30 Rock, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: recent bed bug television storylines

The Los Angeles Times Show Tracker gives a rundown on this week’s “30 Rock” (”Audition Day,” Season 4 Episode 4) which featured a bed bugs sub-plot.

While everyone else was on the lookout for new talent, Jack had his own mission: A quest for acceptance. With a nasty case of bed bugs (otherwise known as “chew daddies” or “Mugabe’s concubines”), Jack is rejected by everyone at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. He’s even banned from riding his company car, and must resort to taking the subway. We see him on board the subway (a real one, I might add), begging for mercy from strangers. I only wish I had been on the F train that day. Sigh. By the end of the episode, he’s feeling so dejected that when a robot mime reaches out and shakes his hand, making him feel like a human again, Jack insists that Liz hire him for the show. (Broadway nerds, help me out: Was the robot just Cheyenne Jackson in silver makeup?) It was Jack’s very own version of “A Christmas Carol,” and dare I say it, it was almost touching. On “30 Rock,” it’s all relative.

You can watch this on hulu.com. There’s also a discussion on the forums on this one.

Meanwhile, in the last few weeks, there was an episode of FX’s “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (Season 5 Episode 6, entitled “The World Series Defense”) which also featured bed bugs in the storyline. You can also watch this episode on hulu.com.

Thanks to the two anonymous tipsters who mentioned these to me.

Once you’ve had a chance to watch one, or both, what do you think about how bed bugs were presented?