(The Root) — From the problem-solving Olivia Pope to the problem-causing Liz Lemon, the ladies took over TV on Thursday night, and they were entertaining, perhaps to the chagrin of Tracy Jordan.
Scandal (Thursday, 10 p.m. ET; ABC)
"They know about the late-night phone calls from the West Wing!” —Arty
"I am protecting my country. You are dabbling in national-security issues." —Fitz
"I am not yours. I don't show up places because you want me. I am not yours. This is over." —Olivia
"You see her again, I'll blow you away … and I'm an excellent shot. Remember?" —Mellie
Highlights: So the NSA has been acting a lot like Big Brother, spying on American citizens and even monitoring the president in the West Wing, according to Arty, a former NSA employee. He's also got Olivia (Kerry Washington) convinced that they're out to kill him. But she finds out that's not the truth and Arty was actually planning on using her team to unencrypt the Big Brother software to sell it to private companies. Let's just say Olivia's pissed. Pissed enough to have Huck (Guillermo Diaz) shoot Arty with a tranquilizer gun and turn him over to the feds.
In the meantime, Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) is jealous that one of Olivia's old flames is back in her life. During a hunting trip, he calls her out to the woods to scream it out. Well, screaming turns into kissing, and kissing turns back into rage, so we're back to square one again. The president and Olivia are not together. This revelation is a little too late, because the first lady has already found out. She promises that she might lick shots at her hubby if he can't get his act together. Do right, Mr. President, do right.
Watch here.
30 Rock (8 p.m. ET; NBC)
"Since Chris and I have been trying, Liz Lemon has had a little awakening in the bathing-suit area." —Liz
"Liz, I've seen your bathing suits. That could be anywhere." —Jack
"Say hello to Professor Wigglebottom. See how he's wearing clothes and he's got a suitcase like he's going on a business trip? Why is he being so professional?” —Tracy
Highlights: Liz's (Tina Fey) sexual awakening has her channeling Carrie Bradshaw. Though Jack (Alec Baldwin) has a bunch of different women playing for his team, he's disappointed when he finds out he's not the MVP. And Tracy (Tracy Morgan), while trying to prove that women aren't funny, gets a monkey named Professor Wigglebottom, because monkeys are obviously funny to everyone. Oh, wait — turns out the professor is a girl. Not so funny.
For a recap of some of the recent best moments in black TV, check out this week's previous Black TV Watch posts:
Monday was pretty focused on the creepy and the very creepy, with a near-suicide on 666 Park Avenue and zombies on top of zombies in The Walking Dead. Read more: Black TV Watch: A Mother's Pain and Zombie Blood.
Tuesday's recap was full of battles and the inevitable waterworks that happened after. Everybody on VH1's Basketball Wives, Chrissy and Mr. Jones and T.I. and Tiny ended up duking it out. And yeah, even roughneck Jim Jones shed a couple of tears. Read more: Black TV Watch: Relationship Advice From Rev. Run.
Wednesday we reunited with Tia and Tamera, Sister Sister stars all grown up, and we watched the stylists on Chicagoliscious become downright animalistic. But the biggest, most ridiculous thing in our recap was not reality TV but real life. Check out the discussion on Florida's new race-based education standards on Don't Sleep! With T.J. Holmes. Read more: Black TV Watch: Race-Based Education Goals.
On Wednesday, we got down with Tyler Perry. The writer-actor-producer visited Stephen Colbert to pray for his new movie. We also cracked up at Guys With Kids this week. Read more: Black TV Watch: Tyler Perry Thanks the Lord.
Celeste Little is an editorial intern at The Root.