Somehow it’s Thursday again and that means new episodes of some of our favirite shows on NBC. We won’t bore you with more angry rants about the lack of Community on the schedule, we can leave that alone for the moment. Instead, let’s focus on the fun shows that are still around.

Well, to be honest, there’s pretty much only one show we know of that’s still going strong. That show? Parks and Recreation. It’s a great time and helps us forget, at least a little while, the sting of not having any Community to watch. Sorry, couldn’t help ourselves.

We’ve got previews for tonight’s Park and Rec for you today and in this episode Valentine’s Day comes early to Pawnee. Yes, it’s a V-Day episode. Don’t worry, it will be funny. We promise.

We’ve also got preview for The Office in which Jim plays hooky and things don’t go over well with his coworkers. Last, but not least, we’ve also got a preview for Up all Night, a show we haven’t really watched but it does have Will Arnett in it, so how bad can it be?

Check out all the videos after the break.

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It’s Thursday again so that means more new episodes of some of our favorite shows on NBC tonight. Sure, we still miss Community and hope it’s really coming back.

Until then, at least we’ve still got brand new episodes of 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation and more to help us pass the time. Not only that, we’ve got previews for all the new episodes for you right here too.

First up on 30 Rock, Liz invokes a pact she and Jenna made to each other years before. Then on Parks and Recreation, Knope 2012 goes on a bowling adventure.

Next up, it’s a second episode of 30 Rock called “The Ballad of Kenneth Parcell.” Finally, The Firm is back with a new episode. Havent had a chance to watch that one yet but I would bet the budget for a one hour drama show would have been more than enough to cover the cost of new episodes of Community.

Come on NBC, get with the program and give the viewers what they really want. We don’t mind that you made a mistake, we all do. Just correct it. . . soon.

Check out all the previews after the break.

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It’s Thursday so that means NBC has pretty much all the shows we watch tonight. Of course, that means we’ve also got previews for all those shows for you to enjoy.

First up is one of our favorites, Community. In the episode the study group leaves the library and heads to Troy and Abed’s new pad. Of course, it won’t be that simple.

Next up on Parks and Recreation, it’s “Treat Yo Self “day for Tom and Donna while Ron and Leslie march their respective troops to the great outdoors. The Office also heads outside, but the Scranton crew is going to a very fancy garden party — at Schrute Farms. That won’t go well.

Next is Whitney where she and Alex want to bring back the romance. To to it, they really step it up. Finally, Prime Suspect rounds out the night as Jane searches for a murderer. But this week, she’s extra edgy as she tries a new technique to quit smoking.

Check out all the previews after the break. Everything starts tonight at 8/7C with Community.

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Sorry for missing last week. My sister was getting married, and it put the kibosh on reviewing the Parks and Rec opener, which I wasn’t even aware had premiered until it came up during the reception, between one of my friends and cousin Jane, both of whom raved about it while I bit my tongue, cheek, lip, and anything with gnawing range for having missed it.

They also mentioned that next week’s episode would feature a drinking contest between Tammy I, Ron’s mom, and Leslie. Add to that the fact that the episode is titled “Ron & Tammys,” the Ron-and-Tammy episodes being among the series’ best, I was very excited for tonight.

But to back up a bit, we’re finally introduced to what we can only believe is the demon whose evil outdoes even Satan (Tammy II): Tammy I (Patricia Clarkson, looking sexy in an appropriately red dress). The cliffhanger that Season 3 ended on, where Leslie told Ron that Tammy I was waiting in his office (and scaring away Tammy II with a mere shot of I’s shoes) certainly lived up to the hype, and, just to reinforce it, there was a great scene last week when Tammy I put April in her place (and further magnified the threat by having her work for the IRS and auditing Ron).

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I’m by no means a fan of reality television. That being said, I have stuck with some of the traditional shows that gave birth (in a Rosemary’s Baby kind of way) to the current reality programming genre. Those shows are COPS and America’s Most Wanted. I even remember when both shows premiered on Fox, a newbie network at the time…and I probably just dated myself with that comment given they’ve been on for over twenty years respectively.

