nick thune

Every show has an off-week. Unfortunately, for Jay Leno when he has an off-week, it takes up five hours worth of our time. Almost every guest was less than entertaining, and even most of the comedy bits missed this week. Luckily, there were some redeeming moments throughout, most of which I've included right here for you. See, I just saved you five hours of time.

With Rachel Griffiths appearing this week, it appears that ABC's ban on their actors appearing on Leno's show may have finally been lifted. Unfortunately, she couldn't bring along a clip of Brothers & Sisters, so I guess they're still feeling a little sour. Or NBC doesn't want to promote a competing network's show too much.

Putting a controversial egomaniac like Rush Limbaugh on Jay Leno's late night dais might seem like a squeeze play for a show that's reaching the bottom of the ninth of its opening day. And, well, it is, or at least it smells like it. Jay is no stranger to controversial guests, from his infamous interview with Hugh Grant just days after he got caught nibbling on a hooker's tea and crumpets to his recent sit-down smack-down with Kanye West.

So "El Rushbo" sounds like a natural punching bag for Leno's friendly jabs and right crosses, right? Not really. Leno bled into confrontational the way two guys in a bar argue a round of "F*$&, Marry or Kill," but for the most part, let the big-headed one (both emotionally and physically) speak as long as he wanted.

And when Rush is on your show, that's exactly what you let him do. Let him speak until the blood stops rushing to his brain. Whether you love him, hate him, or constantly think about the level of hell that's been specifically designed for him, he makes for an entertaining interview.

It didn't take long for Kelsey Grammer to bounce back from his Back to You flop stint. The Fox sitcom, a high profile one at that with Emmy-winner Patricia Heaton as his co-star, was dumped by the network recently. Kelsey was so bummed out that he even tried to get other networks, CBS in particular, to pick up the news room comedy. No dice. Back to You was a dead shark.

Now, less than two weeks later, Kelsey Grammer has been cast in a new ABC sitcom called Roman's Empire. This is big news for a big star and he's the emperor in the title. He's playing Roman.

Roman's Empire is not a three-camera, traditional sitcom, which has been Grammer's playground since Cheers. Frasier may have been one of the best three-camera sitcoms ever. As an actor, Kelsey's accustomed to having an audience watching him work. Empire is a single-camera comedy -- like The Office or My Name Is Earl or Samantha Who? -- and revolves around a nice guy named Leo (Nick Thune), who's dumped by his heiress-like girlfriend (Christine Woods), but remains connected to her crazy family, the Prettys. That's especially true of Roman Pretty, the family patriarch, an outspoken, outrageous character.