TV was back in a big way this week, and the stand-by comedies did not disappoint. It's hard to say the same for the new shows (did anyone like Outsourced?), though Will Arnett in Running Wilde did show some small seeds of promise.
Comedy TV stars were all over the talk show circuit, with Tina Fey appearing on both Jimmy Fallon and the Today Show to talk about how hard it was to keep up with Jon Hamm at the Emmy after parties. In one of the most overblown, synergistic appearances of the week, the cast of Modern Family all squeezed onto Jimmy Kimmel's couch to talk about their Emmy win and preview the new season. Sadly, Sofia Vergara could not appear on the show live, but she made up for it by being brilliant in this pre-taped infomercial sketch. "Thanks, Hawaii Chair!"
Community, the show I was most excited to see return this season, used its first episode back to try to wrap up some loose ends from last season and flaunt guest star Betty White. Ken Jeong's Senor Chang as Gollum was also amazing. But I have to include here a video that I made last week demonstrating the parallels between the characters in Community and those on Saved by the Bell. I think this may be part of the reason why people like me, who grew up watching the Bayside High gang, enjoy this show so much.
Also on Thursday night, 30 Rock had a very solid first episode with Matt Damon sticking around as Liz's boyfriend and Kenneth still fired. But in my opinion, The Office came out of the gate stronger with an intentionally viral opening scene custom made for the internet.
The unfortunate missing piece of the puzzle this past week was Parks and Recreation, which NBC is inexplicably holding back until mid-season. But we did get plenty of Amy Poehler on TV this week, first showing up with her co-star Rashida Jones on Jimmy Fallon. Then, she had her first SNL hosting gig on that show's 36th season premiere. During the monologue we went inside Amy Poehler's stress dream, which featured cameos from Rachel Dratch, Justin Timberlake, Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon.
This last video really has nothing to do with the new TV season, but was probably the funniest thing I saw all week. If this is any indication of what the Rally to Restore Sanity/March to Keep Fear Alive are going to be like, I feel very good about my decision to travel to Washington, D.C.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
More comedy videos at: http://www.gotchamediablog.com/
Related
Sign up for Peacock
to stream NBCU shows.