30 Rock

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) Yesterday from around 4:30 on was a particularly busy time on the blog. Not only did I have all four NBC comedies to watch and review, plus a "Fringe" I'd seen in advance, but ABC and NBC announced the respective premiere dates and timeslots for "Lost" and "Chuck" right as I was getting ready t...

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) Quick thoughts on last night's "30 Rock" coming up just as soon as I take a low-volume shower with Ed Begley Jr... This was the strongest overall Thursday this season for NBC's comedies, and "Sun Tea" brought the evening to a fine close. Not all of it worked, but enough of it did (in that usual "30 R...

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) This was a really strong night for all four of NBC's comedies, and this week I think "Community" was my favorite of the bunch. I'm always more kindly disposed to comedies with multiple storylines if they find a way to tie them all together (see the best episodes of both "Seinfeld" and "30 Rock...

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) The Tracy/Jenna team often seems too far out of the realm of reality for me to enjoy them - each character tends to work best when playing off of the more grounded Liz or Jack - yet this is two episodes in a row where I haven't cringed at their combined subplot. The running gag with the t-shirt con...

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) And yet Jim Parsons had that perfect moment where Sheldon acted out every argument his parents ever had. (As Fienberg put it, it was like Alec Baldwin's Emmy-winning therapy scene from "30 Rock," only played for real - and still screamingly funny.) Watching it in the middle of this otherwis...

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) There were Thursdays last season when "30 Rock" was having an off night, when "My Name Is Earl" was presenting one of its lazier episodes, and when "Kath & Kim" was being... well, "Kath & Kim." And in that context, even a slightly above-average "The Office" stood out as something speci...

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) The rest of "Audition Day" had some good moments - Kenneth hissing "Vampyr!" at the site of Jenna, Brian Williams' Jersey wiseguy character and, especially, Scott Adsit getting an unfortunately rare chance to let loose and be goofy as Pete tried to get The Hornberger System to work - and e...

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) In particular, I want this "real America" storyline to go away, immediately. All the jokes about it feel angry and uncomfortable, like Fey has had a lot of bad meetings with the real-life versions of Jack Donaghy of late and wants to vent. It feels like watching those episodes of "Designing W...

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) Seems to be at least one Thursday a season where I'm too overwhelmed by a cold or flu to be able to tell if "The Office" was any good or not. I want to say that "Koi Pond" didn't really work, but that could just be the germs talking. (Though I will say that they have not rendered me incapable of laughi...

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) Though I'll always love Will Arnett for playing Gob Bluth, I've never much liked him as Devon on "30 Rock." On a show that manages to make a lot of one-note characters very funny (see Dr. Spaceman, who doesn't even appear in this episode but gets a laugh from the appearance of his Cigarette Diet...

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) In today's column, I talk briefly about the "30 Rock" premiere (full review to come later this week) as an excuse to look back at the long and occasionally glorious history of real TV shows about the making of fake TV shows.

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) Though "The Office" was, with Jim and Pam's wedding and the one-hour length, a more memorable episode tonight, "Parks and Rec" has, on average, been the best part of NBC's Thursday lineup since this season began. Based on the two underwhelming "30 Rock" season four episodes I've seen, I'm...

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) Make fun of NBC all you want - God knows I have - but even in the midst of this downward spiral, they've put some of the best shows on the air, and found unlikely ways to keep them on the air. "30 Rock" is going into its fourth season. "Friday Night Lights" will produce at least five season's worth of...

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) • Speaking of meta, I was intrigued by the frequent references to "TGS" having only two more years left in it, tops. "30 Rock" is considered one of NBC's prestige shows, but the ratings have never been that great, and I could certainly see a scenario where NBC, Fey and Baldwin all decide that f...

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) The Ones" wasn't a classic "30 Rock" episode, and it definitely suffered in comparison to the amazing half-hour of "The Office" that preceded it, but it had more than enough funny things in it to keep me satisfied. Definitely a "funny forgives a lot" kind of episode. What did everybody else t...

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) That was much better, though, than the Tracy/Kenneth/Jenna storyline, which is exactly the kind of dumb sitcom plot that "30 Rock" usually either makes fun of or does such a warped version of that the material doesn't feel lame anymore. This was just lame.

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 Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) • I loved Jack randomly drawing offensive Scrabble words. • Jonathan's story pitch -- "My first idea is a movie that combines action and romance!" -- sounds more like something Kenneth might say, and it didn't help that Kenneth was standing next to him.

