30 Rock 512 Review- Strictly 80s Joel

Tracy- "Five years ago I saved your show! I rode in here on a white horse...that you made me leave in the lobby."

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. I have been giving 30 Rock a hard time as of late, but "Operation Righteous Cowboy Lightning" did everything I could ask of an episode, and then some.

We got laughs from a variety of characters, there were a couple of great guest stars on hand and they even got me choked up for a mere moment.

While Tracy Jordan was as crazy as ever this week, he was so logical in his ridiculous behavior that it was almost more funny than usual. Acting nice in front of his wife's reality show cameras was both a smart move if he wants to win that Oscar, and was hilarious to watch as he agreed to do more and more helpful things for Liz.

To read the rest of my review of last night's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 512- "Operation Righteous Cowboy Lightning"
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The Office 713 Review- The Seminard Dog

Kevin- "Andy, I'm not Jim. The only way that I'm Jim is in the movie version when Jim sees what his future would be like if he never met Pam."

Although I've always assumed that The Office was going to suffer greatly without Steve Carrell, this week's episode was the first time I've had an actual feel for what it might be like without him - and it hurts.

Much like when they attempted to make Jim the lead character here and there, back when he was branch manager, "The Seminar" used Andy Bernard to move the plot along. But the sad truth is that neither Ed Helms nor John Krasinski can match Carrell.

I really liked "The Seminar," but it was more because of the performances around Helms than because of what the Nard Dog was doing himself. Many of the minor players got up off the bench to give us some laughs this week, starting with a guest appearance by the creator and star of the original The Office, Ricky Gervais.

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 713 - "The Seminar"
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One Tree Hill 812 Review- I Am Hung-Overrr

Dave Navarro- "Hey where's that other chick that I nailed? I want to apologize to her for the black eye."

The video cameras were finally back in Tree Hill, NC after the long winter hiatus, and it may have been enjoyable for the girls of Brooke's bachelor party, but not for viewers. On "The Drinks We Drank Last Night," the show paid homage to The Hangover, but it was simply a sub-par knockoff of that classic comedy.

One problem for me, which will come with plenty of boos and hisses from readers? I was not that big a fan of The Hangover. Therefore, watching Brooke, Quinn and the gang stroll around town trying to remember everything that happened during their drunken escapades from the night before didn't do anything for me.

Think about it: Watching Frank the Tank guzzle beers is hilarious in Old School because Will Ferrell is hysterical. If the actors aren't funny, the scenes aren't going to be funny. So watching Alex, Millie, etc. remembering their evening just made me feel miserable for them.

Boy did the TV Fanatics get after me for hating this episode. To read the rest of my review of last night's One Tree Hill, and check out the commenters calling for my head, go over to TV Fanatic.

One Tree Hill 812 - "The Drinks We Drank Last Night"
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Chuck 412 Review- As Long As I Get An Eyeball

Chuck: I see what's going on here. You're afraid I'm just gonna sit around the house eating Fritos all day because Sarah's gone.

Morgan: I thought it might be Cheetos, but yeah.

Chuck has claimed his love will always remain "the exact same Sarah Walker." But that wasn't really the case in "Chuck Versus the Gobbler." Draped in leather, wearing a jet black wig and sunglasses, this was not the blonde, orange mini skirt-donning, ice cream scooper we knew from a couple of seasons ago.

Sarah was attempting to convince Volkoff that she had turned bad this week, and while that may have proved to be easier than one might imagine, it involved tearing herself away from Chuck. This was not an easy task for Agent Walker.

While some have complained that Chuck and Sarah have never been able to just be happy, I ask: who wants to watch that? Chuck has done a good job lately of keeping conflict between our romantic heroes, yet not making any of it seem stale.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Chuck, head over to TV Fanatic.

Chuck 412 - "Chuck vs. the Gobbler"
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The Office 712 Review- Talk Me Down

Michael- "If she's engaged, I'm going to go crazy, and I'm going to start attacking people. If she's not engaged, in all honesty, I might just burn this whole place down to the ground out of happiness. Either way I am going to need some talking down, and nobody talks me down like myself in a video talking me down."

Although it had been over a month since the last new episode of The Office aired, there was no way to forget the quality of "Classy Christmas." This week's "Ultimatum" was not a bad half hour of television, but compared to the previous ep, it was difficult to thoroughly enjoy it.

As the title says, this week in Scranton was all about whether Holly Flax went through with her ultimatum. We previously had found out that she had told her boyfriend, AJ, that if they didn't get engaged before the year was over, they would be through. Well, the new year came and went, there was no ring on Holly's finger, and she was still with the aforementioned AJ. What a bummer!

