Almost forgot there was a new one this week and was pleased to see that The Office keeps delivering some quality episodes. In one of the best cold opens yet, Michael decides to learn Spanish and enlists Oscar to help him along with the gender basics. I won’t say how he keeps track of them, but his unique…uh…”method” (oh what the hell, here’s a hint: It involves post-it-notes and boobs) got me to wake up most of my neighbors with laughter—especially when Michael slaps one on Angela’s forehead.

Jim and Pam are excited for their first two-man tag-team sales pitch, which has somehow sent Pam into an excited but refreshingly off John Wayne impersonation (“refreshingly off” because everyone does John Wayne impersonations, and they’re all the same. Plus she doesn’t say “pilgrim.” Cringe).

Their client is Donna, the sly barkeep whom Michael hit it off with in “Happy Hour.” She needs some printers (anyone else forget that’s what Dunder-Mifflin’s pushing these days—oh, excuse me, Sabre) and possibly something else—either a discount or, dare I write, some more time with Michael. Both are suggested by her low-cut blouse sporting an ample two scoops of cleavage.

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Erin’s adorableness and innocent naivete has been a bright spot all this season, but, long-standing crush aside, I didn’t think it’d be enough to carry the bulk of an episode. Fortunately, I was wrong, because “Secretary’s Day” looks behind Erin’s cheerfully upbeat child to reveal her increasingly disturbing and traumatic past—and finds comedy gold!

The episode opens with the gang huddled around Oscar’s computer to watch a Sesame Street clip of Cookie Monster redubbed with Kevin’s voice (a comparison long overdue).  Like a cruel preschool nickname, it takes off, and pretty soon the entire office is united in torturing Kevin with their best and worst Cookie Monster impersonations. (And it’s a credit to the show that the funniest part for regular viewers is not the actual clip itself but the fact that Angela loves it.)

Kevin files a complaint with the weasely new guy Gabe, who sees it as an opportunity for him to assert whatever authority he has by cracking down on the harassment (what is his position anyway? I thought he was the tech guy, too). His stern(?) warning (??) goes ignored, so Gabe tries to lower the boom (???) by suspending Jim, Pam, and Dwight without pay…which he later finds is beyond his authority(!).

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For good or bad, you can never judge the quality of an Office episode by the cold open alone, since it tends to have little or nothing to do with the rest of the episode. Still, the image of Stanley struggling to do 26 pushups so he can go home early is funny, but the quiet voice in the crowd that says, “Alright, Papa Bear,” elevates it to the ranks of greatness—and I’m pleased to say that it does indeed set the tone for the rest of the show.

Like the best episodes, Happy Hour contains multiple plotlines as well as a few peeks into the lives of the supporting characters. This time it’s Oscar’s ongoing pursuit of warehouse-worker Matt. Unfortunately, Oscar’s been out of the game a little too long, and his idea of pitching woo is showing up to work early to exchange some quick words and sheepishly asking Darryl to invite his co-workers to an office-wide happy hour.

Oscar in turn invites the office out for an evening of fun and drinks to what appears to be a Chuck E. Cheese’s with booze. Jim tries to weasel out using his daughter as an excuse, but Pam, desperate for a night away from the baby, immediately takes Jim up on his half-hearted offer and invites a friend along as a possible hook up with Michael.

Meanwhile, Erin and Andy struggle with keeping their relationship a secret to avoid the drama that comes with office romances. Fearing their co-workers are on to them, they decide to avoid each other and eventually end up flirting with some of the other patrons, until Erin’s groping of a complete stranger’s leg (her concept of flirting is derived solely from television, isn’t that adorable?) gets Andy jealous.

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It’s Thursday so that means new episodes of some of our favorite comedies are back on NBC. From 30 Rock to Community to The Office, these shows bring the funny and are a welcome break and a great way to spend a Thursday night.

To get you ready for tonight’s shows, our friends at NBC have sent us some videos from each of the four comedies that make up the Thursday night lineup. First off is Community where you can get the scoop from Ken Jeong as he explains how him and Joel McHale are rivals after the “battle of the nudity!” Next on Parks and Rec, two deleted scenes from last week’s episode are sure to get you ready for tonight.

For The Office, we’ve got your first chance to watch the new opening credits which now rightly include the awesome Ed Helms. Finally, on 30 Rock, does Tracy Jordan really have a career in politics ahead of him? Find out as he answers fan mail in this very funny clip.

Check out all the videos after the break. These all-new comedies start tonight at 8/7C with Community.

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I’m probably not alone in this, but the moment I saw “New Leads” listed as tonight’s episode, I was half-expecting, half-hoping for a Scrantonian send-up of Glengarry Glen Ross. Who’d be Shelly? Stanley? Or Phyllis? Would Michael perform his own version of Alec Baldwin’s monologue? Heck, Baldwin’s on 30 Rock, at the very least he could make a guest appearance…

Well, for fans of David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, the only resemblance is that there are new leads in, they’re gold, and the sales staff can’t have them—and it’s probably for the best because parodies are like Betty White hosting SNL bacon-wrapped Peeps: in the end, never as funny as the idea.

