Things on television that I love

Posted by Dan April 16th, 2007 at 11:38am In 30 Rock Adverts The Office

There seems to be some tension on our merry little blog right now, given the battle of wills that has emerged due to the tournament as well as a number of commenters who are, likely, neglecting their geometry homework in order to lose their shit over months-old postings. Each member of the TiFaux crew has had to sass back at various unruly commenters.

But now I’d like to take a moment to even some things out and just dote on some of the wonderful things and people that live in the television.

Mindy Kaling as Kelly on The Office

I mentioned Mindy as one of the unsung heroes of The Office and I really think that. And now, after reading that AV Club interview, I’ve got this weird crush on her. Like I just want to tug on her skirt and say “You’re so funny and artsy and I want you to be my friend. Let’s go get Mexican food and then buy shoes.” (not that shoe-shopping is something that I like to do — I’ve avoided it to the point that one of my most regularly worn pair of shoes is rotting out from the inside. True story)

Furthermore, the character of Kelly really just gets better. She’s gone from ‘ethnic girl in the background’ to that celebrity gossip-obsessed person that you totally know. She’s had some really great moments such as “Shiloh and Suri are amaaaaazing” and when she begged for the murder of the bat.

And if you haven’t gone to her Web site (Things I’ve Bought That I Love) then you really need to get your blog-readin’ ass over there, pronto, because it’s some funny shit.

The Starburst “Berries and Cream” commercial

Now, I’m pretty sure that this will be a pretty polarizing subject, but I really love this new Starburst commercial. It could be because I’m attracted to anything that doesn’t make sense and doesn’t try to justify the fact that it doesn’t make sense. The foppish guy is quite nightmarish and I’m not sure how this one got past the guys at corporate, but I find myself hypnotized by this spot every time it comes on.

Kim Martucci

If you don’t live in the D.C. metropolitan area, then you probably don’t know Kim Martucci. She’s the local CBS affiliate’s morning weatherperson.

Now, I hate all the morning shows as much as the next guy, but I generally find CBS’s The Early Show marginally less grating than the rest. (The one exception to that rule is their weatherman, Dave Price. He’s always trying to get a big crowd of people to chant with him “What’s going on in your area?” when he throws to the local forecasters, but it’s so awkward and not catchy that it’s usually just him desperately trying to lead the crowd and them shouting gibberish.)

In any case, Kim Martucci doesn’t do gimmicks and she doesn’t do morning show artificial perky (once, she even gave Mr. Price a little tongue-lashing for taking too much time to on the main broadcast — it was awesome). She doesn’t have a stupid weatherman name. She’ll give a reasonable amount of good-to-see-you pleasantries. I kind of wish she lived in my breakfast nook so that she could give me the day’s forecast and give me a high-five as I head out the door.

Tanking Apprentice Ratings

I guess if the theme of this post is “keeping it positive,” then laughing at the misfortune of others really shouldn’t count. But it’s Donald Trump, so… yeah. Ratings and buzz for The Apprentice have been decidedly tepid, and even though Donald Trump has engaged in both shameless media ploys and petty, dare I say sexist and homophobic, antics with Rosie, none of that has really helped. The Apprentice might not be on its last legs just yet, but I’m pretty sure no amount of gimmickry will resurrect its popularity.

All Things Tina Fey

Listen, I’m not about to try to steal Maggie’s thing. I have more respect than that. I mean, it’d be like Cristin talking about Jake Gyllenhaal incessantly or Kyle swashbuckling around and talking about pirates. We each have our “thing.”

But I’ve been doting on Tina Fey a lot lately. I know people say that Alec Baldwin is the reason to watch 30 Rock, but I feel like Tina Fey gets the best laughs (see her sexy pajamas on last week’s episode). She really won me over several episodes back when she was talking about “being un-American” — saying something along the lines of “I’m not un-American. Just because I think gay dudes should be able to adopt and we should all be driving hybrid cars doesn’t mean I’m un-American.” Then she flashed a superstar smile to the camera, thus stealing my heart.

If you are wondering if I rewound the TiFaux to watch it again, the answer is yes.