions today or ever again.
Score = 7
More like "Parks & Wrecks the Docu-sitcom Genre," amirite?
Score = 2
The phrase "Hanging on the flippity-flop" is actually part of the Grunge-speak hoax that originated in 1992 and no one ever said it for reals because it's lame! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grunge_speak
TMYK
Score = 4
Um, I say on the flippity flop... But def gonna start using harsh realm, lamestain, and wacky slacks alot more. Thx, cob nobbler!
Score = 1
I was wondering if someone else would recognize flippity-flop. Now I don't feel so old. Thanks!
Score = 0
Really? The Office was harsh, Jim pulled the biggest dick move ever. That seemed so out of character for him to get Michael out of the office. It felt wrong of him to go that far behind Michael's back to get his job. And now they are co-managers? Where is the funny in that?
Score = -3
How is it a dick move to get both you and your boss a promotion? Also, I think you meant to post your comment on the "The Office: Taking It Seriously" message board.
Score = 7
Sweet Dee has really been steppin up these past couple episodes. So far she's been the funniest one this season.
Score = 2
How about the Aimee Manntage at the end of Community. Usually not one for the sappy character building but it wrapped up that joke pretty nicely. Also Ken Jeong is hilarious like ever.
Score = 2
Seriously, can't we all just come out and say it? The Office is not funny anymore. Not even a little bit.
Score = 0
Gary Meadows, my husband and I are now obsessed with......NEW JERSEY.............. You are not the only one.
Did you see the one where Paterson and Spitzer were both cracking on NEW JERSEY?
Score = 0
gosh, Parks and Recreation is getting to be Really good. the only weak link is probably roshida jones. aubray plaza and nick offerman are hitting it out of the park. plus, Louis Ck ofcourse. i want him to stay on forever just because he deserves a Much bigger audience than just us monsters, dedicated as we are.
Score = 0