It's always a treat to open up the newspaper and see Betty White's smiling face.

Susan King did a very nice profile of Betty for the Los Angeles Times, tied to her role in "The Proposal," and it features a fantastic photo that captures Betty's joie de vivre. (It looks great in color online.) As readers of this blog know, the mere sight of Betty White makes me happy -- and I'm not alone. America loves Betty White. Long may she reign....

... A performer who is cut from the same cloth as Betty (friends say he's nice, normal, utterly decent and very talented) is starting to get his due as a comedy comer with the success of "The Hangover."

Ed Helms spared a few minutes for me on the phone last week in between his promo blitz in London for "Hangover" to talk about that pic, as well as his own backstory, from his youth in Atlanta to becoming a "Daily Show" correspondent to landing a plum job on "The Office."

The Nard-dog rules!

(Pictured right, Ed Helms mugs at the "Hangover" premiere with co-stars Justin Bartha, Bradley Cooper and Heather Graham)

The hits just keep on coming for "Lost."

ABC drama appears to lead the TV-on-Internet herd by a wide margin, drawing 2.5 million unique viewers in the month of February, according to the latest numbers from Nielsen Online. Those 2.5 million viewers initiated some 48 million streams of "Lost" episodes, clips and made-for-Web content a la the ultra-fun audio and video podcasts that showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse grace us with once a week (or thereabouts).

As much as I love writing "'Lost' is No. 1'," there's an important caveat to these numbers. Nielsen Online's monthly survey does not include numbers from Hulu, the NBC Universal-News Corp. joint venture. Hulu is on a tear these days, as readers of today's Daily Variety know from this page 1 story on Hulu climbing to No. 2 among online video providers behind only YouTube (which remains the equivalent of Wal-Mart, Microsoft, McDonalds and Toyota combined when it comes to online vid).

ABC.com ranks No. 6 among Internet vid providers for February with 187.1 million streams, up 14.5% from January. Hulu, on the back of its big marketing push, spiked 33% to 309 million streams. The average Hulu viewer spent 176.9 minutes watching its vid, compared to 104.8 minutes for ABC.com

So with that understanding, here's the rest of the top five online TV shows per Nielsen's report. They're mostly ABC shows, but that would likely change if only Hulu would cough up some show-specific numbers. Nielsen's report does include the individual websites of Hulu partners NBC and Fox, so there is some representation of their shows.

"Grey's Anatomy" -- 18.7 million streams/1.3 million unique viewers

"The Bachelor" -- 15.1 million streams/962,000 unique viewers

"The Office" -- 15 million streams

"Heroes" -- 11.7 million streams

What better way to kill time waiting for a flight at LAX than by finishing off the rest of the items I meant to file from Sunday's SAG Awards.

B.J. Novak made my night at the SAG afterparty by telling me that he is an On the Air reader. (I'm always surprised to hear it.). He's just now coming back to "The Office" after wrapping his work on Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds."

"Basterds," Novak assures, is going be to be incredible - an intense, bad-ass war pic but his character does have some dark humor to play too. And as for Ryan's return to the Scranton branch, Novak (flanked by "Office" compatriots Leslie David Baker and Mindy Kaling at the awards) says to expect Ryan to make a big entrance (I think he said in March) after his sojourn in Thailand.

Just like at the Golden Globes, it seemed like everytime I turned around on SAG's red carpet, there was another "Office" player. Kate Flannery took the time to share her insights into what SAG needs to do to right its ship (her prescription: merge with AFTRA) and we also chatted about the recent Meredith-centric seg "The Intervention." Flannery (pictured left) said she and Steve Carell mostly improvised the scene in the parking lot where Carell's Michael Scott tries to drag Meredith into a rehab facility.

 "It was the most fun I've ever had in front of a camera," Flannery said.

Ed Helms, aka the "Office's" clueless Andy Bernard, reported having a blast in shooting the "Duel" seg with Rainn Wilson as Andy and Wlison's Dwight battled for Angela's hand. It was an opportunity to show Andy's sensitive side. "It had some real drama and pathos to it, which is rarely part of Andy's world," Helms said.

"The opportunity to show those kind of visceral emotions was different" for the character, Helms said. There seemed to be as many "Mad Men" troupers out there on Sunday as "Office" workers. And those worlds collided when Rich Sommer ("Mad Men's" Harry Crane) walked by. Sommer had a brief role in "Office" earlier this season as a student in the art school that Jenna Fischer's Pam attended (and his character was very attentive to Pam.)

