NBC isn't exactly engendering a lot of goodwill among people, with their cancellations of shows like Life and Medium, and My Name is Earl. The fact that they're replacing these shows with not one but two medical shows, isn't exactly a confidence booster. NBC hasn't sent screeners of all their pilots yet, hence the "Part 1" in the title. But I have gotten a taste of both their comedy and drama offerings with Community, a comedy starring The Soup's Joel McHale, and Trauma, one of the aforementioned medical dramas.
Going into this, I didn't have high hopes for Trauma, and while I wanted to like Community, I had a bad feeling that it wasn't going to be the vehicle that would change Joel McHale from cute host of a basic cable show to primetime star. Now, after seeing both of them, I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by one.
It's always great to hear the fall premiere dates for shows. It reminds you that, yes, eventually the summer is going to end and the fall will be here. Here are the dates when the new seasons of your favorite old NBC shows (and new ones) will launch (more dates to come).
Sunday, September 13: Football Night in America and Sunday Night Football Monday, September 14:The Jay Leno Show Tuesday, September 15: The Biggest Loser Thursday, September 17:SNL Weekend Update Thursday, Parks and Recreation, The Office, and Community Monday, September 21:Heroes Wednesday, September 23:Parenthood and Law and Order: SVU Friday, September 25: Law and Order and Southland Saturday, September 26:Saturday Night Live Monday, September 28:Trauma Thursday, October 15:30 Rock
Fathers' Day should be a time of deep reflection and appreciation for the man who brought you into this world, whether you asked him to or not.
Oh sure, the old man may seem like the worst father of all time sometimes. He yells and screams. He gets on you for growing your hair too long because he knows he couldn't grow hair if he had a Chia Scalp. He constantly walks around the house in his underwear and then scolds you for not eating the sausage Mom made for breakfast.
But a few minor flaws doesn't mean that he's a bad guy. So go out and get him that witty card with the pipe smoking Dad on the cover, pick out a paisley tie that you'll never see him wear and give him a big hug to remind him he's the best. Because he's your old man and he's not one of the seven bastard sons of hell below.
Actually, I've been thinking about this, and I wonder: is this really such big news? I mean, 2012 is a few years from now, and there's a good chance that 30 Rock will be over by then anyway. So Baldwin will probably be leaving the show when, well, everyone else is.
Still, this interview with Playboy (highlights only - buy the mag for the whole thing) looks pretty interesting, with lots of quotes about his marriage, his contemplating suicide after leaving that phone message for his daughter, what he thinks of TMZ, Twitter, his possible political plans, and why he'll never go on Today again.
Remember last year when Julia Louis-Dreyfus stole Tina Fey's Emmy on Late Night with Conan O'Brien? She did it again last night, only this time she stole an Oscar. I'm still not sure why Kenneth the Page is now in Los Angeles. Did he get transferred when Conan left 30 Rock? What does that mean for 30 Rock?
I think my favorite part of this song (and yes it is called "He Needs A Kidney") is the line "a hand would be an even harder thing to give." Lyrics are here. Now tell me, who is the singer who does the "only three of us are drunk" line?
(S03E22) "There's no such thing as bisexual. That's just something invented in the 90s so they could sell more hair products." - Liz
OK, so how long before "We Need A Kidney" is available for download from the NBC site or from iTunes? I suspect it will be up before you finish reading this review.
I was going to talk about how this episode was a little disappointing, but then I hit rewind on my DVR and watched it again and realized, wow, they actually hit all of the season finale notes rather perfectly. Not in a "we're having a baby!" or "he has amnesia!" way, but in a way that symbolized that "this is the end of the season but we're not going to go overboard" way. Some might think that having 20 big-name musical guest stars on a season finale actually is over the top, but it didn't turn out that way. This episode was quite funny.
At 8, ABC has a new Ugly Betty, followed by the two-hour season finale of Grey's Anatomy.
CBS has a new Survivor at 8, then a new episode of CSI and the season finale of CSI: NY.
NBC has the season finale of My Name Is Earl at 8, followed by a new Parks and Recreation, the season finales of The Office and 30 Rock, and a new Southland.
FOX has the season finale of Bones at 8, then the season finale of Hell's Kitchen.