Also good because it would’ve weighed an otherwise very good episode down.

The titular new leads are $50,000 worth of names Sabre has spent to be doled out to the sales staff as per the corporate office’s new “Sales is king” policy.  Naturally the power’s gone to the salesmen’s heads—Phyllis refuses to answer Angela’s e-mails; Andy (while on the phone, no less) flaunts his supposed dibs to everything in the office, including Darryl’s pencil; and Dwight believes he’s in the same company as Jesus (“If sales is king, and I’m the king of sales, that makes me the King of Kings).

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A classic staple of the sitcom, aside from the clip show (hmm, they covered that one a few weeks ago, right?) and the Big Wedding (that one, too) is the Baby Episode. Staples, yes, but also synonymous with jumping the shark.

Fortunately, The Office writers seem aware of this and made the wedding episode, Niagra, one the season’s strongest. On the other hand, the clip show, The Banker, was one of the weakest.

The Delivery, The Office’s Baby Episode falls somewhere in between. In this hour-long installment, Jim and Pam, on the verge of joy-bundling, are determined to hold off on getting to the hospital until the very last minute since their health insurance covers only two nights’ stay. As Pam begins contracting, Michael calls a conference to get her mind off the little fella inside her clawing to get out. Andy performs the evolution of dance (sans music, as it’d just throw him off), Erin recites Kentucky Derby winners, and Michael usefully suggests doing the opposite of 10 Things to Induce Labor.

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Are you missing shows like The Office and Law and Order SVU during the Olympics hiatus? Us too. Fortunately, NBC has sent us over some new videos to tide us over until these shows return.

The first is a promo for SVU, which returns March 3rd with two back-to-back episodes. In the promo we get to see what’s up with our favorite cops and how they’re dealing with a new and potentially explosive case.

Also, to commemorate and get you excited for the special “Baby” episode of The Office where Jim and Pam’s bundle of joy finally makes an appearance, we’ve got some clips highlighting their budding romance. In the clips, follow Jim and Pam through Season 4 as they struggle to keep their relationship a secret from the rest of the office and finally make the decision to take it official.

Check out all the videos after the break. The Office “Baby” episode airs March 4th and SVU returns March 3rd on NBC.

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I get wary when The Office tends to fall back on material that’s been endlessly mined before—guest stars, Michael being an idiot, the threat of a new manager coming to make sweeping changes, romances that ultimately go nowhere—on the one hand, a lot of that stuff made The Office great (and granted you can’t go for six seasons without repeating some things), on the other, most of the rehashes this season fell splatastically flat.

But not tonight.

Call me a pessimist, but I never expected a lackluster season like this to deliver an episode so consistently laugh-out-loud funny as “Manager and Salesman”—it’s among the series’ best and may be in the running for highest number of laughs.

The CEO from Sabre (Kathy Bates in the show’s best cameo since David Koechner [and whatever happened to him?]) drops by to check in on the Dunder-Mifflin branch but mainly to make some changes, namely consolidating Michael and Jim’s jobs into one and setting the two in competition for the manager position…until they discover there’s no cap on sales commissions, leading to a similar power struggle over the salesman position.

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This week NBC’s Thursday night comedies, including Community, The Office, 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation, return with all new episodes and we’ve got previews for some of these shows for you this afternoon. For Community, we’ve got the latest “Hanging With The Cast” video where you can see the cast fool around during their down time and share some basic rules of the study room.

On Parks and Rec, you’ll learn the ins and outs of meeting women from Pawnee’s own Tom Haverford and get a closer look at the legendary mustache of Ron Swans. On The Office, we are introduced to the new buyers of Dunder Mifflin, Sabre Corporation.

Finally, on 30 Rock, Jenna’s mother Verna is in town visiting for tonight’s episode which, of course, lead to all kinds of trouble. Tune in tonight for new episodes from all four starting at 8/7c on NBC.

Check out all the previews after the jump.

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As we’ve started to do here at the site, we again present a bit of a recap of what you missed if you didn’t watch some of the best comedies currently on television this week. These shows, including Community, 30 Rock and The Office, represent what happens when you get highly creative and extremely funny people together to make a television sitcom. In short, they definitely bring the funny.

This week we’ve got clips from Community, Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, The Office and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, mostly because his guest is the terrific Katey Sagal from one of our favorite non-comedies Sons of Anarchy — a show you should be watching. So sit back, relax and spend a few minutes enjoying what these show have to offer.

If you’ve never seen any of these episodes, then you’re in for a treat. If you have, then there’s nothing wrong with laughing at them all over again. Besides, laughter is good for you.

Check out all the video after, you guessed it, the jump.

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