Blech. That pretty much sums up the entire episode. In my honest opinion, it’s the worst of the season, so far. None of the storylines are compelling and less than halfway through you will start to question why you are supposed to care about what’s going on. Dean Pelton wants to recruit Troy for the school’s football team, but Annie keeps him to his studies. That is, until the dean begins to blackmail Jeff by plastering his face all of the community college’s posters. Also, Britta is shunned by Shirley as a “bathroom buddy” because she’s too cold, so Britta asks to be trained to become one of the girls. And in the only semi-funny storyline, Pierce is helping design the Greendale Human Beings’ school mascot, but is trying not to be racist. And it’s all just… Terrible…

I’m not sure I laughed at all during the entire time I watched the show this week. There was a bevy of bad jokes, like the trophy case gag. I might have chuckled when Pierce was working on the new mascot design but definitely not for long. I’m almost positive I’ll be giving up on this show by the end of the season, that is, if it doesn’t get cancelled first.

Grade: D

The Office – “The Lover”

This week, Michael reveals to Jim that his new lover just so happens to be Pam’s mom. This information, of course, is eventually spread throughout the office. Once Pam finds out, all hell breaks loose. It’s simply amazing watching the individual reactions to the news of Michael’s new liaison.

When Michael first tells Jim the big news, he has trouble believing him. After Jim asks what kind of car Pam’s mom drives, Michael answers correctly and the look of horror on Jim’s face could not be more hilarious. Jim begs Michael to keep this a secret and end the relationship, but Michael thinks that Pam would just want him to be happy. Once the news gets out, Pam absolutely freaks and the feuding begins. Meanwhile, Dwight is back to his old antics, as he plants a bugged wooden mallard in Jim’s office. Jim quickly finds out after he hears it buzzing and uses it against Dwight to mess with his mind.

All in all, this was a very unusual, albeit hilarious episode of The Office. I say unusual because it’s not often that we get to see Pam completely furious; furious enough to say sh**. By the end of the episode, she cools down some, but you can’t help but feel sorry for her. What would you do if Michael Scott was dating your mom?

Grade: B+

30 Rock – “Into the Crevasse”

Liz Lemon’s new book, which points out a multitude of “deakbreakers” for women and their prospective boyfriends, finally catches up to her, when all the men she works with start raising Cain. The writers are pissed, Pete is pissed, and eventually, Tracy’s wife, Angie, gets a hold of the book and starts to rethink their relationship. Only adding to her troubles was Jenna’s childlike attitude towards the idea of a new cast member. To get back at Liz, Jenna is filming a shoddy vampire movie in Iceland. In addition, Jack takes a bus to Washington D.C. to meet a government taskforce, which is supposed to distribute bailout money, lead by none other than Jack’s rival, Devon Banks, played gloriously by Will Arnett. Jack Donaghy, being the devout Republican that he is, refuses to take bailout from Obama, so he has to reinvigorate the microwave market or face the bankruptcy of his division.

In every storyline there are plenty of and various type of hilarious moments. My personal favorite is when Tracy confronts Liz about her book, yelling, “Liz Lemon, you booger-face! I’m gonna kill you with a bazooka!” Jack’s dispute with Banks is also filled with its fair share of humor, whether it’s Banks’ pointing out of Donaghy’s frivolous spending or Banks’ exclamation of, “You don’t tell me what kind of pizza to like!” And I dare you not to laugh when Tracy becomes Liz’s roommate; he answers the phone “Tracy and Liz’s! Tracy speaking,” and he brings along his pet reef shark in a garbage bag.

It’s always great to see all of the actors clicking, especially when there’s a guest. Arnett continues to do a great job in his portrayal of Devon Banks. I really can’t say anything bad about this episode. Every joke was right on the money and there were hardly any slow or dull moments.

Grade: A+

This was probably the best episode of Community so far, and although that’s not saying much, I thoroughly enjoyed some parts of the episode. There are three separate storylines in “Advanced Criminal Law,” the main one following Britta’s hearing after she admits to making a crib sheet for a test in Señor Chang’s class. We also follow Troy and Abed as they try to mess with each other, as well as Annie who selects Pierce to write a song for Greendale Community College.

All three storylines peter out in the latter half of the show, but there are plenty of laughs to be had at the beginning. Once again, Ken Jeong does a wonderful representation of the insane Señor Chang as he threatens to fail the whole class if the cheater does not come forward. There’s also Troy telling Abed the secret that he’s President Obama’s nephew. But the funniest moment had to be when Pierce revealed that his jingle for Hawthorne Wipes was actually a rip-off of the song “She’ll Be Comin’ Around the Mountain.”

I was pleasantly surprised by this episode of Community. It definitely proves that the show is capable of being a primetime contender. However, the majority of the episodes, so far, have been flops, so they really need to improve their writing soon.

Grade: B

The Office – “Mafia”

Jim and Pam are off on their honeymoon, but their departure, thankfully, doesn’t detract from the humor of this week’s episode (though that’s not to say they aren’t missed). Patiently waiting for Michael as he arrives at the office is Mr. Grotti, you’re everyday insurance salesman, who just happens to be Italian. After listening to his pitch, Michael simply declines the offer, that is, until Dwight and Andy convince him that Grotti is somehow connected to the mafia. Hilarity ensues.

Oscar is the only sensible person in the office this week, as the only two people who would support him are honeymooning in Puerto Rico. Not wanting to become a victim of the mob, Michael offers to have lunch with Grotti, but he brings Dwight and Andy, who is hilariously disguised as a mechanic, named Pat, along with him. Whether it was Andy being mistaken for a real mechanic, then telling a mother and her son that her car was totaled because of a “leaky spark tube,” or Kevin accidentally canceling Jim’s credit card back at the office, it seemed like I was always laughing.

Eventually, Michael caves and decides to buy the insurance, which he cannot afford, but the episode has a great, albeit really uncomfortable resolution. I don’t mean “uncomfortable” as an insult; it’s just something that The Office is so good at, where you actually feel embarrassed because of the characters. I’m glad to see that The Office is still in full-swing.

Grade: A

30 Rock – “Season 4”

30 Rock is finally back, and it’s still as funny as it’s always been. Jack Donaghy already has a full plate, and it’s only one episode into the season. Trying to appeal to middle America, Jack has secretly assigned Liz to hire a new cast member, and he also suggests to Tracy and Jenna that they should try to interact with average Americans. Meanwhile, Kenneth and the rest of the pages go on strike, after he realizes that there’s no money for the page’s overtime because Jack took a huge bonus check.

Liz immediately drags Pete into her situation, and their suspicious sneaking around makes for some great moments, including telling all the writers that they’re sleeping together to hide the news of new cast member from the actors. Furthermore, Jenna attempts to connect with the common people by “going country,” while Tracy roams the streets of New York, eventually revealing his friends: “Nobody, and his wife, Susan Walters-Nobody.” And to make the episode even better, Kenneth quotes the infamous “Hill People,” from where he used to live in Georgia, in short clip that is sure to make all DVR/TiVo users rewind and playback numerous times.

I think you’d be hard-pressed to find an episode of 30 Rock that isn’t great. Now that I’ve witnessed yet another great season opener, I still don’t think we’ll see one for a while. As the writer of the season opener, Tina Fey did a fantastic job of evenly balancing the humor among the show’s varied, extreme characters. “Season 4” was a perfect way (and a very fitting name) to start 30 Rock’s fourth season.

Grade: A