Today's column deals with NBC's Thursday shake-up at greater length, plus Liev Schreiber doing fill-in work for William Petersen on "CSI."As for "30 Rock" itself, Alec Baldwin continues to carry the show on his broad, hairy back. Liz choking alone (twice) was lifted from a Miranda subplot on "Sex and the City," but I thought it was funny that they cast a hot blonde "Law & Order" alum as Liz's lesbian date, only they didn't get the right one. Ah, it's okay -- Alexandra Cabot always gave out a butchier vibe than Serena.
What did everybody else think?
What I found interesting was that for the first time, Fey was authentically funny and that Fey didn't write the script. The stuff with the page was pretty damn funny, too.
ReplyDeleteAlso, can we have a 30 Rock/Studio 60 crossover made up entirely of Baldwin and Weber shouting at each other?
Very enjoyable show. It's not trying to be the smartest kid in the room (see Scrubs, HIMYM), just funny. Though the less Tracy Morgan there is, the funnier it is. I want to see the show that has both Steven Weber and Alec Baldwin running a network.
ReplyDeleteFor better or worse, depending on your perspective, I think this has much in common with a show most people seem to revile: "Two and a Half Men." It is funny, better written than you think, and Charlie Sheen is brilliant on it. Both shows have a similar rhythm and the Alec/Tina roles aren't that different from the Charlie/Duckie roles.
I will now submit to your stone throwing.
I thought this was the best episode so far (which isn't saying all that much) and noticed that it was also the first episode without Jane Krakowski. Coincidence? I'm not sure. I've always liked Jane, but for some reason she just feels "off" on this show. Frankly, whenever I saw her on screen I kept thinking that Rachel Dratch probably would have been funnier in the role. However, if last night's episode is any indication then maybe they weren't lying when they said the show was going to be moving away from "Girlie Show"-centric storylines, in which case Dratch really would have been wasted.
ReplyDeleteHilarious, best ep yet. Classic lines:
ReplyDelete"face cards are wild, threes are jinxed, and fives are twos.."
"bi-curious shoes"
"in five years we'll all either be working for him or dead by his hand."
I've been enjoying 30 Rock from the beginning. It makes me laugh more than an Everybody Hates Chris does nowadays, so I think the upcoming Thursday night comedies make for a solid block, except that I used to watch 30 Rock on Thursday nights while waiting for My Name is Earl/Ugly Betty to start.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy to have a dual-tuner TiFaux. Thursdays will now be Ugly Betty/Earl/Office at 8 and Supernatural/Scrubs/30 Rock at 9.
Side thought, this move to a competitive slot might be good for Scrubs. I can't think of a time when it had as comprable a lead-in as The Office (it's usually followed standard set-up/punchline comedies or hourlong series, IIRC, while The Office is a spiritual cousin) so it's less likely to hit by Scrubs fans not being able to find the show, which is what I see happening with a lot of Scrubs fans.
No stones from me, bill. I love "Two and a Half Men" and I'm not afraid to admit it!
ReplyDeleteWhat is up with "Everybody Hates Chris" this year? Yes, it's still funny, but it's not splitting my sides like last season. Did the CW tell them to dumb it down or something?
I love Two and a Half Men as well!! Although I would rank Sheen's work as fine-but-nothing-to-write-home-about, with Cryer's work pretty damn good. I also like that it's taken up Will & Grace's mantle of making very, very raunchy jokes that get a pass from the censors due to the wordplay involved.
ReplyDeleteAs for 30R, I've only seen one full ep (the premiere) and the first 10 minutes of this one. I will say, though, that as much as I like Tina Fey, the physical comedy (the choking stuff) was played very badly. She looked like an acting student getting up in front of the class for the first time.
With all the NBC/GE product references, I was very surprised that neither of the two restaurants mentioned in the show were part of the Bobby Flay (Mr Stephanie March) empire.
ReplyDelete"...a low-rated $3 million-a-week therapy session for Sorkin."
ReplyDeleteHee!
I enjoyed the SL column very much, as I continue to be amused by the mess at NBC. I'm relatively young, so I'm not used to watching networks go from "Must See" to "nearly in need of life support." "Twenty Good Years?" Honestly, who did they think was going to watch that?
This last episode seems to have come a long way from the first and I think it was mainly due to the hilarious lesbian plot and Alec Baldwin being brilliantly arrogant. I started to watch because of Tina but I'll continue to watch because of Alec. Now if only he can work in some reference to his Gay Boy Scout Leader bit...
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but the way Baldwin said "Kenneth Ellen" had me on the floor. He's fantastic. My favorite from last week was
ReplyDelete"Ziggy. From the cartoon 'Ziggy.'"