I have to be honest. For the most part, I have thought this season of 30 Rock has been top notch. I think it has surpassed a lot of season three in terms of quality. Guest stars have been used more sparingly (or given a more important and longer role) and have fit in with the show well. Also, the secondary cast has really shone this season. With all that being said, I wasn’t crazy about tonight’s episode.
I’m not quite sure what it was, but a couple of the plots just didn’t click for me. Jack and the peacock was just … strange. It certainly wasn’t a good story for Jack’s character. Usually, he’s funny regardless of what he does, I just wasn’t feeling it in this episode. Jack is at his best as a suave, confident lady’s man, not a nervous peacock tender.
I’m a big fan of Tracy’s craziness, especially when Grizz and Dot Com are involved, but tonight’s plot involving the battle to be Grizz’s best man was a little dull. The only really funny part was that Grizz’s fiance was named Feyonce. I have a feeling that this was mostly set up for a later episode when we will get to see Liz try to successfully be in three weddings on the same day (Cerie’s, Floyd’s, and now Grizz’s). That is sure to be an epic outing.
The one story that I thought really worked was the plot involving Jenna and her new boyfriend. Truly, I think Paul is the perfect man for her. Can you think of a better match for Jenna than a man who spends a considerable amount of time pretending to be her? No other man could feed her ego like Paul does. Just watching the two of them make out while Paul was in his Jenna drag outfit provided enough laughs for a whole episode.
My favorite quotes of the night:
“Are you soaking your tampons in vodka again?” – Liz to Jenna
“I’m guessing: already married cat-strangler.” – Pete, on Jenna’s sketchy new boyfriend.
“I think there is a lot about this world that we don’t understand, like the afterlife or how bread turns into toast.” – Kenneth
What did you think of this week’s episode?
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Apr 29, 2010 @ 22:30 EST5EDT
On-par, but of course that’s relative to what par is….
It was a relatively ‘okay’ episode humor-wise, but it was more disturbing and incorrect that that they had Paul use offensive terms like ‘shim’ which is the equivalent to n*gger and f*g for the trans community, and Liz’s disgust: “Why are you groping HIS breasts?”
These lines were clearly wrong and perpetuates negative understanding, but in the attempt to be funny, there’s a lot of weird grey areas that the writers probably did not consider to its diadvantage, with its different nuances.
As best this episode tried to handle it, this script still shows the lack of understanding and sensitivity regarding transgender people and how they function in society, and that we as a society entrenched in media, have a long way to go. The confusion may be that Paul has identified as transgender, but did not go through the sex-reassignment process yet, but the latter is required after a series of checks to see if you truly identify with the opposite gender (usually felt this way from a very early age). Still, 30 rock tried…