30 Rock

By Myles When there’s no real central premise to hold an episode like this one together, you’re left feeling like something was missing even as you gush over the genius of Brian Williams, which is pretty much where I stand with 30 Rock right now. I laughed, I commented on its cleverness, and yet still...

By ulyssesworkman As for the other action, it never really came together in a cohesive way. I thought Tracy’s storyline was a funny idea that didn’t end up going anywhere, and the celebrity cameos didn’t add too much (although given the rumors of tension between Tracy Morgan and Jimmy Fallon, its interestin...

By Myles It resulted in one great episode which focused in on elements of the holiday which fit its characters perfectly, one very good episode that used Halloween as a variable of existing dynamics, one okay episode which evaded the holiday but for a quick joke, and one weak episode that used the h...

By Bob Sassone S04E02) "This isn't the auto industry, Pete. The auto industry was run by a bunch of out of touch white guys selling consumers a product they didn't want. We're GE damn it, and we're going to make a giant, flimsy microwave." - Jack I just hope that the book that Tina Fey is writing isn't like that.C...

By Rob Buckley The problem was a reliance on plot. Yes, on plot. 30 Rock at its funniest is based on silliness and standalone episodes, rather than season-long plots. Watch the pilot episode and you'll recall that the dullest bit was the middle third that tried to establish plot and drama. Problematically,...

By steph ©NBC “Hello, fellow human being. Would you like to ask me what time it is?” Tracy “Are you a large child or a small adult?” Tracy “Where’s the bar?” Jack “There’s a bar in the shower that the previous tenant installed to keep from slipping. He still died in there, though.” Kenneth

By Jace(jace@televisionaryblog.com) Oh, (real) America, have you missed 30 Rock as much as I have? Tina Fey's biting comedy series returned last night with a brightly sharp fourth season opener (entitled, rather efficiently, "Season Four"). You had the opportunity to read my advance review of the first two episodes of 30 Roc...

By Myles In my relatively short time as a TV critic, I’ve spent more of my comedy analyzing time with The Office, a show which features far more nuance than 30 Rock in terms of its characters. On that show, the actions of Michael Scott need to be finely tuned to (in my view) connect with the right level of...

By theTVaddict Time will tell, but this week and the next are a welcome return for the comedy, which looks to stand on its own after the heat from last year’s election (and Fey’s Palin wig) has faded, and so far it seems aptly prepared: Liz (Tina Fey, who penned the premiere) is under orders from whispery net...

By theTVaddict Time will tell, but this week and the next are a welcome return for the comedy, which looks to stand on its own after the heat from last year’s election (and Fey’s Palin wig) has faded, and so far it seems aptly prepared: Liz (Tina Fey, who penned the premiere) is under orders from whispery net...

By Jace(jace@televisionaryblog.com) It's crazy to me that I'm reviewing the fourth season opener for NBC's deliciously absurd comedy 30 Rock. After all, it seemed as though the hyper-intelligent brainchild of creator Tina Fey would be canceled only a few weeks into its initial run, but now the possibility of such talk seems f...

By yapplebee One of my favorite episodes in that first year of “30 Rock” was called “The Head and The Hair.” Basically, Liz (Tina Fey) meets this guy named Gray (Peter Hermann), who seems way too hot for Liz (according to Liz). Because you are either “The Head” (a nerd) or “The Hair” (hot). Liz thinks that she...

By Myles While The Office might be more consistent, and 30 Rock might be more uproarious, I think that I find myself most honestly excited about How I Met Your Mother, a show that just a few years ago I didn’t even watch on a regular basis. I think it’s because while The Office thrives on awkward comedy,...

