Savin' The Drama For My Mama (and my blog)

So much drama in the N.B.C. ... (lay down your own rhyme here).

Man the last week of work/life has felt right out of Saved By the Bell or something. There's been barely a moment, until now, to just relax and take it all in, ups and downs and all.

Most importantly though, today was my interview for the NBC primetime series development assignment, basically a new assignment just created and in need of a ready and willing page to answer the call of duty. Honestly, who knows how it will turn out. I'm just ready for some kind of finality at this point, after having three interviews and one sudden-death application in the last few weeks. But I'm hoping for the best, so once again, all I can say is ... stay tuned.

Today was kind of cool in that I got a chance to explore the vast underground tunnels that lie below NBC studios in Burbank, connecting various sections of the facility via a series of labrynthine hallways and corridors. Kinda cool, though unfortunately we couldn't find the rumored secret rec room that Jay Leno and others are said to use on occasion.

Hey, lots of kickassness at the Tonight Show lately. Monday saw Kiera Knightly, aka the bounty hunter Domino, chat up Jay - posh Bri'ish accent and all. Plus, The Killers rocked out hard with that "I got soul but I'm not a soldier" song. Today saw The Rock electrify the millions ... and millions of The Rock's fans. Actually, today the studio was the emptiest I've ever seen it, as we had many empty seats. Hmm, just like the WWE circa 2001 - 2002. Well, despite their being like oly one or two hardcore Rock fans in the house, it was still a good interview. Interesting how Dwayne Johnson said he used to equate success with owning a Rolex watch. Wonder if that had something to do with the stylings and profilings of a certain Nature Boy? Oh, and how funny was the 11 year old kid from The Greatest Game Ever played doing impressions of Jay, dropping the People's Elbow, and talking about how he doesn't like the Yankees? Bwahahaha. Well, anyways Doom looks like a pretty sweet 1980's style shoot 'em up balls to wall action movie. Gotta love it. And then, tommorow, VERONICA MARS herself, Kristen Bell, makes an appearance, which should be a good time.

Yesterday however, I am sad to say that one of the ugliest, most disturbing incidents I 've ever seen since working at NBC occured while working with the Tonight Show line. I won't go into the full details, but basically, it just really saddened me that every day we let all manner of obnoxious hangers-on into the show, no questions asked, via their NBC connections or whatever, and yesterday, we denied entry to a group of ticket-holding women who were late to get in line. Why were they late? Because one of the women was just returning from her chemotherapy. She had a terminal form of cancer. She was dying, and she wanted to see The Tonight Show. I tried to reassure her that we'd get her into the show, and for all intents and purposes they SHOULD have gotten in. But bureauocracy and "the rules" got in the way, and before I knew it the studio was full and they didn't even get into the show, despite having "guaranteed" tickets. One of the most depressing things I've ever seen. Anyways, sorry for the downer, but it was one of those horrible moments that just made me want to leave work then and there. I guess stuff like that just happens sometimes.

Anyways, on to other things ...

Gotta say that tonight's GILMORE GIRLS was quite simply one of the best hours of TV I've seen in a long time. The mix of humor, heart, and genuine emotion came together to pack a really powerful punch. And what about the grandparents on this show, Richard and Emily? The actors who play these roles deserve so much credit for bringing these wonderful characters to life, and making you alternatively hate and love them as if they were a part of your own family. Man, what a powerful performance by Edward Hermann as Richard tonight (Emmy!) - I about stood up and cheered when he chewed out Logan's sleazy dad in defense of Rory. And how funny of a character is Kirk? There are few other shows out there that bring out the emotion of everyday life, the humor, the relationships, the struggles, like this one. What a great episode. My grade: A

MY NAME IS EARL continues to ride the line between mildly funny and really really clever/funny. I don't know, it just isn't clicking on all cylinders at this point. Once again there were some decently funny moments tonight, but mostly it's just recycled sitcom plots dusted off and fed to Earl - a breakout character in search of some good situations to bring the comedy. My grade: C+

THE OFFICE on the other hand is really hitting its stride. Another almost painfully dark episode that still managed to be awkwardly hilarious. Dwight is now officially the breakout character of the show, and the writing seems to keep improving to include a plethora of memorable / quotable lines with each new episode. My grade: B+

Tommorow: INFINITE CRISIS is here!
VERONICA MARS ON THE TONIGHT SHOW!

- Oh, the humanity!