30 Rock
#10 of 2007: 30 Rock
Dec 20th
If this list had existed last year, 30 Rock would not have made it. I was so unimpressed with the pilot and annoyed by the whole “30 Rock vs Studio 60” brouhaha of fall 2006, I gave up before it really even started. Such a foolish mistake. I didn’t retune-in until I caught the episode where Tracy had to appear on Conan in the midst of a hallucinogenic mental breakdown, and I haven’t stopped watching since.
Satirical looks at the entertainment industry have become such a common premise for television series in the past five years, it’s inevitable that most of them come off just as pretentious as their real-life counterparts that they’re trying to lampoon. 30 Rock has avoided this by never taking itself seriously and creating shows, films and plays in their own world that are unrivaled in their absurdity. The metaculture of 30 Rock is funnier than anything in our own world, and the glimpses of it are so brief, I’m left longing to live a world where I can buy tickets to “Mystic Pizza: the Musical” on Broadway, Netflix Who Dat Ninga? or watch the full video for “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah” on MTV. It just doesn’t even seem fair. 30 Rock also bears a comforting resemblance to Mary Tyler Moore – a highly publicized fact that certainly can’t do them any harm.
Not only has 30 Rock proved itself to be the most consistently funny offering on NBC’s Thursday night, it’s also the only one to graciously forgo the sappy, group-huggy notes that most episodes of The Office and Scrubs end on. It may have just scraped in at number 10, but it walked all over a few longtime favorites to even get that far. Here’s one reason why:
30 Rock: Green is Getting Old
Nov 9th
I’m still trying to figure out if last night’s 30 Rock was a little bit of corporate-sanctioned self-parody or a genuine dig at NBC-Universal’s overwhelming “Green is Universal” campaign that completely took over this week’s programming on all of the company’s networks.
In case you didn’t catch it, 30 Rock’s fake-NBC was having a green week of its own: an opportunity to look good to the public, solidify branding and get people to buy GE products. Sound familiar? Other than the awkward, 80s-nostalgic PSAs of Sylar planting trees in Rockefeller Plaza, NBC’s efforts have come across more stunty than anything. “Green” is one of those 21st century buzzterms like “blog” and “meme” that makes PR ladies foam at the mouth. Just saying it (or coloring your logo) brings in tons of attention and publicity. So while I’m sure NBC has probably done a lot of good with their initiative (and Al Gore’s presence certainly lends them some cred), I’ve spent the bulk of this week questioning their sincerity.
At least the green didn’t make 30 Rock any less awesome (they definitely pulled the theme off more successfully than Scrubs). I just wish they’d tone down the “high profile” guest stars this season. David Schwimmer showed up as Greenzo, fake-NBC’s green spokesperson, and reminded us all why he really didn’t have a career after Friends. His character did prompt this gem of a quote from Jack though: “Look how Greenzo is testing. All the demographics love him: colored people, broads, fairies, commies… Gosh, we gotta update these forms.”
All of these guest stars have me worried that NBC doesn’t have as much faith in 30 Rock as they should. Their ratings are up from last season, so I think it’s time they drop the cameos and let the hilarity speak for itself.
Emmys 2007: “A Wide Selection of Trash”
Sep 17th
The Emmys are something of a necessary evil. If you have any taste at all, you’re disappointed year after year by the criminal snubs, but if you like TV half as much as I do, you’re forced to pay attention anyways. This year wasn’t as bad as it could have been; Battlestar Galactica, Neil Patrick Harris and Minnie Driver all earned much-deserved nominations… not that they won. As for the ceremony itself, holding it “in the round” (just like JT!) proves that they’re at least aware of the their waning legitimacy. Ryan Seacrest was as non-present as a host could be. And his greatest success? A smart, if slightly dated, joke about his short relationship with Teri Hatcher – his last earnest attempt at feigning heterosexuality.
Since live-blogging would have required my watching the show in its painful entirety (and the onslaught of FOX plugs), I hope you’ll settle for my slightly delayed reactions to the big winners…
Supporting Actor in a Comedy – Jeremy Piven – Is it fair to award the same actor two years in a row for playing the same stagnant, stereotypical character that isn’t remotely different from who he is in real life? Apparently so. Piven, you may have Emmy, but you’ll never be half the bro Neil Patrick Harris is.