 Is there a chance that he comes back to "Office" to complicate things for Pam? Not that Sommer knows, but you never know. Sommer also wasn't shy about sharing his feelings about the state of SAG (get off the strike idea, already), and I so appreciated his candor.

Vincent Kartheiser (pictured right) was in full beard and fine spirits as he made the rounds with John Slattery. We talked about the great final scene in season two for his Pete Campbell character, which found him sitting in his office with a shotgun in his lap as the Cuban Missile Crisis unfolds.

Kartheiser said "Mad Men" boss Matthew Weiner freaked him out a bit by telling him that he could easily run that long pan shot backwards "and add a gun shot."

Oh, say it aint so, Matt Weiner! Thanks in no small measure to Kartheiser's skills (and great writing), Pete Campbell was the "Mad Men" character that grew on me the most last season.

Amy Poehler has been played hundreds of different characters since joining “Saturday Night Live” in 2001 and now she’s content to settle for just one.

“I was excited about the idea of turning the volume down a little bit and sit with a character,” said Poehler in shifting her sensibilities from latenight to primetime in the new untitled Greg Daniels sitcom set to launch on April 9.

Daniels, creator of “The Office,” and co-creator/exec producer Michael Schur, says the show will be similar to the Steve Carell starrer in that it will offer the make fun of the mundane. Skein centers around Poehler’s character, Leslie Knope, a midlevel bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation department of Pawnee, Ind.

“It’s based on Santa Monica city council meetings,” he explained. “That kid of world. We intend to populate it with fun personalities and the conflicts that occur. It’s about  decisionmaking on a local level.”

In coming up with ideas, Daniels said he was looking to stay in the comfort zone of “The Office,” and not populate a world of flash and substance.

“We would sit and think of shows and say, ‘No that’s too glamorous.’ We wanted something more boring.”

Even though this mockumentary is up and running, that doesn’t mean a spinoff to “The Office” is out of the question. He won’t be able to participate on a day-to-day basis, but he’s still interested in the concept.

“I am talking to people at ‘The Office’ for another idea and to Stephen Merchant (creative partner of Ricky Gervais),” Daniels explained. “I think it would be cool to produce it without me giving my blood.”

As for Poehler, this will certainly keep her busy as well, and she doesn’t anticipate returning to the sketch comedy show that made her a star. And she was certainly appreciative of the musical sendoff the folks at “SNL” gave her at the end of that night’s Weekend Update.

“I watched it from my hospital bed with my son,” she recalled. He was born at 6 p.m. and I watched it at 11:30. I was uncontrollably sobbing. You really become a family and to have been there during an amazing season and for my friends to do such a tribute was very emotional and beautiful.”

-- Stuart Levine

I'm five days late but I finally caught up with the season preem of "The Office."

Gawd, I've missed the gang. Amy Ryan is a fantastic addition to the ensemble as Holly, HR replacement for Paul Lieberstein's Toby and a "major dork," in Jim Halpert's estimation. Is there anything Ryan can't do as an actress? I ran into Craig "Darryl" Robinson on the red carpet at the Emmys, and he told me Ryan was "his favorite" and brought a great energy to the set.

This season's opening seg, "Weight Loss," written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky and helmed by Paul Feig, was full of great "Office" moments, including the return of B.J. Novak's Ryan as a temp receptionist after his fall from corporate grace. As Ryan made the rounds apologizing to the Scranton branch-ers who he treated badly during his tenure as a veep, the LOL moment for me was one of the excuses he gave to his ex-flame, Mindy Kaling's Kelly, along the lines of "I hadn't really processed 9/11." Such a Ryan thing to say.

The furtive warehouse lust going on between Angela Kinsey's Angela and Rainn Wilson's Dwight ought to make for meaty plot points in the episodes ahead, as Angela braces for her nuptials to Ed Helms' hapless Andy.

At no extra charge, we got a fun when-TV-worlds-collide moment with brief guest shot from Rich Sommer, better known to "Mad Men" fanatics as Harry "I want to leave at 5 o'clock" Crane. Wonder if he'll be back to flirt with Jenna Fischer's Pam some more?

And whaddya know, Toby really did head down to Costa Rica after all. I'm guessing we haven't seen the last of him, in or out of traction.

