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What to Watch on Thursday: It's baby time on "The Office"

The Office (9pm, NBC) - The baby! Pam goes into labor at work, Jim freaks out, and they have to rely on Michael to get them to the hospital -- with a red light escort by Dwight, of course. And just the way it happens when someone at your office has a baby, the entire staff stops working to comfort Pam with food and entertainment. 

Burn Notice (10pm, USA) - In the third season finale, Michael goes up against a terrorist who is threatening to detonate a bomb in Miami if Michael doesn't cooperate with his plans. To make things even more difficult, the FBI is now following Michael's every move.

Real Housewives of Orange County (10pm, Bravo) - In the season five finale, past and present housewives gather for a party, and what a difference a season makes. This time, Vicki's marriage is on solid ground and Tamra's is falling apart. (One more time: "Tam-RA!") 

The Marriage Ref (10pm, NBC) - The only reason to tune in is to see if tonight's show is as awful as Sunday night's sneak preview. I think it will be twice as awful since it's twice as long. If you missed the first mini-episode, here's what happens: comedian Tom Papa shows clips of couples fighting over something stupid and then three celebrities (this week: Tina Fey, Jerry Seinfeld, and Eva Longoria-Parker) crack corny jokes about them, and Tom Papa does a few rehearsed comedy bits. None of this is funny, but there's a laugh track to make up for that. And if that wasn't enough, Natalie Morales (NBC News) and Marv Albert (NBC Sports) pop up now and again, just to make you feel sad for them.

Archer (10pm, FX) - Mallory tells Archer and Lana to steal a princess diamond from ODIN's biggest client in order to embarrass the rival spy agency.

"Archer" gets renewed and multiplies

"Archer" the animated spy-spoof created by Carolina grad and Asheville native Adam Reed will be back for a second season on FX, according to Broadcasting and Cable magazine.

Not only that, the second season order is for 13 episodes, up from 10 this season.

The show still has three episodes to go this season, and the magazine says it's averaging 1.2 million total viewers. It comes on Thurdays at 10 p.m.

What to Watch on Thursday: Kathy Bates buys Dunder-Miflin

Vampire Diaries (8pm, The CW) - Vampire brothers Stefan and Damon recall the events which led to their broken relationship.

The Office (9pm, NBC) - Kathy Bates (left) stars as an eccentric CEO who buys Dunder-Miflin, and Michael has a hard time adjusting to the new company's policies (it's not like he did so well with the old company's policies). I think his best bet is to continue his streak of cougar seductions and romance the CEO.


Fringe (9pm, Fox) - In the winter finale, a strange disaster leaves only one survivor in a Manhattan office building and the team races to Jacksonville, Florida, looking for answers. 

30 Rock (9:30pm, NBC) -  SNL alum Jan Hooks (right) guest stars as Jenna's mother, who shows up seeking a reality show deal from Jack. And in a scenario almost too horrific to imagine, Frank moves in with Liz. 

Archer (10pm, FX) - Malory's job is in danger after a "sensitive" videotape falls into the wrong hands, and she must rely on Archer's skills of seduction to save it.

Important Things/Sarah Silverman (10pm, Comedy Central) - The second season premiere of "Important Things with Demetri Martin"  is followed by the third season premiere of "The Sarah Silverman Program."

What to Watch on Thursday: Jack Black joins "Community," "Runway" returns to NYC

Community (8pm, NBC) - All new comedies tonight on NBC. On "Community," Jack Black tries to join the study group, and Jeff becomes editor of the Greendale Gazette Journal. Doesn't he know newspaper jobs only end in heartbreak? On "Parks & Recreation," Leslie (Amy Poehler) goes on a date with a doctor, played by her real life husband Will Arnett. Then there are two new episodes of "30 Rock." James Franco guest stars as himself in the first one, aggravated that Jenna is pretending to be in a relationship with him.

Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice (9pm, ABC) - It's another crossover night, and the action centers around Addison and Mark McSteamy Sloan, and Mark's pregnant daughter.

Project Runway (10pm, Lifetime) - "Project Runway" returns! And we mean it really returns this time, because it's finally back in New York where it belongs. Now we can try to forget the failed LA experiment that was last season.

Archer (10pm, FX) - You'll get two back-to-back half-hour episodes in the debut of this naughty new animated action series. It's created and produced by a UNC grad, and we think it's definitely worth checking out.

Carolina grad is the man behind FX's "Archer"

The man behind FX's snarky, boozy, potty-mouthed and funny animated spy show "Archer" is a nice guy from Asheville named Adam Reed.

Reed's the creator and an executive producer of the show, and as he tells it, his entry into animation was unexpected. (That's him on the right.) It all started after his 1992 graduation from UNC-CH.

"I graduated with no plan whatsoever," says Reed, who majored in English. He packed a bag and went to France, living and working odd jobs in Chamonix. Then the money ran out.

"Archer": Naughty cartoon spies

Does the world need another bourbon-soaked, spy-themed cartoon aimed at connoisseurs of the mundane realities of cubicle life, inappropriate mother-son relationships and the randier dialogue allowed on air by the FCC after 10 p.m?

Then again, maybe "Archer" is the only show (officially debuting tonight on FX at 10 p.m.) that fits that niche, so consider it good enough for a test drive to see if it suits your type of humor. Besides, if it wipes away the memory of that one time you accidentally watched five minutes of "American Dad," Seth MacFarlane's unfunny parody of a CIA agent dad's suburban life, "Archer" is worth a viewing.

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