TVSquad

OK, I know I'm about the 7,321st person to complain about this but...

Why on God's green earth does NBC insist on super-sizing its sitcoms during sweeps?

I thought they were done with this after Friends left the air two years ago, but it looks like it's coming back with a vengance, with Will & Grace, My Name Is Earl, and The Office all airing 40-minute episodes tonight.

We all know what super-sizing is for: pumping up ratings in fallow time periods (namely, the Thursday 8:30 black hole that NBC has had since, oh, around 1995) so the network can charge advertisers more money. But we also all know what we get with these "extended" episodes: five minutes of extra footage that has nothing to do with the plot and is easily forgotten when the episode is rerun at normal length, and five extra minutes of commercials. And, I'm sure this scheduling quirk is going to fool a PVR or two and completely screw up people who still -- heaven forbid -- still use VCRs (I mean, how many casual TV fans are going to remember that Earl begins at 8:40 tonight?)

So if the beginning or end of your favorite Thursday NBC show gets cut off, there are ways for you to voice your opinion; just make sure it's constructive. And ,no, "F U NBC!" is not a constructive message.