TVSquad

Thursday's return of 30 Rock afforded a pretty fun segue into The Jay Leno Show. 30 Rock has always been a little self-aware, and here they took that to the next level. During the closing credits, Jack (Alec Baldwin) said to Liz (Tina Fey), "Step into the light, Lemon. There's nothing wrong with being fun and popular and just giving people what they want." He then turns directly to the camera and adds: "Ladies and gentlemen, Jay Leno."

Unfortunately, when we cut to The Jay Leno Show, his dancing girls (an homage to Jenna's video in 30 Rock) were better at looking good in their tight shorts than they were at dancing. Then, after Leno came out, we got to overhear a woman wanting to get something signed. "Can I leave it?"

I did enjoy the smooth transition into the show. It creates a sense of synergy on the network where you feel like all these shows are one big happy family. Except for Southland. But I guess there's always that one relative nobody wants around ... Hey, I just wrote a Jay Leno joke!

When I first heard that Stephen Colbert was doing a Christmas special, I had my doubts. It didn't seem in character. You don't see Bill O'Reilly and his type doing Christmas specials. However, upon watching the show, I think that's the point. There's also the idea of holiday commercialism and making a buck that the character of Stephen Colbert definitely believes in.

Okay, brass tacks: the special was funny. It was a commercial holiday special that took the piss out of the commercialness of the holiday yet had a heart at its center. This could easily have seemed as corny as the 1970's shows that they were doing a pastiche of, but it came across as cute and fun.

• NBC has more Olympics coverage all night.
• TCM has Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movies all night.
• At 8, CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News has the Saddleback Church Presidential Forum.
• ESPN has Little League World Series coverage at 8.
• Disney Channel has a new Disney Channel Games at 8, then a new Suite Life of Zack & Cody.
• Food Network has Ice Cream Unwrapped at 8.
• CMTV has Elvis: Viva Las Vegas at 8, with Toby Keith, Chris Isaak, Celine Dion, Faith Hill, 50 Cent, and others doing Elvis songs. It's followed by Jailhouse Rock.
• At 9, FOX has a new America's Most Wanted.
• CNBC has a new Suze Orman Show at 9.
• Lifetime has the movie Confessions of a Go-Go Dancer at 9.
• Cartoon Network has two new episodes of Naruto at 9.
• At 9:30, HGTV has a new Divine Design.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Toby Keith, country star and supporter of the rectally-inserted footwear approach to terrorism, recently starred in the movie Broken Bridges, about a country star who returns home to his high school sweetheart and a sixteen year old daughter he's never met. The movie also stars Willie Nelson, Kelly Preston, Tess Harper and Burt Reynolds. CMT Films produced the movie along with Paramount, so if you missed it in the theaters you can catch it on CMT Friday December 15 at 8 pm before the DVD comes out on January 9. CMT will also be airing several specials centered around Toby Keith, just in case you have a deficiency in your Toby system and need to get re-energized. Remember, the surgeon general recommends four servings of Toby a day. At least that guy at the bus stop claimed he was the surgeon general. I was somewhat suspicious since he was telling this to a half-eaten can of peas with his pants around his ankles. Still, one must respect his elders.