NBC Sitcoms Watch: Four on the Floor

By James Poniewozik | @poniewozik | November 13, 2009 | +

As much as we all like to beat on NBC lately, its Thursday comedy lineup is—whatever weekly ups and downs it has—the most consistently solid sitcom block it’s had in years, if not ever, without a single Stark Raving Mad-like filler show in the bunch. That leaves a so-much-to-cover-so-little-time problem, though, so this week, I’m trying an experiment: NBC’s Thursday night, gallery style! Click on the pix for my impressions, and we’ll see whether this turns out to be a horrible mistake. [Update: Tell me what you think of the format, by the way—not that you weren't going to tell me anyway]:

: Community

: Parks and Recreation

: The Office

: 30 Rock

Related Topics: 30 rock, community, parks and recreation, The Office, Uncategorized

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beerbaron

The slideshow worked well for me because I missed Community and don’t want to read anything about it.

This is a great lineup. I love all the shows and you never know which one is going to bring the most laughs. It’s kind of sad to remember all the crap sitcoms I watched in the ’90s just because NBC ran them between Friends, Seinfeld and ER. I don’t know why I couldn’t just shut off the TV and read instead of watching “Jesse”.
Rorschach

I like the format very much. And I also liked Stark Raving Mad, a lot, so you lost what points you gained :)
maytinee

oooh, I like this format. It makes it easier to avoid what I haven’t seen.

I thought Padma Lakshmi on 30 Rock worked better than expected, but that’s probably because she was paired with Jack. I’m also interested in how long “Danny” is going to stick around; he was another case of better than expected.
mimsysnark

Yeah, I loved the format because I only watched The Office and 30 Rock and only cared to know what you thought of them. I thought The Office episode was so-so but loved 30 Rock. The new actor (Robot guy, don’t remember real name) brought a breath of fresh air, plus he was cute which didn’t hurt, and I really loved the sweet portrayal of Liz and Jack’s relationship. The relationship between the two of them is the best part of the show for me, so I was happy to see a happy resolution there.
http://tomcamfield.wordpress.com/ Tom

I like the format, even though my internet security system means I get four pictures on a grey background rather than the magical sounding slideshow. Made it very easy to access your comments after watching each show.
nedlum

“its Thursday comedy lineup is—whatever weekly ups and downs it has—the most consistently solid sitcom block it’s had in years”

A couple weeks ago, it was 30 Rock, the Office, My Name is Earl, and Scrubs. That was a good time.
nedlum

“its Thursday comedy lineup is—whatever weekly ups and downs it has—the most consistently solid sitcom block it’s had in years”

A couple years ago, it was 30 Rock, the Office, My Name is Earl, and Scrubs. That was a good time.
gnatalby

I thought Padma on 30 Rock was basically the same joke as Jon Hamm in “The Bubble.”

The joke that pretty people are universally incompetent is kind of hard to take on a show that is chock full of pretty pretty people.