In the hours after his death, it seemed like everyone reached for comment not only recognized him as someone with journalistic gravitas, but also as someone with a great sense of humor. As Michelle Collins of BestWeekEver.tv noted Friday, Russert routinely showcased his comic prowess on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”

While I never met Russert, I thoroughly enjoyed one of his smaller-scale contributions to a comedy group that hailed from my alma mater, Boston College, from which his son, Luke, just graduated.

Woody Tondorf, now a producer and writer for HBO, had the same duties with Asinine, a BC sketch and improv comedy group. In college, Tondorf was instrumental in producing a wildly successful Web series, a spoof of Fox’s “The OC” called The BC, whose content and fake commercials would sometimes call upon school faculty, staff and alumni to contribute.

One of those fake commercials (really just unrelated sketches) that he cowrote involved Tim and Luke Russert’s desperate attempts to score sold-out tickets to the coveted BC-Duke game. Adding prestige and laughs to the clip were campus Jesuits, sports department personnel and members of BC’s basketball team, including current Charlotte Bobcats forward Jared Dudley.

Tim Russert, of course, is the headliner. He’s hilarious as host of an impromptu and unlikely episode of “Meet the Press.” His grace and comic timing are obvious when Dudley mistakes him for Tom Brokaw. But his funniest material is at the end of the clip (the 3:55 mark), when he’s swaggering his way down the Conte Forum court, nailing a ridiculous basketball shot and playfully taunting “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart:

Tondorf, who granted permission to embed this clip here, said yesterday his thoughts and prayers are with Luke and the rest of Russert’s family.

I’m still shocked and saddened by Mr. Russert’s death; working with him was a privilege and he had a marvelous sense of humor. We really lost one of the greats.

(AP Photo/NBC, Virginia Sherwood)

B.J. Novak will appear on Late Night with Conan O’Brien tonight at 12:35 a.m. ET, while The Tonight Show with Jay Leno welcomes Jenna Fischer tomorrow night at 11:35 p.m. ET.

You usually see this when one of them has a movie to promote. While Fischer does have a supporting role in next month’s “The Promotion” with John C. Reilly and Sean William Scott, these appearances look to be more about promoting The Office an anticipation of next week’s finale.

Here’s what I’d like to see them asked…

Fischer: What’s it like to be called an ugly scientist by Steve Carell? What was Pam really thinking when Jim said his impending proposal was going to “kick your ass”? And did it hurt when Ryan threw that bagel at your face?

Novak: Who’s idea was it to make such a dark turn with your character, Ryan, by giving him a drug problem? Are you leaving the show as a writer and/or actor to lead the spin-off? And is there any chance they’ll write a version of Andy’s Oompa Loompa song for Ryan, because it seems appropriate?

It’s been called a swipe, an overreach and a slam, but the fact is that it wasn’t any of the above. At worst it was a tongue-in-cheek boast meant more as a playful jab than a spiteful rip.

First, the facts, from the April 2008 issue Q&A...

RD: What pleases you more, applause or laughter?
Fey: Laughter. You can prompt applause with a sign. My friend, SNL writer Seth Meyers, coined the term clapter, which is when you do a political joke and people go, “Woo-hoo.” It means they sort of approve but didn’t really like it that much. You hear a lot of that on [whispers] The Daily Show.

Both offer left-leaning takes on current events. Neither is a great primary source for what’s going on in the world. And while both can be funny, both can also be painfully unfunny at times. In my opinion, Weekend Update hits the mark far more often, but TDS has to put on five shows a week.

Fey doesn’t mention TDS until the end of her comment, which suggests to me she wasn’t talking about the show at all until she decided, off the cuff, to throw it in as a punchline. I read it the first time and each time since as a statement on the hazards of news satire that SNL confronts.

And true to form, she thought it would be funny to poke a little good-natured fun at TDS in the process. I think TDS fans need to have a better sense of humor about things.

In other Tina-related happenings, Ricky Gervais’s upcoming movie, “This Side of the Truth” keeps looking better and better.

I wouldn’t need to know much about it, beyond its being a Gervais project, to line up early for tickets. But the casting news that The Office creator keeps doling out at his blog for the movie keeps getting better and better.

The movie is about an alternate earth were lying doesn’t exist. Naturally Gervais plays a liar. (Read a review of the draft script here.)

Gervais announced the other day that Fey was confirmed as joining the project, along with (brace yourself for this list) John Hodgman, Christopher Guest and Jeffrey Tambor. Louis CK, Rob Lowe, Jonah Hill and Jennifer Garner were already aboard.

Checking in today I see that Jason Bateman, like Tambor of Arrested Development fame, is in too.

Seriously, they don’t even need a script. Just put these people on a soundstage together and let the cameras roll.

