gags

(S01E15) Let's skip the foreplay, get straight to the penetra-sch. Three storylines. Josh's negotiation. Kenneth's induction into Tracy's entourage. Jenna's Maxim gaffe. All brilliant.

Despite the perennial grousing about the dearth of good comedy on TV, Thursday nights alone are a careful, VCR-assisted juggling act for me between The Office, The Sarah Silverman Program, Ugly Betty and 30 Rock. It's like a mini-golden age of comedic goodness. The best part is that each show couldn't be more different from the other. 30 Rock doesn't do telenovela plot twists or series-long character arcs or queffing episodes. Well, they might do a queffing episode if that were permissible on network television. What 30 Rock does best is goofy set pieces, zippy one-liners and Alec Baldwin. So, let's get straight to the goods, shall we? An inventory, if you will.

Emo Philips, one of my favorite comedians of all time, turns 50 today.

Emo has been doing stand-up since 1976, and while he's beloved by many, he's not a comedian who will meet his audience half way. His dutch boy haircut and high-pitched warble were enough to make you want to heave heavy objects at him when you first saw his act, but once you got over the initial annoyance you discovered why Jay Leno once referred to him as one of the best joke writers in the business. Emo took a very basic comedy styling, the one-liner, and put his own weird twist on it. He twitches and stumbles on stage, running his fingers through his hair nervously as he tosses out such lines as, "People come up to me and say, 'Emo, do people really come up to you?'"