30 Rock

Marty Stuart's American Odyssey Does Houston

Welcome Back to Work...

So, the boss made you come in the day after Thanksgiving, huh? Yeah, and we're guessing there isn't a whole lot to do seeing as how everyone else's boss gave them the day off. (Luckily for us, the news never rests! ... or something.) Well, nod off not, Internet friends. Hair Balls is here with lin ... More >>

30 Rock Takes Another Little Piece of Port Arthur

One of the only things Rocks Off loves as much as Tom Petty and chicken-fried steak is NBC's brilliant, multiple Emmy-winning 30 Rock, which he thinks is the best TV comedy since The Larry Sanders Show. Now he loves it even more after last night's deliciously twisted episode, "Senor Mach ... More >>

Will the Texan 30 Rock Writer Please Get in Touch?

This is starting to mess with Rocks Off's head just a little. Last week's Janis-Joplin-movie subplot made him wonder, because it was hardly the first time Southeast Texas was used as a punchline, but now he's sure there's some sort of subversive Lone Star conspiracy afoot behind the scenes&nbs ... More >>

Upcoming Texas Twists on 30 Rock

Regular readers may be aware that Rocks Off has become somewhat obsessed with NBC's 30 Rock lately. Actually, that's not true. He's been obsessed with the show since the first time he saw it - Alec Baldwin is a comedic genius, and oh, that Tina Fey - but its recent tendency to insert plot ... More >>

25 Super Bowl Memes You'll Be Sick Of

It's Super Bowl week. The game is on Sunday, but by the time kickoff rolls around we're going to be so sick of the hype that nobody is going to care about the game. The memes have started coalescing, so here's a little primer for every storyline that you will be sick of come Thursday evening once ... More >>

Aftermath: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Super Bowl XLIII

Part 1: "10th Avenue Freeze-Out" and "Born to Run" Score another one for the old folks. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's quarter-hour onstage at Super Bowl XLIII Sunday night may not have been the most contemporary booking the NFL could have landed - but, and we'll get to this in a minut ... More >>

Tonight: Battle of the Bar Bands at House of Blues

A more cutthroat distant cousin to the rock/soul package tours of the late '50s and '60s, "Battle of the Bands" competitions were never really in style - except maybe in the Sunset Strip hair-metal heyday of the mid-'80s - but they never really go out of style either. Tonight at House of Blues, ... More >>

25 Super Bowl Memes You'll Be Sick Of

It's Super Bowl week. The game is on Sunday, but by the time kickoff rolls around we're going to be so sick of the hype that nobody is going to care about the game. The memes have started coalescing, so here's a little primer for every storyline that you will be sick of come Thursday evening once ... More >>

Making Sense of a Trying Year

It's Super Bowl week. The game is on Sunday, but by the time kickoff rolls around we're going to be so sick of the hype that nobody is going to care about the game. The memes have started coalescing, so here's a little primer for every storyline that you will be sick of come Thursday evening once ... More >>

Turkeys of the Year

DA Chuck Rosenthal flies off with top honors

Wayne Brady

Actor/Comedian/Singer fronts Houston Symphony

No Drama for Baby Mama

Neither Tina Fey nor Amy Poehler seem the least bit invested in their surrogate mommy comedy

First Sunday

Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan get religion

Transformers, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Crazy Love and Treasures III: Social Issues in American Film

Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan get religion

Seasons in the Sun

Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan get religion

Tony Bennett

Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan get religion

Hitchcock on Holiday

Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan get religion

The Best Thing on TV

A look at The White Rapper Show

The Week in TV: "I'll Have...A Birthday Cake!"

​It was a pretty fun week in TV Land: Most of the fall programs are beginning to settle in, the CW continued its inexplicable existence, and David Letterman hit it with some employees. Insert your Worldwide Pants jokes here, and let's get to it! • I won't go into much here about FlashForwa ... More >>

The Week In TV: Seriously. You Need to Watch Community

I know you think the only event of note last week in TV Land was the sad departure of Tom DeLay from Dancing With the Stars. But Dazzle Me Dreamy's punk out was only the beginning. NBC canceled Southland, which is officially the first victim of uber-hack Jay Leno's primetime talk show. Granted, ... More >>

