Things That Made Me Smile Today

• Tina Fey threatened to move to outer space if John McCain and Sarah Palin win this election
• Speaking of which, the rest of the TV public (lead by the New York Times no less) is finally as outraged as I am that 30 Rock isn't starting for another two and a half weeks.
  
• This Friday, October 17, there will be an entire Jeopardy category devoted to Mad Men. You can practice your skills online right now with an online edition of Mad Men Jeopardy right now though.
• Best new feature ever: An addictionary for all things The Office on NBC.com. Fans can add their own entries which means some are much funnier than others. I'm glad someone else remembered this.
• Gawker ran a wonderful piece today by a guy who tried out for America's Got Talent. Oh the shit they put you through.

Photo: http://www.examiner.com/

A Special Announcement From edubTV:
edubTV is moving! Yes, we'll be leaving Blogger and moving into a bigger house with a backyard over at Wordpress. What does this mean for you? If you are one of the five people who follow us, you need to update your bookmarks, feed readers, brains, etc and starting accessing our site by going to edubTV.com and NOT edubtv.blogspot.com. Soon, edubTV.com will be the only way to find us. I'll post this announcement at the end of every post for the next few days to remind you but the shift will probably take place by the end of the week. As far as housewarming gifts go, we enjoy fine liquors and elegant floral arrangements.

A Few Remarkable Things About Tonight's Emmys

• It ended on time, even a few minutes early. Though it got a little annoying towards the end with every presenter reminding people the show was running late and that their jokes were cut. Worse? The jokes that stayed weren't that good. Watching Rickey Gervais blow a few minutes on a good bit was well worth it though.
• Just what were the hosts there for? They didn't even open the show (thanks Oprah!) and they only appeared once or twice the rest of the night. If this show is going to have hosts then they need to do something. It should be their job to move the show long. Otherwise, skip the whole job altogether.
• Other than an excellent Cartman impression the only thing Josh Groban did tonight was prove his voice only works with one style of music.
• My picks were pretty off for the better part of the night. Bad for me but great for some folks who surprised the oddsmakers and took home the awards. I definitely tip my hat to Bryan Cranston who foiled Emmy pools nationwide for his best actor in a drama series win over "sure thing" Jon Hamm. Here's the thing...I called Bryan Cranston's win not once but twice right here on this blog. I really should've double checked this thing before submitting my list.
• I really enjoyed the way they incorporated mock sets from old television shows. What a fitting tribute to some great programs. (And did I mention it was great to see Martin Sheen again? I just watched the finale of West Wing on Bravo last week and I realized just how much I miss it.)
• How much do I love that Tina Fey took home the biggies tonight? Almost too much. She's truly remarkable. I still don't quite get why folks aren't watching 30 Rock.
  
• Other than Tina Fey, the biggest winner of the night? Don Rickles. Funniest guy on stage. We need to welcome Old Hollywood back for these things every year.
  
• The Laugh-In folks can stay at home though. Laugh-In is usually much funnier, too bad that's the impression most young people will be left with after tonight. Check some of it out at your local media library folks. It was great 40 years ago.
  
• And briefly: Best Dressed: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Worst Dressed: January Jones...Yikes!
• Want a list of all the winners? Check 'em out here.
  

I'm already chomping at the bit for next year. I suppose the Golden Globes will have to tide me over.

It's Time For The Big Dance: My Emmy Picks

This is my Super Bowl. I've booked and scheduled every minute of my day today to ensure I can successfully be in front of my television and ready to watch in awe without feeling guilty about homework, job applications, etc. I've studied, I've read thousands of blogs entries and watched even more hours of TV in preparation for this night. This is my thing. This is the one night my medium gets to truly celebrate itself. After a long year with a Writer's Strike and turmoil with the actors, the industry needs this. Frankly, I need this too.

So here are my picks for the primary categories at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards. I pretty much stuck to party lines here (30 Rock & Mad Men) but in categories where I couldn't, I went with my instinct...even if it means Ryan Seacrest wins an Emmy.

