We very clearly remember the moment that we fell for The Office, the NBC stalwart that closes up shop at Dunder Mifflin tonight after nine mostly great seasons. It was the fall of 2005, when The Office was starting to find its legs after a rocky and uneven six episode first season, and we in our first autumn post-college, back at our parents’, and for the first time since we were four-years-old not attending school. We were at our best friend and future roommate’s house, hanging out, maybe barbecuing, maybe drinking a few beers, maybe watching the first season of Lost on DVD, which dominated much of our time (and thoughts) during that period. We knew about the The Office, another blatant attempt to import a UK hit stateside, but missed its brief run earlier that year, as was the case with the aforementioned Lost, as the only shows we watched religiously during our final year of college (and last few months before true adulthood) were The Simpsons and Survivor. We did, however, recall reading that it was an imperfect translation of the original, and the Steve Carell-led vehicle – who was then best known as the other Steve from The Daily Show – was not likely to resurrect NBC Thursday night Must See TV, let alone make it past Season 2. So with the middling reviews in mind, and the fact that we were unfamiliar with the original Ricky Gervais version, we didn’t go out of our way to watch the show. But that night changed everything.
Category Archives: Is That Still On?
Branch Closing – A Farewell to ‘The Office’
Congratulations, Ted Danson!
Your new star of CSI!
And here, exclusively on Jumped The Snark, is a sneak peek of his upcoming debut:
Lawrence who???
[footage courtesy of wexlerglazer]
We FINALLY Weigh-In On the Super Bowl XLV Commercials
Boy, are we glad we bailed out the auto industry. So they could spend money on helicopters, Greek gods, aliens and ancient civilizations. All in one commercial!
Also, what? That’s not cool, right?
Also, why does Coca-Cola even bother coming up with ideas to fill 30 seconds. Their worldwide brand awareness is 110%. Just have a single title card that says “Why waste any more money on this commercial? You know who we are and nothing we do here will make you more likely to drink Coke. So for the next 25 seconds here are some puppies.’ Now that’s a commercial!
We did really like this one:
But this was our favorite:
‘Conan’ on TBS: Somewhat Funny, Very O’Brien
So it happened! Conan O’Brien finally returned to TV, this time taking his talents to the basic cable shores of TBS. The anticipation was palpable, and at 11pm EST Monday night we turned our TVs to see the redhead comedian’s triumphant, cathartic, possibly historic, debut.
And then at midnight, after Conan finished jamming with buddy Jack White, he signed off and George Lopez came on, an hour later than usual, but, with Daylight Saving time having just gone into effect, perhaps completely in line with our circadian rhythms.
And, well, the world had not changed.
Read on: The message or the medium, Andy shines and the Jewish elephant in the room…
Filed under Analysis, Good Humor, Interweb, Is That Still On?, Talkies
More Jumped The Snark Nostalgia: Best ‘SNL’ of the 00s
With the Saturday Night Live retrospective In the 2000s: Time and Again airing last Thursday, we thought it would be a great time to revisit our list of the best SNL sketches of the 00s from earlier in the year. If you saw the show, you might recognize some of our selections.
(Belated) Top 10 SNL of the Decade
And here’s a clip that didn’t make the broadcast, a behind the scenes look at the Sarah Palin rap. I will never, ever, get tired of seeing Jason Sukeikis as Todd Palin.
Vodpod videos no longer available.And, for kicks, here’s one of our favorite sketches of the new decade. Been meaning to work this one in for a while, and this seems like a good excuse.
Vodpod videos no longer available.For the record my dad loves Burn Notice.
Filed under Good Humor, Is That Still On?, Saturday Night Live
Score One for Gritty Cop Dramas!
As rumored since its axe by NBC, the Gritty Cop Drama Southland has been rescued by TNT. What’s more is that the cable net will air the Gritty Cop Drama Fridays at 10pm (starting Jan 12), setting up a smackdown against new nemesis Jay Leno (if Leno survives til the New Year).
No word yet if the addition of Southland to the TNT roster will require the show to add a Strong Female Lead, à la The Closer, Saving Grace and HawthroRNe. Might I make a recommendation? Or, if she’s not available, they can take SNL‘s suggestion and bring Penny Marshall aboard:
Vodpod videos no longer available.Of course, the big question is what does this all mean for Dick Wolf? Well, TNT already airs syndicated episodes of the flagship Law & Order franchise, so perhaps Mr. Wolf will bring original episodes of the series here when NBC replaces his show with Dateline: To Catch a Biggest Loser.
via Variety
Filed under Is That Still On?, Must See TV
NBC Admits Mistake, Pretends It Will Focus on Quality Programming
NBCU Television Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin stated yesterday that, when referring to his network’s programming strategy, “The goal is not to manage for margins. It is to put the best possible programs we can on the air.” AKA he was apologizing for Jay Leno, and the mess it created. Of course he’s only sorry because the experiment failed. However, it’s good to know that NBC will welcoming quality shows again.
Of course, what he really meant is that the goal is to “put the best possible programs we can on the air that will also net us the best ratings.” They learned that it’s not just enough to make a profit, as the Jay Leno Show is sorta doing, but that you have to garner strong audiences as well. Let’s not confuse this with a willingness to put brilliant programs before ratings. If that were the case Freaks and Geeks would have run for seven years. No, this just means that while we will see some new comedies and dramas we’ll also see more Biggest Losers. Cheap shows that also pull in big numbers. For them, that’s the “best possible program” (and not sure I can say I blame them).
Filed under Analysis, Is That Still On?, Makes You Think
I Told You, Dick Wolf
The Biggest Loser pulls down big numbers Tuesday night.
Hear that, Wolf? They’re coming. Slowly, but surely (mostly slowly), they’re coming for your empire.
Filed under Century 21 Reality, Is That Still On?, Who's the Boss?
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