Insult to injury

Maybe NBC's "must-see" Thursday line-up should include a show about sock puppet from 2003. As NBC continues to take a precipitous fall in the ratings, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog became the peacock channel's top iTune download after the network announced its partnership with Apple on Monday. Meanwhile, NBC has been struggling to crack the Nielsen Top 10: According to the latest Nielsen ratings, only three NBC shows even land in the Top 20, and one of those shows is E.R., which is barely breathing at 11-years-old.

Whether the Insult factor is a reflection of NBC's lack of imaginative programming or America's tastes is to be determined. Do we really want to spend two bucks to download an entire program to watch on matchbook-size screens when we can DV-R it for free? Why does this sound like the ultimate rip-off? But there is some good news for NBC, or at least viewers vying for smart (and free!) comedies: The network announced last week that My Name is Earl and The Office are moving to Thursdays in January, a sign that the network is willing to support these fledgling but clever shows. Let's just pray the opportunists at NBC don't call for Triumph to make sweeps-month guest appearances as the office's new temp.