Thursday recap

"My Name is Earl" The material was a little uneven, but "Earl" continues its creative resurgence. By that I mean, it's funny again. And less precious. And more hot gay sex in solitary. So it's got that going for it.

"30 Rock" season premiere - That was... flaccid. "What happened to this network?" Jerry Seinfeld asks, in his completely unnecessary and mostly unfunny cameo. What happened to my second-favorite NBC comedy, I ask? When did it get so damn boring? Where's the genius? What happened to my damn genius?

"The Office" Oh, wait. Here's the genius, it all slid half an hour. My favorite? Kelly telling Ryan she's pregnant, then silently shaking her head to the camera. Also, everything with Jim and Pam, but mostly the air high-five. Gotta say, though, the hour-long episodes are padded. Apparently even two shows worth of genius aren't enough to make an hour-long sitcom work.