So happy together

Dude, what is up with the ratings on “30 Rock” and “Parks & Recreation?” Ladies, gentlemen, dogs who have a Nielsen box, we need you to watch these shows. We need you to support these ladies. Do it because they are both smart, funny, quality television shows. Do it because you love seeing Tina Fey and Amy Poehler next to each other where they belong. Do it because these are two of the smartest, funniest, most quality women around. Do it because, and I can’t repeat this enough, they consistently have given us smart, funny and quality work through the years. Do it because if I see a “Toddlers & Tiaras” on your DVR and not a “Parks & Recreation” I will come to your house and break your TV. OK, that last one isn’t true. But if you have Nielsen box, I just might. Support these ladies, people. If you won’t do it because they are – once again – smart, funny and quality, do it so I’ll stop bitching at you. Whatever works, people, whatever works. Tonight. 8 and 8:30 p.m. NBC. Do it. I want these ladies together forever on my TV. I mean it.

Liz + Leslie = Happiness

Do you know who I haven’t talked about in ages. I mean, really, AGES? My Fake TV Wife Tina Fey. As much as I’ve been enjoying the new fall TV season and some of its very promising additions, I can’t help but feel a little empty, Tina-shaped place in my heart. With “30 Rock” being delayed until mid-season, I’ve missed my weekly dose of Liz Lemon more than you can imagine. It’s not that I don’t love (love, love) the unbridled optimism and adorable competence of Leslie Knope each week. I’d be totally lost without at least a little Knope in my life. But I need the yang to that yin. I need me some Lemon. The sharply sour to all that smartly sweet. And now, as I mentioned earlier this week, the TV gods has seen it within their generous hearts to make my wildest dreams come true by programming “30 Rock” and “Parks & Recreation” back-to-back at 8 and 8:30 starting Jan. 12 on NBC. I’m already creating a “Do Not Disturb, I’m Lemon-Knoping” sign to hang on my virtual doorknob. Having Tina Fey and Amy Poehler properly together on the TV lineup means all is right with the universe again. It means two terrific comedies with two equally terrific examples of strong females who know how to bring the funny will be filling our lives for a solid hour each week. And with that, how about we get a little taste of what makes Liz and Leslie such perfect compliments to each other. Finally, my Thursday nights will be perfect again.

On Female Stereotypes

Liz on her period.


Leslie on every other stereotype.


On Food

Liz loves her Night Cheese.


Leslie loves her breakfast food.



On Bad Accents

Liz goes Jamaican.


Leslie goes cockney.


On Valentine’s Day

Liz likes oral.


Leslie likes gals.


On The Gay

Liz knows lesbians.


Leslie knows gays.

See, perfect. Hurry back to Amy, Tina. We’ve all missed you two together.

Subtext & Recreation

Kittens, you know how I love me some subtext. For proof I give you the dark circles under my eyes and general lifeless pallor I have from staying up, again, until the wee small hours of the way too early morning this week writing the latest “Rizzoli & Isles” Subtext Recap (which is up at AfterEllen). p.s. Last night’s episode was The Gayest. Like G to the AY. So gay. In short, yay subtext. And while the Rizzles are my No. 1 Subtext Couple Friends, I naturally dabble in others. Unlike Fake TV Wives, which require the semblance of monogamy, Subtext Couple Friends are like real-life couple friends. The more couple friends the better. Each pairing can fill a specific need in your life. I mean, say, if Couple Friends A invite you to Easter brunch, Couple Friends B may have you over for Thanksgiving. Like I said, more is better.

So among my other Subtext Couple Friends, one of my most delightful duos is Leslie Knope and Ann Perkins. The pair from “Parks & Recreation” are wonderful for so, so many reasons. Hilarious. Endearing. Loyal. Real. Their friendship is among the best-written female friendships on TV. And, sadly, that’s another one of the reasons it stands out. It seems ludicrous, but so many shows still fail the Bechdel Rule, that require two women to talk to each other about something other than a man, week after week. So to have show like “Parks & Rec” where its lead uncynically embraces feminism and optimism and best friendism, well, heavens it’s refreshing. But, wait, weren’t we talking about subtext? Yes, ma’am, we were. So, right, Leslie and Ann. I think this video says it all. Ladies.

