All photos courtesy of nbc.com

Oh, my beloved NBC sitcoms – how I missed you! 30 Rock, The Office, and Scrubs are three of the best comedies on the air right now (certainly the best live-action network sitcoms), and I had gotten so used to life without them that I forgot just how much I missed having them in my life. That may sound pathetic, but I don’t care. The first week back of NBC’s blockbuster line-up was very strong, and here are my mini-reviews of each show. (Note: My Name Is Earl is SO not worth my time.)

30 Rock – MILF Island

30 Rock returned from the strike chock full of all the random humor that makes the show so great. MILF Island had been referenced before on the show, but this was the first we got to see of a reality show that in all possibility, could be in development somewhere. The small gags, from the finalists on the show being Deborah (pronounced Deb-bra) and Deborah (pronounced Deb-OR-ah), to Kenneth hiding behind a cardboard cut-out of American Gladiator Wolf on the elevator were all brilliant. The mirroring of the TGS staff’s actions against what was going on with MILF Island felt a little forced to me, and I would have liked to have seen some more of Tracy, but Jack’s certificate and the story of his childhood as a “Class A Moron” were hysterical.

Best joke of the episode: Liz Lemon (for some unexplained reason) yelling, “Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! Ack!”

The Office – Dinner Party

The Office’s last episode, The Deposition, featured some absolutely brilliant Michael and Jan moments. Nearly five months later, we get an even more disturbing look at their relationship, this time seeing what their home life is like. For a show that has never been shy about cranking up the Uncomfortable Meter to 11, this dinner party seemed to reach new heights of awkwardness. The set-up of how Michael was finally able to get Jim and Pam over for a dinner party was great, as was the inclusion of new “couple” Angela and Andy. The fact that Michael made up a story about dating Pam is totally in character and purely brilliant, and the looks that Pam got from Jan were fantastic. The tour of Michael and Jan’s condo was full of great sight gags, some addressed specifically (the tiny plasma, the cot that Michael sleeps on, the video camera in the bedroom), and others not (the Warholian artwork of Jan on the wall.)

The way that Michael and Jan fought in front of their “friends” was handled amazingly; the conceit of a couple fighting in front of others that makes everyone uncomfortable is certainly not virgin territory, but The Office really kicks it up a notch. Like, for example, when Michael admits to having a vasectomy, a reversal, and a reversal of the reversal. Ouch. We also saw Jim willing to abandon his beloved Pam in the hopes of getting out of the condo, but Pam was very resourceful in convincing him to stay. I half-expected them to fight about that later, but it makes sense that they would simply find the humor in the situation and just be happy to get out of the party and finally get some food.

Best joke of the episode: “This wine has an oak-y afterbirth.”

Scrubs – My Bad Too

Scrubs’ first episode back starts with one of its trademarks: homo-erotic action between J.D. and Turk. These two characters and their guy love is always great, so it wasn’t that surprising that they would want to bump crotches, but it was still really funny. These two proceed to bond over a life-size game of Space Invaders, pegging interns with water balloons, creating (and naming) one giant water balloon, and pulling pranks on each other. Turk’s obsession with brinner (having breakfast for dinner) was also brilliant, but I didn’t really buy that his love of evening pancakes would be enough of a reason for him to lie to Carla. And J.D.’s stoy with the burn victim seemed pretty predictable, but there was a nice twist that despite his and Elliot’s good intentions, allowing the kid to go to his graduation was probably not a good idea. The episode also strongly hinted at J.D. and Elliot possibly getting back together again, not only in their closeness but in Turk and Carla’s un-subtitled Spanish comments at the end of the episode. Now with the show (possibly) living for another season on ABC, such a re-pairing might have enough time to be properly fleshed out.

Best joke of the episode: J.D.’s extended dream sequence of life at the Spanish-speaking picnic.