Photos: Fey hosting SNL on Feb. 23, Gervais appearing on Late Night with Conan O’Brien in December. Courtesy NBC Universal.

That could come to a screeching halt in a couple of weeks, as Variety reported today that representatives of several of the late-night laughfests — including Letterman, Leno and Conan — “have been engaging in secret backchannel conversations with each other about when it might be appropriate for their hosts to return to their studios.”

Dec. 3 and Dec. 10 have been mentioned as possible dates.

Basically, none of them wants to be the first to return, but with no end in sight for the strike, lots of folks paychecks are on the line on these shows. Nonwriting staff on Leno and Conan and Last Call with Carson Daly are still receiving paychecks from NBC and will for at least two more weeks.

Worldwide Pants, David Letterman’s production company, is wholly responsible for salaries on Letterman’s show and on Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson. They’ll “continue to pay the non-writing staff of the shows—fully compensating lower-salaried employees, and providing a substantial portion of salaries for those at the higher end—at least through the end of the year,” a spokesman told Variety.

Meanwhile, Variety also reported that the awards shows could be the next major victims of the strike. All the major awards shows are scripted. So, will they go scriptless or get a waiver for writers (unlikely to be granted)? Will the shows be picketed and will stars cross the picket lines to attend?

Plus, Variety pointed out, Jon Stewart hasn’t shown up for The Daily Show since the strike started; he’s on tap to be the host of the Oscars again. If the strike’s still on and the show’s done unscripted, will he show up?

The trade publication had a good lineup of what we should expect from the kudocasts (love that word, thanks Variety!):
• American Music Awards, airing Sunday. Jimmy Kimmel hosts. The script was written before the strike, but Kimmel “will not be doing any ad-libbing.” OK, that’s just weird.
• Writer’s Guild Awards, set to air Feb. 9. Basically, the answer to that is, who knows?
• Grammy Awards. Nominations are announced Dec. 6, and any script wouldn’t have to be written until after that. It airs Feb. 10. Grammy folks think they’re OK because they can just schedule extra musical performances.
• Golden Globes. Nominees are announced Dec. 13; the show airs Jan. 13. Variety quoted Barry Adelman, Globes executive producer, from a prepared statement: “We’re hopeful the issues pertaining to the potential strike will be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction before then. In the meantime, we intend to explore all of our available options in the upcoming weeks.” In other words, we don’t know.
• SAG Awards, scheduled to be televised Jan. 27 on TNT. Being a sister union to the Writers Guild, if the strike’s still on, it’s unlikely to happen.
• The Academy Awards. Nominations will be announced Jan. 22 and it’s scheduled to air Feb. 24. Round and round and round we go, where we stop, nobody knows. The kudocast uses more writers than most; could they do it unscripted?

11:12 EST: The Emmy broadcast is over, and the Red Sox have closed to within 4-3 against the Yankees in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs. I’m telling you, these Yankees-Sox games are marathons.

11:10 EST: David Chase, in classy fashion, thanks Gandolfini, Falco, Imperioli and Aida Turturro. In an homage to Field’s censored speech—whatever she said—Chase says, “If the world was run by gangsters… maybe it is!”

11:07 EST: Helen Mirren presents the award to outstanding drama series to… “The Sopranos.” Well, despite Gandolfini, Falco and Imperioli being “forgottenabouttit,” at least the series itself goes out on a high note.

11:06 EST: After Joba Chamberlin gave up his first-ever run on a home run by Mike Lowell, it’s 4-2 Yanks. And now it’s in the bottom of the 9th with Mariano Rivera on the mound. It would have been fun to bet on which event would end first, the Yanks-Sox game or the Emmys. It’s coming down to the wire!

11:02 EST: Did we run out of stars? Why are Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton back on the stage? They award the comedy series Emmy to … “30 Rock!” YES YES YES YES YES!!! Now they are doomed to the “Arrested Development” curse, but at least everyone knows to buy the DVDs and feel guilty about not watching while it was on the air. Amazing show and the right choice. (“The Office” is equally fantastic, but “30 Rock” needed this Emmy to survive another full season or two.) Tina Fey thanks her “dozens and dozens of viewers.” You’re welcome, Tina!!!

11:00 EST: Tim Gunn is in a commercial for something. I’m buying whatever he’s selling. And there’s Martha Stewart again! Macy’s and McDonald’s get the award for coolest new commercial premiering tonight. (I had seen the Tina Fey AMEX commercial before.)

10:55 EST: The wrong James won. Spader upsets Gandolfini, then acknowledges “I feel like I just stole a pile of money from the mob.” And then says of his place in the theater-in-the-round, “These are the worst seats I’ve ever had.” He’s absolutely killing, which might stop militant “Sopranos” fans from doing the same.