The CW has the season finales of Smallville and Supernatural.
At 9, TLC has a new American Chopper.
Spike has a new TNA Wrestling at 9.
At 10, Bravo has a new episode of The Fashion Show.
Current has a new infoMania at 10, followed by a new Rotten Tomatoes.
Alan Alda returns as Jack Donaghy's dad tonight on 30 Rock for the show's season finale, "Kidney Now." The plot finds Jack trying to put together a benefit concert for Alda, who is in need of a kidney. That, of course, means the ep will be loaded with appearances by famous musicians.
Guest stars include Elvis Costello, Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow, Maroon 5's Adam Levine and Clay Aiken. The clip below reveals some shocking truths about some of these famous crooners, including Aiken's relation to NBC page Kenneth Parcell.
(S03E21)"Liz Lemmon, I may hug people too hard and get lost at malls, but I'm not an idiot" - Tracy Jordan
Maybe Jack Donaghy is right. More family does mean more aggravation. The search for Jack's real dad yielded a plot based on Mama Mia (apparently, I've never seen it, and I'm pretty sure I'll die that way) and an appearance by TV's most recognizable liberal – Alan Alda.
Don't get me wrong. I love Alan Alda. I was looking forward to seeing him on the show. He was great. But imagine ultra-conservative Jack's heartache when he found out that Hawkeye Pierce was his dad. The look on Jack's face when Alda stormed out of his office and cursed in Yiddish said it all. And I'm pretty sure Jack never imagined himself living out the plot of an Abba musical. Liz Lemon seemed pretty excited about it, though.
The bracket, by the good folks at Awesomeopolis, pits some of TV's more awesome current characters against each other to determine who is more badass. Readers are asked to vote on the finalists.
So far, it looks like Dr. Gregory House is beating 30 Rock's Jack Donaghy. I'm not sure I agree with that one. I think Jack could have House killed with one phone call. Here's one poll I do agree with: MacGuyver is way more badass than Jethro Gibbs from NCIS. Even if Mac didn't know how to turn my iPod into a jet, his hair alone puts him way over the top.
It looks like NBC is going to expandSaturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" segment with more half-hour specials, most likely on Thursday nights. Judging by the success of SNL and its Thursday night election specials during the campaign season, this move isn't too surprising. Plus, this is a progressive step in reaching the network's ultimate goal, which seems to be filling the airwaves with as many former SNL employees as possible. Actually, the next season of Celebrity Apprentice is probably just going to be all the early-90s players that aren't doing movies right now. And Rob Schneider. That guy isn't doing anything.
This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.
This week we are doing things a bit differently and offering a run down of what will happen during May for the series listed after the semi colon; note that some spoilers may have been posted in previous columns: 24, 30 Rock, 90210, Bones, Brothers & Sisters, Castle, Desperate Housewives, Fringe, Ghost Whisperer, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, House, How I Met Your Mother, Lost, NCIS, Numb3rs, Prison Break, Smallville, Supernatural, The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist, The Office and Ugly Betty. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)
NBC isn't exactly engendering a lot of goodwill among people, with their cancellations of shows like Life and Medium, and My Name is Earl. The fact that they're replacing these shows with not one but two medical shows, isn't exactly a confidence booster. NBC hasn't sent screeners of all their pilots yet, hence the "Part 1" in the title. But I have gotten a taste of both their comedy and drama offerings with Community, a comedy starring The Soup's Joel McHale, and Trauma, one of the aforementioned medical dramas.
It's always great to hear the fall premiere dates for shows. It reminds you that, yes, eventually the summer is going to end and the fall will be here. 
Fathers' Day should be a time of deep reflection and appreciation for the man who brought you into this world, whether you asked him to or not. 
Actually, I've been thinking about this, and I wonder: is this really such big news? I mean, 2012 is a few years from now, and there's a good chance that 
(S03E22) "There's no such thing as bisexual. That's just something invented in the 90s so they could sell more hair products." - Liz
ESPN has Basketball Playoffs all night.
Then vote for him/her to win in the 
Seven greatest hand cannons in TV history
TV Squad previews NBC's new shows (part 1)
TV 101: How ESPN controls the world and what the other networks can learn from it
