Every week we can be guaranteed that Tina Fey and the people at30 Rock will make fun of NBC in some way, whether it's product placement or The Jay Leno Show or last night's line about the green NBC peacock in the corner of the screen. Fey also isn't shy about dumping on NBC when she's away from the show either.
The other night she gave a speech at an Ad Council meeting at the Waldorf in New York. Her barbs were mostly about NBC's ratings, including pointing out that "NBC is sadly the fourth-place network. Actually we're in ninth place if you count the radio stations ahead of us right now." She also suggested that if the 1200 people in the audience watched NBC for just one night there would be a huge jump in the ratings.
I've been wondering what will happen if and when Comcast takes over NBC. Will they still have the HQ at 30 Rock? Will the show still be called 30 Rock? Fey suggested a new title: Industrial Park on the Schuyikill River.
The entire time I watched this clip from last night's Late Night, I was thinking, "if Taylor Lautner smashes into a wall face-first or falls off of the mini-bike and cracks his head open, Fallon is going to be in big trouble." The two guys raced around the NBC hallways on mini-bikes. The winner wins because he cheats.
Oh my God! It's a zombie! Quick! Get a shovel or something heavy that will remove a human head or destroy its brain! Yes, TV shows can become zombies too.
NBC has revived its once doomed drama Trauma giving it a full 13 episode order plus a few more after they canceled it last month.
What made the network breathe life back into the expensive action drama? Apparently the show saw a brief boost in the ratings and NBC had a change of heart, assuming of course that they have one in the first place.
Chuck will be returning to the airwaves on NBC on Sunday January 10th at 8 PM. The third season will start with a two-hour premiere and then the show will be on again the following night in its regular timeslot right after Heroes. This is three hours of Chuck over two days.
The pity is that Chuck is actually a good show and Heroes hasn't been as such since the first season. Perhaps Heroes should be the lead-in for Chuck? With the boost in the number of episodes and the guest-stars galore slated for the coming season, it's a very exciting time to be a Chuckaholic like me. This could also be a sign that NBC is giving more support for Chuck and less for the dying Heroes.
Zachary Levi is great in his role and Yvonne Strahovski is much fun to look at, but what really makes the show is Adam Baldwin. Perhaps John Casey should get his own show? Nah. He's better as a foil for Chuck Bartowski.
(S04E06) "Oh brother. Are they really going to do something this year or just put that stupid green peacock in the corner of the screen?" - Liz, about NBC's Green Week
OK, I think we can all agree that this was one of the more disgusting episodes of 30 Rock. It's one thing to have Frank be really gross; we've seen that in previous episodes (the burping, the tank tops, the porn). But now we find out that he's urinating into jars in his office? I think that's officially holy crap disgusting, even if it does eventually help the Earth and give Jack flowers for his office.
It was also one of the least funny in a while, though that doesn't mean it didn't have its moments.
There's a major movie opening tomorrow. It's the movie everyone is talking about and obsessed with, to the point of standing in line for hours and hours, and they say it could be the highest-grossing movie of the year. Of course, I'm talking about The Blind Side.
Kristen Stewart is in a movie tomorrow too, and last night she appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and threw footballs at plats. If the whole movie thing doesn't work out...
Okay, take the idea of Shark Tank (or Dragon's Den if you're a BBC America fan), mix it with the Top Chef folks, offer a great grand prize and hope for the best. That's the recipe behind NBC's new food competition show, United Plates of America. The network is turning to the Magical Elves from Top Chef -- no, seriously, that's the production company's name -- to succeed in the food field where NBC has flopped in the past. Remember The Chopping Block? Remember Rocco DiSpirito's The Restaurant? NBC has more luck with the dieters on The Biggest Loser.
This go-round is not about a single restaurant. It's about a chain of restaurants. To me, that's a questionable goal. Most successful chains start off with one great restaurant and then take off. This concept is go big or go home. Maybe it's more complicated, but it doesn't sound that way.
There's something a little unnerving about the fact that the Primetime Emmys float. Not the award statuette itself. No, that would be like an anchor in the water. I'm talking about the date for the Emmys. The 2010 Primetime Emmys will be on Sunday, August 29, on NBC. The 2009 Primetime Emmys, lest you forgot already, were September 20. The date of the Emmys floats around depending on which network is broadcasting the show.
NBC has a steady date with the NFL on Sunday nights during football season. NBC Football Night in America in the network's top-rated show. The top. Number one. That means there's no way that the Peacock was going to give up a Sunday night game for the Primetime Emmy broadcast.