10:54 EST: Seacrest says, “Congratulations, America.” You don’t speak for me, Ryan! I voted for Fey! Oh, wait. He meant Ferrera. Never mind.

10:52 EST: “Ugly Betty’s” America Ferrera wins an Emmy for lead actress in a comedy series. Good for her, but can she be a head writer for “Saturday Night Live”? Can she write the screenplay and star in “Mean Girls”? Sorry, I’m bitter. Tina Fey rules.

10:51 EST: As much as I appreciate William Shatner, why does he have an Emmy for acting? I … just DON’T … get IT!

10:45 EST: Now I’m so angry about Gervais and Field that I miss almost all of the dead-people montage. I tune back once I hear Steve Irwin’s voice. Using my newly installed DVR, I’ll list the ones I’ll miss most: Calvert DeForest (Letterman’s “Larry ‘Bud’ Melman”), James Glennon (director of photography for “Deadwood”), Don “Mr. Wizard” Herbert, Peter Boyle, Charles Nelson Reilly, Ed Bradley, Merv Griffin (for his game shows).

10:42 EST: Sally Field won something. I don’t care. I’m still upset about Stelec Caraldwin not winning the comedy actor award. Field shouts at the crowd and orchestra to be quiet. Just as I’m about to declare complete disinterest, Field says, “If mothers ruled the world, there would be no….” before Fox censors the rest of her statement. Maddening.

10:39 EST: In reading the nominees, Colbert mispronounces Steve Carell’s name as CAH-rell. Then Carell and Baldwin are robbed as Gervais wins the trophy. I think. “Ricky Gervais couldn’t be here tonight, so instead we’re going to give this to our friend, Steve Carell,” Stewart says. Good decision. Carell runs onto the stage as if he’s charging the mound after winning the World Series and the three hug. You know, I hope Stewart wasn’t kidding.

10:35 EST: Stephen Colbert joins Jon Stewart on stage. Colbert’s got a leaf-blower, which runs on “Al Gore’s tears.” Stewart flew in on his “private jet sandwich.” It’s funnier in context. But it’s going too long and I just found out that the Yanks took a 4-1 lead on Derek Jeter’s home run! Hooray!

10:29 EST: “The Amazing Race,” which wrapped in Garrison last year, wins the Emmy for reality series competition. Meh. No “Idol”? No “Project Runway”? Not even “Top Chef”? Pfft. The only solace I have is that “The Amazing Race” beat out Tony Bennett.

10:25 EST: Rainn Wilson and Kanye West take the stage with Wayne Brady, host of Fox’s “Don’t Forget the Lyrics!” Using the format of Brady’s show, Wilson and West are challenged to remember the lyrics of the songs of Kanye West. After West replaces “ya” with the word “you,” Brady says West is incorrect and gets a solid laugh out of me with “You picked the wrong time to speak properly.” In deadpan style, Dwight Wilson nails the lyrics, then gets more in touch with his urban delivery, prompting another laugh. Kanye gets the final laugh from me with “I never win,” an homage to his backstage rant after the Video Music Awards. I must admit: Weak premise, solid execution.

10:18 EST: OK, so “30 Rock” didn’t win, but I’m thrilled that Greg Daniels won a writing award for “The Office’s” Season 3 opener, “Gay Witch Hunt.” I laughed hysterically at the cringe-worthy denouement of that episode for about two minutes straight.

10:16 EST: “Ugly Betty” wins the first of what will be about a zillion Emmys, this one for directing a comedy series. I am already upset about “30 Rock” not winning… and they haven’t even not won yet.

10:13 EST: North Salem resident Stanley Tucci joins Elaine Strich who first yawns, then says “I’m not faking this, I really don’t know what the hell I’m doing.” I’m laughing with her. I think.

10:10 EST: Tony Bennett wins again. This trend is getting older than he is. (Hiyo!)

10:07 EST: Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher offer more edgy comedy in their Emmy intro than they’ve ever done on “Til Death.”

10:06 EST: Al Gore being honored on Fox?! That’s almost as surprising as, oh, almost any of these Emmys.

10:05 EST: Tom from MySpace (owned by Fox, by the way) awards an Emmy to Al Gore and some guy.

10:04 EST: Seacrest approaches Tony Sirico (no relation, although that is how my last name was once spelled) and asks “Mr. Walnuts” to stop shanking seat-fillers

10:01 EST: I have no idea what the point was for that McDonald’s Happy Meal commercial with the kid and the boom box playing old-school rap, but I loved every second of it. Someone get me some apple slices and caramel dipping sauces, stat!

9:56 EST: Allow me to take a brief break, as we’ve reached the directing and writing Emmys for miniseries (“Prime Suspect” wins both). I wonder what the Yankees-Red Sox score is. Ah, it’s still 1-1, top of the 7th.

