I have a mixed relationship with 30 Rock. I tried it when it first aired on NBC back in 2006. I quickly passed. And, that had nothing to do with the fact that I loved Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip; the two have absolutely zero in common. Rather, it just wasn’t funny for me.
Zoom ahead six months, or so, to the spring of 2007. With nothing to do one day, I was surfing around NBC.com. Having already watched every episode of The Office more than a dozen times, I decided to try 30 Rock again. I watched the entire season, and, you know what? Still not laughing.
Then speed on to late summer, when NBC aired the final episodes from season one in anticipation of the new year. My wife and I, having nothing to fill our TiVo with (God, I miss those days now!), decided to try 30 Rock once more. Three times was not the charm.
However, she wanted to give season two a shot. We did, recording week after week of episodes, without being able to make up our minds. By mid-season, we realized that we’d seen so much we’d inadvertently committed ourselves anyway. So, we finally season passed it. It was nice not to have to remember to manually set the show to record anymore.
Anyway, to the point. We continue to watch 30 Rock today, and I’ll let you in on a little secret: still not so funny. Shh!
Look, I applaud the writing. I think it’s very intelligent humor that too often gets bogged down by the stupidity of some of the characters. It’s like Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David when they threw a bad character into the mix on Seinfeld (as rare as that was). Only, on 30 Rock, those bad characters are the majority of the cast. Sometimes it’s just really unpleasant (like, any scene with Jane Krakowski).
But, what I’ve come to realize, is that what’s good on the show is so shiny and bright, it’s worth wading through the other garbage to get to. Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) is the product of a brilliant collaboration between Baldwin and Tina Fey the writer. While the character is over-the-top, the comedy backing it up is so topnotch, you don’t even feel your sense of reality stretching. Baldwin’s been performing on that comedic level since his turn on Friends as Parker (MMMMassapequa!) I also enjoy the satirical play on GE, parent company to NBC. The writing is actually quite clever, because it works on numerous levels, depending on your familiarity with different aspects of 30 Rock‘s universe. While, clearly, microwaves and television don’t mix in real life, 30 Rock‘s spoof of working for a conglomerate that is a barometer of our national economy is laid bare, if you know where to look. I appreciate that Tina Fey and her team of producers and writers have the ability to provide so much in twenty-two minutes.
Tracy Morgan (Tracy Jordan) is iffy for me. Sometimes he can be a brilliant comedian. Other times, his antics are just tedious. So too with the sycophantic Jonathan (Maulik Pancholy). I do like his puppy-dog charm, but I can’t help but compare him to Rex Lee (Entourage‘s Lloyd), and Pancholy falls far from that bar.
But then there’s Kenneth (Jack McBrayer). How I love Kenneth. I think part of the reason I got no enjoyment out of the first season was that Kenneth was a supporting character in the beginning, which kept him and his storylines too far in the background. McBrayer is a pure joy to watch, and I’ve never taken pleasure in a character’s development as much as I have in his. His back-story is so fantastical, yet it’s always consistent with the themes of small-town, Southern, Christianity and naivete. Simply brilliant.
My favorite moments on the show have been Page-related. Kenneth’s relationship with and devotion to Tracy. Kenneth meeting Jerry Seinfeld on the elevator. And Kenneth being confronted with coffee: “I don’t drink hot liquids, for that’s the Devil’s temperature.” He’s just an enjoyable character, and one I’m excited to follow each and every week.
I know a lot of people swear by 30 Rock. Certainly, the critics seem to (9 Emmy wins, and 5 Golden Globes). But, to me, the show’s very uneven. It garners strength from individual performances, but has a lack of good characters to write well for. If the producers can figure out how to populate the show with a better overall cast, 30 Rock may actually live up to it’s current reputation. Liz’s “I want to go there”? What the hell is that?
Rather, give me more of this any day of the week:
Liz: “Why are you wearing a tux?”
Jack: “It’s after 6 o’clock Lemon. What am I, a farmer?”
Oh, no, he isn’t!
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Mar 31, 2009 @ 15:00 EST5EDT
I wasn’t sure about “I want to go there”, but I just assumed it was a reference to an ad or something in the US tv-scape.
“I want to go to there” is something Tina Feys daughter said, I believe. Fey found it to be funny, and so do I.
But as I read your post, I see that we just seem to have a very different taste in general :) I am one of those who love “30 Rock” and Tracy might be my favorite character. Well, next to Cerie ;)
*POST AUTHOR*
In all honesty, I envy you that. The most consistent comedic enjoyment that I get today is from TV on DVD. I wish I could find more funny in 30 Rock; I just can’t. But I do keep watching!
It’s all just a matter of taste. My first reaction to your post was: “How in hell can’t he like ’30 Rock’?! And what is wrong with him, that he saw some of the episodes of season one THREE TIMES?!”. But then I remembered: I have the same relationship with “Friends”. I suffered through seasons one through four. It was like going to work… always watching the clock and waiting for it to be over. And it took me three or four times to get there, I always gave up after some episodes. And then I realized, no matter how much I try and how good people say the show is: It is not for me. I find it to be quite nice at times, but I rarely thought “oh that was brilliant!”. So I gave up, for good ;)
I like “30 Rock” because it is whacky. I usually starve for realism, but with this show I am completely okay with it if the plot doesn’t make any sense at all. And under these circumstances every of Trays Morgans lines is comedic gold. I even carried one of his lines from the very first episode into my own life. To the waiter: “Apple-juice please”. “We don’t have apple-juice”. “Okay I’ll take a vodka tonic!”. Always gets a few laughs :)
Re: TV on DVD… I’ve seen “Arrested Development” like five or six times, it is still funny as hell. As is “The Office”. Some things never get old. Thank god for that!
These random posts confuse me. I too am a 30 rock lover yet I respect your difference of opinion. And thats all it is. You have different writers on this blog and im sure some love this show and some not so much. I’m not trying to be rude or anything I just don’t see the point of posting something that is an individuals opinion on a show. It isn’t a review or newsworthy or anything.
*POST AUTHOR*
I can see why you’d perceive the timing as random. However, I was watching a recent episode last night, and the post just started to write itself. I guess for me it made a lot of sense. Maybe I should have mentioned that.
As for this just being my opinion, I would argue that it’s a series review, and as opinionated as any episode review that Bob posts on a weekly basis. Beyond specific points from an episode or series, everything on the site is just someone’s subjective opinion. And, if the ultimate goal is to start a conversation, someone has to go first. :-)
Yeah, you get credit for not trashing it after watching just one episode. But i think this is a matter of “agree to disagree”. My family is always ROFL during 30 Rock and we often rewind scenes. On the other hand. The office does absolutely nothing for me. I’m not saying its not good. But funny? Not to me.
*POST AUTHOR*
I had a similar back and forth with The Office as with 30 Rock, which we tried to get into numerous times. Whenever it was, two years ago or something, it clicked for us and we’re loving it. The coolest thing was buying the first two seasons on DVD, and getting to watch them for the first time. The British version, however? …