The Good Old Days ... May Not Return ... TV ROUNDUP (Gilmore, Jericho, The Office), BIRTHDAY INSANITY, and MORE

What's up party people?

The week of INSANITY (the good kind) is turning the corner into the weekend, and so far I am coasting on little sleep and waning energy reserves, but am pretty much just propelled on adrenaline and excitement for the weekend.

First of all, while yesterday was my birthday, it was also the birthday of Ms. Liz Liggett, a fellow Libra and huge supporter of this blog (obvsiously) so I'd like to wish Liz a very happy birthday! Actually, I know she had a happy (and margarita-filled) birthday, since I attended her crazy bash last night, which was good times but proved once again that I'm not in college anymore and Thursdays, unless a special occasion like a birthday demands otherwise, are probably better suited for sitting at home and watching The Office. Suffice to say, while yesterday's festivities were a ton of fun, today is proving kinda tough ...

But actually, I was very surprised yesterday at how much birthday-celebratin' went on during the day. Since a few other coworkers also have bdays coming up, we were treated to a lunch at Morton's on the company dime (if only I wasn't such a picky eater I'd probably have a better appreciation for this ...), and then a delectable chocolate mousse cake was served back at the office along with ice cream in celebration of all of our birthdays. Quite a nice little office celebration, and if any coworkers read this (I don't think they do, and kind of hope they don't ... I mean, um ...) --- well, thanks!

And, thanks to everyone from LA, Boston, NYC, and around the globe for all their birthday wishes sent yesterday. It's always great to hear from people who I haven't seen in a while, even if it's just in the form of a quick MySpace message. Thanks guys!

Alright, while I gear up for this Saturday's festivities, let's get back to the meat and potatoes here ...

TV STUFF:

- GILMORE GIRLS: I mostly liked the season premiere, and surely, compared to the glut of melodramatic, slowly-paced, poorly cast and scripted dramas out there, once again seeing this brilliant cast in action, doing their thing, was a HUGE breath of fresh air. Still though, there was, undeniably, something a bit OFF about this episode. Except for a few scenes, much of the ep felt like it was written in a style trying to imitate the classic GG fast-talking, pop-referencing dialogue, but rarely did it feel like we were getting the real deal. Hopefully this is just the writers and new showrunner finding their footing, but the uneveness wasn't helped by the fact that the script had a number of self-referential moments that only drew attention to the fact that something was a little off. Why have Lorelai and Rory engage in a whole comedic subplot about how they are always talking, for example? But aside from the slightly jarring effect of having the dialogue be a little bit removed from what we're used to, I really enjoyed the ep. Kirk crashing through the diner? Hilarious. That ending scene between Luke and Lorelia? Played to absolute perfection by both actors, and resonated as only a scene between two such well-acted and well-defined characters can. I'm cautiously optimistic that this show is still very much worth watching. And extra points for the awesome Twilight Zone reference. My Grade: B+

- And for anyone new to this blog wondering why I, clearly a true man's man, lover of such adrenaline-soaked fare as 24 and Prison Break, is doing watching a show like Gilmore, well, get with the program! This show over it's history has been one of the smartest, best-written, and hilarious programs on the air, features two appealing, thinking-man's ladies in Lauren Graham and Alexis Bleidel, and has one of the best-written and relatable lead male characters in Luke Danes. Great TV.

- Have not yet had a chance to watch SMALLVILLE's season premiere from last night. Have heard good things so I'm excited to check it out. Kneel before Zod!

- This is pure Danny-the-Comedy Fan talking - last night NBC hit a giant home run where for the first time I really felt like both My Name Is Earl and The Office delivered A-level episodes.

MY NAME IS EARL had maybe it's best episode to date last night. A funny plot involving Catalina being forced to resume her old career as a pole dancer (er, jumper) in order to raise money to bail Joy out of prison, was one of the best I've seen yet from the show. The jokes were really on, and the "heart" was turned up to just the right level to elicit a nice "awww" by episode's end. Good Stuff. My grade: A -

THE OFFICE last night had a classic episode. My biggest complaint is simply that one of the jokes they used was almost word for word in my Office spec script I've been working on, so I guess that will now have to be revised. But first thing's first - last night's episode was SERIOUSLY FUNNY, which to me is always the most important thing when talking comedy. The jokes were on point, the dialogue was sharp, and everything just felt a lot tighter and more polished than last week's funny but slightly all-over-the-place premiere. Whenever I watch an episode of a show like The Simpsons, Family Guy, Arrested Development, or The Office, the first thing that I think about afterwards are the memorable lines from the episode. This one had a ton of great dialogue. "I have two girlfriends ... basically." "Jane Doe." "I love inside jokes, hope to be a part of one someday." "She's the office bitch." Can't argue with good comedy. And also, I thought the Jim-Pam stuff was much, much better handled this week - everything had that "fly on the wall" feel that made the British Office so great rather than the overly-sitcomy feel that has at times hampered the US version. Best episode in a long while. My Grade: A

