NBC Thursday night done right yet again
Post-Writers Strike TV recap
By Michelle Davey, Staff Writer
April 16, 2008 | 3 p.m.
“30 Rock”
Jack Donaghy has consistently been on the come back after his season-ending heart attack last year. Despite suffering a minor setback in breaking up with his girlfriend C.C. in the last episode, which aired Jan. 10, Jack is still thriving. He continues to be a top competitor for the GE Chairmanship with the upcoming retirement of the current chair Don Geiss.
His bid for chairman is only solidified this week by the overwhelming success of his brain child “MILF Island,” a show that combines 20 MILFS, 50 eighth-grade boys and no rules-- and tonight, one winner! As the staff of TGS gets ready to watch the season finale, Kenneth runs in with a startling announcement. An employee of TGS is quoted on The New York Post's infamous Page Six gossip section calling Jack a “class A moron.” In fact, if you Google the phrase “class A moron,” Jack is the first face to pop up, so “step aside Randy Quaid.”
An upset Liz is called into Jack’s office as one of the writers, Frank, observes that this situation is the lose-your-job kind of bad. Cue the cheesy Jeff Probst impersonator on the staff‘s TV: “Prepare for the craziest night of television of your life!”-- and role the title sequence!
“MILF Island” is an outstanding parody of the CBS reality show "Survivor." Although based on a racier concept, “MILF Island” has all the basic elements: lies, confessionals, alliances and betrayals. There is even the token backstabbing contestant that is beloved by the audience but hated by her peers. On “MILF Island,” Deborah, whose story is very inspiring, is the eventual winner. According to Jack, “before she was cast on ‘MILF Island,’ she was just a struggling actress living in L.A.”
The TGS staff is called up to wait outside Jack’s office, where his assistant Jonathan is literally turning up the heat, causing them to turn on each other. Frank tries to convince Lutz to form a “dirt bag alliance” with him because they are the two fat, pervert losers at TGS.
Meanwhile, Kenneth reveals to Liz that he knows the source-- and it is Liz herself! Cue the tribal music and the Probst look-a-like: “The game is about to change!” And commercial. (A delightfully predictable dig on the reality TV book of catchphrases.)
Jack confesses to Liz that he had a stutter as a kid, one so bad that the Massachusetts school system designated him a “Class A Moron.” He tells a heartbreaking tale about being in a special needs class in the boiler room and being called “stutter-milk pancakes” by his schoolmates. Guilt overriding her, Liz cannot bring herself to confess.
Kenneth, who cannot take the fighting amongst the staff anymore, charges into Jack’s office and confesses to Liz’s crime. Jack tells him to leave, and Liz does nothing to stop it, even adding a “You disgust me” to Kenneth as he walks out.
Later, Liz walks into her office to find Jack waiting for her. Don Geiss has called to congratulate him on “MILF Island,” even calling him “Jackie Boy” during the conversation. “Geiss’s job is mine to lose,” he says. Well, whether he loses it should play out in the next four episodes, which air at 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays on NBC.
But there is one final twist. Jack knew it was Liz all along and uses her guilt to convince her to write a spin-off starring Deborah.
The episode ends with a twist on the style of the traditional sitcom, too. Emotions are stirred in the audience, as there are feelings of sympathy for Jack or Liz— but the show trashes on the concept that an episode ends on a heartfelt moment. Instead, we are left knowing that while Jack and Liz are both selfish and manipulative, it seems that Jack is better at it. A reality of the human condition, as Jack would say, and one of the main reasons the Emmy Award-winning "30 Rock" will likely be around for several seasons to come.
“The Office”
The last time “The Office” aired on Nov. 15, Michael and Jan, Michael’s girlfriend, traveled to corporate regarding Jan’s wrongful termination suit in “The Deposition.” A well-coached Michael started surprisingly well under the pressure of Dunder Mifflin’s lawyer. But when Jan’s carefully constructed storyline begins to fall apart, she stoops to a new low and has her lawyer read a section of Michael’s diary aloud. Although it seems to help her case, this betrayal turns Michael against her, and she ultimately loses the lawsuit. Tensions are high between the couple as they drive home and discuss cheap dinner plans, but can Michael really be blamed? As he says himself, “You expect to get screwed by your company, but you never expect to get screwed by your girlfriend.”
What should Michael and Jan do now that they are in a worse financial situation and in a rocky relationship? Throw a “Dinner Party” of course. After months of dodging the bullet, Jim and Pam are finally tricked into attending a dinner party at Michael’s condo. Andy and Angela, the dysfunctional new office pairing, are invited, too. Naturally, Dwight wants to tag along, but Michael insists the party is for couples only— besides, he only has six wine glasses.
