Yes, we know “Must-See Thursdays” is a long-dead idea. Nowadays there’s a lot of compelling competition, what with CBS’s potent line-up kicking off with a full hour of “The Big Bang Theory” tonight at 8. ABC, meanwhile, has the “Charlie’s Angels” reboot premiering at the same time. But if you’re planning to watch that instead of “Community” and “Parks & Recreation,” well… please keep that to yourself.

Then again we understand why many would choose cheap jigglevision over what’s on NBC in the 8 o’clock hour.  For many years, NBC betrayed viewers with terrible Zucker-fied choices on Thursdays.  We’ll even admit that  “Community” and “Parks and Recreation” were far from being at their best in their first seasons, so if you sampled them back then, coaxing you back to the fold now won’t be easy. Please trust us, though, when we say it’s time to give them another shot.  What follows are two relatively brief arguments as to why you should drop by Greendale Community College tonight, and stick around for a quick visit to Pawnee, IN., at 8:30.

“Community”: The New Version of the Family You Choose.

Although life at Greendale is funniest when it’s at its most unrealistic, creator Dan Harmon has said in many interviews that he plans to ease up on the thematic stunts and explore the motivations of his core characters much more throughout this third season. That pledge is sure to challenge viewers who loved the surreal, lightweight ridiculousness of episodes inspired by action flicks and zombie movies, but if done correctly it will strengthen the main reason we adore this show.

This may seem like a weird point of comparison, but “Community” is loved by its fans for the same reason people loved “Friends“: at the core of its formula is the idea that once you hit a certain age, your closest pals become just as important to you, if not more so, than the family you’re born in to.  You spend more time with them, and their concept of who you are is not informed by who you were during your formative years. “Community” hews to that idea, but adds a little more realism – yes, within those bizarre episodic plots, there is realism – by giving each person barely-tolerable qualities that the gang only overlooks because they genuinely care about each other. Like family, that bond gets strained to its limits,  as it was with Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase), who left the study group at the end of the second season.

If that still doesn’t sell it for you, consider this: Michael K. Williams, better known as “The Wire’s” Omar, has a guest starring role as a biology professor, and John Goodman also guest stars as the nemesis to Greendale’s deeply odd Dean Pelton (Jim Rash).

“Parks and  Recreation”: It’s a Ron (Swanson)’s World, But He Wouldn’t Be Nothing Without His Leslie

“Parks and Rec” is ostensibly about the struggles and triumphs of Pawnee bureaucrat Leslie Knope, thereby making it Amy Poehler‘s series. Right? Well, by the third season, when the writers found the show’s comedic cadence and produced some of the funniest half-hours in primetime, it became clear that Nick Offerman‘s Ron Swanson, a solidly midwestern meat fetishist with deadpan delivery and a soft spot for his succubus ex-wives, was the beefy side dish “Parks” needed to take off.

It would be wrong to think “Parks” could succeed as The Ron Swanson Show, but given his outrageous appearance at the top of tonight’s episode – and subsequent absence for most of the scenes that follow – one realizes how much the show needs Offerman to maintain its magic. The premiere’s best scenes are the ones shared by Leslie and Ron, of course;  as longtime viewers know, Ron’s ex-wives may be his Kryptonite, but its his friendship with Leslie, and her cosmically wacky demonstrations of loyalty, that always pulls him back from the brink.

Next week’s episode compensates for the relatively Ron-light season premiere by having him face down a double dose of Tammy, as in his satanic first ex-wife, Tammy One (Patricia Clarkson) – yes, she’s worse than Tammy Two (Megan Mullally) – and Tammy Zero (Paula Pell), his mother. Do yourself a favor and tune in for both because, um, “Charlie’s Angels”?  C’mon.

By the way, you may be wondering why we have not mentioned “The Office” or “Whitney,” the other two entries in NBC’s Thursday comedy block.  That’s because a) “The Office” needs less assistance, given that James Spader‘s addition to the cast is bound to generate higher ratings for the premiere; and b) “Whitney,” um, could be better.

Check out our take on “Whitney” in IMDb’s Fall TV Preview by clicking here.

That’s a record high for the series, and a proud moment for CBS, regardless of the fact that much of the ninth season premiere’s humor hung from an array of jokes about penis size, sexually transmitted diseases, and a couple of farts from the half-man (Angus T. Jones). Executive producer Chuck Lorre not only reveled in his vengeance by making Charlie Sheen‘s character Charlie Harper die a rather horrible death, but he also made sure the audience will never forget that the jingle writer’s jangles housed a wide array of viruses. A number of Charlie’s previous sex partners offered up Too Much Information at his funeral, letting us know that although he kicked a lot of women out of his bed, he also sent them home with gifts that keep on giving. Har har.