9:53 EST: America Ferrera is not paying attention to the beginning of Lewis Black’s speech, which makes some salient points about networks’ refusal to show end credits and insistence on plastering graphics onto the shows we’re watching (or napping through).

9:50 EST: “The Queen” defeats Queen (Latifah) to win an Emmy for lead actress in a miniseries and movie. She’s the first to ASK for the orchestra to play.

9:49 EST: Patrick Dempsey and Sally Field look great. I think Field just felt Dempsey up.

9:45 EST: Just saw a commercial for George Clooney’s new movie, “Michael Clayton,” which already has won an advance Oscar for Worst Movie Title, narrowly beating out “In the Valley of Elah.”

9:41 EST: Remember: Walk like a man, sing like a castrato. Is it weird that the words “I love you, baby” are being juxtaposed with “Sopranos” footage of Adriana’s violent murder?

9:38 EST: Hooray for Joe Mantegna (Fat Tony from “The Simpsons”!), who does the lead-in for the “Jersey Boys” tribute to “The Sopranos.” Bonus tie-in: Frankie Valli was on “The Sopranos.” All 4’5” of him.

9:37 EST: Made for TV movie Emmy goes to “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.”

9:34 EST: Also probably not a good idea to broadcast the Sharp commercial with David Ortiz, reminding viewers who are baseball fans that they are missing the Yankees-Red Sox game on another channel. (It’s 1-1, for those who care. Hooray for Robbie Cano!)

9:31 EST: Probably not the best idea to show a clip of Jerry Lewis in a montage about “caring,” considering his recent telethon faux-pas.

9:29 EST: Chairman and CEO of the Television Academy takes the mic to hear himself talk.

9:29 EST: Judy Davis wins an Emmy for “The Starter Wife.”

9:27 EST: Sorry I can’t stop yawning. The accountants responsible for the (poorly counted) Emmy ballots just wasted a minute of my life.

9:25 EST: Tony Bennett wins again. Danny Bennett, Tony’s son, sounds JUST like his dad and says: “I’m going to be reaching for the moon for the rest of my life because of you.” Aww.

9:23 EST: Variety, music or comedy series Emmy goes to “The Daily Show.” Jon Stewart brings a lot of laughs, poking good fun at Carell and the theater-in-the-round set-up.

9:21 EST: Steve Carell is here! He gets a nice round of applause from the crowd, including former “Daily Show” colleagues. The stiff crowd isn’t laughing. But I am.

9:19 EST: Tommy Lee Jones’ sound byte for “In the Valley of Elah” is “I want the truth,” which prompts me to respond out loud with, “You can’t HANDLE the truth.” The person who put together that commercial couldn’t use another pithy line from the movie?

9:15 EST: David Chase wins writing for a drama series for the finale of “The Sopranos.” I’d make a joke about the finale, but I think that would just be [BLACKOUT!]

9:12 EST: So who had 9:12 EST for the time that “The Sopranos” would win its first award? Hooray for Alan Taylor, not only for the award, but for correctly giving credit to Steve Buscemi for “The Pine Barrens” episode.

9:10 EST: Neil Patrick Harris and Palisades native Hayden Panettiere take the stage. NPH reminds us that Panettiere is 18, which Seacrest reminded us earlier. By the way, she’s 18!

9:07 EST: It is Ben Vareen’s honor to “give the envelope to ‘Broken Trail.’ ” If the show’s producers ask nicely, they can have the Emmy, too. Duvall strangely makes the award about him and his parents, and starts to thank others once the orchestra starts playing.

9:05 EST: The “Roots” cast members who take the stage get a well-deserved standing-O from the crowd. And there’s LeVar, who hasn’t aged in 30 years!

9:03 EST: All hail the Queen! No, not Helen Mirren. Queen Latifah! She reminds us about “Roots” and its impact. Let’s take a moment to salute LeVar Burton, whose contributions from “Roots” to “Star Trek: The Next Generation” to “Reading Rainbow” have been incredible.

8:57 EST: Seacrest makes a tacky Vanessa Hudgens joke. I feel dirty.

8:56 EST: Bob Duvall wins his first(!) Emmy award for “Broken Trail.” Surprisingly he didn’t win for “Lonesome Dove,” a performance that my dad still raves about to this day. “The Western is here to stay,” Duvall says. Tell that to “Deadwood” fans.

8:54 EST: Directing for a variety, music or comedy program goes to the aforementioned Tony Bennett special, over “SNL,” “Colbert Report” and “Daily Show.” Sigh.

8:50 EST: I love Tony Bennett and Christina Aguilera, and their voices sound fine, but there’s something off about the performance. The silence behind the bass line is unusual and the singers’ timing seems to be off. If I didn’t know that Bennett had a PBS show featuring songs like “Steppin’ Out with My Baby,” I also would have no idea what this had to do with the Emmys.