COMEDY SERIES
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
The Office
30 Rock
Two and a Half Men

My Pick: 30 Rock

DRAMA SERIES
Boston Legal
Damages
Dexter
House
Lost
Mad Men

My Pick: Mad Men

ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men

My Pick: Alec Baldwin

ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
James Spader, Boston Legal

My Pick: Jon Hamm

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

My Pick: Tina Fey

ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Glenn Close, Damages
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

My Pick: Glenn Close

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Kevin Dillon, Entourage
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Rainn Wilson, The Office

My Pick: Neil Patrick Harris

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Ted Danson, Damages
Michael Emerson, Lost
Zeljko Ivanek, Damages
William Shatner, Boston Legal
John Slattery, Mad Men

My Pick: John Slattery

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies
Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live
Jean Smart, Samantha Who?
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty

My Pick: Amy Poehler

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Candice Bergen, Boston Legal
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy

My Pick: Candice Bergen

REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race
American Idol
Dancing With The Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef

My Pick: The Amazing Race

HOST FOR A REALITY OR REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars
Heidi Klum, Project Runway
Howie Mandel, Deal or No Deal
Jeff Probst, Survivor
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol

My Pick: Ryan Seacrest

BEST MINI-SERIES
John Adams
Cranford
Tin Man
The Andromeda Strain

My Pick: John Adams

BEST VARIETY SERIES
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show With John Stewart
Late Show With David Letterman
Real Time With Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live

My Pick: The Daily Show With John Stewart

Think I'm totally off base? TV Addict is holding an Emmy picks contest and the winner receives Season 2 of 30 Rock. Press your luck and enter here. Happy viewing folks!

Don Draper Would Tell Me I'm Being Childish

So it's no secret that I'm a little into Mad Men. This weekend that love hit a new level of potential fanaticism.

First, I spent sometime researching the title and artist of the MM theme song and downloading a copy. In case you were wondering, it's not an original song for the show. It's a electronic jazz piece called A Beautiful Mine by a group called RJD2. (By the way, that's really hard to say without saying R2D2.)

Anyway, I downloaded the MP3 and went over to Mobile17. If you're not familiar with the site, you can take any MP3 on your computer and make a ringtone 4-40 seconds long...for FREE! Go now. So anyway, I made myself a Mad Men theme song ringtone and now whenever my phone rings I wait a little bit to answer. Sorry if I missed your call today.

My second fanatical moment? I heard Jon Hamm will be hosting SNL in October and I screamed at the top of my lungs. Smoking and slick period costumes combined with Kristen Wiig and other funny folks? Swell news indeed.

Third, I am re-arranging my schedule tomorrow to ensure I can watch the Emmy's live tomorrow evening just so I can see the show continue to make history. I may Live Blog, we'll see if I've got the energy. However, for sure I'll post my Emmy picks tomorrow morning. Expect a lot of 30 Rock and of course...Mad Men.

Photo: http://electricityandlust.wordpress.com

Free TV Bonanza! Thanks NBC!

NBC finally came to their senses and re-inked a deal with Apple. Now you can go back to downloading all of your favorites from the iTunes store again (even though their all free on Hulu).

The peacock is celebrating the good news by giving away HD downloads of some of their hit shows for free!

I downloaded the 4th season premiere episode of The Office and the free ep of 30 Rock. The files are giant but it's worth it to watch Michael Scott vomit chicken alfredo in high definition.

Photo: magneticmediafed.com

In Case You Were Wondering...

just where I'll be for the next 4-6 weeks, take a look at this handy calendar of Fall TV Season Premieres courtesy of The TV Addict.

The calendar is month-at-a-glance and lists each show's premiere date, network and even whether or not it gets the Addict's seal of approval.

With so many shows starting later than usual (cough cough 30 Rock, cough cough) this is an excellent way to make sense of it all. Plus you can print out and put it on the fridge or next to the remote.

Love it!

Photo: TheTvAddict.com

Chiming In On NBC's Lack of Love for 30 Rock

NBC is pimping out its fall line-up during the jillion and one commercial breaks during the Olympics. I've seen multiple spots for The Office, (including an excellent one about a game called slapface) Heroes, and My Name Is Earl. I've even seen spots for new shows like that Christian Slater thriller. Sidenote: I have a hard time getting over the fact that he's a young, greasy-looking version of Jack Nicholson (sans acting chops).