Supporting Actor in a Drama – Terry O’Quinn – As big of a Heroes fan as I might be… their Drama nod seems a little undeserved. Not so for Masi Oka though. He should have had this. Terry O’Quinn is all well and good in Lost, but if you’re going to award the supporting cast of the island, you could at least have given it to Ben Linus. Nice speech, though, Terry. Can’t say the same for the shirt…
Supporting Actress in a Comedy – Jamie Pressly – In all honesty, I’ve never watched more than five minutes of My Name is Earl, but I’m having a seriously hard time believing that a glorified extra from Not Another Teen Movie is more deserving of this award than Jenna Fischer or Vanessa Williams.
Supporting Actress in a Drama – Katherine Heigl – The reach of America’s love of Denny Duckett goes on long after he’s in the ground! “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama” is now officially the “Lengthiest and Most Annoying Mourning Period” award. Not that I don’t adore you, Izzie.
Lead Actor in a Comedy – Ricky Gervais – I love Gervais. I love him for his work on Extras, and I love him for not being there to speak.
Lead Actress in a Drama – Sally Field – Have people seen Brothers & Sisters? I watch it religiously, but it’s all kinds of sucky. Unless this Emmy is for the episode when Sally got stoned with Margot Kidder, I don’t buy it. Also… nice editing, Emmy guys! A full hour after Tell Me You Loved Me showed real-life vagina and prosthetic wieners, FOX still can’t let America hear a middle-aged woman say “god-damned.”
Lead Actress in a Comedy – America Ferrera – Wow, the first award of the night I actually called. And one of the few I don’t object to.
Lead Actor in a Drama – James Spader – Can I say “wow” again? Boston Legal is not something I’ve ever watched, or ever intend to, but it can’t be all that bad. Somewhere in Los Angeles, Gandolfini is watching Mannequin and getting trashed.
Outstanding Comedy – 30 Rock – I hate to throw it out there so soon, but 30 Rock is flirting with Arrested Development-type prophetic doom.
Outstanding Drama – The Sopranos – Despite the acting snubs, the Emmys’ love for The Sopranos could not have been more obvious. That Jersey Boys homage? They might as well have just paid someone to felate a bunch of HBO execs live on stage for three minutes. Whatever, it’s not like they don’t deserve it.
… Oh, and Tony Bennett won everything else.
30 Rock & TGS Both Go on Hiatus
Apr 27th
NBC’s racking up the season finales pretty early this year, and last night we bid a temporary farewell to the first (and by the grace of god not the last) season of 30 Rock. As much as I enjoyed the pilot, I’d written the show off once it moved to Thursdays. There wasn’t enough room on my DVR for The OC, Grey’s Anatomy and 30 Rock. But then The OC ended, Grey’s went from bad to unwatchable and I read a short piece in Entertainment Weekly that couldn’t have enticed me more; they compared 30 Rock to The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Praise doesn’t get much higher, especially from a publication that holds MTM in enough regard to award Mary’s iconic hat toss as the second greatest moment in television history.
As much as NBC trying to capitalize on this comparison (evidence below), Tina Fey doesn’t begin to approach comedic execution of Mary Tyler Moore, but she has created a ridiculously funny show that’s really hit its stride in recent episodes. And in just one example of life imitating art, so has TGS With Tracy Jordan – the fictional program run by Tina’s Liz Lemon on 30 Rock. Poor Jane Krakowski, who replaced poor Rachel Dratch, is desperately underused on 30 Rock as the desperately underused star of the previously titled The Girlie Show. I’m not sure if it’s an oversight, a joke or they’re just trying to dump her, but she’s been increasingly absent. As for Tracy Morgan, his on-camera antics as Tracy Jordan so resemble his real life that I wonder if he’s ever read the script. He might not even be aware that he’s on TV.
Despite it’s renewal, all is not well for the show. Last night marked the end of Emily Mortimer’s three-episode turn as Phoebe, and while she may not have been an integral part of the show, I’m not sure I want to watch a 30 Rock without constant references to Avian Bone Syndrome. Alec Baldwin’s very recent (and very public) emotional breakdown presents a more immediate problem for the show. If he were to be released from his contract, as he’s apparently trying to be, would 30 Rock survive without him? Definitely not. Liz and Jack might not be Mary and Lou, but they’re just as codependent.