8:43 EST: After the funniest segment of the night—the montages of the “writing staffs” of all the late-night talk shows up for writing Emmys—we get more laughs from the representative of “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” This is the first award that I feel good about, but I would also have been happy with Letterman, “Daily Show” or “Colbert Report” taking home the trophy. This is the most stacked category every year.

8:39 EST: Katherine Heigl wins the Emmy for supporting actress in a drama series. Then another inexplicable cut-away; did Kathy Griffin give a 10-second speech before Heigl got to the microphone? “Thanks for getting my name right,” Heigl says. That awkward moment gets more awkward when Heigl says her mom didn’t think she’d win the award: the camera cuts to Heigl’s mom, who looks perplexed. Honestly, these are the Bizarro Emmys. There’s no rhyme or reason for tonight’s recipients so far.

8:35 EST: Light-night talk show host montage, and of course, the funniest moments come from Conan O’Brien, David Letterman, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Surprisingly nice segue into the Tom Snyder tribute.

8:33 EST: Ellen DeGeneres does her I’m-talking-to-a-famous-person-in-the-audience schtick, which is amusing. She then launches into her stream of consciousnesss stand-up that’s very hit or miss, which is a miss.

8:27 EST: Finally, my first prediction to be correct: Thomas Haden Church wins best supporting actor for “Broken Trail.” Too bad it’s the one I least care about to this point.

8:26 EST: Katherine Heigl corrects the announcer on the pronunciation of her name. Awkwarrrrrd.

8:24 EST: ACTUAL shock: I get excited when I heard the “J” syllable once the envelope for best supporting actress in a comedy series is opened, but the wrong “J” wins the award! Yes, that’s a former Playboy bunny accepting an award for best acting. OK, I hear Jaime Pressly’s good on the show, but could she possibly be better than Jenna Fischer or Vanessa Williams? Rip up your Emmy ballots now.

8:22 EST: Big shock: Tina Fey and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss are funny!

8:15 EST: The dramatic series supporting actor award goes to… Terry O’Quinn?! That’s a bad sign for anyone hoping for a “Sopranos” windfall. O’Quinn’s speech is pretty amusing though. But so far, I’m not pleased with who’s winning.

8:11 EST: First award goes to… Jeremy Piven. Meh. I was all about Rainn Wilson. But it’s not surprising that Hollywood voters vote for a Hollywood character. Dwight Schrute awards him no Schrute Bucks.

8:10 EST: Romano closes with a solid “Sopranos” joke.

8:08 EST: Ray Romano delivers the “real” monologue and “actual” laughs, but the monologue suddenly cuts out for about 10 seconds. Censorship? Mere glitch?

8:07 EST: Seacrest loves “Two and a Half Men.” Why does this not surprise me on any level?

8:05 EST: Ryan Seacrest struggles through the monologue, until a funny/awkward moment with Teri Hatcher. This could be a long night.

8:00 EST: Jeremy Piven seems disgusted by the “Family Guy” characters’ songs. Nice skewering of “Scrubs” and “Two and a Half Men,” but there are too many lines in between punchlines. Excellent “Sopranos” joke, albeit somewhat predictable. But wait, where are the Fox jokes?

7:57 EST: Palisades native Hayden Panettiere gets good marks for her dress.

7:54 EST: Wow. A stunner of a commercial featuring (off the top of my head) Katonah resident Martha Stewart, Bedford homeowner Donald Trump, Mount Vernon-raised Diddy as well as Usher, Kenneth Cole, Jessica Simpson, Emeril Lagasse, Russell Simmons and many others star in an amazing commercial for Macy’s. Stewart and Trump do a nice job parodying their public images (Stewart won’t stop arranging a display; Trump continuously blow-dries his hair). But knowing their “Apprentice” feud, I was disappointed that there was no moment to bury the hatchet.

7:51 EST: Heidi Klum and Seal! For a moment, I’m upset that the interviewer isn’t talking to Seal, but then again, if I were next to Heidi Klum, too, I wouldn’t be talking to anyone else, either. She looks stunning.

7:49 EST: Hey, it’s Sideshow Bob and Debra Barone! They’re on the carpet to promote “Back to You.” It’s on Fox, coincidentally.

7:42 EST: Chappaqua resident Vanessa Williams just tells Aaaangela from “Who’s the Boss?” that “She kicks my a**.” I’m still rooting for Jenna Fischer, but Vanessa is supercool.

7:41 EST: Rachel Griffiths’ dress looks classy, but her cuff bracelet looks like she’s trying to cover up a broken wrist. She was great on “Six Feet Under,” but really, who wasn’t?

