Before the autumn start of the 2012-2013 season, Thursdays had been my densest, most entertaining network-TV viewing night of the week. No single network is capable of capturing my attention for two straight hours in a single night anymore, but for two years NBC assembled a potent lineup that successfully reserved ninety minutes out of several of my Thursday evenings. Last fall they tampered with the formula and diminished my enjoyment. Their grave aesthetic error freed up a little more time for me to spend on other activities, but a tiny part of me regretted the price that was paid for it.

As of tonight, NBC is back in the business of catering specifically to me once again. For the next few months, my Thursdays have returned to form with all the right series back in the correct batting order as follows:

* Community: For dedicated fans like myself and my son, October 19th arrived at long last tonight with its fourth-season premiere, a full 111 days after NBC first promised it would be. The four-month drought was dispiriting, filled as it was with very little meta-humor, a complete lack of Troy and Abed in the Morning, and a heartbreaking parade of lost souls who keep telling me how much they prefer The Big Bang Theory, just to make me cry in my sleep.

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