Emmy Award winner Tina Fey writes, executive produces, and stars as Liz Lemon, the head writer of a live variety program in New York City. Liz’s life is turned upside down when brash new network executive Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin in his Golden Globe winning role) interferes with her show, bringing the wildly unpredictable Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) into the cast. Now it’s up to Liz to manage the mayhem and still try and have a life. Join in the behind-the-scenes hilarity with the complete first season (21 episodes) on DVD.Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. Remember Arrested Development? Smartest, funniest show on television. A critics’ darling. An Emmy-winner for Best Comedy Series. But no one watched, and it was cancelled. Will history repeat itself with 30 Rock? It’s the smartest, funniest show on television. A critics’ darling. An Emmy-winner for Best Comedy Series. And it finished its inaugural season in 137th place! Hopefully, people will discover all that they missed with this Season 1 set and 30 Rock will, better late than never, find the audience it so richly deserves. A behind-the-scenes workplace comedy in the grand tradition of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show, 30 Rock stars comedy geek goddess Tina Fey as Liz Lemmon, who juggles her hapless personal life with her chaotic career as the producer and head writer of an SNL-ish sketch comedy show. She has a new boss, cunning and ruthless GE executive Jack Donaghy (Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award-winner Alec Baldwin), who insists on being her mentor, and a new star, medicated, loose-cannon comedian Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), who steals the spotlight from the show’s flighty star, Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski).
Briskly paced and perfectly cast, 30 Rock rewards viewers with brilliant dialogue (when Liz asks Jack why he is dressed in a tuxedo with no formal event to attend, he coolly responds, “It’s after six; what am I, a farmer?”) and fresh characters you haven’t seen on a hundred other sitcoms. Jack McBrayer is the series’ scene-stealing breakout star as NBC page Kenneth, a sweet and innocent “rube.” The ensemble’s seemingly spontaneous byplay invites repeat viewings to catch jokes and sly bits of business you might have missed (in “Tracy Does Conan,” listen for the initial confusion over how to pronounce Tracy’s less-than-ethical physician, Dr. Spaceman, or, in “The Hair and the Head,” watch for the Katie Couric slur on the wall of what is purported to be NBC anchor Brian Williams’ trashed office). In a season full of gems (including “Black Tie,” featuring Paul Reubens as severely inbred royalty), there are only a couple of comparative clunkers, but the pleasure of this ensemble’s company more than compensates. 30 Rock is highly recommended for people like Kenneth who just love television so much. And by the hammer of Thor, watch season 2! –Donald Liebenson
Buy “30 Rock – Season 1″ For Only $15.95
March 31, 2008
#1
The people who say this show is funny are many of the same people who tried to get you to watch “Arrested Development.” Only, AD was, at least at times, kinda/sorta funny. “30 Rock” is still in search of its first real laugh. There is a small subset of people in our world that equate snarky with funny. And they want to beat you over the head with this; they want to feel cool and hip, and stupid crap like this, apparently, makes them feel superior to you and me. The good news, judging from the feeble ratings that 30R continues to generate, is that this subset of society is very small, and has virtually no power or say in anything that matters to most of us. I am sick of all the comparisons to “Studio 60,” since that show is mostly a drama, with a few comedic overtones. S60 is also far superior TV, and it was canceled despite having millions more viewers than 30R will ever dream of getting. But S60 was expensive, and 30R is cheap. And NBC loves cheap! Heck, even though NBC had a modest hit with “Heroes,” they cut the budget on it $500k per episode, and if you watch it this year you can really see a dramatic drop in quality. But NBC is cheap. I mentioned that before, right?
March 31, 2008
#2
So why are the Writer’s Guild on strike? I can only assume it is because witty funny intelligent shows like Studio 60 get cancelled and they are forced to write for stupidity like 30 Rock……
March 31, 2008
#3
I got to watch this show after it came out on DVD, and I honestly tried to give it a chance, especially after hearing all the rave reviews about “30 Rock”‘s being a “smart comedy,” yada, yada, yada (to paraphrase the apex of genuinely smart comedy, “Seinfeld”). The series dramatizes the production of a network sketch comedy series, and features Tina Fey, who was a writer and star of “Saturday Night Live” during some of its least funny years. Fey’s whole snarky routine in this show is really tiresome, and I don’t think she has the personality to sustain an entire sitcom. In fact, if you want to cure overpopulation problems in the world, you can start by putting her picture on billboards and other signage to help dampen all libidinal interest. Perhas Fey can find greater success among the other unfunny comedians who have turned to political commentary, such as Jon Stewart, Al Franken, Bill Maher, and Janeane Garofalo.
March 31, 2008
#4
This show has some funny elements, but it is definitely not the “intelligent comedy” that it has been lauded. Good grief. I think standards for intelligence are so low in Hollywood they can’t tell what’s smart from goofy anymore.
March 31, 2008
#5
Hey, thought you were supposed to move after the 2000 elections? Typical Liberal, a liar……