TV Highlights of 2008 - Part 1 - the Comedies

It's that time of year again. Time for the Best Of lists. It's really all about the Best and Worst Movies of the Year but I need another couple of days on that one so I can see a few more. I'm almost there though. So I thought I'd start with the best of television.

But then I looked at my list and realized it was so boring because it was the same shows as every other year. Shows that include The Shield, The Wire, Battlestar Galactica, Lost, The Office, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and my one newcomer, True Blood. So instead of a list, I'm just going to highlight a few episodes of shows that I can clearly remember, even months later. That has to say something, right? Here's part 1...the Comedies.

Saturday Night Live
Anne Hathaway episode and Paul Rudd episode
Sure, SNL is an old show and any given episode is usually only about 25% funny. But this year I felt like the percentage shot up to about 50% which is enough to make me watch it on TiVo. Because there were some really great skits. The digital shorts like "Jizz in My Pants" made me laugh as did Tina Fey as Sarah Palin and Andy Samberg doing Mark Wahlberg. But here are the two sketches that I remember most clearly.
The first is Anne Hathaway in a "Lawrence Welk Show" parody. Kristen Wiig is so damn good.


And the second of course features Justin Timberlake. Sadly, host Paul Rudd is completely overshadowed by JT. And I hate myself for thinking he is awesome because I have a feeling he is one cocky son of a bitch. But his take on hosting SNL in two minutes is pretty damn fantastic.

The Colbert Report
David Simon episode and Charlie Kaufman episode
I watched a lot of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report this year because of the election and, I gotta say, Colbert overtook Stewart as funniest host. Sure, he has it easy because he gets to play a slightly over the top "character", but Colbert was absolutely hysterical this year. His interviews ALWAYS made me crack up too. Here are two of my favorites with David Simon, creator of the Wire, and crazy screenwriter/director Charlie Kaufman.

30 Rock
Succession
Season 1 of 30 Rock was awesome. Season 2 was very spotty. Don't even get me started on the current Season 3. But I did like one episode from Season 2 called Succession which was amazing. It's the one where Don Geiss goes into a diabetic coma. The real standout though is Dr. Spaceman coming to the rescue. "We have no way of knowing exactly where the heart is." "Is it 411 or 911?" "What listing please... Umm, diabetes repair I guess?"

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
The Gang Gets Extreme: Home Makeover Edition
This season wasn't as funny as last, but this episode was f-ing hysterical. If you don't laugh at the clip below even I can't save you.


The Office
Customer Survey
The Office had lots of great episodes this year thanks to Amy Ryan and the Burlington Coat Factory, but I really think Jim is awesome in this role playing scene where Michael is trying to teach Dwight about customer service. Mr. Buttlicker indeed.