In other words, it was a typical Monday night with “Two and a Half Men.” (The blow-by-blow recap of the episode is available here.)

The premiere also answered the question of whether Kutcher can keep the series going: yes, he can.  Honestly, that’s not exactly a revelation.  “Men” was never a particularly challenging comedy, and Charlie Harper was not a complex character. Though one can (and many will) argue that Sheen’s chemistry with Jon Cryer was what made the show a hit in its earliest seasons, the fact of the matter is Cryer literally propped up Sheen during the final episodes of the eighth season. If Lorre’s the gas in this reliable economy vehicle, Cryer is proving to be the engine.

But it’s the body that sells a car, and thus, we have  Kutcher.  Can he act? Not really. But he didn’t have to. Kutcher wasn’t challenged to deliver much emoting beyond fake-crying into a bar patron’s cleavage, and he spent a good portion of his time in the Harper household getting buck naked.  Walden Schmidt managed to score a pity threesome while Alan Harper was left lonely and pathetic in his plaid flannel pajamas.  The Artist Formerly Known as Kelso is fitting right in, ladies and gentlemen.

So, will “Two and a Half Men” continue to be the force it was with the Warlock at the helm? Why not. More than 14 million viewers watched the final episode with Sheen in it. That means next week’s continuation of the premiere – in which we discover the circumstances that will allow Alan and Jake Harper to continue living with Walden Schmidt, thus explaining why this series will continue to make Lorre a very rich man – can lose half of the premiere’s numbers and still not be in danger of facing the firing squad.

Remember, if you watched (as this writer did), you are partially responsible for this show’s continued existence. (Feel free to pat yourself on the back or hang your head in shame at that realization. It’s really up to you, we won’t judge.)

Nevertheless, we remain proud of you America. At least you expended your TV viewing energy on this and went on to ignore NBC’s gawdawful “Playboy Club” at 10pm; it only attracted about 5 million viewers, putting it in the running to be the season’s first unlucky recipient of cancellation papers.

Meanwhile “The Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen,” which also premiered at 10pm ET/PT, raked in around 6.4 million viewers — making it the most-watched roast in the cable channel’s history. Comedian Jeff Ross, who participated in the event, watched its network debut as well as the premiere of “Men” with Sheen and wrote this interesting report on what that was like for The Hollywood Reporter.

This week some of our favorite TV shows are  highlighting the joys of romance in their storylines.

Leave it to “Modern Family” to deftly illustrate all the hilarious ways that love, American style, can go awry. We adore this show.

Read on for the recap of  “Modern Family’s” viewer Valentine as well as our other Wednesday night faves:

“Modern Family”: My Funky Valentine
“American Idol”: Hollywood Round: Part 2
“Criminal Minds”: Public Enemy
“Cougar Town”: When a Kid Goes Bad
“Leverage”: The Three Strikes Job

Chuck and Sarah: A couple worth (show)killing for?

Those who keep up with the daily happenings in TV Land are likely aware of  the “Chuckopalypse.”  If you’re not, check out our recap of the episode (“Chuck vs. the Mask“) or continue reading after the jump for a brief explanation.

The rest of our Monday night recaps are linked at the end of this post if you’d rather skip the conversation about the “Chuckopalypse.”  And you can always find the IMDb’s round-up of TV recaps the day after an episode airs by scrolling about midway down the IMDb homepage.

Ready? Here we go:  A significant portion of “Chuck’s” devoted viewership is up in arms — on the verge of mutiny, really — at what they consider to be a major pollutant to the delicate Chuckosphere.

These folks, who some would call “shippers” (i.e., people who believe a series flies or dies based on what happens in a central romantic relationship, usually of the “will-they-or-won’t-they” variety), believe that the producers betrayed them by having Chuck (Zachary Levi) and his usually-off-but-only-on-for-a-tantalizingly-short-time love interest Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) pair off with other people.

It’s perfectly fine for Chuck’s eyes to wander, mind you; he tried to make it work again with his ex-girlfriend — alas, she was a spy! — and another the girl at the mall’s sandwich shop, but he always came back to Sarah.  To a nerd like Chuck, Sarah is the ultimate unattainable girl: sexy, smart, skilled with weapons and hand-to-hand combat.  Why on Earth would she be interested in a Buy More employee? Doesn’t matter; she just is.