It was because of my loyalty to America’s Most Wanted that had me shiver a little when I saw the trailer for the upcoming Jesse Eisenberg film, 30 Minutes or Less.  Here’s the premise care of IMDB:

Two fledgling criminals kidnap a pizza delivery guy, strap a bomb to his chest, and inform him that he has mere hours to rob a bank or else…

Sounds pretty funny, right? Pizza delivery guy gets a bomb strapped to him and he’s forced to rob a bank.  I’d be laughing had this not unfolded in real life with far less comedic repercussions.

On August 28, 2003 Brian Wells arrived for work at 11:00 am.  His occupation: pizza delivery driver.  At 1:30 pm Brian was asked to deliver two cheese and pepperoni pizzas to a remote location near the woods.  About an hour after that Brian entered a bank with a bomb strapped to him (around his neck in this case) and handed the teller a note demanding money.

It’s an eerie tale to be sure and when I first saw the segment on America’s Most Wanted I thought, who’s going to be the first to make a movie about that.  At the time I imagined some type of Michael Mann crime drama in the same vein as Collateral. Apparently I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Instead, this real life, horrifying event has been wrapped in what I’m sure critics will call a “laugh-out-loud” buddy comedy.  I have no way to confirm if writers Matthew Sullivan and Michael Diliberti knew anything about what has been dubbed “the collar bomb” case, but according to Wikipedia (take it with a grain of salt) that was the basis for 30 Minutes or Less.

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We’ve already heard from some of the other networks and now it’s NBC’s turn to reveal its new Fall schedule. The official fall primetime schedule, which begins Tuesday, Sept. 13 with the season premiere of Parenthood, contains several new series as well as returning favorites.

It’s nice to know this info, but for us the most important thing is that both Chuck and Community are back this season. We would have missed them if they were gone.

Here’s the schedule. New shows are in CAPS and all times are Eastern:

Thursday, September 8
8-8:30 PM: “NFL Kickoff Special 2011” (regular season)
8:30-11 PM: “Sunday Night Football” (regular season)

Sunday, September 11
7-8 PM: “Football Night in America” (regular season)
8-11:30 PM: “Sunday Night Football”

Tuesday, September 13
10-11 PM: “Parenthood”

Wednesday, September 14
8-10 PM: “America’s Got Talent” (season finale)
10-10:30 PM: “UP ALL NIGHT”
10:30-11 PM: “FREE AGENTS”

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You didn’t think I’d let the season finale of Parks & Rec go by without a writeup (however late), did you? Well, given my inability to balance it among The Office recaps and the usual movie reviews and whatever else is kicking around in my head and just oozing to be ignored, I can’t blame you.

I did, in fact, have a recap of the season’s best episode “Ron and Tammy II,” but it ran to over a 1,000+ words, and I still hadn’t scratched the surface of its brilliance (“Real piece of work…”), so sometimes quality overtakes quantity regarding something or other that probably likely also begins with “q.”

But that’s not to say that recapping the final two episodes is a mild attempt to do them justice, it’s just a shorter, briefer form of justice. A McJustice. Plus both of them were awesome enders to an equally awesome season.

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Tonight’s the night we find out (probably) who will be the new boss on The Office to replace Michael Scott (aka Steve Carell). A litany of guest starts are along for the ride and should make this an interesting show, to say the least.

Here’s the breakdown from NBC:

If you were going into a job interview, wouldn’t it be nice to meet Jim Halpert? That’s what the candidates will face tonight on The Office! Everyone knows Dwight’s vying for the new manager job, but he’s facing stiff competition from guest stars Jim Carey, Will Arnett, Ricky Gervais, Ray Romano, and Catherine Tate among others.

There’s also the Parks and Rec season finale tonight as well as a bonus episode right before it. In the bonus episode, Chris wants to make departmental changes and Tom doubts his career path. Then, the season finale features an old friend that may surprise you (it did us).

Click through to check out a preview for tonight’s episode of The Office after the break. Find out who the boss is tonight at 9/8C on NBC. No, it probably won’t be Tony Danza.

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I’m glad there were two episodes—disregarding the fact that it meant double the recaps—because it was nice to see the Leslie/Ben (is there a name for this yet? If not, I’m submitting “LesBien” for mass consideration) sexual tension get some mutual recognition—and some face-munching.

But that comes later. The first episode, “The Fight,” honors the timeless sitcom staple of everyone getting really, really drunk. The setup is that Pawnee’s head of public relations for the health department has, as Chris says, “Gone bananas,” freeing his position up for Leslie to swoop in and recommend Ann Perkins for the job, a job Ann’s none too willing to take since it entails memorizing every Pawnee health reform since the 1950s (which actually might make interesting, if not terrifying reading)…in one night.

