30 Rock Premiere: IT'S BAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!

30 Rock returned tonight and all of us coastal, liberal, yuppie, media elites rejoiced. Oh how we rejoiced! 30 Rock is fresh off it's 3rd consecutive Best Comedy Emmy and tonight the show was firing on all cylinders. I would say let's talk about what worked and what didn't, but I can't find fault with the episode, so let's talk about my favorite parts:

Liz and Pete. I loved how these two sneaking around automatically equaled affair to everyone else (in reality they were trying to find a new cast member who would appeal to Middle America). Even better, Pete's wife showing up and saying she would let Liz into a threesome if that's what Pete wanted. If I were Liz, I wouldn't have been so quick to dismiss. She isn't getting any younger and we all know how much she wants a baby......just kidding!

Tracy trying to commune with the regular folk. Someone who lights money on fire for fun trying to befriend us huddled masses could have gone poorly, but Tracy Jordan is just so bat shit crazy that it is nothing but funny. See the quotes below for some of my favorites from him tonight.

The page strike. I liked this plot because:

1. It's topical. The Wall Street bonus controversy is beginning to rear its ugly head once more. I'm not going to get political and take sides, but I will say, I love the idea of a strike whose sole goal is to get someone to admit they're a liar, rather than any kind of monetary reward.
2. It featured Jack, and Jack is funny.
3. Kenneth talked in a weird, bizarre Southern accent. It was funnier than it sounds.
   

Jenna going country. Just another chance for her to indulge her unrestrainable narcissism. Love it.

Cheesy blasters. These were mentioned in the opening scene. I've noticed a pattern involving Liz Lemon and cheesy things: she gets excited about them, eats them, then complains about how they hurt her stomach and will eventually make her go to the bathroom. I know for Liz, sometimes food is a metaphor for something bigger. I wonder what cheese stands for. Also, have we seen Liz talk about the yogurt that makes you poop? I think she would have an opinion on that.

And now, since it is getting late, let's move on to the quotes:

"Don't look at me in the eyes."--Tracy to the guy in the comedy club. This is because Tracy Jordan is actually Medusa, except instead of turning into stone, you'll start to think people are Muppets.

"Thanks to Comrade Obama's recession, we've had to cut overtime for pages."--Jack. Hey now, Jack, the recession started before he got elected. We can't keep giving him credit for things he hasn't accomplished, can we?

"Liz's uterus fell out."--Pete to Cerie when she asked what he and Liz were talking about. Cerie thought she already new that. I think to Cerie "uterus" must equal "dignity."

"My dear friend Moby opened up a tea house in Park Slope. Does he know you?"--Tracy. (1) Moby would and (2) Tracy wouldn't be friends with him, he'd steal his glasses and tea.

"Bonus means extra. I know that...from game shows."--Kenneth. So do I, Kenneth, so do I.

"You do not want to mess with me right now. I'm in the middle of a raging period......of economic turnmoil."--Jack. Hehehehehe.

"Shut up, shut up, here it comes."--Liz to Jack about Jenna. That's because Jenna is a banshee and therefore not actually a female. Either that or Damien grown up and cross-dressing.

"Are you a large child or a small adult?"--Tracy to an Asian woman on the street. L-O-fucking-L. Teresa? Lanie? Lois? Any answers?

Are you a pre-op trans centaur?"--Tracy again. No, Tracy, he's a post-op faun. Learn your mythical creatures dammit.

"There you go. Case closed, Pete and I are intercoursing each other."--Liz to the writers. The way she says "intercoursing" just gets me all hot and bothered ;)

"Do it now when she's drunk on attention...or in an hour when she's just drunk."--Pete to Liz about telling Jenna they're hiring another cast member. Drunk is drunk in my book.

"If it's a blond woman, I will kill myself!! AAAAHHHH!!!"--Jenna, about the potential new cast member. Do you think she would react the same way if it was her clone?

"If it's a blond woman, I will kill myself!"--Tracy, about the potential new cast member. I love how these two think alike.

"Massage it, Kenneth."--Jack. THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

So what did you all think? Did you all love it as much as I did? Also, didn't anyone notice Jack call the new mammogram machine GE was manufacturing the "Git-R-Done 3000?" Priceless.

