Who's Bob Hope? THE OFFICE, Veronica Mars, MORE

Thank God for the weekend!

Some quick TV STUFF:

- Caught Tuesday's aborted CW lineup after the fact since KTLA here chose to run two continuous hours of news coverage in place of Tuesday night's shows. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who was upset with that - the complaints on KTLA's website were so numerous that Defamer ran an article noting the extent of the backlash.

- VERONICA MARS took a slight step back from the level of pure greatness it had achieved with its last few episodes. Nonetheless, it was a worthy effort, and Paul Rudd was typically great as a Liam Gallagher-esque 90's popstar. The big thing with this episode was that it had that kind of Veronica-lite feel that some of the episodes had earlier this season, with a lot of emphasis on relationship stuff and a distinct lack of the gritty, neo-film-noir atmosphere that gave the show so much of its original stylistic flair. Still, all of the show's trademark wit, humor, and sharp writing was on full display in this ep, even if there wasn't the intensity present that a deep, dark, overarching mystery can bring to the table. Rudd was great, and I always love to see The State's Ken Marino as sleazebag P.I., Vinne Van Lowe. His campaign for sheriff against Keith Mars should be a nice subplot to close out the season with. No, this isn't Veronica Mars at its creative best, but it is an hour of some of the best characters and cleverest dialogue there is on TV.

My Grade: B+

- GILMORE GIRLS ... you've got to love this show. For me, it all rings so true. Having grown up in a small, insular Conencticut town, having had the burden of one's family's great expectations, and having had recent bouts of post-collegiate future-shocked anxiety, Rory's tale is all the more poignant, hilarious, and moving. This is one of the few shows that can make even this cynical, jaded writer genuinely feel good about what he's just watched. The Stars Hollow town meeting where everyone voted to attend Rory's Yale graduation ... classic. The Gilmore's grad party in which Richard and emily write a song for their granddaughter ... how could that not make you smile? My one reservation with this ep, which makes me a bit nervous for the finale, is that things definitely feel rushed. Rory and Logan's situation seemed somewhat sudden - just like that, Logan walked out of Rory's life, in a fashion a bit atypical of Gilmore, which doesn't exactly compress its storylines. Anyways, even though some portions felt rushed (the graduation seemed to come and go in a flash!), there were enough great moments to make for a worthy near-final episode.

My Grade: B+

- I feel like, with THE OFFICE, after every episode a bunch of people IM me and procalaim that night's episode to be one of the best ever. To me, the best episode of a comedy = the funniest episode of a comedy, so I am always surprised when people pick more soap-opera-y episodes as their favorites. I know that not everyone shares this sensibilit, and I'm not trying to make a blanket statement that I don't like my comedies to have emotion and character. On the contrary, you'll often see me rave about the glory days of The Simpsons, when brilliant humor was deftly mixed with tender character moments, or the greatness of the UK Office, that seemed to expertyl weave tragedy and pathos into its absurdist comedy. But with The Office, I feel like sometimes the comedic momentum can just grind to a halt when the show decides, at times, that it's really a relationship show disguised as a comedy. I mean, look, I know a lot of people watch the show for Pam and Jim, and I get that. But Pam's melodramatic big speech last night was to me pretty jarring. There was no event drastic enough for her to act so out of character, and it seemed like an easy way to get her to put her feelings on the table and to up the ante in the ongoing Jim-Pam saga. But instead of being woven into the comedy of the episode, the scene felt like it existed on a narrative island - the tone of the show had to suddenly shift for it to take place. Basically, it just felt a bit off. Most of the time, the Office is not melodramatic - it is not a show with big speeches and "aww shucks" moments. It just bothers me whenever typical sitcom-ish elements seep into the show's writing, because The Office at its best is far from a typical sitcom. In fact, many of those classic Office moments were on display in this episode. Creed's fish-hunting. Andy floating away down river, trapped in a blow-up sumo suit. Kevin proclaiming that lying on the beach and eating hot dogs is all he ever wants to do. Dwight falling into a trail of burning coals. Hilarious, all. In fact, in many ways this was a great episode of The Office, and for much of the ep I really enjoyed the way they subtley built-up Pam's frustration with being ignored and given thankless tasks, and contrasted her pent-up anger with Jim's relatively easy-going demeanor. All in all, good stuff - just lay off the big speeches - this isn't Full House.

My Grade: B+

- All in all, I really enjoyed the season finale for MY NAME IS EARL. This show has really impressed me this year. Not only has the writing gotten sharper, but Earl has become something rare in the world of comedy - a show that evolves its characters. Earl at the end of season 2 is much different than Earl at the beginning, and that's very refreshing to see. Of course, the backbone of this show is the outstanding cast, and Jason Lee can just do now wrong in the title role as Earl. From top to bottom, Earl is filled with great comic actors who effortlessly create this unique, oddball world. I was a little down on the show at first, but it's slowly become a real comfort show that is just a lot of fun to watch.

My Grade: A -

- Alright, have a great weekend - who's going to see DELTA FARCE?!?! Me neither. CYA.