TVSquad

(S01E15) Let's skip the foreplay, get straight to the penetra-sch. Three storylines. Josh's negotiation. Kenneth's induction into Tracy's entourage. Jenna's Maxim gaffe. All brilliant.

Despite the perennial grousing about the dearth of good comedy on TV, Thursday nights alone are a careful, VCR-assisted juggling act for me between The Office, The Sarah Silverman Program, Ugly Betty and 30 Rock. It's like a mini-golden age of comedic goodness. The best part is that each show couldn't be more different from the other. 30 Rock doesn't do telenovela plot twists or series-long character arcs or queffing episodes. Well, they might do a queffing episode if that were permissible on network television. What 30 Rock does best is goofy set pieces, zippy one-liners and Alec Baldwin. So, let's get straight to the goods, shall we? An inventory, if you will.

I know how you feel. Really, I do. A TV show comes along that seems so obvious in its mediocrity you can't fathom why so many people enjoy it. You list myriad examples of how the show is sub-par, or a blatant rip-off of another show, or too reliant on "easy" jokes, but no one will listen to you. They just keep watching and touting the show as if it's some work of genius. It's enough to make you go insane and eat your own face.

Family Guy may be popular, but there's still a lot of people who don't like it. My feelings on this subject are paradoxical. I like Family Guy, but I still have to agree with people who say the writing isn't always up to snuff, and that the show relies too heavily on pop culture references as a substitute for humor. Brian has a line in one episode that always makes me cringe: describing New York City, he claims it's "like Prague, sans the whimsy." Maybe it's just me, but it sounds like some college freshman trying to sound smarter than he is.