As the guests arrive and are given the grand tour, Jan’s domination in the house becomes evident in each room. Not only does she have her own separate office and workspace for her new candle making business, but she forces Michael to sleep on a small bench at the foot of the king-size bed in the master bedroom because she has “space issues.”
Michael and Jan are the classically high-tension couple that is obviously pretending to be happy in front of their friends. The two patronizingly call each other “babe,” and quietly try to get a dig in on the other in front of its guests.
The facade built between the couple quickly begins to crumble, and the insults become much more open and personal. Jan laughs manically as she reveals that Michael broke their sliding glass door when he ran straight through it because he thought he heard the ice cream truck. “I like ice cream, OK? Sue me!” Michael replies, “Oh no! Don’t! I shouldn’t say that jokingly because she will sue me. She loves to sue!”
By the time Dwight crashes the party with his former babysitter date, who might be a homeless woman, the revulsion between Jan and Michael is no longer hidden. The two yell at each other from across the dinner table before Jan smashes Michael’s $200 plasma television with one of his prized Dundie awards. The dinner party is broken up when the police arrive to investigate calls from neighbors about the fighting.
The awkwardness of Jan and Michael’s dinner party creates a funny, cringe-worthy tension that belongs in a school of darker humor usually reserved for the show’s British predecessor. Despite the many laughs the audience has at the expense of this broken relationship, “The Office” shows, yet again, that the real value of the show is the humanity and reality of its characters. There is nothing funny about the final scene as we watch Michael speed away from his condo in Dwight’s car and Jan try to literally pick up the pieces of the Dundie, attempting to glue together the shattered award.
Five more episodes are slated for this season, including an hour-long season finale. “The Office” airs at 9 p.m. on Thursdays on NBC.
“Scrubs”
The last time “Scrubs” aired was Dec. 6 for an episode titled “My Number One Doctor,” in which the doctors at Sacred Heart Hospital are being rated by their patients on a Web site. It turns out that J.D. is the most popular doctor at the hospital, so the rest of the docs team up to sabotage his rating. Of course, it ends with Turk apologizing and the two best buds reconnecting.
In “My Bad Too,” J.D. and Elliot team up to help a burn victim who wants to make it to his upcoming high school graduation. J.D. promises the kid that he can go, but when his leg becomes infected J.D. cannot bring himself to let the kid down. Elliot comes to the rescue, enlisting an ambulance and help from the Turks so that J.D.’s patient makes it to his graduation, screaming in anguish as he attempts to walk across the stage.
Meanwhile, Carla and Turk are celebrating the anniversary of their first date, and Turk has a big surprise gift for Carla— he has finally learned to speak Spanish. In a classic “Scrubs” bit, Turk finds himself at an advantage when Carla is speaking to a relative over the phone in Spanish, and Turk understands her. He figures his life could be so much easier if he knows what is bothering Carla, so he decides not to reveal his new language abilities.
Not surprisingly, Dr. Cox blows the whistle on him, and Carla is upset at first but later realizes that Turk has helped her to feel better about her mothering skills lately, so she can let this one slide. Besides, she is pretty happy that he has learned Spanish. One of the best perks is that the couple can talk about people at the hospital without their knowing. In fact, they share a brief conversation about J.D. and Elliot that was not subtitled in the original airing of the episode. It has been circulated on the Internet, however, that the two were discussing that Elliot and J.D. will get together in a future episode.
“Scrubs” is in its final season, with the Peacock deciding not to pick the show back up in favor of an untitled “Office” spin-off. Although delving into J.D.’s weirdo mind weekly for “Scrubs” is fun, the show is losing its laugh power. Early in the episode Turk tells J.D. about a conversation with Carla that leads him to believe he will be getting laid that evening. J.D., excited for Turk, sets up a high five, but Turk declines. “We’re getting a little old to be making such a big deal about having sex,” Turks says.
While Turk immediately reassures J.D. that he is just joking, the characters really are getting a bit too old to continue their classic antics. Carla and Turk have been married for a while and are parents now. J.D. also has a young son named Sam who lives with his mother. Instead of the lowly residents we loved to laugh at in the first few seasons, the beloved characters are attending doctors who probably need to start acting their respective ages.
Despite the lesson learned, and lectured to the audience, in each episode, J.D. never seems to grow up. Perhaps the loonies at Sacred Heart can bow out gracefully in the remaining four episodes, which air at 9:30 p.m. on Thursdays on NBC.
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