comedy

['It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' - 'Charlie Kelly: King of the Rats']

Just when you thought 'It's Always Sunny' couldn't get more disturbing than the prospect of allowing Dee to teach the nation's children, we were treated to an episode almost entirely fixated on the merits of bashing an army of rats to death with a very large stick ... it's always classy in Philadelphia!

But while Charlie's vermin-hitting was the artful backdrop for this week's moral tale, the real story was more concerned with how bitter and cynical our gang has become, to the point where they seemed incapable of even throwing a surprise birthday party for their lowly, rat-killing pal.

['30 Rock' - 'College']

"Money can't buy happiness. It IS happiness." - Jack

I was all ready to throw this episode of '30 Rock' onto the "so-so" pile. The first time I watched it I thought the Liz plot was really lame and there weren't quite as many great quotes as there usually are and Tracy didn't have much to do.

Then I watched it again and you know what? All those things happened to be true, but this was still a pretty good episode.

['The Office' - 'WUPFH.com']

Tonight we had one of those "nothing more to see here folks, go back to your homes" kind of episodes. There were three stories, but none of them really worked very well.

That's kind of a surprise, given the fact that we had a "Jim bored in the office" story for the first time in forever. Jim's actually been motivated to work lately, given the fantastic commissions Sabre offers. So when he learned that those commissions were capped, you'd think that he'd start with the office hijinks. He did, but only to a point.

The episode's focus, of course, was about Michael's relationship with Ryan, one of the great failed hucksters on TV. And, if an 'Office' fan is going to get anything out of this episode, it might be that Michael's burgeoning maturity saved him and a small set of his staff from going completely broke due to one of Ryan's bright ideas.

['Community' - "Conspiracy Theories and Soft Defenses"]

Twist endings can be a lot of fun when done well, but as more and more movies and shows try to shock their audiences out of complacency with a well-timed "Aha!" moment, good twists become harder to come by. People start to expect the surprise, and nothing kills a reveal faster than a prepared observer; after all, there are only so many tricks a story can pull and still be consistent.

The end of 'Conspiracy Theories and Soft Defenses' worked because it never really wanted to catch us off guard. The climax, a series of increasingly ludicrous fake-outs, got laughs because it was ridiculous, and, by the end, managed to mock the idea of of the twist-ending without completely denying its charms. Once again, 'Community' walked the fine line between self-conscious parody and realistic characters, and once again, it nailed the balance perfectly. After an intermittently bumpy start, the show is on the kind of sophomore season run that guarantees its spot in all kinds of year-end top 10 lists.

One of the things we've learned over the season and a half of 'Cougar Town' (or, as it was titled this week, 'It's OK To Watch A Show Called Cougar Town') is that you don't get between Jules Cobb and her wine. And one of the other things we've learned is that Jules is really, really, really protective of her son Travis.

Travis' new girlfriend Kirsten -- a grad student! -- found out about both in last night's funny episode. My guess is that Kirsten is there to pose a real challenge to Jules' smother hen tendencies, and it looks like she's game to go into battle, especially when she's being coached by Laurie, the towniest "townie ho" in all of Florida.

But we also know that Kirsten is a bit of a klutz, and she's claimed her first victim: Big Joe.

['South Park' - 'Crème Fraiche']

Tonight's episode brings us to the end of another season of 'South Park' and Trey Parker and Matt Stone have decided to end the season with a lot of sexual double entendres (or at least more sexual double entendres than usual). With this break, perhaps Matt Stone and Trey Parker will use the time to reflect and create. Perhaps they'll even write a Broadway musical.

It's funny how 'Crème Fraiche' made both food and exercise dirty at the same time. The Food Network became analogous to porn (and indeed, it is sometimes) and the Shake Weight became analogous to ... well, you know. This episode was more overtly sexual but you have to be overtly sexual when the subject of your satire is the sex life of a marriage.

['Modern Family' - 'Manny Get Your Gun']

A good sign that an episode of 'Modern Family' is one of the better ones of the season is when the Mitch and Cam storyline is the least funny of the three stories that week. The two of them have been like Old Faithful, spewing the funny on a regular basis. This week, though, they were out-funnied by both the Dunphys (not a surprise) and the Pritchetts (more of a surprise).

If this episode just had Norman Lloyd as an elderly adulterer, a suit-clad Manny floating on an inflatable island, Phil's inadvertently racist Color War t-shirts, and Gloria holding a BB gun like one of the Cousins on 'Breaking Bad,' the episode would have been pretty good. But there was so much more than that this week.

Oh, and Mitch and Cam were funny this week, just not as funny as they usually are. It's just that sometimes Cam is too much Cam for his, or the audience's, own good.

['Glee' - 'The Substitute']

OK, it's official: Gwyneth Paltrow can do no wrong. And I'm saying that only half-ironically.

Last week, Salon had an op-ed entitled "Why do so many people hate Gwyneth Paltrow?", citing the fact that there's a backlash against the Oscar-winning star because she's rich and pretty and talented and makes no excuses for her station in life. After reading the article, I was pretty annoyed with her myself.

But it took a Little Miss Perfect to redeem what was only a half-redeemable episode of 'Glee' this week. Don't get me wrong; it was a funny episode, with many of those funny instances coming from Paltrow. But it was dragged down yet again by what seems to be 'Glee's' Achilles' heel -- inconsistent character behavior.