"The Office" star/scribe/co-exec producer Mindy Kaling appeared to be having a good time Saturday in her daylong photo-op in Scranton, Penn. to promote the release of two "Office" themed games, The Office DVD Board Game and The Office Trivia Game. The day's events include a trivia contest, a beet eating contest, a 2K run and "Office" character look-alike contest.

Hanging with Scranton-icity pols and radio DJs at the local Mall at Steamtown probably wouldn't be Kaling's first choice of things to do on a summer Saturday. But it was all in service for the show (and NBC Universal's merchandising biz), and the money raised from the events went to a worthy Scranton-based cause, United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Kaling even seemed to be a good sport about the beet-eating contest.

Dwighte Schrute rules! Beets rock! And Rainn Wilson of "The Office" should win the supporting comedy actor award this year.

Dwight showed real range of bizarr-o behavior this past season with the breakup with Angela, the trip with Michael to New York when they crashed with Ryan, the hostage-taking incident with the pizza delivery guy. And who could forget him helping Michael grieve for the dead chair model. "Bye bye Miss American Pie..."

Tell that to corporate.

NBC.com has just the thing to help us (in L.A.) through a heat wave: A batch of "Office" webisodes revolving around ice cream and Kevin's efforts to launch a business dubbed "Malone's Cones."

At least that's what he's telling people he intends to do. Funny and (by definition) breezy, the "Kevin's Loan" webisodes are nice fix for "Office" lovers at the midway point in our summertime wait for fresh segs this fall. It doesn't hurt that it amounts to a mini-showcase for fan-fave supporting characters like Brian Baumgartner's Kevin (pictured left), Craig Robinson's Darryl and Oscar Nunez's Oscar.

There were no credits on the screener I just watched but it's clear these bits were penned and helmed by CPAs (Certified People Approved by "Office" guru Greg Daniels). At least this time around "Office" staffers won't be toiling for free on these webisodes. The mandate to do just that two years ago on the first batch of web originals that "Office" team delivered ("The Accountants") was a big bone of contention for the show's staff before and during the WGA strike, but now this work is covered by the WGA's hard-fought new media provisions in its contract running through 2011 pact.

"You are a really weird dude, Oscar," Kevin insists (like he should talk) after Oscar calls him on his Malone's Cones ruse.

The "Kevin's Loan" webisodes bow July 10 at 3 p.m. ET on "The Office" home page on NBC.com.

Summer in Scranton? Why not. NBC has set "The Office" star/scribe Mindy Kaling is set to host the "Office Games" in the show's hometown of Scranton, Penn. on July 19. It's a promotional stunt to mark the launch of two games based on the show -- one a vidgame-style DVD, the other an old-fashioned board game based on "Office" trivia. She must be getting her own line of Kelly Kapoor nail polish and lip gloss down the road, because Kaling has committed to spending the day in and around the Mall at Steamtown officiating a "day full of Dunder Mifflin fun," including a 2K "fun run," a beet-eating contest, a trivia challenge and an autograph sesh. Events will raise money for the Scranton-based charitable org United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

"We'll be rolling out the beet red carpet for Ms. Kaling, assured Scranton Mayor Christoper Doherty. (More info on "Office Games" after the jump.) ...

Meanwhile NBC has confirmed what "Office" fans already knew: Amy Ryan will back for multiple episodes in the upcoming season in her role as the new HR person, Holly Flax, who takes over for the (Costa Rica-bound?) Toby Flenderson. Ryan had a swell debut on "Office" in last season's "Goodbye, Toby" finale. And it's not like she needs the work, coming off of an Oscar nod for last year's "Gone Baby Gone" and heaps of praise for her perf in the final season of "The Wire." She'll also be seen in one of this year's prestige, likely-to-be-Oscar-bait pics, Clint Eastwood's "Changeling." Wonder how long it will take Holly to figure out that Kevin isn't really slow, by the standards of the Scranton branch.

Hot off the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences nomination vote-tallying machine, here are the top 10 finalists for Emmy noms in the comedy and drama series heats. The final noms will be announced on Thursday, July 17.

(My 2 cents on the list follows after the jump)

COMEDY

Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
Family Guy
Flight of the Conchords
The Office
Pushing Daisies
30 Rock
Two and a Half Men
Ugly Betty
Weeds

DRAMA

Boston Legal
Damages
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Grey’s Anatomy
House
Lost
Mad Men
The Tudors
The Wire

A show that did not disappoint on its post-strike return last week was NBC's "The Office" with seg "The Dinner Party."