Emmy Post-Mortem: Well That Was a Weird Show Wasn't It?

So the Emmys are over. I have to say that was one of the more entertaining Emmy telecasts I've seen in a while. Also, my predictions were way, way off. I was 4 for 10 for the major categories, but to be fair, some of those acting wins were total "WTF?"s, so I don't feel too bad. Plus, one of my "should win"s did win, which makes me feel nice. Let's look at each race in turn.

Supporting Actress, Comedy: I called Jane Krakowski as my should and will win, and alas, she did not. Kristen Chenoweth from Pushing Daisies took home the award and she could not have been a more gracious winner, so I really can't complain. Also, that funny glasses bit with all the nominees was a hoot.

Supporting Actor, Comedy: I called Neil Patrick Harris as my should and will win, and he didn't. Jon Cryer from Two and a Half Men did. I know what you're thinking. You're asking yourself, "Wait, I thought he was just kidding about the Two and a Half Men guys having a deal with the devil? He is kidding right?" Damned if I know. All I do know is that I hate Two and a Half Men and I cannot understand the Academy's interest in it when in almost all other categories its tastes skew more highbrow. NPH was robbed. ROBBED.

Lead Actres, Comedy: I called Tina Fey as my should and will win, but she didn't. Nope, Toni Colette took home the trophy, which would be surprising except for one little fact: Colette plays a character with multiple personality disorder, and awards shows go ape shit for the kind of stuff. The only thing more effective is when pretty actresses make themselves "ugly" for a role (i.e., gain weight, wear prosthetics). So congratulations Toni, but Tina, you're still my girl.

Lead Actor, Comedy: Alec Baldwin was my should and will win, and he DID. Woo hoo! Well deserved, Alec.

Comedy Series: How I Met Your Mother was my should win, 30 Rock was my will win, and 30 Rock did win. I wasn't surprised, but there was a small part of me that thought the Mother upset might happen. Perhaps now that the show is on the Academy's radar, next year it might be able to do it.

Supporting Actress, Drama: Chandra Wilson was my should win, I had no idea as to who would win, but Cherry Jones did win. She's great, I'm sure it's well deserved, but can we give Chandra Wilson an award one of these days, please?

Supporting Actor, Drama: Michael Emerson was my should win, William Hurt was my will win, but in the end Emerson did indeed win. Can I get a woo hoo? Dude deserved it. He has created one of the most terrible and complex television villains in Benjamin Linus. He seemed a little subdued during his acceptance speech, though, so I hope he's perked up so he can enjoy his night.

Lead Actress, Drama: Glenn Close was my should and will win, and she did win. Was anyone surprised? She's fantastic. I know some of you out there were pulling for Moss, and I'm sure she'll get hers one day, when Glenn Close isn't nominated. I love that Close called Patty Hewes the "role of a lifetime" because given some of the memorable characters she's played over the years, that's saying something. (I still have nightmares about her sitting in the corner turning the lightswitch off and on.)

Lead Actor, Drama: Jon Hamm was my should and will win, but Bryan Cranston did win. I've got to start watching Breaking Bad to see what this guy is all about, because winning back to back awards in this day and age is very difficult to do. Kudos.

Drama Series: LOST was my should win, Mad Men was my will win, and Mad Men did win. Again, not shocked, but hoping that the Academy gave the award to Mad Men this year so that they could honor LOST's final season next year. Please?

Also, NPH was fantastic as host, and a tremendous improvement over the 5-host tag team from least year, and it was nice to hear Jeff Probst, who was part of that fiasco, say so. I also really liked the format change of doing all of the comedy awards together, all of the miniseries awards together, etc. because (1) it made easier to see how dominant some shows are (i.e., Mad Men, 30 Rock) and (2) it let me switch over and watch the Giants game while they handed out awards in categories I didn't care about.

All in all, it was a pretty satisfying and entertaining evening, even though I was wrong most of the time.

Check back tomorrow for a review of the How I Met Your Mother premiere.