Can I get a witness? All aboard the Love Train to Knopkins Valley. And Amy and Rashida even seem to ship it, in an interview they gave to Elle magazine earlier this year.

ELLE: I’m watching a video of you two.
Rashida Jones: Are you watching our lesbian video on YouTube?
Amy Poehler: Yeah, it’s pretty funny. Someone put together all the scenes of Ann and Leslie and then put a Counting Crows song to it. It looks like Parks and Rec is a love story about two women.
ELLE: Are you guys hugging right now?
Rashida Jones: Actually, we’re spooning.

Look, now you have to ship it. You must. And if you don’t, I will draw a mustache on your face in your sleep. Don’t think I won’t because I will.

Love means never having to say you’re sorry for drawing a mustache on your best friend’s face.

p.s Major, major kudos to Buffyfan357 for the excellent, excellent “Accidentally in Love” vid (which YouTube pulled – boo!). I love it. LOVE.

My Weekend Crush

Let us talk, for a moment, about the singularly special television creation that is Leslie Knope. You see, TV hasn’t always been friendly to the Leslie Knopes of the world – especially of late. Primetime has become a place for cynics and smartasses, fast talkers and slick walkers. We like our characters to be badass or sassy or oh-so snarky. Not that there’s anything wrong with snarky – or any of those other qualities. But what makes the world so fun is the variation, the yin to their yang. And so what TV all too often lacks is the eternal optimist. The dreamer. The person who only ever walks on the sunny side of the street. Being optimistic just doesn’t seem cool. We’re a nation of pessimists that delight in the culture of fail. But we can’t all just point and laugh when things go wrong. Some of us have to believe that things will go right, and make it so. And that person, on TV, is Leslie Knope from “Parks and Recreation.”

Leslie is so many things. Amy Poehler called her “open-face sandwich. You always know what you’re going to get.” And that’s so true. There’s no great mystery to her, and that’s kind of wonderful. What we see instead is hard work, enthusiasm, dependability, compassion and hope. She’s just nice – and it’s sad how rare that has become. Leslie believes the world can be better, and that she can help make it so. Sure, sometimes she bumbles. But it’s not out of incompetence but usually lack of insider savvy. Leslie is supremely competent, and I love how over the course of the series she’s become even more so. She didn’t become Michael Scott light. She became something so much better. She’s the closer. She’s the hero – or “shero,” as she’s no doubt say in a blaze of feminist glory. She’s a source of good in the Pawnee, Ind. and the universe. She’s all that, and also adorable, infectious and the kind of gal you know you could be friends with forever. And she’s always in a blazer and you know how I love a lady in a blazer. We could all use a little more Leslie Knope in our lives. Happy weekend, all.

p.s. Oh, another thing about Leslie – she is also a human emoticon.

[Image by conanofallon.]

My Weekend Crush

I know I’ve talked about this before, and you know I’m going to talk about this again – but, goddamn, do I love having “Parks and Recreation” and “30 Rock” back-to-back. They are my favorite hilarious hour of television. They require no time shifting, no channel changing, no moving from the couch. Leslie Knope and Liz Lemon were meant to be together. They give us 60 non-stop minutes of fabulously funny female leads together. They give us a continuous stream of endearingly quirky cast members together. Together, they make my Thursday night the best night ever. They truly are my television OTP. The only way it could possibly be better is if they were in the same full hour block together (say, 9-10p.m. – hint, hint) and “Outsourced” didn’t exist at all. God, that show is terrible. It should be illegal for it to follow “Park and Recreation” and “30 Rock.” ILLEGAL. Nothing that unfunny should be allowed within 30 miles, let alone 30 minutes of Amy Poehler and Tina Fey’s brilliance. But I don’t let its presence harsh my buzz, because thanks to a tiny bit of time shifting afterward, I can end my night instead with a tall, cool Sarah Shahi nightcap on “Fairly Legal.” Damn Funny + Damn Pretty = Pretty Damn Funny. Thursday night, I love you. Happy weekend, all.