Special commendation is owed to Melora Hardin, who is turning beyond-bizarro Jan into the show's most explosively funny character. Considering that she's playing opposite Steve Carell's Michael Scott, that's saying something.

Plot of this episode was particularly funny because it is something we've all endured -- an evening with a couple who are obviously not getting along. Of course, Rainn Wilson's Dwight Schrute took the laughs up a notch by crashing Michael and Jan's dinner party with his one-time babysitter ("Strictly carnal," he assures them) and his own food and wine in tow. I didn't catch the actress' name but she gave a great deadpan perf. Thank goodness ABC's "Lost" is moving from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. hour when it returns April 24 -- no tough choices on whether to check in first with the "Office" or the island....

Speaking of "Lost," ABC this ayem put out the good word -- strike be damned, "Lost" is getting a two-hour  finale after all on May 29. (And yes, confirmed with ABC that it is two original hours, not a recap show leading into a finale.) That translates to six post-strike segs instead of the five that Darlton previously forecast. (Only downside: "Lost" will be preempted on May 22 to make room for a two-hour "Grey's Anatomy" finale that night.)

I hope to pry a few details about the next run of "Lost" adventures out of exec producers Damon Lindelof (pictured left) and Carlton Cuse (pictured right) Tuesday morning when I have the pleasure of moderating a Q&A with them as part of  this week's National Assn. of Broadcasters confab in Las Vegas.

A spinoff of "The Office"? That's the big news outta NBC today as the Peacock makes good on its promise to reinvent the upfront process with its way-early announcement of its sked for the next 65 years, er, weeks.

A "Son of 'Office'" project has been rumored about for some time, and I have to admit I'm very skeptical...but of course will reserve judgment and give Greg Daniels and Co. the benefit of the doubt until we hear more about it.

12:30 p.m. update: Per NBC, the new show will be "another comic journey, complete with new faces and new locations," which suggests that none of the current "Office" workers will be extracted from the Scranton branch, at least not for the purposes of the spinoff. New skein will launch after Peacock's Super Bowl telecast in February, right behind a fresh seg of "Office." Of this development, Daniels said in a canned statement: "Who would have ever thought that Americans would be subjected to a mock-documentary after the Super Bowl? What has happened to this country?"

Other good news from today's announcement is that the glorious "Friday Night Lights" will live to play another season. Whoo-hoo. Variety's Joe Adalian has all the details on NBC's plans right here.

Congrats to "The Sopranos" and "The Office" for taking the SAG Awards for drama and comedy ensemble -- totally deserving. ("Sopranos" mob pictured at left; "Office" workers below)

"Sopranos" stars James Gandolfini and Edie Falco also got another final bow by prevailing in the individual drama categories. NBC's "30 Rock" was hot on the comedy side with wins for Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey.

Kevin Kline lived up to his rep as an actor's actor, taking the SAG-y for longform actor for HBO's "As You Like It." Queen Latifah won the distaff side for HBO's "Life Support." And the high-octane crew from "24" took the inaugural SAG Award for TV stunt ensemble.

A writers strike could ruin your whole day. Or night.

My hard-working Variety colleagues spent all day Tuesday turning over rocks and looking into every aspect of what a scribe work stoppage would mean for this town, and none of it is good. TV editors Joe Adalian and Michael Schneider did a fine job of explaining how quickly a strike would KO our favorite latenight companions -- read their reportage by clicking here, and check out the rest of Variety's team coverage by clicking here.

Speaking of our fave latenight companions, here's a look at what David Letterman looked like the last time the WGA went out. While some part of Letterman might want to turn back the clock to those lazy-hazy days of July 1988 when this pic was snapped (actually, he seems so happy these days as little Harry's proud papa I'll be he wouldn't go back for nothin'), fans of quality television do not want to be deprived of our daily and weekly fixes of our fave primetime raves. (No more visits to "The Office," a dimming of "Friday Night Lights," a busted "Big Bang Theory," losing "Lost" in midstream, uprooted "Pushing Daisies," etc.)

So here's to hoping the federal mediator or somebody can bring about a meeting of the minds in the ultimate writers' room this week.