By Heather Salerno Community’s a quirky little comedy that fits right in amongst NBC’s other Thursday night quirkfests: The Office and 30 Rock. (Sorry, I can’t muster up much enthusiasm for Parks and Recreation – at least not based on last season’s lackluster laughs.) Photo courtesy of NBC)

By Brian Howard 30 Rock gained a higher profile in its third season, but I remember Alec Baldwin questioning after the second season how long he wanted to be involved. He was going to quit to write cough a parenting book, which I think he managed to write without quitting.

By Brian Howard How else to explain the hilarity of Liz Lemon shouting “Puerto Rican!” every time she saw Salma Hayek’s Elisa. Tina Fey can pull that off, and she knows it. Jenna had one of the lines of the night after the gang pranks her to teach her a lesson about trying to poison Kenneth.

By Myles While its Thursday night comedy counterpart The Office has been delving into a long-term storyline over my hiatus, which has made not blogging about it a little bit more problematic, 30 Rock has been in a very different sort of place. This isn’t to say that the show isn’t achieving its goals...

By Bob Sassone Actor Alec Baldwin attends HBO Actors Alec Baldwin and Jane Krakowski attend HBO Actors Alec Baldwin and Jane Krakowski attend HBO Actress Tina Fey arrives at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards Governor Actresses Tina Fey and Amy Poehler arrives at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards Governor

By Brian Howard Between Parks and Recreation, the funniest debut of a new sitcom since 30 Rock, a brand new episode of 30 Rock itself and two new, nonconsecutive episodes of The Office, it was an embarrassment of comic riches. Not to complain, but it all kind of flowed together in the end.

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) • Jack has a Google News alert for "Tracy Jordan ridiculous disaster" • Tracy is totally on his game in the meeting with Liz, with the clever wordplay and the quoting of Robert Browning • In Jack-vision, Kenneth is only worth seven bucks

By Myles It’s kind of funny that, after an episode of The Office where Michael struggled with the idea of responsibility and blame, that 30 Rock would be so occupied with exactly the same ideas. The episode is all about authority figures who are trying to maintain something approaching order, and t...

By Brian Howard Kenneth: Good morning sir, what’s that on your foot? Kenneth: You can’t eat candy if you have diabetes. Kenneth: It’s not a myth. Gentlemen, back me up here. Kenneth: How do you not see the connection? Kenneth: I don’t think that’s right.

By Brian Howard The stuntcasting has gotten old, the Liz-adopts-a-baby storyline isn’t working for me, the funniest characters (Tracy, Kenneth, Jenna) get too little screentime. Heck, I’m still missing the Rachel Dratch cameos that used to be a staple.

By Myles For 30 Rock, the comedy is often to be found in the details: it isn’t that the broader plots themselves are that comically complex, but rather that the way they are executed offers enough individual quirks to elevate the series above most other comedies on television.

By Myles Related Posts at Cultural Learnings Review: “Episode 210″Cultural Learnings’ Coverage of 30 Rock For more details on the Cultural Learnings 2008 Television Time Capsule, click here!] “Episode 210″ Season Two, Episode Ten Airdate: January 10th, 2008 I love 30 Rock: it

By podcast@mail2tv.com (RikerDonegal) 30 Rock. Season 3, Episode 5. "Reunion" Another winner. The Liz high school reunion story is very funny and very clever. It confounds expectations, very nicely, when it reveals that Liz was the mean one at school. She didn't plan it that way, and she doesn't even remember it that way, but... she was mean to everyone and they hate her. Hilarious. Alec Baldwin pretty much steals the episode and it proves, once again, that the show works best when Liz and Jack are teamed up in the same plot. House. Season 5, Episode 9. "Last Resort" The hostage-siege episode. With Hugh Laurie and Zeljko Ivanek in the same room (and a gun between them, too) you expect it to be a truly superb episode with great performances. Not so. It's actually a pretty weak, kinda dumb storyline. And...   [read the full post]

