In a VAN DOWN BY THE O.R.!

Spoilers for, in order, "Scrubs," "30 Rock" and "My Name Is Earl" coming right up...

I've already seen an advance copy of the "Scrubs" musical (short version: "Buffy" did it better, but still a lot of fun), so I kept being distracted during "My House" wondering when somebody was gonna sing. Good episode, and a more extended look at the eerie Cox/House parallels that we've all been noticing for a few years now. Frankly, I wish they could have really gone to town on that subplot, but servicing four stories in 20 some odd minutes makes that tough to pull off. (And a question for the many medical minds out there: in the original Orange Guy story in the "House" pilot, it was the carrot juice -- or maybe some kind of carrot-y vitamin, I forget -- that turned the man orange, where here Cox said that would make someone yellow. Who's right?)

Few other random thoughts before moving on to "30 Rock":

• I really wish they had brought Elizabeth Banks in for a different storyline that just let her be funny all the time.
• The Janitor's art (as seen above) rules.
• Hands up, anyone who somehow didn't realize it was Carla crying as soon as Party Doc mentioned it to Cox. They've been subtler.
  
• Hands up, anyone who intends to incorporate "mega-loathe" into everyday speech.
• Dave Foley! Love Dave Foley. Still trying to figure out exactly when this whole Satanic imp look of his started, however. What was he up to between "NewsRadio" and the celebrity poker show?

Now, "30 Rock." Is there any circumstance under which Alec Baldwin doesn't win the supporting actor Emmy? Big name star, satirizing cluelesss Hollywood executives, and screamingly funny all the time. The stress eating. The casual way he delivers lines like "My mother sent me to Vietnam to try to make a man out of me. I was 12." The contempt he puts into phrases like "trawling for seed." The rage behind "YOU CUT POP'S BALLS OFF! AND LEFT HIM IN THE STREET TO DIE!" Amazing.

A good Liz episode, too, and I never get tired of hearing Tina Fey refer to "my junk." Dr. Spacemen returns (and reveals multiple specialties), Tracy casually refers to "sex pooping," and the dubbing on the Jack and Tracy impressions was just obvious enough to actually make them funnier. (The faux-Baldwin sounded like Tom Davis dubing for Bill Murray in "Il Returno De Hercules.")

But the funniest show of the three, by quite a stretch, was "My Name Is Earl." This is why I've been arguing for more of Bad Earl. This right here. And you can tell the writers have wanted to go here, too, because the entire season's been leading up to it, notably his babyishness during the Mexico two-parter. Earl (man and show) gets funnier and oddly more likable the worse he behaves, and the entire episode felt packed with gags that the writing staff had been saving up for the right occasion (the stolen artificial voice box, the photo booth bit, Randy's "I love stealing!"). How do I not remember that Tim Stack (as himself) lives in Camden County? His IMDb entry -- which, at the moment, has 63 acting entries, not 62 -- lists him in an early first season episode. Did I miss it, or did it not address the fact that it was Tim Stack as Tim Stack? I love that guy, and great to see him in the Notch Johnson costume again.

But the highlight -- especially in light of the "Pardon the Interruption" discussion below -- was them recreating the bear/trampoline video that Tony played, like, three times a week for most of 2005.

What did everybody else think?