30 Rock: Season One
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Movie Reviews of 30 Rock: Season One
Movie Review: Consistently funny (in spite of the premise!)
Summary: 5 Stars
There are a lot of "hooks" in the first season of 30 Rock that made me hesitant to invest in the entire season and in the series. They have the insane movie star (Tracy), the dimwitted junior (Kenneth the page), the slovenly writer(s), the A-type boss, the ditsy blonde. I was bracing for a very funny few shows that tapered off into repetativeness as the characters with one-word descriptions wore out their welcomes. I now have much more faith in Tina Fey's instincts and writing. This season is funny all the way through, and does become funnier as the show moves along. The keys are the writing and the characters of Fey and Alec Baldwin, both of whom embody their roles, but never in quite the way you might expect.
Baldwin as Jack Donaghy is easily described - think the Pointy-Haired Boss from Dilbert, if he was competent and had some good ideas. It's one of the enduring qualities of the show that the conventions (boss as foil) is turned on its head. More often than not, Jack is right. There are also some really fun skeletons in his closet - a brother played by Nathan Lane who is a grifter, an ex-wife played by Isabella Rossalini, etc. But it's the subtle things that make his character (and all the characters) so much fun. For example, when Liz is too familiar with him in front of his bosses from GE head office, he scolds her "How dare you address me by my Christian name?"
Such little details are the joy of the series. Liz finds a soul mate because he recognises "Tootsie" as being, not a good movie but a "well-written" movie. She scolds someone for getting Star Trek and Star Wars mixed up. Her "white liberal guilt" forces her to stay with an African American boyfriend because she's worried she'll be perceived as racist if she breaks up with him, even though they have absolutely nothing in common. Jack finds a most formidable poker opponent in Kenneth the Page because he's too guileless to have any tells. Tracy is targetted by the "Black Mafia" (i.e. Oprah and Bill Cosby) because he's too stereotypical in his inner city/hip hop-style comedy. When the sexy intern announces she's getting married, one of the writers wonders "This isn't going to change the way you dress or lick lollipops, is it?"
Another surprise - Tina goes to the Saturday Night Live well constantly for her guest stars, and they are all good. Okay, Chris Parnell might be too far over the top with his Dr. Spaceman (properly pronounced "Spa-CHE-men"), and Rachel Dratch's lesbian animal wrangler wears out her welcome, but Jason Sudeikis shows real acting talent, Will Forte is good, and Dratch is hilarious in other parts, such as Barbara Walters. Rossalini steals the shows she's in, and even the much maligned Paul Rubens is excellent in his appearance as an inbred Hungarian prince.
I'm definitely looking forward to the next few seasons!
Movie Review: Absurdist workplace comedy at its best
Summary: 5 Stars
I had high hopes for this show when it first premiered because of the great cast Tina Fey had assembled (anyone who had seen any of the Baldwin-hosted SNLs should already be aware of his comic genius and Tracy Morgan was an extremely underrated SNL cast member) and while it had a promising start, the first few episodes were pretty uneven.
It was around episode 5 or 6 (not coincidentally around the time Fey officially left SNL and started working on the show full-time) in the brilliant "Tracy Does Conan" that the show really came together. Since then, 30 Rock has consistently been the funniest show on television, beating out its other NBC comedy peers, The Office and Scrubs, in terms of laughs per minute. The show jumps from wry, witty satire (nothing at GE is sacred and Tracy Jordan is pretty much a blatant jab at comedian Martin Lawrence) to levels of absurdism we haven't seen on television since the superb Arrested Development (whose Will Arnett guest stars in a hilarious role as a lecherous gay network suit) was sadly cancelled.
Both the writing and the actors, especially Fey, who let's face it, is a writer first and actor second, fall into the groove of this maddeningly hilarious workplace comedy and it shows. The rapport between Jack (played by Baldwin, who is a lock for pretty much every award he can legally get for playing this role) and Liz (Fey) is at the center of the show as they move from adversaries to colleagues to an endearing father-daughter, mento-manatee relationship. Also the ones to watch in the series are Jack McBrayer as the naive farmboy NBC page, Kenneth, who steals every scene he is in and Tracy Morgan, in his element as the criminally insane, conspiratorial Tracy Jordan whose list of hit movies could fill up a whole hour of hilarious jokes (Who Dat Ninja, Honky Grandma Be Trippin', etc.). I could go on about the other amazing cast of characters on the show, Dr. Spaceman, Toofer, Cat Wrangler, Frank, Cerie, Jonathan the assistant, but just writing it doesn't do the show justice.
Unlike that other show that premiered this television season that takes place behind the scenes of a sketch comedy program, these people are actually funny. The writers actually sound like writers and no one ever takes themselves too seriously. No matter how long this show lasts (thankfully NBC picked it up for a second season), 30 Rock will go down as one of the smartest comedies we've seen in a long time.
The Best of the Best:
Jack Meets Dennis
Tracy Does Conan
Black Tie
The Source Awards
Fireworks
Cleveland
Movie Review: Funniest show I've seen in a long while!
Summary: 5 Stars
Alright I confess I'm not a big TV-watcher, and especially not a big comedy show watcher. The funniest thing I regularly watch on television is House, and even that's pseudo-drama. But when I was browsing NBC's website one day and came across a show created by Tina Fey (whom I adore), I decided to give it a shot. I can honestly say that I am now obsessed. This show works perfectly. Perfectly written, perfectly cast and all the performances are just perfect. Tina Fey is now a serious comedic force in this world and I hope to God this show doesn't get canceled like Arrested Development.