- And for the "Dwight is a lame character and brings the show down" crowd ... I say this:
Sorry, you're wrong. Look at the British Office. David Brent = a broad caricature who became increasingly three-dimensional as the show went on. Same with Garreth. Dwight is in that same mold - a fairly broadly-played character who gets a ton of laughs, but is so skillfully played by Rainn Wilson that you KNOW that when the time comes, we'll see other sides of Dwight. But like Gareth, Dwight's main purpose is comedic foil, and I see nothing wrong with that. I mean who ever said The Office was supposed to be strictly "realistic?" Quirky? Yes. Offbeat? Yes. Deadpan humor? Yes. But The Office's formula, if anything follows in the tradition not of any kind of "realism," per se, but of comedy such as This Is Spinal Tap and Christopher Guests classic mockumentary-style films. The whole point of the style of comedy is to satirize the aburdity of the seriousness and weight that is given to ordinary people in documentarys and the seriousness with which people take themselves. It's only natural to have some characters who come off as totally out there and absurd - that's part of the joke! Think of Spinal Tap, Best in Show, Waiting For Guffman, and A Mighty Wind. The characters are almost all caricatures, which makes for hilarious comedy. So to those dissing Dwight - I think you need to stop thinking of The Office as "realistic" and instead see it in the context of its spiritual comedic forebearers - a comedy that mocks the self-seriousness of its subjects with hefty doses of absurdity.

- I watched the second ep of CBS' JERICHO this week, and man, is this show lame. I was disappinted with the pilot but still saw some potential in the premise. Fact is I love that kind of subject matter, and have been raised on a heavy diet of speculative fiction that looked at the paranoia and fears of the atomic age, from Ray Bradbury to the Twilight Zone. Well, Jericho is no Twilight Zone, that's for sure. It's no Lost either. The premise is stripped of all its inherent political context and instead we get scenes of local yokels running to the Salt Mines to escape the threat of nuclear rain. Come on! Of course, they've gotta ape Lost at every moment, so EVERY character is, wait for it ... NOT WHAT THEY SEEM. We already have Skeet Ulrich as apparently the next evolution of Jack Bauer - a man who is clearly either a Navy Seal or an alien with his ability to combine the improvisational skills of McGuyver, the medical know-how of Doogie Howser MD, and the gunfightin' prowess of Dirty Harry. And already we have escaped convicts ... posing as policemen! Hostages! Gunfights! And an outsider with an overabundance of red thumbtacks in his drawer. Wait, what's this show about again? Oh yeah, a nuclear apocalypse that seemingly levels a ton of major cities but leaves good ol' Jericho safe enough so that its redneck citizens feel like they can walk around outside, play pool in the bar, and go off to see their teenage crushes, in spite of the GIANT MUSHROOM CLOUD just over the horizon. WTF. I have to give this show credit though ... despite its sophomore ep somewhat reeking of sucktitude, the closing cliffhanger, indicating that like 37 major cities were 'sploded real nice, gave me a morbid snse of curiousity to see where this show is going to go in the next few weeks. Somewhere, Ray Bradbury is cringing. My Grade: C -

- Next week is big for TV -- LOST, 20 GOOD YEARS, 30 ROCK, and most of all: VERONICA MARS.

OTHER STUFF:

- Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man? I like it! It should be refreshing to have an actor who looks older than 25 play a superhero for once, and RDJ is perfect to play the womanizing, recovering alcoholic man-in-suit that is Tony Stark, aka Iron Man's alter-ego. Now get Downey Jr. started on growing a perfect, Tony Stark 'stache, and we're in business.

- THE STATE, aka possibly the funniest thing ever on TV not named The Simpsons, is NOW AVAILABLE on I-Tunes! While this is the far from ideal situation (ideal being a deluxe all-encompassing DVD box set!), this is still pretty cool. State fans, download now and show MTV that they must, MUST, release this amazingly hilarious sketch comedy cult classic on DVD ASAP~!

- Also now on I-Tunes -- Studio 60! Heroes! Season 3 of the Office! Soon, Season 3 of Battlestar Galactica! Check it ouuuuut, now, my funk-soul brotha.

- Once again, Shana Tovah and may you have an easy fast on Yom Kippur, to all my friends and readers of the Jewish perusasion.

- Alright, I'm out for now. This Saturday will be insane, can't wait ... So can you dig that, Sucka? The good old days may not return, but I shall continue running down a dream

CYA.