When I spoke to Michael Schur, executive producer of 'Parks and Recreation,' last week, he hadn't yet known where NBC was going to put his show back on the schedule, or what its timeslot would be.

The midseason pickup was a surprise for him and the staff of the show; when they got the news in May, they had been in the middle of shooting the first six episodes of the third season, in order to get ahead of the game before star Amy Poehler had her second child. The decision by NBC was "disappointing" to Schur, but he told the network that whenever they wanted to bring the show back, the crew was ready.

"'We have these 6 episodes for the beginning of season 3. We're ready,'" Schur told the executives. "'Just tell us where to go and we'll be there.' And they've continued to say that they have a plan and that they're supportive and everything."

It turned out that the Peacock net did have a plan; they're returning 'P&R' to Thursdays starting January 20, airing it at 9:30PM ET as part of a 3-hour comedy block that network TV hasn't seen in almost 20 years. So I followed up with Mike via e-mail in order to get his thoughts on the move.

That response and tidbits from the original interview are after the jump, including some spoilers about season 3, thoughts on Nick Offerman's mustache, how he's intimidated by Aubrey Plaza, and how he feels about playing Dwight Schrute's off-kilter cousin Mose.

In the grand tradition of 'Animal House' and 'Revenge of the Nerds,' TBS's latest sitcom 'Glory Daze' follows four guys in their freshmen year in college, all pledging Omega Sigma fraternity ... in 1986. Yep, totally tubular on the boob tube, dude, we're flashing back to the '80s.

Joel (Kelly Blatz) is your average guy, super determined and planning on pre-med ... until he meets his dream girl. Jason (Drew Seeley) is super conservative, single-handedly reminding us why sweaters over your shoulders went out of style. Eli (Matt Bush) is the horny virgin who tries to reinvent himself as God's gift to college women. And then there's Brian (Hartley Sawyer) -- star athlete and chick magnet, but he's got some major daddy issues.



I caught up with Kelly, Drew, Matt and Hartley -- all ironically born in the decade they're living in now on TV -- to get the scoop on their new show (premieres Tues., Nov. 16, 10PM ET), the big name guest stars coming to play and what kind of crazy hijinks they've been up to.

['Weeds' - 'Theoretical Love is Not Dead']

When a network promises that a season finale will be "one you did not see coming," it's a hard statement to back up. Especially for fans of 'Weeds' who have slogged through a season that felt more like Showtime's version of a sordid 'Partridge Family.'

What could the surprise possibly be? Someone unexpected dies, like Warren or Silas? Doug ends up working for Esteban and sells out Nancy's whereabouts? Or for the hopeless romantic, Esteban finds Nancy and Stevie to reconcile as she is his only true love???

Well, for once -- the promos were right. The finale was chock full of surprises, if not downright ludicrous.

['Two and a Half Men' - 'A Good Time in Central Africa']

It seems that as Season 8 of 'Two and a Half Men' continues to unfold, the reality of Charlie Sheen's drunken escapades -- with or without porn stars -- are being written into the character of Charlie Harper. You could say it's always been that way, but the opening sequence of tonight's show was a prime example of art imitating life. And this is all presumably with Sheen's approval.

Fortunately for viewers, the sight of Charlie Harper wearing a bicycle helmet to keep him from hurting himself while on a bender was hilarious. So was much of the rest of the episode. For more on Charlie's new love, and Alan's potential stalker, read on.

['How I Met Your Mother' - 'Glitter']

Has a piece of the "game changer" puzzle fallen into place?

Remember in the first episode this season, when Ted was sitting outside a wedding, anxious about giving a toast? Marshall, also clad in a tux, was outside with him, reassuring him that everything will go fine. We know, at least according to Old Ted's narration, that this is where Ted meets "the one."

So what happened between Ted and his old high school friend Punchy made things very intriguing.

But, to be honest, that story was a very distant second behind what everyone wanted to see this week: more Robin Sparkles! And if you love not-so-double entendre, this episode was probably your favorite of the season. Why? Let's just say that Canadian kids' television wasn't exactly wholesome. I'll never look at old episodes of 'You Can't Do That On Television' the same way ever again...

If you haven't watched 'The Big C' because you think it's just a show about someone dying of cancer, you couldn't be more wrong. It has been the biggest, most pleasant, must-watch TV surprise all year.

Of course a show starring Laura Linney was going to garner some buzz, but the entire cast provides laughs, tears and genuinely touching moments every week. Recovering from a major character death last week, we go into the season finale knowing that change is imminent.

But does that mean Cathy will seek treatment for her cancer? Will her husband be able to deal with her decision? Will her son finally snap out of his teenage bubble? And will her eccentric brother Sean, played by John Benjamin Hickey, ever grow up?

I caught up with the hilarious Hickey to talk about this season's success, what's in store for tonight's finale (Mon., Nov. 15, 10:30PM ET on Showtime), his interesting past with costars Linney and Cynthia Nixon, his plea for a certain Oscar-winner to guest star, ghosts and ... Bristol Palin?

['SNL' - 'Season 36, Episode 6']

Like a Bill Belichick coached football team, we always expect 'Saturday Night Live' to impress us coming off a bye week. They've had an extra week to prepare, with the subsequent extra week of weird/controversial/ridiculous events to comment on and parody. Add sultry sultress Scarlett Johansson to the mix and the possibility of her hubby, Ryan Reynolds, making a cameo, and we have everything in place to ensure a blow-out victory. The only thing standing in our way is our way itself.