By podcast@mail2tv.com (RikerDonegal) 30 Rock. Season 3, Episode 4. "Gavin Volure" Steve Martin guests in a hilarious outing. It's hard to pick highlights when every minute of the episode yielded about two, but I particularly loved Liz's idea of a relationship (basically lots of TV watching and 'no funny stuff'). The Tracy story was a winner, too, but the absolute highlight of the episode was Kenneth performing street theatre. That, alone, makes this episode of my favourites. Law And Order. Season 18, Episode 17. "Personae Non Grata" Law And Order normally doesn't make me laugh, but this episode had me laughing out loud all the way through. Why? Partly because the events of the story are so absurd and partly because the guest stars are fantastic.   [read the full post]

By Myles I do not know where to start with tonight’s episode of 30 Rock. “Reunion” was one of those situations where it was everything we should want it to be: no big name guest stars (although Janel Moloney counts for West Wing fanatics), numerous hilarious throwaway jokes, a situation bound to cre...

By podcast@mail2tv.com (RikerDonegal) 30 Rock. Season 3, Episode 3. "The One with the Cast of 'Night Court'" is the first funny episode this year. Tina Fey rocks. I loved the scene where she tried to lure her wild and crazy friend away from Jack with promises of a wild and crazy night on the town. Liz's idea of a wild and crazy night, and her faked enthusiam, are the highlight of the episode. Jennifer Aniston (such a funny, funny lady) is perfect for this show. Highlights include: her Happy Birthday song and any time she freaked out on Jack. Alec Baldwin is a perfect foil to her actions. Loved their stuff together, and all his scenes with Tina/Liz. Keen Eddie. Episode 13. "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité" Keen Eddie ends with another good story and another great episode.   [read the full post]

By podcast@mail2tv.com (RikerDonegal) 05.30 Law And Order 06.30 Raising The Bar 07.30 30 Rock 08.00 Keen Eddie 09.00 Flashpoint 10.00 24 30 Rock. Season 3, Episode 2. "Believe in the Stars" Is it me or does 30 Rock always take a while to get 'up to speed' every season? I'm just not feeling the vibe this year. Again! This is a fine episode. Amusing in places. Weaker than the premier. Weaker than 30 Rock at it's best and certainly weaker than Office, Corner Gas or Always Sunny. Oh well, maybe the next one will have me laughing... Jack was badass cool. See previous paragraph! Highlight? 24 (Jack is back!) Yet Another TV Review Podcast Yet Another TV Review Book Yet Another Film Review Blog   [read the full post]

It's not often that you laugh out loud at a sitcom. So much so that I can't remember the last time I watched a 1/2 hour sitcom (except for Entourage, which I think is actually the best show on TV right now, and I don't think of it as a sitcom, but I'm not sure exactly what category it would fit in). But...

Jenna, meanwhile, learns of this impromptu, delightfully insane Night Court reunion and is apoplectic over not being invited to reprise her role as a “were-lawyer” whose presence on Night Court marked the moment it officially jumped the shark. Has 30 Rock gone monster-crazy? Between t...

By Myles Perhaps it is as simple as saying that it was trying to be too many other things: while aping Friends’ title format and one of its stars, and by attempting to recreate NBC’s hit series Night Court, they did more than potentially break copyright laws: they forgot to be 30 Rock at the same time. C...

By Myles This episode didn’t have much of one: Tracy and Jenna’s legal battles was the closest we got to something resembling a continuing storyline, and it was perhaps the most ridiculous with Jenna’s black face and Tracy’s transformation into co-ed Becky (which gave me serious White Chicks fl...

By Verne Gay 30 Rock?" A joy. And still is. October 11, 2006 Wednesday NASSAU EDITION LOAD-DATE: October 11, 2006 GRAPHIC: NBC PHOTO - Tracy Morgan, left, Rachel Dratch, Jack McBrayer, Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin star in NBC's "30 Rock," a sendup of TV sketch programs, premiering tonight at 8.