(Letterman pic by Ron Galella/WireImage)

Now this sounds like fun. An "Office" convention this weekend in Scranton, Pa.? Surprised somebody didn't think of it sooner. Per this AP report, a host of cast members and writers (but not Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson or Jenna Fischer) are winging in for the Friday-Sunday event.

Al Roker is set to cover part of the event live Friday morning for Peacock's "Today" will broadcast live from the University of Scranton on Friday.

"The show has been the vehicle by which we can tell our story, and cities rarely get that opportunity," says Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty, who counts himself as an "Office" fan.

I made a point of taking home the "30 Rock" season preem screener when it arrived earlier in the week.

I wanted the seg to live up to the show's Emmy win for best comedy. It even boasts Jerry Seinfeld...but the upshot was, I liked it, didn't love it. That's kinda how I felt about the show last season, even after friends kept opining how much funnier it became in the second half of its frosh year.

In the sophomore season opener, "SeinfeldVision," which airs next week, there seems to be a concerted effort to put a wee bit of heart in the show, and to Tina Fey's Liz Lemon TV producer character in particular.

"I think it's going to be my year," Lemon declares at the top of the episode -- signaling of course that things are about to go awry.

For me, "30 Rock" is still a little bit too clever for its own good, what with its endless inside-the-Peacock references. Alec Baldwin, however, makes takes the edge off every time he's on screen. I've watched the show more than once wondering if I wouldn't like it more if Baldwin's nutty TV exec character Jack Donaghy was the main focus.

The "30 Rock" definitely has its moments. As the network prepares to launch a new season, Donaghy gets the bright idea to use old NBC footage of Seinfeld to digitally insert him into new episodes of shows ("Heroes" and "Deal or No Deal" among them). When the real Seinfeld returns from vacationing in an exclusive European enclave that only super-rich people know about, he takes exception with the "SeinfeldVision" campaign, forcing some fancy footwork by Jack.

NBC Universal's pre-Emmy party at Spago on Saturday night was as relaxed as a shoulder-to-shoulder schmoozefest can be. Place was hopping with NBC U execs, agents, scribes and helmers and stars of NBC U productions -- it seemed everywhere you looked there was a staffer from "The Office" or a savior from "Heroes" holding court.

"Heroes" trouper Hayden Panettiere looked particularly fetching in a white minidress that flattered her cheerleader-worthy figure. Alec Baldwin of "30 Rock" was surrounded by a hub of well-wishers and back-slappers. Kathy Griffin picked up compliments while in line in the ladies room for her win  (unveiled at the Creative Arts ceremony) for Bravo's "My Life on the D-List"; there was some discussion of whether her show's title needed to be adjusted in light of her victory. And there was much chatter throughout the night at Spago of the goings-on the previous night at the private affair thrown by new NBC U co-chairman Ben Silverman and impresario Brent Bolthouse. (Among the more talked-about elements of the affair at a rented 10,000-square-foot mansion in the Hollywood Hills: the caged tiger that greeted guests, the number of bikinis running around, and of course, Paris Hilton).

NBC U graciously pushed back the start time of its Spago party to 8:30 p.m. to accommodate the dance cards of those who also attended Saturday's "Evening Before" benefit in Century City for the Motion Picture Television Fund home, co-sponsored by Variety. Among those who took in both parties on Saturday were "Top Chef" star Tom Colicchio, whose new Century City restaurant Craft pitched in with "Evening Before."

(Sorry, no pics posted yet of the NBC U party. Above shot of Kathy Griffin at the Sept. 8 Creative Arts ceremony by Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage.com.)

For anyone who wants to test-drive the experience of being a television writer, Matt Selman has an easy solution.

Get a group of your most sarcastic friends together in a room, preferably windowless, and try to make each other laugh by outdoing one another with a steady stream of the most offensive, sophomoric and vulgar set of jokes and set-ups that you can possibly imagine -- things that could never air on TV, not even pay cable. Add in lots of takeout food and soft drinks and repeat for a few weeks on end. If your heart soars and body tingles every time you make the room snicker, you just might be cut out to be a television writer.

At least that's the quick-and-easy career counseling that Selman (pictured right), an Emmy-winning scribe for "The Simpsons" and co-writer of "The Simpsons Movie," offered Tuesday night during the "Sublime Primetime" dish sesh with a clutch of Emmy-nommed scribes, hosted by the WGA West and Variety at the Writers Guild Theater in BevHills.