Your Fall Television Primer: The Veterans

Aaahh, September, my favorite month of the year. I love September for many reasons: the weather starts to turn crisp, football returns, my birthday happens, and, by far most importantly, THE NEW TELEVISION SEASON BEGINS! That's right, boys and girls, the new season is practically upon us, so I've decided to lay out in chronological order when our favorites return:

August 16th (i.e., two week ago-ish): MAD MEN, 10 p.m. Sundays, AMC
Ok, so I was a little late to the Mad Men party, only having just discovered it this summer, but I can tell you I'm completely enamored of this show. After two seasons, I still do not understand these characters, but I mean that in a good way. Mad Men is the perfect way to spend a Sunday night.

September 14th: GOSSIP GIRL, 9 p.m. Mondays, The CW
I can't wait to find out what Chuck, Blair, and Serena's boobs have been up to all summer. I wonder if Little J still has that mullet. Or if Dan is still a tool. I'd ask if Vanessa is still a weird stalker, but I know that's true, since I've seen her peeping through my windows. Or maybe that was just a nightmare. In any case, I'm thankful that this moved to 9 p.m. so I can now watch HIMYM in real time.

September 17th: THE OFFICE, 9 p.m. Thursdays, NBC
JIM AND PAM ARE HAVING A BABY. Oh, I'm sorry, did you want a spoiler warning for that one? Well eff you, I don't care. I'm going to scream that one from the hill tops, because I AM SO EXCITED FOR THOSE TWO. (Yes, I'm really that excited.) I'm hoping The Office can rebound a bit this season since last year was a bit uneven. Thankfully they're not starting with those hour-long episodes again, so we should be ok.

September 21st: HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, 8 p.m. Mondays, CBS
So if you know me personally, you may have heard me talk about a little show called How I Met Your Mother, and you may have heard me bring it up in conversation every chance I got, and you may have heard me go on and on and on and on about it. If you weren't so lucky, let me just tell you now, that if there were only one show you were going to watch this fall, How I Met Your Mother (or HIMYM as I affectionately refer to it) should be that show. HIMYM is Friends for the Millenial generation except funnier and more relevant and more realistic and more absurd all at the same time. I cannot wait to see Barney and Ted and Robin and Marshall and Lily again, and more importantly, I CANNOT WAIT TO MAYBE GET A GLIMPSE OF THE MOTHER. That's right, THE MOTHER is in the offing (that's not a sexual thing) and she'll always be just around the corner this year. It's going to be fantastic, and I cannot wait.

September 24th: GREY'S ANATOMY, 9 p.m. Thursdays, ABC
So, regular readers of this blog know that I have a love-hate relationship with Grey's Anatomy in that I love to hate on it (for a great example, click here), but at the same time I cannot imagine not watching it. I was very happy to see Derek and Meredith take the leap at the end of last season, and very, very conflicted about Izzie's potential death. I'm very curious to see how the show deals with T.R. Knight's departure. I'm anticipating a bunch of gloomy episodes early on in the season, but hopefully that won't last for too long, because as much as I once liked George, I don't like my Grey's all dark and twisty.

October 15th: 30 ROCK, 9:30 p.m. Thursdays, NBC
30 Rock is fucking funny. Enough said. I shouldn't have to give you another reason to watch, but there are some of you out there who I know might need one AND I know would like this spoiler, so I'll give it to you (it comes from Ausiello over at EW.com):

Question: What’s in store for Jane Krakwoski’s Jenna on 30 Rock this season? —Kimberly

Ausiello: Her career will literally start sucking when she lands the female lead in a second-rate Twilight franchise. “For tax reasons, they shoot it in Iceland and then they realize the sun doesn’t set,” explains exec producer Robert Carlock. “So they’re shooting a vampire movie without having light.” Genius.

October 28th: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, Wednesdays (if you're lucky enough to have DirecTV or know of sites where you can watch it online the next day)
Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose. This show is a winner in every sense of the word (except for that one sense where the dumb Academy of Television Arts and Sciences finally honors with a Best Drama Emmy, because alas that has not come to pass). When we last left our hearts in Dillon, Texas, Smash and Jason had left town to live their dreams, Lyla, Tyra, Tim, Matt, and Landry were all about to follow them there, and poor wonderful Coach Taylor had been banished from the hallowed halls of the Panthers locker room to coach (gasp) the football team at the recently reopened East Dillon High. I cannot wait to watch the East Dillon Lions kick the ever loving shit out of the Panthers next season. It's going to be amazing.