Tina Fey writes, produces and stars as Liz Lemon in '30 Rock', a zany and often non sequiter (but deliciously so) show-within-a-show about an SNL-like live variety show. She's got her hands full with a meddling new boss and two high-maintenance stars, and on top of all this, her personal life is in the dumps. One suspects that Tina Fey is almost playing herself. Alec Baldwin plays her boss with a neurotic stress-eating problem and an over-active ambitious drive. Tracy Morgan, also from SNL, plays the crazy and unpredictable Tracy Jordan, star of the "TGS with Tracy Jordan". Who knew that these actors would mix so well with each other?! The result, with plenty of hilarious celebrity guest stars, is a delightful show that had me laughing out loud numerous times during each and every episode.
NBC please please please don't cancel this show! Sure it doesn't fit the formula of many other comedy shows on TV right now but this show is so smart and witty that it just sparkles off the screen. Don't do what you did with Arrested Development! It was a mistake to cancel that brilliant show after just three seasons! Please let 30 Rock stick around longer. And fans! I implore you, buy the Season 1 DVD and show your support! Tune in every Thursday night at 8:30 to watch the show so that we're not deprived of such comedic brilliance! Show your support and maybe this show will take off and garner the attention and respect it truly deserves.
Regarding this DVD set, I do wish they would have put more cast interviews or behind the scenes featurettes. But I guess they'll do a better job for the Season 2 DVD set (hopefully).
Every episode is amazingly written and acted, but if I had to choose favorites, they would have to be 'Black Tie', 'The Break-Up', and 'Hardball'. Isabella Rosellini pulling off Liz Lemon's top had me almost fall off my chair laughing. Yes, it's that good.
Movie Review: The many faces of Humor, and you'll find most of them here.
Summary: 5 Stars
I'll jump right in and comment that I've counted 8 types of humor in this show(right off the top of my head). I'll state and give an example of each.
Quirkiness: There are many references that Tina Fey's character gives: to her inability to be in the "in crowd", to her being a Star Wars fanatic and to her calling clubs a discotech.
Self-Effacing: Lemon(Tina Fey) insists, once, to fall asleep to the sounds of her boyfriend playing Halo, and, also, tells her producer to stop reading the slang dictionary after he uses "izzel" in a sentence.
Sillyness: There is Tracy Jordan's instability. In the beginning of the season Tracy runs down the middle of an highway in his underwear yelling "I'm a Jedi! I'm a Jedi!", while waving a play lightsaber in his hand.
Truthful: Lemon(Tina Fey) and ??(Jane) discuss Barak Obama. Jane finds out the Obama is black and running for president and says, "Well, good luck with that."
Dry-Wit: Alec Baldwin's seemingly clueless character candidly tells Lemon how to, strictly, be a professional and how to, strictly, have a life. He seems to be wrong and heartless, but always turns out right.
Racial:Tracy Jordan believes that the "Black Crusaders", who are led by Oprah Winfrey and Bill Cosby, are out to get him because he's promulgating stereotypes of African-Americans.
Innocent: Kenneth, a page/assistant, takes abuse in a "Spongebob Squarepants" manner all in the name of showbiz.
Intelligent: The show is very intelligent in its writing while combining all the above humors, characters, and ideas in a multiplot structure. Hence, ' very fast moving, provoking and fun.
That's it.
I may not have understood or taken the time to watch Arrested Development or The Office, but I get this show. The non-laugh tracks makes it hard to understand when a joke has been said or displayed, so the two(shows) I watched during the season just passed over me. I watched another show during the summer, and instantly understood(and laughed at) most of it.
One person commented that it is a dumbed down version of Arrested Development, and others call it brilliant. I guess I fall right in middle of these people. I'm sure others will, too.
It may be beneficial to rent this in order to catch up on any new material. I hope that the show stays on. Many shows are cancelled because a lot of people don't understand them.
Movie Review: I love this show.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been a fan of SNL for almost 20 years. It has had its ups and downs but I generally thought the Tina Fey years (as head writer of SNL) were really funny. And there was nothing I liked better than hearing, "Next week, guest host is Alec Baldwin." I also loved "Mean Girls" which was written by Tina Fey. When I heard that Tina Fey was writing her own show, I was excited. When I heard it was going to star Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan, I was thrilled.
I had high hopes for this show and from the first episode, I have not been disappointed. Of course, the first few episodes seemed like they were a bit scattered. I think all new shows need a few weeks to find their feet. After all, we're all getting acquainted with these new characters just like the writers/actors are. I look back at the early episodes of Seinfeld (a show I love, like most of America)and can say the same thing. That said, even those early shows are genuinely funny.
As the season went on and especially into the 2nd season, the show has really come into its own. I am thrilled each week to see that one of the main points of the show is to cram as many legitimately funny jokes into a half hour as possible. This is one of the few shows (The Office, How I Met Your Mother and Ugly Betty are the others) where I consistently laugh out loud each week. And, for the most part, I haven't laughed out loud at a TV show since 1998 when Seinfeld went off the air.
Yes, 30 Rock is critically acclaimed and I am thrilled to see that Entertainment Weekly magazine seems to have taken up its cause. Yes, the show won an Emmy. But I really hope that the viewers will find their way to this show that is nestled in a really tough time slot on Thursday nights. I don't want to have to talk about 30 Rock like I talk about Freaks and Geeks or like people talk about Arrested Development!