Now Taking Applications for the J.O.B. Squad

Well it's been an interesting week in the hallowed halls of NBC.

If any of you guys have been following news in the world of entertainment, then you know what I'm talking about. For the rest of you, I'll summarize - this week it was out with the old, in with the new at NBC, and execs who were once on top of the world soon found themselves given the boot - swiftly and without warning. While I will always feel terrible for anyone who loses their job, I have to admit that it's been a very interesting process to witness up close and personal, and it has certainly taught me a lot about the unforgiving ways of the corporate world, and of the entertainment industry in particular. But from another perspective, it's not all THAT unforgiving, as being an exec seems to be a lot like being, well, an NBA coach. Even when one team doesn't want you, if you've earned yourself a certain status, then you can rest assured that one team's loss will soon be another's gain. And in this case, that team is NBC, and I'm sure that those who now find themselves as proverbial free agents will soon enough find themselves courted by our competitors.

For me, it's odd timing to be in the midst of a regime change, as, barring any unforseen assignment extensions, my time in Primetime is winding down. Still, I can't help but feel like I survived a trainwreck or something and lived to tell the tale after this past week. On the other hand, the house cleaning won't even be as bad as originally thought, as luckily for them, a number of assistants who thought they had, by default, lost their jobs, actually managed to stay on with new bosses in new positions.

But yeah, of course this is the way of things - just when everything is winding down is when you begin to feel most comfortable in your surroundings. Actually, it's crazy - technically, my time as an NBC Page is just about over. In about a week from now, I will have been a page for a full year. It's nuts. So while I've been given, very generously, a little bit of leeway to stay a part of the Page Program in the short term, I can't escape the fact that the clock is ticking - really ticking - and I need to find a job ASAP.

Today I met the new class of pages that just started this week - and it really was surreal in a way. It's like meeting the new freshman class when you're an outgoing senior, or something - you're just coming from different worlds.

So I've just been applying to different jobs, putting my name and resume out there. But just like a ton of current and former pages, I'm seeing that the entertainment industry is one tough nut to crack. Oh well - keep the dream alive!

All I can say is - if they really wanted to turn the network around, they shoulda put me in charge. There'd be bagels every Wednesday, casual Fridays, and Gilbert Godfried with his own show.

BEST OF THE REST:

TV:

SMALLVILLE: Tonight's back-from-hiatus ep was pretty damn entertaining, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Sure, it was crazy over the top, but in a fun, comic booky way that was actually original and interesting enough to work. They introduced a crazy new villain, had some great Lex moments, and and built up the story well. The Clark-Lana stuff was a bit much (Do we REALLY need to delve into the classic Man of Steel / Woman of Kleenex discussion on an episode of Smallville? I think not). But, overall, this was yet another qualirty episode in what has been one giant comeback of a season. My grade: A -

MY NAME IS EARL: Well, I couldn't help but flipping back and forth between this and Beurty and the Geek, which is a huge guilty pleasure of mine. But Earl did bring the comedic goods tonight, and delivered some good laughs, especially from Ethan Suplee, who is really stealing this show lately. One great line: "Please tell me Mr. Smith is your brother. - "I hope not. What with all the things I let him do to me." (or something like that). Still, something just feels slightly off about this show to me, like it wants to be a smart show pretending to be dumb (see: Beavis and Butthead, Wayne's World) when in fact it's simply a kinda dumb show. Funny, but not quite as clever as it thinks. My grade: B

The Office: I still don't like Jim. He just comes off as too much of a jerk, and the writers just make him act kind of slimy at inapproopriate moments. Like when he lustily smiles while calling Pam even as he waits to hear about the condition of Dwight, who he's with in the hospital. The British office worked so well because it mostly stuck to mocking the little things, then occasionally pulling back and showing how all the little quirks of these ppl fit into the larger picture of their lives, which was actually kind of tragic and profound. This Office just doesn't tread that line as skillfully. But, putting that aside - this episode was, mostly, freaking hilarious. Dwight's coma-induced behavior was funny as hell. My grade: A-

- Still gotta watch tonight's oh so scandalous ep of The OC, where they resort to the classic plot device of bringing back a forgotten younger sibling character as a rapidly aged vixen. It's just like when Cory Matthews little sister Morgan suddenly came back as a voluptuous riot grrrl on Boy Meets World. Oh wait, that didn't happen.

Ultra Quick Sunday Night Reviews:

The Simpsons was surprisingly decent - had an actual plot and a few big laughs, ie :"Your father is actually [name of guy]." "Who?" "THAT guy!" "Woohoo!" Hahahahaha. My grade: B+

Family Guy was pretty funny as well, though nothing too special. Meg as a faux-lesbian was good for a few laughs, and the musical numbers with Frank Sinatra Jr. were pretty quality. My grade: B

- Saw an old Inside the Actor's Studio with Mike Myers. What a friggin' comedy genious. His interview segments in character as Linda Richman were amazing. Oy!

- I know I said in my Best of 2005 posts that I was disappointed with the new DARKNESS album. I gotta say, I've changed my mind. After listening to it over and over the last few days, it has really grown on me, and even though its a lot different from Permission to Land, it is plenty kickass in its own, slightly more subdued way. It's like expecting to hear "We Will Rock You" and getting "Seven Seas of Rye." Still, certain songs, like "One Way Ticket To Hell And Back" and "Bald" rock like mad, while others are a little less in yo' face but still quality. My new, reconsidered opinion of this album: it rates a solid A-.

Alright, bring on the weekend!

And find me a job! Seriously, if you have any connections, hook me up!

And remember, you heard it here first.