To read the rest of my review of last night's return of The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 712 - "Ultimatum"
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30 Rock 511 Review- The Fighters

Dr. Spaceman- "Tracy, you are going to die..."

Tracy- "What? No!"

Dr. Spaceman- "...when I tell you who I'm dating."

Well, that was all kinds of mediocre. There were moments when I laughed, as 30 Rock always has enough jokes to hit on a few, but overall "Mrs. Donaghy" didn't come together to make a great episode.

Let's take a look at some of the highlights and lowlights.

The theme of the episode was fighting. Whether it was Jack and Liz's strategic battle of wills, Jenna and Danny's faux marital bickering, or Pete explaining fights with his wife to everyone and anyone who asked, 30 Rockefeller Center had fights to spare.

To read the rest of my review of last night's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 511 - "Mrs. Donaghy"
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Friday Night Lights 510- He's Our Coach

Spoiler Alert...Below are some random thoughts on last night's Friday Night Lights. So before reading any further, watch the ep, chase some oranges, then read what I have to say.

Buddy Garrity- "A man can't leave if you erect a statue of him in his honor."

And so for the time being, Coach Eric Taylor remains in Dillon. Buddy and the rest of the boosters did not erect a statue of the stoic Coach, but the fans and the players certainly did enough to keep Coach around for a while. As we close in on the end of what has been such a fantastic series, last night's episode not only did a fantastic job of recognizing what Eric Taylor has meant to this town, but what Kyle Chandler has meant to this show. As each member of the Lions got up on stage to say how much Coach meant to them, I felt like it could have been every fan of the show getting on stage to thank Chandler for bringing the heat week in and week out. With the end in sight, is the questioning over for what happens to Coach in the end? I can't imagine so. Will the series end with him undoubtedly staying around to coach the Lions for all of eternity? Will he change his mind in the final episode and take his talents to South Beach...err where ever that Florida college is located? Or will he start to question it again, and then leave us all in the dark? Personally, I'd like to see him move on.

Speaking of Buddy's quote at the top, how on point was he this week? At the end of the day I'd argue that, like Hurley of Lost, Buddy Garrity is really what Friday Night Lights is all about. His love of this town and this community gets to the heart of this viewer, if not all of them. Between him desperately fighting to get Coach to stay in Dillon, and him pouring his heart out in order to help Tim Riggins get out of jail, Buddy was killing it in every way he could this week.

And yes Tim Riggins is out of jail and has returned to Dillon. Although he was never a peppy man, prison has definitely put Timmy Riggins in a somber mood. What the ending to his character arc will be is one of the most intriguing questions to the end of the series. Does he take another run at Becky? Will he head back to college? Will he forgive Billy and stick around to live out his life with his brother? Riggins has always been my favorite character on the show, and I'm just happy to have him back with us for the final few eps.

Finally, like Alan Sepinwall, I am "skeptical that he (Luke) hasn't gotten any interest from colleges." This another case where Friday Night Lights changes characteristics or attributes of a character without ever showing those changes in progress. Luke was the best new player West Dillon had seen in a while when East Dillon stole him away. He was as talented as Luke on offense last season, and has become the best defender on a team challenging for the state championship. How he won't be playing football in college is beyond me. Sure he won't be an NFL prospect, and hence should find other interests, but football is definitely in his future and should still help him get an education.

*Alan Sepinwall's review of last night's episode over at HitFix.com

I'm still waiting on the returns of some of our other favorite characters of the past (Landry, Tyra), but for the time being, let's look forward to seeing if the improbable run to a state title can happen to this team of recent misfits. Seriously last year they were a laughing stock of high school football, and now they're one of the best team's in the state. Coach Taylor should be jumping straight to the NFL.

Chuck 411 Review- Take Me Into Sub-Mission

Casey: Now the truth is there's no such thing as a perfect moment, or a perfect spot. So forget about the balcony, Bartowski. All you need's the girl.

Well, Chuck certainly did not waste any time getting back into a groove.

A multi-week layoff didn't affect "Chuck Versus the Balcony" too much, as the episode was filled with everything you could ask for, including Morgan acting as a double agent, a couple of preempted marriage proposals and another fantastic musical performance by Jeffster!

Let's get right to the Chuck Triple Threat, which was in full force this week.

Action
The episode started right away - with no "previously on" segment - following an operative being chased down to a wine cellar in France. It was a nice bit of action that set up for story. The same basement was where we were able to witness Sarah take out her fair share of French bad guys in order to save Casey. However, it was her stumbling drunk act that was the best part.

To read the rest of my review of last night's return of Chuck, head on over to TV Fanatic. Feel free to leave your opinion of the ep in the comment section.

Chuck 411 - "Chuck Versus the Balcony"
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