Wed, May 7th, 2008 - 30 Rock, The Office

11:00    30 Rock
11:30    The Office

30 Rock.  Season 2, Episode 12.  Subway Hero is another laugh-out-loud funny episode.  Liz gets sucked back into a relationship with Dennis, Alec Baldwin plays Nixon, and Tim Conway takes a tour of NBC.  But the highlight, of course, is Dean Winters.

The Office.  Season 4, Episode 12.  Did I Stutter?   Wow.  Superb.  Not just hilarious, but genuinely dramatic, too.  And, unlike the episode about the painful dinner party, the very serious elements of the story are balanced by very funny ones.  The a-story is a treat from start to finish: Stanley loses his temper with Michael and has to be reprimanded.  Instead of dishing out another gimmick episode set outside the confines of the office, here is a story deeply rooted in the raison d'être of the entire series: Michael is a bad boss.  The cast are wonderful, and the final scene between Michael and Stanley is one of the best that the show has ever done.  Aside from that: I love all the meaness in the episode: Toby and Ryan being crappy to Jim, and Dwight being mean to Andy.