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) Because "30 Rock" always has so much going on, and because the punchlines fly by so fast, I never feel like I completely wasted my time watching an episode. But a few good punchlines (Jack's recollection about why his dad would occasionally come back, Tracy talking about being born in Yanke...

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) Other than Jenna, they used the entire cast (even Pete, who's been MIA for weeks and weeks) and used them well, gave us a Jack story that balanced comedy with some genuine emotion, got some good mileage out of a rare Liz/Kenneth story (Kenneth usually rolls with Tracy or Jack), and employed...

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) Start with Tracy and his wife repeatedly clearing rooms to have sex, which was good enough the first time but hilarious the second, with a horrified Kenneth trying not to abandon his post while also not watching, while pervy Frank gazed on in awe. Or the randomness of Tracy dispensing roman...

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) Jennifer Aniston, on the other hand, almost did. I thought she was very funny and un-Rachel-like, but it felt her presence turned Liz Lemon into a bystander in her own show, in the same way that Tracy Jordan's arrival turned "The Girlie Show" into "TGS with Tracy Jordan." (Would this be "3R wi...

By asepinwall@starledger.com (Alan Sepinwall) I think the Jack/Kenneth plot tailed off after a while, but even it offered highlights late into the episode, like Kenneth slipping out of his page's jacket and into a sweater like the latter-day Mr. Rogers he so obviously is. • Loved Kenneth instructing the guy in the elevator about strangl...

By Alan Sepinwall In today's column, I review the new season of "30 Rock," which comes back tomorrow night. The short version is that, other than some laboring over getting Jack back to GE, both episodes I've seen are really funny, and a great showcase ...

By Alan Sepinwall(noreply@blogger.com) The "30 Rock" premiere, either with Rachel Dratch or Jane Krakowski, is funny in spots, but wildly uneven, and the show took about a half-season to come together. I would also argue that "The Sopranos" didn't become "The Sopranos" until "College," and while the "Lost" pilot is impressive...

By Alan Sepinwall(noreply@blogger.com) So, here it is:TOP 10 COMEDY SERIES FINALISTS Entourage" The Office" 30 Rock" Boston Legal" Grey’s Anatomy" Lost" No "How I Met Your Mother" on the comedy list, while "Entourage" appears to have a lifetime Emmy pass despite being neither good nor anything resembling an actual comedy.

By Alan Sepinwall(noreply@blogger.com) Robert Bianco at USA Today, whom I like and often agree with, wasn't a fan of the finale, or any of the other post-strike episodes (which you know I've had issues with), complaining that the show has been hurt by its increasing push towards farcical anarchy (he compares it at one point to "Fa...

By Alan Sepinwall Aside from the ongoing one-note-ness of Will Arnett as Devin Banks (and it pains me to speak ill of Gob), "Succession" was a fabulous episode, at once a great showcase for Tina Fey as an actress, an inspired riff on "Amadeus," and maybe the funniest Dr. Spaceman appearance ever.

By Alan Sepinwall So maybe, in retrospect, my problem was with the story about Jack trying to use Tracy to recruit new Republicans. Even there, there were many funny things -- The Committee to Reinvade Vietnam, Tracy's love of state's rights, Dot Com's need to always be the smartest guy in the room, Kenneth c...

By Alan Sepinwall While they aren't as detailed as what CBS put out earlier today, NBC just sent out two press releases confirming things everyone was assuming to be true: That "Chuck," "Life" and "Heroes" will be renewed for next year but won't air again this season.That "My Name Is Earl," "The Office," "30...

By Alan Sepinwall ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy “30 Rock” (NBC) STEVE CARELL / Michael Scott “The Office” (NBC) RICKY GERVAIS / Andy Millman “Extras” (NBC) JEREMY PIVEN / Ari Gold “Entourage” (HBO) 30 ROCK (NBC) DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC) ENTOURAGE (HBO) THE OFFICE (NBC) UGLY BETTY (ABC)

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 Alan Sepinwall Series, Musical or Comedy: "30 Rock," NBC; "Californication," Showtime; "Entourage," HBO; "Extras," HBO; "Pushing Daisies," ABC. Actor, Musical or Comedy: Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"; Steve Carell, "The Office"; David Duchovny, "Californication"; Ricky Gervais, "Extras"; Lee Pace...

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...