Yes, it’s the platinum age of television, but that doesn’t mean you have more hours in the day to watch it. Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien—they all air right on top of each other and some (uncool) bosses don’t consider catching up on all the late night you missed a productive use of office time. And then there's everything that happens before 11:00 p.m.! You’ve got mouths to feed, FuelBand points to earn, commutes to make, and Veronica Mars episodes to freshen up on before the Kickstarter campaign you funded brings your dream movie to the big screen. It’s all just too much.
But journalism, at its core, is a public service, which is why we're here to help—bringing you the week's best clips in everything from chat shows to sketch comedy to scripted TV to local news. Check back every Saturday to see what you missed, and what you won’t have to miss ever again.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – Water War with Lindsay Lohan
What sets Jimmy Fallon apart from the rest of his late night cohort is that he’s having more fun than anyone else, and every guest on his couch is a friend he's waited his whole life to make. Even the harried Lindsay Lohan, who’s currently staging comeback No. 13 (Or Something) after a[nother] stint in rehab while promoting her upcoming heart-punch docu-series on OWN, becomes the giggling, charismatic starlet that had America living for Lohan in the early aughts. Jimmy wants everyone to be as excited as he is, and it’s making the 11:35 p.m. slot more fun than we've had in a long time.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine – Jake's Sexy Voice
The 99th precinct's sexiest detective (Jake, Andy Samberg) shows Boyle and Santiago what it takes to be local law enforcement's answer to George Clooney. Champagne. Mountain Range. Hugs. Enough said.
Saturday Night Live – Lena Dunham's Promos with Kate McKinnon
Topless slut witches dance for young feminists. That could be the plot of the next Girls. Or it could be a tweet from @TonightOnGirls. Or it could be a sketch on tonights' Saturday Night Live! No matter how you feel about Lena Dunham/Hannah Horvath, the girl is down for just about anything, so we're looking forward to seeing how Lorne and Company bring her into the improv fold. Fingers crossed for a Blerta cameo!
The Goldbergs – The Treasure Hunt
When Pops misplaces some family heirlooms, it's up to Adam to track down the lost jewelry with his band of Goonie knockoffs, including his "friend" Dave Kim, who is definitely, totally not there just because he needs an Asian to play Data! If hearing Cyndi Lauper wail "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" while this motley crew peddles down the street on their Huffies doesn't make you want to weep with nostalgia and visit Haystack Rock, then you we for sure aren't splitting the treasure with you. Goldbergs never say die!
Late Night With Seth Meyers – Explain the Ukraine
All week you've de-prioritized reading up on the situation in Ukraine. Well, Seth Meyers is about to destroy all your excuses for being out of the loop when he throws down a backgrounder on the conflict in 45 seconds. Next time you want to use the "I'm too busy" line, save it for something that’s actually hard, like detangling those damn earbuds.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! – Behind the Tube: Making of the #Kimmel YouTube Films
Which Hemsworth brother does Meryl Streep consider "hot as f*-cking hell"? What has been the greatest acting challenge of Christoph Waltz’s career? Does Queen Latifah really got time for any of this? Get answers to all these questions and more in this "behind the scenes" look at Jimmy Kimmel's viral-video-inspired YouTube films from Oscars weekend.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – Flip Cup with Annette Bening
Anyone who's been stuck watching their friends play beer pong forEVER at a party knows drinking games are not really a spectator sport. But if that drinking game includes Jimmy Fallon shaming Annette Bening to her kids for subpar flip cup skills, and ends with Bening belligerently throwing Solo cups at Fallon while he plugs her new movie, then we'll take front row seats for the next dozen rounds.
The Soup – Jersey Reporter Gets Whalloped By Snow
Precision crafted shows like Veep, Modern Family, Parks and Recreation, and Community require teams of writers and dozens of cast and crew to bring a seamless comedic fantasy world to life. Then there's local weather reporting, where three people with a camera and a van can make you snortcrylaugh at your desk. Don't feel bad for LOLing, though. Good Day Philadelphia's Steve Keeley recovered like a pro and finished the snow report while more successfully evading plow number four.
The Daily Show – Jessica Williams: Racism Doggy Style
ICYMI, racism is over! Well, people racism is anyway. Fox & Friends told us so. Dogs, kitchens, and computers, on the other hand, still have a long march toward enlightenment. Intrepid Daily Show correspondent Jessica Williams uncovers the insidious canine plot to re-infiltrate America's consciousness with its race-profiling ways. And hey, Google? Yeah, you. Consider yourself on notice along with the dogs.
Bonus Track: Parks and Recreation – Ben on the Iron Throne (Extended Scene)
This scene is almost three minutes long, which is a lot of screen time to devote to someone having a fanboy aneurysm, but by the old gods and the new the internet will provide where TV cannot! Leslie gets Ben an exact replica of the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones, resulting in a short circuit of his limbic system—because he's a human with human responses to things. Ben summons Cersei in the form of a trying-hard Leslie, but if it were us we totally would have called Joffrey in for a swift face kicking. And if we're being honest, it would have been poor Larry taking it on the chin.