Other returning shows:

• Sept 8: 90210 (8 p.m., The CW). Same zip code, (relatively) same crappy cast, still won't be watching.
• Sept 9: So You Think You Can Dance (8 p.m., FOX). So I think this was just on, no? Another season already? Fox is getting des-perate.
• Sept 17: Fringe (9 p.m., Fox). This show was a victim to my busy TV watching last season, and will be again this year. If you finally give up on Grey's, make room for this show.
• Sept 21: Heroes (9 p.m., NBC). If you watch this show, it will stay on the air, which would be bad, since it is TERRIBLE. If you don't watch however, NBC will expand Jay Leno to two hours on Mondays, thus furthering his plot to take over the world. Either way, we're fucked.
  
• Sept 24: The Mentalist (10 p.m., CBS). This is one show I loved last season that I did not watch enough of. Perhaps the new timeslot will change that.
• Sept 27: Family Guy (9 p.m., Fox). Cannot wait for this show, although I really wish they would just air the "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side" episode already.
• Sept 27: Desperate Housewives (9 p.m., ABC). This show no longer makes the cut. I find the characters annoying. Do you?
• Sept 27: Brothers & Sisters (10 p.m., ABC). Now that the adventures of those wacky Walkers air at the same time as Mad Men, I'm going to be DVRing this one for a while.
  
• Oct 1: Private Practice (10 p.m., ABC). Please do not watch this show. If it gets cancelled, Kate Walsh (i.e., ADDISON) goes back to Grey's. Wouldn't that be nice?

Check back Thursday for an overview of the new shows I may pick up this season. Until then, you should be catching up on old TV and clearing out your DVRs. Remember, an organized DVR is a happy DVR.

Hmm, Ok, So..........

Um, so 30 Rock. It was um, interesting. Not gonna lie, didn't love it. I'm not sure what it was. All the pieces were fine. I just don't feel like they added up to a greater whole than they usually do. I like Liz being baby crazy. I think it's funny and fits with Liz. I also like the idea of Liz going out with a little person because she was embarassed for thinking he was a child, but then kind of falling for him. I'm not sure I like the idea of Liz wanting to reenact something from the Sex and The City movie, but I think that's because I don't ever want something like that to happen to me in real life. Also, I like that the guy that played Liz's boy toy (because she thought he was a little boy, haha, ha, ha.........yeah, not funny? no.) was the same guy that seduced Julia on Nip/Tuck. He's a right little Lothario. And Liz had a couple of funny jokes tonight so I guess it worked.

I like Salma Hayek as Jack's mom's nurse, although I'm a little sick of the parade of guest stars. It's not that I thought she was bad, it's just that I'd rather see more Jack/Liz time than keep them apart with guest stars. I liked that Jack freaked out about finding "something down there," which I can say is every guys worst nightmare. I also like when Jack inserts himself into cultures he's not a part of: The mining town he went to with C.C., Liz's Family, and now the Puerto Ricans from Prospect Park. Also, Macarena? NICE.

Jenna is still bat shit crazy. Loved her Janis Joplin and the singing at the end, but it was no Muffin Top. Tracy is bat shit crazy and I love when they bring back his wife, because Sherri Shepard is hilarious and I love that they just start having sex in public places because yeah that's Tracy Jordan.

See like I said, I liked everything but I do feel like something was missing. I'll give you all some quotes to read while you think about it:

"Oh what a cute little girl, or boy if you grow up and feel that's what's inside you."--Liz, to a baby. Incidentally, the baby is already in therapy.

"Don't help me, I'm too proud."--Tracy trying to walk in his gold shoes.

"Ongoing trainwreck aside, I love this idea. It's great synergy."--Jack to Jenna. Incidentally, I think she made a better black guy than she does white woman from the 60s.

"Baby, I'm gonna be with you to the very end. I'm gonna watch you die, Tracy Jordan."--Sherri Shepard. Now that's love.