I digress. What have I not seen commercials for? 30 Rock. The show got nominated for 17 Emmys. Count 'em. 17. Despite being critically accalimed and for my money one of the funniest if not the most consistently funny show on television, NBC is kind of giving it the cold shoulder.

Other example: The Office and Earl premiere September 25. They get choice hour-long spots against Grey's Anatomy on what will be the biggest TV night of the fall season. Did I also mention that this premiere date is just four days after the Emmy's. When does 30 Rock premiere? OCTOBER 30. So instead of blitzing the hell out of a show that will undoubtedly do well at the Emmy's, NBC is keeping 30 Rock locked away until everyone except the die-hards can forget about it again.

It's tragic really. It's like the first half of Intervention. Please don't throw your life away on Earl NBC. Please!

For those of you not on the 30 Rock bandwagon yet, here's your step-stool. Hop on board bitches. If NBC has their way, this one is going the way of Arrested Development.

Photo: bp3.blogger.com

Emmy Nominations! Finally!

So there's a lot to say about the Emmy nominees and I may not be able to get it all in this post.

First, if you take a quick look at the list (which is impossible by the way, there are a lot of categories) you'll discover a few shows/actors/etc that were really surprising. Best Week Ever took a look at some of the shocking inclusions but I made a list of my own.

-Take a look at this list of Emmy nominees: Canterbury's Law, Disney Phineas And Ferb, Kid Nation, Pirate Master, Saving Grace. Please note that the list includes Pirate Master and one of my favorite shows of all time, Kid Nation. Can you guess what category this is? Outstanding shows no one watched? Worst shows ever according to the NY Times Arts section/the rest of society? Nope? Outstanding Original Main Title Music. I know! Who knew? If Kid Nation wins an Emmy...in anything, it will be the best day ever.

-John Adams smoked every single mini-series category. The HBO miniseries earned a mind boggling 23 noms. 23. Expect to hear their patriotic theme a million times on show night.

-Tina Fey and the rest of the 30 Rock gang scored 17 nominations, granted four of those are in one category (Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series). This show still doesn't get enough love. I think the only way people will watch it is if it can sweep the comedy, actress in a comedy series, and actor in a comedy series. The thing is, I think it can and will.

-Bryan Cranston got nominated for his superb work on Breaking Bad. My roommates hated this show and to them I say, " I told you so."

Other than Two and a Half nomination (seriously?) the list is pretty much exactly as I'd hoped. You can read the whole thing right here. Despite the strike, it looks like it's going to be an excellent awards season.

Welcome Back Everybody!

Tonight was my first busy night of television since before the Strike. ABC's Thursday night line-up (Ugly Betty, Grey's, Lost) premiered tonight and NBC tried out a new time-slot for 30 Rock. Both of these tidbits were great news for me, especially on the same night. The time slot switch made it possible for me to watch all of my shows in one sitting. It was like a new lane opening up on a busy highway.

Anyone else settle in for a night of superb comedies topped off by perplexing drama (thanks LOST)? It was really nice to have so many options again. Not only that, but the episodes were really well done. I'm officially back in the swing of things...

just in time for things with SAG to heat up. I won't be able to take another strike. Hopefully it won't come to that.

I'm going to sleep well tonight.

Things That Some Consider Better Than The Office Returning Tonight

• Sex
• An air hockey table
  
• The irresistible siren song of a well-worn book
• Deep Dish pizza and a good sit-down
• The movie Mrs. Doubtfire
• And for some reason, American Idol.
  

In actuality, there is little if anything short of a family or natural disaster that would keep me away from tonight's television docket.

New 30 Rock at 7:30, New Office at 8. I've been waiting too long to write it. Tonight it's finally true.

SNL Is The New Black

Jonah Hill (Superbad, Knocked Up) hosted SNL last night. It was probably the funniest episode of the show since they've been back from the strike.

My favorite tidbits were both political. Darrel Hammond did a bang-up job as John McCain and Tracy Morgan had a surprisingly funny rant on Barack Obama. It was a much needed rebuttal to Tina Fey's segment on Hillary Clinton a few weeks ago.




