Thank God You're Here!

Here are my TV favs of the past week!!:

Thank God You're Here: If you used your DVR or TiVo to zip through commercials with celebs in funny costumes (Jason Alexander, Angela from The Office, Kevin Nealon, Mo'Nique), you should have payed more attention. They were commercials for NBC's new comedy improv hour that tests the mettle of some of your favorite funny celebs. I'm not sure when this show's usually on, but Monday night we were treated to two one-hour episodes. I've gotta tell ya, this show ended up being way funnier than I thought it would be. If you like Whose Line is it Anyway or you're in to improv at all, you've got to watch it. If you've always wondered whether comedian celebs are funny without clever script writers whispering in their ears, you've got to watch it. If none of these apply to you, but you have a pulse, you should watch it anyway. The premise of the show is that celebrities who think they're funny or good at improv are dressed up in costumes they've never seen before, and led to sets they've never been on, to play characters revealed to them once they get on the set. Some examples: a game show host, a mountain climbing expedition leader, an excavating professor, a doctor hawking his innovative (read: sketchy) product on a talk show. The other "characters" in the scene are in on the joke and great at improv, directing the scenes by prompting (or trapping) the stars into thinking on their feet. For instance, a character said to the star who stepped on to a game show set: "Remind the audience how this game is played!" I'll admit that I'm a little wary, since the show isn't live and is thoroughly edited. But if you can get past that, it's really worth a watch. (And if you watch ANY reality TV at ALL, you should be able to get past it. I mean, hello people, not only is reality TV scripted and brilliantly edited, but scenes are filmed multiple times to get different camera angles!) So basically, get past it and tune in -- I laughed for two hours straight.

Lost: Girl-on-girl catfight in the jungle. Guys, I bet you loved it. I'm a straight female, and I even loved it. Good stuff.

ANTM: Just a few comments... Thank you Tyra for admitting you guys totally screwed up Brittany's hair, and thanks for offering to fix it. Cuz I really can't stand watching that ratty mess for another week. 50 Cent pushed Jael into the pool. Can you blame him? Sarah the Pose-y Photographer got sent home. Good. Natasha's still a crazy mess. Even better. Whitney called the other models "skinny bitches." Amen. Nicole Richie stirred up trouble. I'm shocked. (Ok, I'm actually laughing my ass off.) Renee got hers. Finally. And last but not least... Wholahay? I love this show.

The Office: I think this about sums it up: STAB ME IN THE HEART. I can't take any more of this Pam/Jim torture. That scene at the soda machine felt like water torture to me. But things are looking up -- Pam and Roy are officially over. Did the scene in the diner feel like foreshadowing to anyone else? I'm well aware that Pam and Jim will never really get together (see: X-Files' sexual tension success vs. Moonlighting's sexual fulfillment disaster... these writers aren't stupid), but Roy's encouragement of the JAM pairing makes me hope Pam takes some action. Karen was especially horrible this week. Might I remind you of the moment in the break room when she snipped at Jim to get back to selling paper so he could take her on a trip? Yikes. Michael Scott is still hilarious, and his inexplicable and unfounded hatred of Toby is one of my favorite parts of The Office. Thursday's Dwight-As-Superhero storyline, besides being a shameless plug for NBC's Heroes, was absolutely hilarious and completely consistent with the characters. That's what I love most about The Office. Well done, writers. Every single week.

Grey's: Just kidding. No new episode, yet again. Come on, Grey's! I'm sick of repeats. You think having Meredith die and George and Izzy get it on during Sweeps exempted you from new storylines?! Seriously?!

American Idol: I'm watching it as I write this, so I'll just give a few gut reactions. Jenny from the Block was the guest judge, and unlike most of the other guests, she actually gave the contestants vocal coaching to make their songs better (or at least more Latin-ish). Yay for that. But if this was Latin week, where were the hot Latin men, I ask you?! Anyway, on to the performers. Last week Mindy Doo used Sanjaya's flat iron; tonight she used his hair teaser. Jordin reminds J-Lo of Michael Jackson? What was it, the side ponytail and girlish facial features? Yikes. Hot-pants Haley's got to go. And I'm sure Sir Sanjaya the Terrible is staying yet again... but at least he looks less like an adolescent female with that facial hair.

So there's my favs of the week! Next week, watch Thank God You're Here. It really is funny.