"She fought me at first, but I found that authoritative rapid Spanish subdues white people."--Salma Hayek. Yes, yes it does.

'Thank you for telling me what I already know. You should work for the Huffington Post."--Jack to Salma Hayek.

I'd Take Jennifer Aniston to Night Court Any Time ;)

Jennifer Aniston is hot and I love her. I just wanted to start with that. I thought tonight's episode of 30 Rock was good (not as good as last week, but good), and that was mostly due to Aniston's hilarious turn as Claire, Liz's and Jenna's bat shit crazy (in a good way) old roommate who develops a crush on Jack. She and Jack engage in a brief passionate affair, where she does crazy things, like break into his house and dress up as a maid, and then make crazy threats about what she'll do if Jack leaves her. I cannot do it justice in the few words, I have here, so I would suggest checking it on Hulu. I will say that Aniston has not lost a beat since she stopped playing Rachel four years ago.

In the B-plot, Kenneth freaks out about his new page uniform, which is apparently a nice suit that makes him look good. This leads Tracy to film a Night Court reunion special to cheer him up. Yeah. The only bright spot was that they actually brought in a couple of the actors from Night Court. I apologize for not knowing their names, but I remember being very young and watching Night Court and liking it, so it was nice to see them again.

Other funny things:

• The random guys clapping at Cerie as she walked by.
• The fact that Jennifer Aniston was a hat designer, because she probably started doing it to cover up the crazy in her head.
• Jen suggesting a three-way between her, Liz, and Jack.
• Kenneth jumping up at the end to try to freeze frame. Such an 80s thing to do.
• Liz's hair when she went to the club, because who braids their bangs? (I'm not even sure if I'm describing right, but it looked awful.)

I apologize for keeping it brief, but I must go to bed. I will leave you with some quotes:

"I just got a call from security." "What that's ridiculous, why would I steal a file from personnel?"--Liz and Jenna. Jenna is bat shit too.

"She's like a human macarena, something everyone did at parties in 1996."--Liz about Claire (Rachel) Zing!

"What's wrong Ken? You've got wife eyes."--Tracy

"Last time I was blindfolded was when I had to play piano at the weird masquerade party."--Kenneth. Oh Kenneth.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave." "(Yelling) If I kill myself it is all your fault."--Jack and Claire. Oh Jack, she's got you for the long haul now

"That idiot werewolf payed for my hand reduction surgery, ok."--Jenna

"Oh please stop, don't make that angry muppet face at him."--Claire to Liz. Zing!

Cliip of the Day: Social Experiment

Because this is still hilarious the morning after:

Oprah Really Can Solve All Problems

This is the episode I was waiting for. While I enjoyed last week's season premiere of 30 Rock, I thought it was a little slow. That was not the case tonight. Not at all. Because tonight we had OPRAH. Or at least what Liz thought was Oprah but was actually a 12 year old girl (I really want those pills Liz took on the plane, I bet they're wonderful). I loved that Liz went all word vomit as soon as Oprah sat down, because I bet people do that to her all the time. I mean women flip their shit for her. You've seen those Oprah's Favorite Things episodes. You know. I also loved how Liz thought everything was going to be ok because "Oprah is coming." That's like when I say "Everything's going to be fine," and then start laughing like a crazy person (those of you who work with me know what I'm talking about). But everything was ok in the end, because the little girl who wasn't Oprah got Tracy and Jenna to make up. That proved my theory that merely saying Oprah's name will make good things happen (basically the opposite of the whole Bloody Mary thing).

Other things I thought were good:

• Tracy dressed as a white woman because (1) it reminded me of Tyra (2) it reminded me of a blond version of the little girl from The Ring (3) it reminded me of those "I'm Carol" sketches from SNL (4) it was hilarious. Jenna in blackface, not so much.
  
• Jack tempting Kenneth to steal cable. Because obviously he was going to crack. everyone cracks in the face of cable. CABLE IS ALL THAT MATTERS. (I kinda like TV, but I'm guessing you guys already know that).
• The whole "Who has it harder, black men or women?" thing, because I know Tina Fey knew this episode was going to air after the election and she wanted to get some last minute digs in. Not that she doesn't love Obama now, because we all do.
• The women following Liz around after she told them about Oprah, because I could totally see them doing shit like that in real life.
  

