Wednesday, February 28, 2007

30 Rock

Thursdays at 8:30 (Central) on NBC.

Created by Tina Fey and Lorne Michaels from Saturday Night Live, this sitcom is funny and clever. Tina Fey stars as Liz Lemon, with Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan and Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaughey. Tina's writing was great on SNL, and 30 Rock has proved to be an even better showcase for her biting and insightful wit. She voices the thoughts of the highly intelligent, marginally attractive, never quite cool group (I know, because that's who I am, too), better than any show I've seen.

Alec Baldwin imbues Jack Donaughey with playful condescension, as well as extreme confidence and lack of remorse for his status as a rich and powerful man. My favorite line so far, which sums his character up, comes after he is asked why he is wearing a tux on his way out of the office, he replys with "Its 6:00 in the evening. What am I, a Farmer?".

Tina Fey and Tracy Jordan are also very strong, as is Jack McBrayer as Kenneth the Page. The show's writing assumes the intelligence of its viewers, which may explain its relatively low ratings. It is more accessible than Arrested Development, but still needs some help to make it. The first few episodes were very stiff, most likely the result of being overworked and 'focus grouped' by the NBC gurus, but now it is great every week.

If you like Tina Fey, Arrested Development, The Office, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, you'll probably like this show as well. Please watch. Below is a link to a clip.

http://www.nbc.com/30_Rock/

2 comments:

Priest said...

This show has moved into my trifecta of thursday night comedy (with the office and scrubs). Three very different, very funny comedies. I love the whole cast, but it's the interplay between alec baldwin and tina fey that make this show special. you know you're witnessing a golden age of tv when one of the finest film actors working today takes a role on a sitcom and tears it apart. And you don't become the lead writer at snl for being kind of funny. fey and baldwin could do a two-person play. the rest is window dressing.

Doctor said...

Agreed. Tina Fey's writing is excellent week in and week out. And she knows how to do the self-effacing thing with the best of them.