7:38 EST: Tina Fey commercial! Tina Fey commercial! This woman rules.

7:37 EST: Helen Mirren offers the most dignified “We’ll be right ah-fter this” in the history of television.

7:35 EST: Jon Stewart is awesome, but always looks the same at awards ceremonies.

7:33 EST: It’s the other Ms. Overexposed, Eva Longoria! She looks nice and informs us that hubby Tony Parker is playing overseas for the French national basketball team. Snore.

7:31 EST: Fox cannot substantiate rumors of Britney Spears’ appearance at the Emmys tonight. Why won’t they leave her ALONE?!

7:30 EST: Welcome back! I’ve logged in just in time to see two unfunny clips of “Back to You” and “Til Death.” Ah, Fox sitcoms.

4:45 EST: Hey gang! Chris Serico here. Thanks for joining me. I’m hoping for a ton of witty, clever and perceptive comments during the broadcast, so go ahead and call and e-mail your friends with the link to this post (http://remote.lohudblogs.com/2007/09/16/live-blogging-the-2007-emmys/). I’ll be back at about 7:30 EST for some brief red-carpet coverage before the start of the show!

(Photo courtesy of Fox.)

So much Office news to blog about, so little time lately to blog about it. You’d think things would slow down some, what with a four-month summer hiatus and all.

...Old Pammy’s back on her feet. Jenna Fischer posted her first blog since before she fell and fractured her back at an upfronts after-party in Manhattan last month. Highlights of her lengthy “broken back blog” include an update on her condition (improving), the latest tally on donations to Rover Rescue in her name ($2,000-plus) and word on the Season 3 DVD commentary (recorded, and there’s a gag reel!). (photo Jenna Fischer/mySpace.com)
...Kevin Malone blogged too. He still doesn’t acknowledge that he’s a fictional character, but on the plus side, he’s hiring.

...So did Angela. Thanked profusely in Fischer’s blog for her bedside care and dedication, Angela Kinsey simply responds at her blog (www.myspace.com/accountinglady) by saying Fischer would have done the same and more for her. She details collecting a Peabody Award for the series as well as a Webby Award and a Daytime Emmy for last summer’s Webisodes. In the process she got to hang with Rob Corddry and the gang from Friday Night Lights. (photo OfficeTally.com)

...OfficeTally has the scoop on the Daytime Emmy,the Peabody and the Webby.

...No Schrute spin-off appears to be in the works, despite Rainn Wilson’s conjecture otherwise. FoxNews.com cited Wilson as the source of a contrary report, but TVGuide.com snarkily cites a source close to Wilson calling the report ”...a complete farce.”

...I opened my latest issue of Entertainment Weekly to see this. The mag picks The Office as its Emmy pick for Best Comedy and Fischer for Best Supporting Actress. “Jenna Fischer of The Office is exploring new territory: the funnywoman as a humble, sensitive soul. Her Pam elicits laughs from delighted camera glances and low-key sarcasm, while also winning our hearts … and an Emmy?” Nice.

...Steve Carell has been on TV a lot. Monday he was on The Today Show and The Daily Show. Today he was on Live with Regis and Kelly. Sunday he was on Dateline NBC. Oh and tonight’s he’s on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Thanks to OfficeTally for tracking all of Steve’s Evan Almighty promo appearances. The movie opens Friday. The wife and I will be there for the el cheapo Saturday matinee (babysitter permitting).

...John Krasinski will be too. That’s right ladies, Jim Halpert hits the small screen to promote his latest big-screen entry, License to Wed with Mandy Moore. GiveMeMyRemote has the scoop on appearances that include HBO, MTV and Fuse as well as Conan, Dave, Today and Regis and Kelly.

...With Jan out at corporate, her administrative assistant Hunter (Nick D’Agosto) has evidently had to find new work. Seems he’ll be dating a Hero.

...If you have a Dwight bobble head on your desk, then you are cool. Now you have a chance to be super-cool. Variety.com reports that bobble heads of the entire cast are on the way, as is a replica Dundie Award. Seems The Office is NBC’s leading merchandising property. (photo/mine)

...Apropos of nothing, except being worth a mention, OfficeTally and GiveMeMyRemote are up for Blogger’s Choice Awards. Both are tireless in their efforts to keep the world up to date, particularly when it comes Michael Scott’s chillun. If you’re inclined to agree, give them a click and give them your vote.

...TheOfficeChat.com chatted with Kevin. The transcript from Monday night’s live chat with Brian Baumgartner (as himself) is up at the site. A record 163 chatters showed up. That’s more than the number of m&m’s Kevin can fit in his mouth at once.