"Don't wait for the industry to give you money," Selman instructed. "Take any opportunity to (try writing). The joy of writing is just as fun to do ... if you're on the worst show on television or the best show...Find a group of friends and make each other laugh. Riff off each other. Go on super-offensive runs about degrading subjects."

What Emmy didn't giveth on Thursday morning, the TCA Awards bestowed on Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton.

NBC's "Friday Night Lights," conspicuously snubbed by Emmy voters, got its due in nabbing best new program. Michael C. Hall of Showtime's "Dexter," another near no-show in the Emmy derby, was deemed best drama actor at the ceremony hosted by "Daily Show's" John Oliver.

Overall the Peacock swept the Television Critics Assn. kudofest with four trophies, including best comedy for "The Office," natch, and Alec Baldwin of "30 Rock" for top dog among comedy actors.TCA-ers didn't overlook NBC's other big frosh drama of last season, picking  "Heroes" the program of the year.

(Pictured: Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler of "Friday Night Lights")

Now that I've had some time to think about it, I'd say this year's crop of Emmy nominees fall into a few broad categories.

IT'S ABOUT TIME:

David Morse. Morse (pictured left) broke your heart every week during the 1982-1988 run of NBC's "St. Elsewhere." But was he nominated? Nooooo. It took a guest shot role on another hospital drama, Fox's "House," to win this underrated actor some Emmy appreciation.

Rainn Wilson. How could he have been overlooked last year? Just the sight of  him in his Dwight Schrute persona (pictured right) makes me laugh.

Mary-Louise Parker. Emmy voters felt so bad for snubbing her last year for "Weeds" that they gave her two noms, this year, one for "Weeds," one for the Oxygen movie "The Robber Bride."

This category can also encompass the new names and faces Emmy voters let into the tent this year, including "30 Rock"; "Ugly Betty" and America Ferrera; "Heroes" and Masi Oka; Neil Patrick Harris of "How I Met Your Mother."

Ben Silverman's having a good week. First he charms the assembled multitudes at TCA on Monday, getting through his first big press test as co-chair of NBC Entertainment without any scars. Then he wakes up this morning to a bounty of Emmy good news, with comedy series noms for "The Office" and "Ugly Betty," plus two NBC rookies, "Heroes" and "30 Rock," flexing some muscle by landing high-profile series noms that could translate into a bigger ratings next season. It could've been a Ben trifecta if "The Tudors" had hit big, but, hey, it did get costuming and a few other arty type nods. Congrats Ben.

(Pictured above, L-R, "Office" costars Melora Hardin and David Denman with Ben Silverman.)

The series writing and directing noms are always a good bellwether of what shows or individuals are deemed best of breed by industry standards. There's so much politicking and campaigning that goes into the race to grab top series and acting noms. Writing and directing noms are a little more above the fray, though it does seem that Emmy voters sometimes see them as consolation prizes for deserving shows that don't crack the top series categories. To wit, "Battlestar Galactica" (pictured left) was recognized for drama writing and directing, but the show's rabid fans will have to keep the faith until next year to see it break into the top echelon of nominees.

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

Does the fact that viewer totals are excruciatingly low mean NBC's stellar Thursday night comedy lineup has little chance to be placed in the same class as in the days of "Cheers," "Friends" and "Seinfeld," all of which were ratings behemoths?

Ratings, mind you, have never come close to being equated with quality. Geez, "Veronica's Closet" and "The Single Guy" probably have higher numbers than "The Office" or "30 Rock" will ever do ... combined.

But after a TCA panel with the creator and star of each of the four comedies that air on Thursday -- "My Name Is Earl," "Scrubs," "30 Rock" and "The Office" -- it's quite obvious these guys (and lady) are funny. Really funny. What exactly does somebody have to do these days to get people to tune in?

"It's our job to make the shows good and Ben's job to make them watch," said Lorne Michaels, exec producer of "30 Rock" and "Saturday Night Live" godfather, about the job new NBC topper Ben Silverman has ahead of him.

When a reporter asked "30 Rock" star/creator/exec producer Tina Fey (pictured) whether she was confident last fall that hers was the NBC show-within-a-show would survive to see a second season, unlike Aaron Sorkin's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," Fey didn't hesitate in her response.

I was 100 percent sure," she said. "I have a nasty streak in me."

(Pictured above, from right: "Office" exec producer Greg Daniels, Lorne Michaels, Tina Fey and "My Name is Earl" exec producer Greg Garcia.)