TV Land: 30 Rock Is Back! And Some Other Stuff Happened Too

It was a long week in TV Land, so let's get some Cheesy Blasters and do it to it: • 30 Rock is back! 30 Rock is back! I know that some of you -- most of you? -- probably thought that Texas' victory was the best thing on TV this week, but that's because you're young and don't know much yet. Trus ... More >>

The Office: Meet Blind Guy McSqueezy

I'm running out of ways to say just how great The Office still is, six seasons in. This week's episode, "The Lover" -- written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky and directed by Eisenberg -- was a textbook example of how to make a great half-hour comedy feel fresh even while relying on character ... More >>

The Week In TV: The World Series Ruins Everything

Parks and Recreation, yet another reason to love NBC​The weather is cool, Halloween is in the air, and I just redesigned the Pontiac Aztec. This is the week in TV Land: • For being a weak network overall and the home to some truly awful medical dramas, NBC can bring the funny. This week it ... More >>

The Week In TV: Trauma Dies On the Operating Table

It's a beautiful weekend, the rain has stopped, and my Batman voice sounds like Cookie Monster. This was the week in TV Land: • I take nothing but pleasure in the misfortune of the untalented, which is why it's my pleasure to pass along the news that ratings for Comedy Central's The Jeff Dunham S ... More >>

This Week In TV: Miracle Cures From Alien Civilizations

The Yankees won, Doug Hoffman lost, and I'm thinking of joining a neighborhood dad garage band. This was the week in TV Land: • 30 Rock continues to be the quickest comedy on the air and the spiritual descendant of Arrested Development. This week's episode was stuffed with more meta-jokes than ev ... More >>

This Week In TV: Horrible, Horrible People

I'm recovered from the snow, I'm trying to convince people that "Dick in a Box" qualifies as Christmas music, and I've got a hole in my heart from eating batteries. This was the week in TV Land: • 30 Rock was cute this week, though the bit about Frank turning into Liz was a little lifeless. But ... More >>

The Week in TV: We Can Only Mock the Living

​It's almost Christmas, I'm tired of shopping, and I keep yelling "sharkfarts" at everyone. This was the week in TV Land: • Most of the major shows and networks were in repeats this week, which threw my viewing habits off a bit. It's not like I only watch the big four networks; in fact, I ... More >>

This Week In TV: Joss Whedon Is A Free Man

It's been nice knowing you, Dollhouse. Now how about that Serenity sequel, Whedon?​It's way too cold outside, I can't believe I'm back at work, and I've already braved one after-Christmas sale. This was the week in TV Land: • I watched the finale of The Sing-Off. That's how little there was ... More >>

Name That Cop Movie: Kevin Smith's latest is a cliche-filled comedy

Kevin Smith's latest is a cliché-filled movie-trivia comedy — so crazy it just might work!

The Week In TV: Time Runs Out for 24

Cancellation: The light at the end of our tunnel.​I miss Spring Break, I'm awash in cancellations, and I don't get your reference to the Cookie Crisp Wizard. This was the week in TV Land: • As I wrote last week in my post about The Office, it's possible for a show to overstay its welcome a ... More >>

Bad Marriage

Tina Fey and Steve Carell go lowbrow and chemistry-free in Date Night.

The Week In TV: So Long, Julia Sugarbaker

Even with my dependable shows in reruns, it feels good to be back in the stern embrace of David Simon. This was the week in TV Land: • Thank God for Hulu, you know? The video site is the only reason I actually keep up with Saturday Night Live most weeks. The show's had a real hard-on for tweens ... More >>

The Week In TV: NBC Comedies Are Finally Back

We've missed you.​My parking lot's flooded, I had my first crawfish on Friday, and I feel like funkin' it up. This was the week in TV Land: • Ah, the joys and frustrations of the endless news cycle: Not a couple hours after last week's round-up column went live -- in which I ruminated on C ... More >>

NBC's Thursday Night: Chicken Fingers and Self-Loathing

​I'm trying something different this week, thanks to a suggestion from my editor, who noticed that each successive episode of The Office was pushing me into a darker corner of the world inhabited only by hateful characters with no hope in sight. Rather than just blog about that show, I'm takin ... More >>

NBC's Thursday Night: 93 Meetings In One Day

He does bear a striking resemblance to Jane Krakowski.​Last night's comedy block on NBC was the best two hours of my week as far as TV's concerned. Sure, there weren't that many surprises as far as quality goes: Community and Parks and Recreation led the block and were the best of the night, f ... More >>

NBC's Thursday Night: I Walked On Your Face!