The sticking point, Sarah has been keen to remind Chuck, is that they’re both spies and co-workers; ergo, they can’t do anything about it.  Sarah has said it dozens of times: Spies do not fall in love. Therefore, Sarah must remain unattainable, and if anyone is to do the attaining, it must be Chuck.

A couple of weeks ago Chuck meets nice girl Hannah on a plane, they hit it off, she finds him in Burbank, and sparks fly.  Fine so far. Where things get problematic, in the eyes of some fans, is that Sarah appears to be ready to pair off with fellow super-spy Shaw, who is not only her superior but has often reminded her not to fall in love with her charge, Chuck.

(Once also can’t help noticing that those upset fans are perfectly fine with Chuck getting busy with others while Sarah isn’t allowed the same perk. Hello, and welcome to the Buy More! My name is Double Standard. How may I assist you today?)

It does not matter that Chuck and Sarah’s distractions happen to be played by the adorable Kristin Kreuk and handsome Brandon Routh. The problem is that Chuck and Sarah are supposed to end up together, dammit.  That was the implied promise, understand. Three seasons in, Chuck and Sarah have almost had sex and almost ran away together.

The complaints don’t just in there. Chuck is almost a spy but can’t quite give up the training wheels; the adventures of Morgan, Jeff, Lester and the Buy More gang are almost baked to the point that they can stand alone each week;  and the series almost seems to have hit its stride but this season’s episodes haven’t quite cleared the bar between solid and outstanding.  All this, and an Olympics-forced hiatus, too.

That’s a lot of “almosts” to put up with, and the extended tease appears to have pushed some fans to the breaking point. Next-day viewer reaction has ranged from the merely peeved to really ticked off to “let’s stop watching to force the producers to write the show we want” (see comments in that last link) tough talk.

Let’s put that last idea to rest right now, especially if you happen to be one of the viewers who worked very hard to save “Chuck” last season. “Chuck” has never been one of the shiniest examples of the Golden Age of the Scripted TV Hour and, frankly, you’ll find better espionage action over on USA during an episode of “Burn Notice.” But what it is, and has always been, is the kind of good fun that’s in short supply on network television.

If you stop watching it, there will be no script rewrites. There will only be a cancellation announcement.

As NPR’s Linda Holmes reminds us (via an effective metaphor) in her blog post on this topic, “When you like a show, you’re effectively on a bus with everyone else who likes it, and you’ve got to let the driver do the driving…But if you get up there with everybody else on the bus and start trying to grab the wheel, you will find yourself tumbling down the side of a ravine, and at the bottom of that ravine, there will be nothing to watch except ‘Deal or No Deal‘.”

Sure, you might not have love love LOVED “Chuck vs. The Mask“  and yes, the Chuckster left us in a tough place to wait until March 1,  but can we please refrain from calling for the head of Mr. Bartowski?  Honestly, did you stick around to watch the mess that went down after that “Chuck” episode?

I agree with Holmes and our pals Alan Sepinwall and Mo Ryan, whose various calls for calm on the subject are far more eloquent than this one.

And, in case you need a reminder of what a truly bad episode of television looks like, we have plenty of episodes of “Heroes” available on for viewing on IMDb. That includes the season finale, which would work perfectly well as a series finale in my opinion.  (Just an observation.)

Now consider that NBC could be quicker to renew that hot garbage than give Casey, Sarah and Chuck a fourth season of missions if  “Chuck’s” post-Olympics ratings take a dive. Yep. That’s right.

So please…simmer down, my friends. Simmer down now.

The full recap of the “Heroes” finale is below along with the rest of our Monday night coverage.

“Heroes”: Brave New World (Season finale)

“How I Met Your Mother”: Rabbit or Duck

“House”: 5 to 9

“The Bachelor”: Meet the Families

“The Big Bang Theory”: The Large Hadron Collision

“Damages”: Flight’s at 11:08

“Secret Diary of a Call Girl”: Fantasy vs. Reality

“24″ Day 8: 10:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m

Fringe, Momentum Deferred

Now that the fall TV season is in full swing, it’s impossible to watch it all… even with your trusty DVRs.  Lucky for you, we have full recaps of all your favorite shows.  Here’s the line-up for last night.  But remember, they are full of spoilers!

“Fringe”: Momentum Deferred (aired 10/8)

“Grey’s Anatomy”: Tainted Obligation (aired 10/8)

“FlashForward”: 137 Sekunden (aired 10/8)

“Bones”: The Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (aired 10/8)

“Project Runway”: A Fashionable New Beginning (aired 10/8)

“The Mentalist”: Red Badge (aired 10/8)

“CSI”: Working Stiffs (aired 10/8)