Finally, NBC is giving us what we've been asking for: a two-hour block of cutting-edge network comedy on Thursday. Just like in the old days, except in this new lineup, which kicks in November 30, there are no howling dogs like The Single Guy, Union Square, Veronica's Closet, etc.Here's the new lineup: My Name Is Earl, The Office, Scrubs and 30 Rock. Could it get any better than that?Well, I suppose it would be better if the competition were a little less brutal for Scrubs than Grey's Anatomy on ABC and CSI on CBS. This is, however, classic and aggressive counterprogramming. There's little chance Scrubs will do better than a distant third—for one thing, Grey's many weeks is as sexy and funny a hospital farce as the wacky, giddy Scrubs. But this lineup sends a strong signal that NBC is serious about Thursdays, a night the network used to own on the strength of its signature comedies. Or should I say NBC is being seriously funny, to borrow CBS's catch-phrase for its own comedy bl...
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Question: I've seen a bunch of news items recently about Ugly Betty, and I was wondering what your opinion of it was. To me, the premise just seems awful. Like in The Devil Wears Prada, we've got an attractive woman who we're supposed to pretend is "ugly," and then we've got the cutting-edge topic of the fashion industry. Wow, it's not like anyone's made fun of them before. What's next, a sock-hop-and-ice-cream-social comedy? I like America Ferrera, but previous shows along this theme, such as Veronica's Closet and Less than Perfect, have just been shrill and annoying.
Answer: The worst sin in writing about or analyzing TV seriously is to judge a show simply by its premise. While it's entirely likely that you are predisposed not to enjoy Ugly Betty, it's always all about the execution. Ugly Betty is not a traditional sitcom, it's a hybrid of comedy and soap, and Betty herself is nothing like the heroine of Prada (Betty is much more extreme), except perhaps for her inexperience in this
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Chloe is a traitor! OK, that's not exactly true, but 24's Mary Lynn Rajskub is consorting with the enemy, guest-starring on the May 9 season finale of WB's Gilmore Girls. The actress will play one of several singers who invade Stars Hollow hoping to get discovered after an agent taps the town's troubadour to open for Neil Young. Rajskub — who honed her crooner chops as part of the improv comedy-music group the Girls Guitar Club — called me from the Gilmore set late yesterday to chat about the Girls gig, Chloe's upcoming "romantic challenge" and her plans to take Manhattan this summer.
Ausiello: I just want to point out that I interviewed you back in 2003 when you first started on 24, before Chloe became the superstar she is now.Rajskub: Th
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Chloe is a traitor! OK, that's not exactly true, but 24's Mary Lynn Rajskub is consorting with the enemy, guest-starring on the May 9 season finale of WB's Gilmore Girls. The actress will play one of several singers who invade Stars Hollow hoping to get discovered after an agent taps the town's troubadour to open for Neil Young. Rajskub — who honed her crooner chops as part of the improv comedy-music group the Girls Guitar Club — called me from the Gilmore set late yesterday to chat about the Girls gig, Chloe's upcoming "romantic challenge" and her plans to take Manhattan this summer.
Ausiello: I just want to point out that I interviewed you back in 2003 when you first started on 24, before Chloe became the superstar she is now.Rajskub: Th
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Question: I know that you have finally given The Office the credit it is due, but there is still an argument that Scrubs should be paired with My Name Is Earl. Why does it have to be one or the other? I grew up with two full hours of NBC comedy hits on Thursday nights. Why can't NBC put together another Thursday-night powerhouse and have all three of the shows on Thursday?
Answer: You would think, wouldn't you? (And more than a few weighed in with this very thought.) So let this be my latest (by no means my first) cry for NBC to have some common sense and decency and put Scrubs back where it belongs, on Thursdays, if not to close this season out — that seems too much to ask — then to jumpstart next season. The idea of Scrubs leading into an Earl-Office combo, with some unknown comedy filling the first half hour, is my idea of comedy heaven. Unfortunately, NBC has always had a tin ear for this sort of thing, and even in the best of days (the Cheers/Seinfeld/Frasier eras), there was
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