By Myles Do-Over" is not the best episode of 30 Rock, nor is it necessarily an entry into the show's catalogue of fantastic ones. Rather, it is familiarity that makes this episode so memorable: it offers plenty of showcase opportunities for Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin (albeit leaning towards the for...

By Mark Graham Maybe the reason enough people aren’t watching 30 Rock to make Mr. Baldwin happy is because Alec Baldwin is so unlikable as a person. 30 Rock is a really funny show. And Alec Baldwin is funny as long as someone else is writing his words. When left to his own devices, he sounds like a psychotic narci...

By The Bad One Jack can't believe he's trapped in his new job. Cooter can't believe his best friend wants to leave him. Jack asks if Cooter himself has ever thought about leaving. Cooter: "Every day for two years. Look at these resignation letters. They're written in ketchup, dirty rock, leak water." But now J...

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By Myles It's a great ending for the episode, indulging in Fey's ability to eat on camera and the importance of food to the episode as a whole. Between this and her slow-walk/Sundae eating on the treadmill, Fey had a great episode when it comes to physical comedy - she says she's not an actor, but this a...

By Alan Sepinwall Since I now apparently have to begin every blog review with a note about how may episodes are remaining, I should say that this was episode 8 of the season, and we know that 10 episodes were made. (Tina Fey lamented in several picket line interviews that she was contractually obligated to act...

By Jason the TVaholic G4 has 16 episodes of Cheaters early. MTV has 12 episodes of America’s Next Top Model. SOAPnet has the first seven episodes of October Road. Spike TV has eight episodes of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. TV One has 20 episodes of Good Times. VH1 has 10 episodes of Hogan Knows Best.

By Media Maven 8:05 – The UCB announcer introduces each member of the 30 Rock cast, as the live music plays. Every major player is here except for Alec Baldwin’s assistant Jonathan (a.k.a. Sanjay from Weeds) and guest star Edie Falco, whose role is played by SNL scribe Paula Pell. Baldwin and Morgan get the most cheers by far. Grade: A Following the lead of Saturday Night Live’s live performance at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York last Saturday, the Emmy-winning cast of 30 Rock performed a live staged reading of an upcoming episode to a standing room only crowd at UCB tonight. And guess who was lucky enough to score a seat? [...]   [read the full post]

Shows affected (from AICN): The Office "The Office" showrunner Greg Daniels has joined the picket line at his production company's Van Nuys location in an attempt to shut down production of his show. We're trying to shut down 'The Office,'" Mr. Daniels said. "We have the star of our show and t...

By Bob Sassone Tonight at 8:30 brings us the season premiere of NBC's 30 Rock (or should I say NBC's Emmy Winner for Best Comedy 30 Rock!). We'll have a review later tonight, but I found out that after the show airs, stars Tina Fey and Jack McBrayer (Kenneth) are going to have a live blog at NBC's site, and if yo...

By Tempo Meanwhile, network executive Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) is fending off a coup attempt from a rival executive, Devin Banks (a perfectly cast Will Arnett), “the vice president for West Coast news, Web content and theme-park talent relations.”

By Alan Sepinwall The only thing keeping this episode from being up there with the poker episode or "The Rural Juror" was the Pete and Tracy subplot, and even that had its moments, notably Kenneth's interpretation of "Footloose" ("where those evil kids won in the end") and a new twist on the verrrrry old ang...

By Tempo This episode not only has some good scenes with Jenna, but there’s also an enjoyable story line involving Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit), one of the producers of the show within the show. Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) decides that family man Pete should get down with some strippers in order t...

By Tony Figueroa I watched the show. I would describe the show as Dilbert meets backstage Saturday Night Live, but in a good way. I really like the fact that the show is set in a real place (NBC Studios) and the characters work for a real company (NBC). Tina Fey writes, executive produces and stars as Liz Lemon, th...

By ALESSANDRA STANLEY In a dry time for sitcoms, NBC adds “30 Rock” and “Twenty Good Years” to its lineup.