Things I did not like:

• The stuff about faking Olympic events, because that's not cool (although if it meant I wouldn't have to watch diving, then I'm all for it.)

And I think that's it. Now time for quotes:

"Comanaprasil? May cause dizziness, sexual nightmares, and sleep crime." "It's very good."--Liz and Jack

"Do you know who I am? Seriously, tell me who I am."--Tracy Jordan in the ball pit at Chuck E. Cheese

"I don't really think it's fair for me to be on a jury because I can read thoughts."--Liz Lemon in her Princess Leia costume getting out of jury duty. Yes it is just as ridiculously awesome as it sounds.

"Oh I don't believe in hypothetical situations, Mr. Donaghy. It's like lying to your brain."--Kenneth.

"Oh would you say 'Please welcome Liz Lemonnnnnn.'" "No."--Liz and Oprah

"This is worse than when you wore your shorts to work."--Jack to Liz about Jenna dressed as a black man and Tracy dressed as a white woman with a monster hand. I can't really see Liz in shorts being worse

"Oprah smells like rose water and warm laundry."--Liz to the minions following her around. I also bet she smells like money.

"Is Sponge Bob Square Pants supposed to be terrifying?"--Kenneth. Yes, Kenneth, yes he is.

I really enjoyed tonight's episode and I can't wait for next week. 30 Rock is back!

Clip of the Day: It's Baaaaaaack

Because it will be baaaaaaaaaack tonight at 9:30. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:

Oh Liz Lemon

Because I just realized Hulu has posted the Season 3 premiere on it's site two days before it's supposed to air (!):

Clip of the Day: Congratulations Alec and Tina

Because our lives would be empty without Jack Donaghy and Liz Lemon (note: hulu took down the original first video I posted, so forgive me for it not being solely Jack focused):

Apparently These Emmys Were Planned By Meth Addicts

I look forward to the Emmys every year because they celebrate the thing I hold near ad dear to my heart: Television. I love seeing TV put up on a pedestal and applauded. What I do not like, however, is putting TV up on a pedestal, applauding it, then whacking it in the face with a rubber chicken, which was tonight's broadcast was like. Seriously, I'm thinking whoever planned this year's awards was on some serious drugs. How else do you explain the opening, where Howie Mandel literally COULD NOT SHUT UP? Or the fact they everyone kept saying "We're running behind, we're running behind," yet no one SHUT HOWIE MANDEL UP? Or that awful Laugh-In skit to announce nominees, then ANNOUNCING THE NOMINEES AGAIN? Perhaps it was necessary due to the Laugh-In skit being IN-FUCKING-COMPREHENSIBLE. Seriously? Seriously? This was you put together for TV's supposedly biggest night? Seriously? Shame on you ABC, shame on you.

Now on to the good stuff. The night marked Tina Fey's official coronation as Queen of Comedy (GO TINA!), what with her three Emmys for Writing, Acting, and Best Comedy, and Alec Baldwin winning for Lead Actor in a Comedy to boot. No one deserves the recognition more, and I hope this will encourage more people to go watch 30 Rock, because it's amazing. I was also pleased to see Damages pick up two acting awards Zeljko Ivanek for Best Supporting Actor and Glenn Close for Lead Actress, Drama. Personally, though, I would have been afraid to not give Glenn Close the award because I'd be scared of what she might do. Fortunately, that didn't happen.

Other things I liked:

• Oprah's opening monologue. Why didn't they let her host the show? She would have been better than that motley crew.
• Ricky Gervais taking his Emmy back from Steve Carrell and mocking Evan Almighty while doing it.
• Laura Linney winning for Lead Actress in a Miniseries. Lady deserves every kudos she gets.