I still have a hard time telling Tracy Morgan and the character he plays on 30 Rock apart. If you've ever seen the show, you know that's kind of sad. 90% of the time I can do it, but it's that 10% that makes me wonder whether or not I should be laughing.

Edward Herrmann is The Man

I was watching Grey's Anatomy tonight. I know, I know. I said I quit. And I did. But there was nothing on TV and I got sucked in on a one-liner. But truth be told, I was glad I watched. It's probably not for the reasons you think. 

I still hate Yang. I don't want to hear about Lexie Grey, and George is a fool for leaving a fox like Callie for an annoying bitch like Izzie. But I digress. 

I enjoyed tonight's episode because it featured a guest appearance by my favorite old-man actor, Edward Herrmann. On Grey's he plays the old-man intern Norman, who starts medical school after 30 years as a pharmacist. Herrmann is better known to our generation as Mr. Rich in the Richie Rich movie, and Grandpa Richard Gilmore on Gilmore Girls.

I was reminded of how much I enjoyed Herrmann's acting and comedic timing when I watched a recent episode of 30 Rock. His stint on Grey's only solidified my thoughts. He always gets stuck playing the uppity, know-it-all rich white guy, but he does it with a charm that makes The Man so much more tolerable. 

Kudos to you Ed. That's a feat very few people could manage. 

Losing Out On Viewers: Or Why I Hate TV Online

Last night I discovered that I hadn't made quite as large a dent into Lost as I previously thought. I assumed I had about six episodes left but in reality it's closer to 16. With less than a month until the premiere, I decided to watch one online last night.

To my surprise, ABC.com has the entire third season available on their site and with " imited commercial interruption" no less. What a nice gesture right? Too bad I can't make it through 45 seconds of the show without it skipping and getting blurry, or the color going out, or the picture not matching up with the voices. The commercials seem to come in okay (shocking!) but I have to suffer in silence over the poor quality of the episode.

I thought it was an ABC problem, but I tried to watch an episode of 30 Rock online as a test and I had an even harder time. I had a frozen picture of Liz Lemon on my screen for about 6 minutes before I gave up.

It doesn't make sense. I have a pretty new computer and I'm using a fast internet connection. Can't a girl just watch pretty people whine about the elements in peace? Or do they intentionally fuck with me so I give up and get the DVD?

Now they've really lost me.

Show I'm Going To Miss The Most...

if the Writers Strike doesn't end soon:

30 Rock.

Tonight's episode made that pretty much official. There's nothing I enjoy more than shows about awkward women dating hot guys, studio heads running baseball teams, allusions to the Iraq war, and Vili Fualaau jokes. I usually don't watch 30 Rock on its first-run because I'm a converted Ugly Betty fan. But thanks to a re-run, I got reacquainted with all of my favorites.

Frank (Judah Friedlander) was exceptionally "on" tonight. I don't usually find his character too funny, but his challenge to traditional sex roles was hilarious. Why can't two straight dudes enjoy each other's bodies? Quote of the night.

Cross your fingers these deals are working. The WGA comes back to the table next week. In a perfect world, 30 Rock wouldn't be interrupted. I'm just hoping the void doesn't last too long.

Writers Strike: Day 11

Adorably awkward, Michael Cera, is hosting SNL this weekend. You may be thinking, "Won't there be a rerun?" Nope. The New York Post is reporting the show will go on...stage that is.

The casts of SNL and 30 Rock will perform stage versions of their shows at a small theater in New York City.

Tickets are only $20 and the proceeds go to the WGA strike fund.

That show is going to be wonderful. I am officially jealous that I will be missing it. This is one of the only good things to come out of the strike so far, at least where fans are concerned.

Writers Strike: Day 1

It begins! So far the picket line was peaceful. One picketer was hit by a car, but it doesn't appear to be malicious. 

This handy guide from the LA Times will keep you up to date on all of your favorite shows. I am most worried about 30 Rock. They've only got 8 episodes in the can and they're shooting the ninth this week. I miss Tracy Morgan already. How can I go on without Werewolf Bar Mitzvah?

I guess we'll have to find out.