Parks & Recreation


30 Rock

Bosom Buddies

Tonight, tonight, toooo-NIGHT! Tonight reigning First Ladies of Funny Business and Queens of Smarty Pants Tina Fey and Amy Poehler return to my TV where they belong. “Parks and Recreation” and “30 Rock” debut tonight in their new back-to-back timeslots of 9:30 and 10 p.m. on NBC (which thanks to the FCC is now well on its way to being rebranded as Kabletown). While the schedule shuffling is a little odd (10 o’clock comedy? NBC, have you learned nothing from the Jaypocalypse?), I am beyond thrilled to have my two favorite hilarious hotties on my TV together where they belong. Sure, I’d timeshifted them that way already, but this requires so much less lifting of my remote control. I am nothing if not gloriously lazy about my fanaticisms. What I love so much about Tina’s Liz Lemon and Amy’s Leslie Knope is, of course, their humor and intellect, but also their unabashed feminism. Yes, feminism can be funny. This is the proof. While both shows poke fun at the “F”-word at times, at their core they are built upon a construct that believes women are just as smart, capable and deserving of positions of power and responsibility. They’re just as good (or bad) as the boys, and often even better.

The other thing I love so much about Tina and Amy is their friendship, which has remained a constant through “Saturday Night Live” and the Upright Citizens Brigade and movie stardom and motherhood. Female friendship on screen is often celebrated in a sort of condescending lit candles and wine party sort of way. It’s something to be set to sappy musical montages that may or may not include singing together into a hairbrush. But real female friendship is about shared success, support and strength. Just like the endearingly geeky characters they’ve created in Liz and Leslie, Tina and Amy are fantastic examples to women young and old of what it really means to be a strong woman today. You don’t have to take yourself too seriously, but you never take your talent for granted and you always support each other in your ambitions.

A look at the many looks of Tina & Amy:

SNL Silliness
UCB Silliness
Totally Glam
Totally Butch
Touchy Feely
Really Touchy Feely
Sexy Tennis

Oh, Tina and Amy – thank you for coming back to us. Thank you for being friends. If Tina can’t be my Fake TV Wife, too, I’m at the very least glad she is with such a worthy alternate as Amy. Though, ladies, I am not opposed to some sort of “Big Love” resolution to this situation. Think about it. Tina already admitted you two are working the Oprah & Gayle. I can work with that.

Park it

Five weeks! Five weeks until Leslie Knope! Five weeks until the return to Pawnee! Five weeks until Ron Freaking Swanson! You’ve been gone too long, “Parks & Recreation.” Never leave me like that again. For those of you unfamiliar with the encroaching joy I feel, please walk out your front door, get in your car (or bike or feet or whatever mode of transportation gets you from Point A to Point B), go to the store, find the DVD aisle and buy the second season of “Parks & Recreation,” get back in your car (or, you know, whatever), go home, close the front door and enjoy. You’ve got plenty of time to marathon the second season and get caught up before the third season starts Jan. 20. You don’t even have to take the time to thank me for my stupendously good advice.

Now, I realize I have been terribly remiss in not talking about my deep and meaningful feelings for this show that much on this site. Everyone knows I love me some “30 Rock,” but coming in an almost uncomfortably close second is the endearing zaniness of the Pawnee City Department of Parks and Recreation and its deputy director, Leslie Knope. This show was easily the most improved series from last year and the perfect one-two comedy punch for my Thursday night. I purposely time-shifted so I could watch my Tina Fey and Amy Poehler back-to-back. It’s like old times seeing them at the SNL anchor desk together again. But now, with “Parks & Rec” moving to 9:30 and “30 Rock” to 10, I won’t have to shift anymore. So as cautiously wary as I am of a 10 p.m. comedy block on NBC again (remember Leno? Better yet, let’s not), I love having them back-to-back naturally.

But back to the show. If you don’t watch you’re missing out on one of the zaniest, biggest-hearted, optimistically goofy shows on television. Yes, “30 Rock” has the urbane, zeitgeisty nerd humor. Yes, “Modern Family” has the rainbow flag of family values. Yes, “Glee” has jazz hands. But “Parks & Rec” has Leslie Knope. She’s like Hillary Clinton’s wildly enthusiastic and affably naive younger sister who makes up for what she lacks in political savvy with earnest hopefulness. Also, like her timeslot neighbor Liz Lemon, is an avowed feminist. That’s two shows on a major network television airing consecutively with female leads who call themselves feminists. Yeah, at this point I think it’s a sin against womankind not to watch.

p.s. I think Ron Swanson might be my spirit animal (minus the hating government stuff – and mustache) because I, too, like pretty, dark-haired women and breakfast food.