There are scores of TV shows out there, with dozens of new episodes each week, not to mention everything you can find on Hulu Plus, Netflix streaming, and HBO Go. How’s a viewer to keep up? To help you sort through all that television has to offer, Flavorwire is compiling the five best moments on TV each week. This time, the Olympics kick off while Jay Leno’s tenure as host of Tonight winds down.
Olympics, Olympics, Olympics
Though the opening ceremonies didn’t happen until today (and law-abiding Americans won’t see them until tonight), last night marked the first of many nights NBC is dedicating to the events in Sochi. Expect lots of hype, ridiculous-looking uniforms, and delicate acknowledgment of the corruption scandals and human rights abuses surrounding the event. Not that the most entertaining bits of Olympic coverage aren’t actually on Twitter, in the form of journalists complaining about their hotels…
Jay Leno Says Goodbye
And a star-studded goodbye it was. Though he got some well-deserved ribbing from both the internet and Conan O’Brien about his less-than-graceful previous exit from Tonight, it was difficult not to feel for a man wrapping up over two decades at the top of the entertainment industry. The over-the-top finale included appearances from Steve Carrell, Oprah Winfrey, Billy Crystal (Leno’s first-ever guest on the program), Kim Kardashian, and Jack Black. Even David Letterman had kind words for Leno on his way out, clearing the way nicely for Jimmy Fallon’s debut later this month.
Prince Guests on New Girl
In an episode literally called “Prince,” lest we miss the post-Super Bowl episode’s big draw. It’s an interesting choice of show for the superstar’s TV debut, but he works surprisingly well against Zooey Deschanel and Jake Johnson. The appearance also added a necessary dimension of levity to the typical, tired couple-says-I-love-you plot. Remember: anything beautiful is worth getting hurt for! Also, purple frisbees.
Abbi Punts a Chicken
In its third episode, Broad City gave us its first two running gags: a dog that looks like Judith Light and a brilliant journey to a far-flung package center. It’s there that Abbi, desperate to retrieve her hunky neighbor’s mail, enlists the help of her roommate’s heinous boyfriend, Matty Bevers. Matty screws it up, as he’s wont to do, and that’s when we get the fledgling sitcom’s best visual gag to date: Abbi sprinting outside the warehouse, Costco rotisserie chicken bribe in hand, and kicking the shit out of the chicken as it sprays all over the place. It. Is. AMAZING. And was GIFed to death within minutes of airing.
Captain Holt Introduces Us to His Husband
Or rather, his husband (Kevin Cosner, no “T”) invites the entire Brooklyn Nine-Nine squad to Holt’s birthday party. He’s played by the lawyer from Parks and Rec, he’s a classics professor at Columbia, and he’s about as much fun at parties as those two factoids suggest. Watching Amy, Jake, and company struggle to impress their boss’ spouse is adorable, though, and the freshman comedy nails the addition of another player to its already hefty ensemble cast. We’re looking forward to more appearances from Mr. Cosner in the future.