So, using their power, the network simply declared that the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards will be held in August. They pulled this same stunt in 2006, so the folks at NATAS (the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences) weren't stunned.
Last night, Spencer Pratt announced on The Tonight Show that he might run for President. His reasoning? It has to do with becoming hated by everyone and hacking computers. Or something. I don't think he's thought it through yet. Seth Green gets a little dig in, and the audience is obviously tired of him and Heidi.
What you don't hear in the clip (it cuts off early) is the audience actually booing Heidi and Spencer. My favorite part of the show was the end, as the music played and credits rolled Conan talked to guest Brian Setzer and Green talked to Andy, leaving Speidi all alone in the middle on the couch, not sure where to look or who to talk to.
We're starting to see Thanksgiving episodes of TV shows, and Heroes is no exception. This Monday's episode ("Thanksgiving") has the Bennett family gathering for Turkey Day and it's...uncomfortable, especially since Mom brings a date (Doug) and so does Noah (Lauren).
But the question I have (and so will you) about this scene is: where the hell is Lyle?
The "Ask TV Squad" column, published every Wednesday, answers your questions about current and past TV shows, as well as about the celebrities appearing on TV. Every week, I will pick a question (or more) sent to us and provide answers in the column. If your question is not picked for a column, it may be answered in a subsequent column or in TV Squad's APB Podcast.
To submit questions to the "Ask TV Squad" column, you can post them below in comments or email them to asktvsquad@gmail.com.
This week, I answer questions about Chuck, Katherine Heigl, and where to legally watch shows online for the U.S. and Canada.
To be honest, I don't think this is the best sketch they've done about Hoda and Kathie Lee. Maybe she'll think the other ones they've done are funny (probably not). (Stay through the talk about Palin as Hoda and Kathie Lee talk about the sketch more.)
A few months ago, Al Roker interviewed Heidi and Spencer (I think they go by the cute couple name "Hencer") on Today and it didn't go well. Well, it didn't go well for Heidi and Spencer; Roker became a hero to many viewers for pretty much not taking the couple seriously at all. Well, the battle has continued on Twitter.
The two stars of The Hills were supposed to be on Today yesterday but were bumped (they did appear on Regis & Kelly this morning though). So Spencer went on Twitter (the new celebrity battleground) and said "WEATHERMAN I thought you were out of town today getting your stomach stapled again? He called Roker "abusive to women" and a "sicko." Roker responded by simply saying that people shouldn't pay attention to haters on Twitter.
Heidi and Spencer have a new book out, How To Be Famous. Tip #1: be complete morons.
I know, saying "Don Draper's mistress" doesn't really narrow it down, does it?
Abigail Spencer, who played (plays?) schoolteacher Suzanne Farrell on AMC's Mad Menthis past season, has landed a role on the new NBC drama Rex Is Not Your Lawyer. I guarantee that will be one of the odder titles for a new show in 2010 or whenever the show debuts. It's about a lawyer who gets anxiety attacks (that has to be a career killer) so he actually teachers his clients how to represent themselves in court. Spencer will play another lawyer.
What does this mean for Miss Farrell? Who knows. She could appear on both shows though. Alison Brie appears on two different shows too (Mad Men and NBC's Community), so it's possible that Spencer could still appear on Mad Men while on this show. Of course, I hope she's out of the picture and we see Rachel or Midge again.
Conan O'Brien is a better interviewee than interviewer, as this "Between Two Ferns" interview with Zach Galifianakis shows. He and Andy Richter sat down to chat with Galifianakis at FunnyorDie.com and they touch on everything from The Tonight Show to whether or not Conan touches himself while watching himself. It seems to be all scripted but it's funny (not die). There's a surprise guest star too.
Every week we can be guaranteed that Tina Fey and the people at 30 Rock will make fun of NBC in some way, whether it's product placement or The Jay Leno Show or last night's line about the green NBC peacock in the corner of the screen. Fey also isn't shy about dumping on NBC when she's away from the show either.
Oh my God! It's a zombie! Quick! Get a shovel or something heavy that will remove a human head or destroy its brain! Yes, TV shows can become zombies too. 
Chuck will be 
(S04E06) "Oh brother. Are they really going to do something this year or just put that stupid green peacock in the corner of the screen?" - Liz, about NBC's Green Week
Okay, take the idea of Shark Tank (or Dragon's Den if you're a BBC America fan), mix it with the 
There's something a little unnerving about the fact that the 
The "
A few months ago, 
I know, saying "Don Draper's mistress" doesn't really narrow it down, does it?
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
Let's talk about spoilers ...
The Prisoner -- An early look