...Catching up on old episodes is a cinch right now. NBC has scheduled Office marathons for this week and next. Thursday night’s lineup includes airings of “Casino Night”, “Branch Closing” and “The Merger” with Carell hosting while next week’s set features “Office Olympics” “Booze Cruise” and “The Secret”.

...Lastly, Creed keeps blogging. Why, exactly, isn’t clear.

From that sidewalk, the scene was so familiar, immortalized in the openings of countless episodes of Cheers , the biggest 80s sit-com this side of The Cosby Show. But down those steps and inside The Bull & Finch, things looked nothing like the spacious barroom where Cliff and Norm quaffed beers and wiled their days away with Sam, Woody and Frasier.

Few establishments, let alone entire cities, have ever embraced or been embraced by a popular TV series the way Cheers and Boston embraced one another. That’s changing, though.

Scranton, Pa., is certainly embracing the folks from The Office. And I’m not just talking about admitting Dunder-Mifflin Paper into the Scranton Chamber of Commerce or hanging company banners outside City Hall (Both true.).

According to The Times-Tribune, the Electric City has become a mecca for avid fans hoping to knock back a Crystal Club soda at Cooper’s Seafood House. City Hall dug up the old “Welcome to Scranton” sign John Kraskinski shot for the opening credits, and the Lackawanna County Visitors & Convention Bureau has even developed a daylong Office itinerary.

Now some ambitious Scrantonites have formed a convention steering committee with hopes of luring the Office faithful for a weekend of Dunder-mania sometime this fall. Apparently NBC likes the idea, so stay tuned.

Meanwhile, in the spirit of Office road trips, the folks at theofficechat.com are organizing an Office Fans Family Reunion, a day of barbecue, games and theme park rides. It’s not in Scranton, though, but rather at Stone Mountain Park in Georgia. The cost is $50 ($70 with park pass).

They need only 22 more people to sign up by May 31 for the Aug. 4 event to be a go. You’ve got to wish them luck, though from here in the lower Hudson Valley, a 135-mile drive to Scranton looks a lot more inviting than a 900-mile jaunt to Georgia.

Office Chat V

It’s been hard to sit on this one, but I wanted to save it for Thursday’s Office return. The estimable and eminently quotable Jennie “Tanster” Tan of OfficeTally.com is the subject of part five in my ongoing series showcasing the folks behind the fan sites, blogs and podcasts that fuel the Office’s online mania.

I’m not giving anything away ahead of time, but l will say that it turns out it never gets old having Jenna Fischer mention you by name.

CYA

It cost the producers of The Last Mimzy $40,000 to put a pair of digital boxers on Rainn Wilson after test audiences balked at the site of his accidentally overexposed hind quarters. The oversight could have cost the family flick its PG rating.

“When I bend over at the refrigerator you see leopard-print boxers under my pajamas,” Wilson says. “It’s probably the most expensive underwear in movie history.”

Helms’s broken heart

Ed Helms showed up at a hometown fundraiser for Atlanta’s Horizon Theatre over the weekend and recounted the heart surgery he endured at age 14 to repair a murmur. His high school crush at the time had sent him flowers, but when he got home he learned they were really from her mom.

“This is where irony comes in,� Helms told the room. “So much money and time and energy had gone into this intense effort to fix my heart. And when it was all said and done, it had never been more broken.�

Talk watch

BJ Novak will appear on Late Night with Conan O’Brien tomorrow night. Jenna Fischer is Jay Leno’s guest on the Tonight Show on Friday. Both episodes are new.

   

All six episodes of Andy Barker, P.I. (photo NBC.com) have been available for free online weeks ahead of Thursday’s series premiere. And one of those episodes is a Web-only offering that will never see the light of network TV. Oh, and NBC has already pulled a Scrubs on Barker by shuffling its timeslot around. (It’s set for Thursdays at 9:30 p.m., for now.)

So, no, I won’t be shocked if this show has a shorter lifespan than Coupling. But even if NBC won’t give it a decent shot, I plan to.

Warning: Nothing but spoilers follow…

Accidental private eye Andy Barker is your everyman, an unassuming family man without much excitement in his life. His new office is in a typical suburban strip mall, and business is painfully slow.

Tony Hale (Buster from Arrested Development and the best reason to give this show a shot besides Conan O’Brien’s exec-producing credit) plays Simon, the owner of Video Riot a floor below Andy’s storefront. Wally (Marshall Manesh) is an Afghani-American who came to the U.S. in the wheel well of a jumbo jet and now owns a Kebab place where he’s been overdoing the patriotic theme ever since 9/11.

After two days in business, and despite an ad on Spanish-language radio, Andy still has no customers. That is, until a Russian bombshell named Nadia walks in and asks him to help find her husband, who may or may not be dead. Seems she’s confused Andy with the retired P.I. who rented his space before him. In true sit-com style, he’s unable to dispel the misconception, but she’s paying cash so he runs with it.