Things I didn't like:

• Neil Patrick Harris NOT winning Best Supporting Actor Comedy. It was not legen-wait for it-dary, although Jeremy Piven winning for Entourage is a suitable alternative.
• Josh Groban singing those TV theme songs. Thank you for ruining them for me, Josh, really thanks.
• Chandra Wilson being passed over, AGAIN, in Supporting Actress Drama. Give lady her trophy already, please.
• Mad Men winning Best Drama. Now I'm sure it's a wonderful show and all, but I really wanted to see LOST win, because it was so amazing last season, and if not LOST then Damages, which was also amazing. I'm just a bit disappointed.
• Any and every one of the jokes the hosts attempted to make.
• And to reiterate, HOWIE MANDEL. I will not be watching Deal or No Deal anytime soon as retaliation for what he put me through his evening.
  

So ladies and gentlemen, are you happy with the way the awards played out? Or did one of your favorites lose and are you still angry about it? Discuss.

Life Just Keeps Getting Better

You know those times when you find a $20 bill in your back pocket and you have no idea how it got there? Or when your girlfriend/boyfriend surprises you with dinner, and a little something extra (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)? I love unexpected surprises. And what I'm about to tell you is THE BEST unexpected surprise I've had in a little while (which probably means my life is a bit sad, but let's ignore that): Michael Ausiello of EW.com is reporting that BLAKE LIVELY and LEIGHTON MEESTER will be guest starring on a sweeps episode of 30 ROCK. That's right, S and B will be guesting on our favorite comedy show, playing high school classmates of our dear Liz Lemon in a flashback sequence. Can you say EXCITED? I can. I'm super excited. (And yes, I realize this is my third GG related post in as many days, but I don't care. It's too good.) And so boys and girls, I will live you with clips of our young beauties and our favorite sexy librarian:

This Just In

Several sources are reporting that Jennifer Aniston (Rachel from Friends, I refuse to acknowledge her film career) will guest star on 30 Rock this fall. No other details are available yet, but I don't need them to be excited. This will be VERY good for 30 Rock. Unlike most of her co-stars, Jen has maintained quite a high profile in Hollywood, so I think her appearance will draw a number of viewers to the show, and anything that gets more people to watch 30 Rock is fine by me. I've included a clip from Aniston's Friends days below, lest we forget how funny she can be:

Clip of the Day: Therapy, Jack Donaghy Style

Because I'm still not sure if Tracy is more or less crazy than Ann Curry:

Sour Lemon

I've been waiting for this since I first discovered 30 Rock over the summer. I think the show is amazing and wonderful and perfect and......can I add anymore platitudes? Probably. I knew 30 Rock was the comedy I had secretly been searching for when I heard Kenneth the Page say this:

"Do you know why I put up with this pitiful job, Mr. Donaghy? Why I fetch these folks lunches and clean up their barfs? Because they make television. More than jazz or musical theatre or morbid obesity, television is the true American art form. Think of all the shared experiences television has provided for us; from the moon landing to the Golden Girls finale; from Walter Cronkite denouncing Vietnam to Oprah putting that trash bag of fat in the wagon; from the glory and the pageantry of the Summer Olympics to the less fun Winter Olympics. So please, don't tell me I don't have a dream, sir. I'm living my dream."

Yep, love at first watch. I think 30 Rock completely deserved its Emmy win and I can only hope that it will bring more viewers to the show.

Now let's get to the premiere. I thought it was ok, but I didn't completely love it. I think the stunt-casting of Jerry Seinfeld was a bit too much. He seemed a bit rusty, but his argument with Jack at the end was worth it. I think it does take some time to get back into a groove after a summer hiatus, and I know this show will.

Things I loved:

• Liz talking to Seinfeld and then crying in a Seinfeld-like voice. "This is what I sound like when I cry!" Hehe, awesome.
• Jack trying to knock Seinfeld over the head with the statue.
• Cerie's reaction to Liz and Jenna agreeing to be bridesmaids: "Now I have my something old."
• The secret European country only rich people know about.
• Tracy asking Kenneth to be his "work wife" then getting jealous that Kenneth is enamored with Seinfeld. I think Tracy definitely falls into the "bat-shit crazy" character category (at least he's in good company. Katherine Heigl won an Emmy for being bat-shit crazy on a weekly basis).
• Tracy ministering to tranny hookers by trying to get them to go to computer school. See bat-shit crazy reference above.

Ok, maybe I liked it more than I thought. My favorite shows have a way of doing that to me. And this one will definitely have me smitten for a long time to come.