Look, NBC is still on my shit list for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the cancellation of Life, and let’s not even talk about the entire 10:00 hour. However, I will say that the Thursday night lineup they have this season is the best one they’ve had in years. I’m in love with The Office, 30 Rock, and Parks and Recreation. Now, having only seen the first episode of Community, I have a good feeling about this show.

So what makes me love this episode so much? Well, the fact that Joel McHale wears track pants with a blazer certainly doesn’t hurt, nor does the fact that John Oliver from The Daily Show is in the cast, as is Pete Campbell’s wife. These things are all nice, but it’s Abed (Dani Pudi) who made me snort my soda.

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Dear Reza Aslan,

I swear to God, I am not a shallow person. Usually. I mean, do I have my totally awful moments of objectifying dudes when I really shouldn’t? Of course. I’m human, okay. Anyone who says they don’t do this is a filthy liar.

Now, there’s this whole thing going on in Iran with the election and so on and so forth. And since I pride myself on being politically conscientious, I am all up in that business. I have done my homework, listened to my NPR, and written my requisite informative blog post for the totally lost and overwhelmed. I now can speak intelligently on Iranian politics. (Ask me, really!) And, being the conscious person I am, I’ve been watching the news. And you’re on it. A lot. And this is causing me to have a lot of problems with being a non-reprehensible human being.

See, usually, if I tune into The Daily Show or the Rachel Maddow Show, I can concentrate on what is being said. I do not spend my time feeling unaccountably attracted to, say, former presidential advisers or four-star generals, and when I’m expecting those dudes to appear and then you show up with your hot self, my guard is down and you’re kind of killing me with your gorgeousness.  If I was watching a normal show, disproportionately pretty people would be showing up left and right and it wouldn’t seem quite so jarring. (That is not to say I wouldn’t still take time out and stare at you, of course, I’m just saying it’s less expected when I am catering to my more intellectual side to find myself giggling like a thirteen-year-old. Sometimes, I even put my chin in my hands and sigh. I didn’t do that when I was actually thirteen. This is a problem, dude.)

And then this Iran business came up and I’m having issues, because now there is a terrible, awful part of me that wants these protests to go on forever so you and your sexy, Iranian-born doctorate of religion self can be on my television. Forever.

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Maybe it’s because I have British friends so this becomes ten times more hilarious, maybe it’s because I’m enchanted by John Oliver’s dimples, or maybe it’s just that I find it so gosh-darn adorable when other countries try to have scandals, but I thought that last night’s second segment on the Daily Show was beyond fabulous.

This is not to say I don’t usually pee my pants laughing over Jon Stewart, because I do.  But I’ve found that the more I get involved in politics and understanding on a “why yes I do watch White House press briefings sometimes, stop laughing at me” sort of way that the oversimplifications that used to not bother me are now starting to rankle.

Both of my siblings and my best friend would really, really like it if I could stop laughing and then turning to them and going “okay, that was funny, but let me explain to you all the ways in which Jon oversimplified the matter and how in fact this falls in murky waters so far as checks and balances go…” And I would like it to. But alas, those days are gone. My inner politics geek has reared it’s ugly, egg-shaped head, and I cannot go back to my dreamy innocence.

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Though Obama released Bush Era torture memos ten days ago, they’re still all anyone in the news media (both real and fake) has been able to talk about since. I can’t really say why. Perhaps they take a very long time to read? Perhaps people are comforted by finding something even more depressing than the economy? Whatever the reason, torture was the name of the game at Comedy Central, a high order, considering that even I have issues joking about torture. That’s right. I’ll make off-color jokes about 9/11 but torture? Torture is a challenge.

And that’s why I leave such things to the professionals.
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(Week of January 19, 2008)

Hey, kids! It’s time for a quick round-up of highlights from this week’s episodes of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Barack Obama was sworn in as president on Tuesday, so it was no surprise that the entire week’s hot topic was the Inauguration. TDS did a live show, but not too much super-special came from it. I did, however, greatly enjoy the following day’s John Oliver report form the Mall, in which he touched upon subjects like the n-word and making out with various men and women slowly freezing to death.

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(Week of January 12, 2008)

First of all, in case you haven’t heard, Barack Obama is going to be sworn in on Tuesday, and everybody in DC is gonna get totally wasted on hope and the champagne-filled reflection pool. It’s going to be the craziest Inauguration Day ever, and The Daily Show will cover the festivities live. Sort of. Tune in to a live on-location broadcast at the regular time Tuesday night. Unfortunately, Stephen won’t be joining in. I’m sure there will be some sort of bitter remark at some point during The Colbert Report.

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(Week of January 5, 2008)

Hey, kids! It’s time for a quick round-up of highlights from this week’s episodes of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. I hope Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert got plenty of well-deserved vacay time and Happy 2009 and blah blah blah, but I’m so glad to see them again. God, it feels like it’s been an eternity since the last episode. Also, judging by how big news tends to happen while the boys are away, I’m surprised the world hasn’t blown up.

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