Simon might be the world’s worst video store clerk, but he’s not totally inept. His encyclopedic movie knowledge comes in handy when he accurately sizes up the Nadia as a phony because based on the plot of Chinatown.

Seems Andy might have a knack for investigating himself, and his accounting knowledge could be an asset. He decides to check out Nadia’s story online, but Google takes him only so far. So he heads to the morgue of the local newspaper, where the records clerk (and soon-to-be Andy’s assistant played by Nicole Randall Johnson) nearly steals the show.

Andy: Hi, I called earlier about a tax return that’s on file here for a Nikolai Kerensky.
Clerk: Sir, I get four, sometimes five calls a day. I can’t be expected to keep track of every single one.
Andy: Isn’t that it right there?
Clerk: Could be. I’d have to check. (not checking). Yeah, that’s it.

So Andy gets bopped on the head, and the Russians grab Kerensky. Andy’s doting wife Jenny, perfectly cast by Clea Lewis, is none too happy with his moonlighting.

Jenny: Might I remind you that you are an accountant, who has a meeting tomorrow with Ron Davies.
Andy: I know. It’s just figuring the whole thing out, finding Nikolai, I enjoyed it. It’s a rush.
Jenny: Andy, are you doing pot?

So Andy turns to his new friends. Wally’s security cameras (mounted on busts of Lincoln and Nixon, of course) help him identify the bad guys’ van. And Simon joins him on the stakeout.

Not having much experience (or subtlety), Andy confronts the thugs. Under pressure, he displays a kind of charming naivete, like when one of the thugs fires a warning shot.

Andy: OK, that was pretty scary, and a little bit rude. So to make it up to us why don’t you just let Mr. Kerensky go?
Nadia: Oh, and we went to so much trouble to find him.
Andy: You, boy do I have a bone to pick with you. You lied to me. And I’m no expert on your particular business model, but do you even own this warehouse?
Nadia: Beat them to death.

It’s impossible to recount a slapstick car-chase, but let’s just say Andy’s not one to put tax advising on hold during a high-speed pursuit. And he’s pretty good at both.

At this point in real life, the Russians would find out where he lives and blow up his house. In sit-com land, that’s a happy ending. Cut to Andy’s doorstep, where Staziak is recruiting him for another case.

Staziak: What do you say, Barker? Are you in or are you out?
Andy: Where would I find this Ranjid guy? (Staziak gestures to the guy getting chased down the street). Oh, I had hot links I was going to grill!

And that’s at least got to be worth hanging on for five more episodes, no?

If you saw the show, you caught a rare glimpse of incredible awkwardness that ultimately resolved itself in surreal fashion. Luckily, GiveMeMyRemote.com is all over the story today.

During Kimmel’s interview with Ivanka Trump, comedian Andy Dick repeatedly touched, tapped and generally pawed at the daughter of celebrity real estate mogul and parkland benefactor Donald Trump. Kimmel politely chided Dick and even took the step of moving him down the couch away from Trump, who showed great class and poise throughout.

Unfortunately, Dick didn’t get the message. The last straw came when he asked Trump to “give him a big, fat, sloppy wet kiss right on the lips.” Kimmel jumped to Trump’s aid, calling on security guards to remove Dick from the stage. Even better, Kimmel took the lead in dragging Dick away while Trump clapped her hands and laughed hysterically and the cameras continued rolling.

I don’t know how Dick, who hasn’t been funny since NewsRadio went off the air, finds work let alone gets himself booked on Kimmel’s show. But Kimmel and Trump handled a bad situation like pros. And today, YouTube once again proves its worth (at least until ABC yanks the clip).

•Sit in Conan’s chair; install the “Walker, Texas Ranger” lever; pull lever

•Ask NBC news officials leading the discussion if Conan’s infamous Bear or Manatee would be emerging from behind Conan’s curtain and/or delivering a speech

•Play Max Weinberg’s drums (poorly)

•Watch a tape of “The Rural Juror” in Liz Lemon’s office

•Take a non-blurry picture of WNBC’s news anchor desks down the hall, where food (but not alcohol) was served to ravenous bloggers

•Text my friends an up-to-the-minute forecast after deciphering Doppler 4000—it exists!

•At a nearby bar, talk for more than a minute with “Saturday Night Live” star Seth Meyers (who was very nice)

•At same nearby bar, manage to utter more than eight awkward words with fellow “SNL” star, Amy Poehler, a hero of mine. I got totally quiet and star-struck, which rarely happens to me, and couldn’t articulate complex phrases. And I call myself a reporter! Sad.

•Restart said encounter with Amy Poehler

What else could I have done in the confines of “30 Rock”? I need to start brainstorming now in the event I’m invited back next year.