It was kind of a tough week. The weather sucked for most of the time. All three sisters were fighting colds and/or fevers much of the time. Especially in the hours after school, they were extra cranky. Also, we’re in the midst of some renovations in the house, requiring me to be home all day.
Thank goodness for Thursday night TV!
NBC might suck the other six nights of the week,* but they are once again bringing the heat on Thursdays.
(Sunday does not suck for the time being, with football on.)
Fred Armisen’s impersonation of New York governor David Patterson is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. While this week’s <em>Weekend Update Thursday</em> edition wasn’t quite as good as last week’s, Armisen more than made up for any jokes that fell flat. S. could hear me laughing about it all the way upstairs. When you account for the randomness and provinciality of doing Patterson, it might be one of the top five political impersonations ever on <em>SNL</em>.*
(Five, off the top of my head, favorites: Ferrell as W., both Phil Hartman and Darrell Hammond as Clinton, Tina Fey as Palin, Chevy as Ford, with Armisen knocking on the door.)
I tried<em> Parks and Recreation</em> last year and gave up after about five episodes. It seemed like they were trying too hard and thus swinging and missing a lot. I heard some good buzz so figured I’d give it another shot this season. So far, it’s much funnier than last year.
<em>The Office</em> is as good as ever, at least through two episodes. The writers do a brilliant job of juggling the many characters, so you’re never sure who is going to be featured each week. This week, Andy’s cheese platter spiel was the highlight of a strong episode.
Finally, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by <em>Community</em>. I didn’t expect much; Chevy Chase is in it, after all. But I read an early review a few weeks back that was very positive. I added it to the DVR early last week, thinking I’d give it a shot. We had family in town last weekend, so I wasn’t able to watch. I debated whether to go ahead and watch or just delete and stick to the other shows, but checked <a href=”http://www.metacritic.com/”>Metacritic</a> just to make sure. Turns out it is getting excellent reviews. So I fired it up and wasn’t disappointed. It’s certainly treading on all kinds of tried and true comedic territory, but so far the writing and acting have been fine, I’ve laughed a lot, and it doesn’t feel like it’s trying to be too cute, clever, etc.
That’s a pretty solid night. And the funniest show on TV* is still in the bullpen, warming up for a mid-October preview. I’m not a Jay Leno fan to begin with, and comedy at 10 pm Eastern on a Thursday doesn’t feel right after nearly 30 years of drama in that slot (<em>Hill Street Blues, LA Law, ER</em>), so no, I do not stay tuned in for Leno’s unfortunate new show.
(30 Rock.)
Two hours of comedy was exactly what I needed to recharge the tanks a bit after a long week. If only TV Land hadn’t messed up the times of the <em>Cosby Show</em> marathon so I hadn’t missed the last ten minutes of two episodes, it would have been the perfect TV night. I think I have some <em>Cheers</em> DVDs around here somewhere…
❖