Buzz Aldrin is officially cooler than you are.​This is my third week blogging about NBC's Thursday comedies as a whole, and I'm really enjoying the experience of watching them as a block. Between my DVR, sites like Hulu, and a willingness to look around for other online videos whose legality I ... More >>

NBC's Thursday Night: She's The Ark Of The Covenant!

The role of a lifetime.​Sometimes TV shows are forced to interact with each other in crossovers or network-wide branding initiatives like NBC's Green Is Universal (itself parodied on 30 Rock). But sometimes a group of episodes just happen to be about the same thing, and those happy accidents h ... More >>

NBC's Thursday Night: A Fond Farewell, For Now

We'll miss you, Mark.​Last night was season-finale night for NBC's comedies, and each show's sendoff matched its overall vibe: Community was strong and mock-conventional; Parks and Recreation was hilarious and engaging; 30 Rock was bittersweet but solid, definitely showing its slight age; and ... More >>

Courtney's Revenge

Nobody's Daughter propels Hole into the 21st century.

The Week In TV: Emmy Nominations, Good and Bad

​The Cup is over, the king has moved, and I replaced the C in "circle" with the Z from "zucchini." This was the week in TV Land: • Nominations for the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards were announced last week, and befitting an industry built on low standards and an organization dedicated to filli ... More >>

The Week in TV: Ellen Degeneres Realizes American Idol Sucks

Rob Lowe will soon join the cast of Parks and Recreation.​The dog days are upon us, the networks are planning for fall, and there's always money in the banana stand. This was the week in TV Land: • The Television Critics Association summer press tour has been going on for the past few days ... More >>

Bartender Chat: Meagan Groves of Leon's Lounge

​If you talk to anyone familiar with Houston's bar scene, they are likely to bring up the newly renovated Leon's Lounge. EOW recently stopped by to check out the new digs, grab a cocktail, and have a chat with bartender Meagan Groves. Groves has only been bartending for a short while -- she ... More >>

Childish Gambino

​If you talk to anyone familiar with Houston's bar scene, they are likely to bring up the newly renovated Leon's Lounge. EOW recently stopped by to check out the new digs, grab a cocktail, and have a chat with bartender Meagan Groves. Groves has only been bartending for a short while -- she ... More >>

Childish Gambino

​If you talk to anyone familiar with Houston's bar scene, they are likely to bring up the newly renovated Leon's Lounge. EOW recently stopped by to check out the new digs, grab a cocktail, and have a chat with bartender Meagan Groves. Groves has only been bartending for a short while -- she ... More >>

Top 5 Food Inspired Moments in Television

Photo by Mike King & Brooke Viggiano"Gettin' ripshit on ham."​Food and television. My two favorite things in life. I mean, besides family and friends, of course. Anyway, some of the greatest scenes in television are based around food, as evidenced by this season's rum-ham filled It's Always Su ... More >>

Chiles and Chili: The Most Obvious Episode of Top Chef: Texas Yet

​Above is is how I imagine the initial planning meetings for Top Chef: Texas went. I'm also imagining future episodes where the contestants will be forced to shoot their own horses and grill them over a fire of cactus paddles. Let's go, Top Chef: Texas! DO THIS SHIT RIGHT. Until then, we'll h ... More >>

The 10 Best Food-Centric TV Episodes on Netflix, For Your Post-Thanksgiving Food Coma

The Cosby family color-coordinated their Thanksgiving Day outfits. And you're wearing yoga pants. Good job.​Before I had cable, I invested in Netflix's streaming video service. It continues to be the best $7 I spend each month, despite the service's recent, public misadventures. And anyway, Ne ... More >>

Four Epic Twitter Rants in Honor of Kanye West

Photo by Marco Torres​When Kanye West tweets, magical things happen. West's high powered account lay dormant for quite sometime after his My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album but last night, the floodgates were opened from West's creative mind. What emerged was a sprawling 85 tweet rant tha ... More >>