Meanwhile, Tom’s developed a new drink to promote at the Snake Hole: Snake Juice, a 140-proof, Kahlua-inspired liquor (basically a lot of alcohol mixed with sugar and coffee), which likely tastes as good as it sounds, but oh how it does the job. Tom invites the gang out to partake (but more to help peddle the hooch), and oh how they do, particularly Ann Perkins, who ditches the massive amount of homework Leslie prepares and is now dating The Douche, Pawnee’s own radio-shock-idiot, last seen in “Media Blitz.”

Leslie gets incensed at Ann’s promiscuity and Ann retaliates by chiding Leslie for hiding her feelings toward Ben, leading to a booze-fueled confrontation between the two that results in a falling out/massive hangover.

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I‘ll admit it. I was a bit slow on the uptake to start embracing Parks and Recreation. But now, after watching it for many weeks, I’m hooked on it and its quirky characters.

Now we can add one more quirky character to this show, at least as a guest star. That’s right, 90′s indie film mainstay (and recent Lex Luthor BFF) Parker Posey will be making an appearance this Thursday on the show.

She will be playing the role of Lindsay, Leslie’s former coworkers and current Eagleton rival. When the two faceoff about a fence, tempers run high. To get you started off and excited for Thursday’s show, we’ve got previewsd and some interviews with Posey as well.

Be sure to check them al out after the jump. Parks and Recreation airs on Thursdays at 9:30/8:30C on NBC.

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Oh, just make out already! Or go hog wild on Tom’s desk. Or have Chris or Ron or Ann Perkins or all three catch you in bed together, Leslie and Ben! You guys were doing so well avoiding the trap of lingering romance that every damn sitcom and its mongoloid step-brother trips, I hope you can chew your foot off before it’s too late.

“Jerry’s Painting” continues pushing the Leslie/Ben thing that, hopefully, will culminate in an upcoming episode where the two take a road trip to Indianapolis (I saw it on the Wikipedia), and Chris even goes so far as to set Ben up with someone who has what he deems “compatible traits,” to the natural chagrin of Leslie. But the bulk deals with the eponymous (damn, I hate that word) Jerry’s Painting—on full display at the Pawnee community art exhibit—which depicts a topless female centaur slaying a deer while a Reubenesque cherub looks on.

But, of course, it’s by Jerry, so naturally it has to have something wrong with it, which is that the centaur resembles a topless Leslie and the cherub resembles Tom (I wonder what mythical Greek creature Ron would be…Zeus?). However, while Tom is (in a cosmic sense unjustifiably) incensed, Leslie loves it and feels empowered that it’s her flailing boobies taking down a stag. What woman wouldn’t? Still, topless art is topless art, and Marcia Langman, the same Bible-beating woman who tries to find some anti-Christian message in everything objects to the implied beastiality of the painting and wants it destroyed, as does Tom, though for completely different reasons.

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Members of my generation probably remember Rescue Rangers, the cartoon that (if you lived in mid-Michigan in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s) eased the de-gression each weekday from the awesomeness of Ducktales to the mediocrity of Tailspin. Rangers wasn’t up to the same level of quality of Ducktales, but it did have one thing that kept our pudgy little eyes watching: Gadget.

Smart, sexy, and sporting a dynamite purple jumpsuit that no girl ever dared try pull off, Gadget was ashamedly appealing, and Disney gets a lot of credit for screwing up our concepts of attractiveness and sexuality. My college roommate’s predilection for redheads stems from seeing The Little Mermaid at a birthday party when he was seven (that same friend also took my “Who’s Your Ideal Cartoon Woman” quiz and, oddly enough, ended up with Gadget, which he reasoned was actually an ideal choice).

So what does this have to do with Parks & Rec? Outside of mindless filler and the hope of scoring more hits from the nostalgic crowd, I think I’ve nailed down what makes Leslie Knope so fetching: She’s the human equivalent of Gadget. “Mousey” would certainly be a good adjective to describe her—she’s petite and generally shy, regarding the opposite sex; she’s blonde; and she’s scatterbrained yet curiously competent at what she does (and in both cases it’s implied that their work is a substitute for social interaction).

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