Friday, March 02, 2007

30 Rock: Is Wayne Brady gonna have to get shot by a b*tch?

Been getting a lot of complaints or queries in the comments and via e-mail about why I haven't written about certain shows lately. Sometimes, it's because I haven't seen them yet ("Friday Night Lights"), sometimes it's because I was too swamped at work the day after they aired ("How I Met Your Mother"), and sometimes it's because, by the time I get around to watching the show, I'm either not moved enough to comment ("24") or just feel like the discussion's come and gone (NBC's non-"Office" sitcoms last week).

So, in the interest of not falling too far behind on certain series, an open "30 Rock" thread to discuss what you've liked and what you haven't about the last few episodes, which I've thought were pretty darned hilarious. Adding to my ever-growing list of Things That Are Never Not Funny: running gags involving disgusting food or drink, so I was down with the Donaghy Estates subplot. Also loved them coming up with increasingly weird ways for Wayne Brady to be wrong for Liz (he collects tote bags?), Tracy's Oprah impression (Tina loves to spoof Oprah) and Kenneth getting chesty with Ridiculous.

What did everybody else think?

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

I loved L.L.'s look of "oh shit" when he said "Wait till Tupac hears about this." Funnier because you know that L.L. must have known Tupac in real life.

Anonymous said...

The show started off kind of mediocre, but has turned into one of my favorites. Alec Baldwin was always great, but Tina and Jane Krakowski have now come up to his level. I still laugh everytime I think about Jenna dancing for Paul Reubens or her interview about the troops. And Tina Fey's delivery of "you do not cross a Sugarbaker woman" was absolutely priceless.

Alan Sepinwall said...

Yeah, I liked the throwaway implication that Tupac is secretly alive somewhere and Ridiculous hangs with him.

Kristen said...

All the rapper's names were hilarious, including "Ridikulos." (God bless closed-captioning.)

We laughed uproariously all the way through, especially as the Wayne Brady incompatibility reasons were escalating (takes photos of interesting doors, heh, that hits close to home).

Anonymous said...

I always giggle when I think back to Jenna's dance medley for Reubens. That was to die for.

I saw the pilot episode and decided not to keep watching b/c we had too much TV on our plates as it is. I heard it got better and better so I tried again. Boy am I glad I did. This show always makes me laugh now. When Lemon accidentally shot Black in the a** I scream laughed out loud.

Kenneth's voice constantly makes me giggle. Plus, his prissy manner. I liked when Jack told Ridikulos, "He's unstable."

Tracy's Oprah impression was great. I've always liked Oprah, but am starting to feel fed up with her now. She just seems to be everywhere. Just fully market saturated you know?

Hope this isn't considered rude commenting, but a shout out to the "medley of memories" that was Scrubs last night. :)

Anonymous said...

One of the funniest lines of this TV season, on any show: "I'll get my rhyming dictionary."

Anonymous said...

Jack's sheep rapist line had to be the best line of the night. I also loved the French loving Dane Cook.

Even with the constant jokes and gags, I still find consistent humor in Liz's facial expressions.

Anonymous said...

It's driving me crazy, but I cannot for the life of me remember my favorite line from last night. I'm pretty sure it was something Kenneth said, either to Tracy or to Ridikulos, and it wasn't "He taught me to live every week like it's Shark Week," though I did love that line, too, because, well, Shark Week is pretty awesome.

Alan Sepinwall said...

Bebe, that was a callback to an earlier episode where Tracy delivered the "Live every week like it's Shark Week" wisdom.

I also loved the sheep-rapist line.

bill said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

The shark week line was my 2nd favorite. My husband and I both loved the description from Robert Parker's Wine Newsletter "Donaghy Estates tastes like the urine of Satan after a hefty portion of asparagus." Plus, it contains "no lead and is not fatal if swallowed." Gotta love it! :)

Condoleeza yelling at the movie screen = hilarious!

Toby O'B said...

My favorite bit was Jack's litany of the rapper names as well, but best of all when he mentioned MC Scat Cat (Paula Abdul's cartoon dance partner).

At least Tracy Jordan still has a few cards in his deck - he picked up on that one being a ringer.

Anonymous said...

"Live every week like it's shark week! Nothing's impossible, except for dinosaurs!"

The Tupac joke was my favorite bit of the night, but I was laughing through the entire episode. Damn, who knew this show could get this good?

Alan Sepinwall said...

How old am I that I couldn't tell which rappers on the list were real and which weren't?

And I had forgotten about Condoleeza yelling at the movie screen. To quote a 25-year-old Eddie Murphy routine (because, again, I'm a geezer), "What the f**k you gonna do now? You dropped the gun when you busted the window!"

Anonymous said...

I also liked Ridikulus calling Kenneth, "Mr. Furley."

SJ said...

Wow this definitely has to be the funniest show on television now. I LOVE The Office, but I think 30 Rock is providing more laughs per minute.

Donaghy referring to Murphies as "Sheep rapists", "Get my nose back", Liz's white guilt (and Tina Fey is so adorable in a way), "A-main-da", Tracy as Oprah, "He's a black", the rapper names, "What's your game?" "Boggle(sp?)", the after-after-after-after-party ("Right after I take my kids to soccer")

Anonymous said...

The "urine of Satan" line was my favorite, too. Particularly because I had eaten asparagus for dinner last night, so I knew exactly what he was talking about.

Walter said...

Kenneth getting upset when Ridiculous wasn't wearing a visitor's pass was my favorite moment of the show.

Kristen said...

I almost forgot my favorite rapper name: RiDonkeyKong!

Genius.

Anonymous said...

The "take pictures of interesting doors" is a Simpsons reference.

Unknown said...

For the record, I never complain, I only suggest.

I found this ep really odd because none of the plots worked for me... but I still enjoyed almost every minute. There were just so many great throwaway lines (I think my favorite was Tracy's "I don't want my kids to have to go to college") that tired stuff like Lemon's inability to stand up for herself in relationships became bearable.

I wanted more spitting. MORE SPITTING. And it was surprising and hilarious when she busted a cap in Brady's *ss.

But last week's episode (streaming here, for anyone who missed it) - THAT one made me giddy. Chock full of great, random ideas. If the whole thing had been as good as its first four minutes, it would have been a flat-out masterpiece. As it is, it was still about 49 different kinds of awesome. "Hard Ball" for president!

Unknown said...

Also: "Jay, go get my nose back."

Anonymous said...

At first I thought the rapper was Ricdiculous - which would have been a shout out to SNL when Ludacris hosted. (Keenan played his childhood pal with said name and was complaining that 'Cris stole the idea from him.) Was kinda bummed when I realized it was just Ridiklous not Ricdiculous but the show was hilarious nonetheless!

But last week's show blew me away! God bless Tracy Jordan and his adding Kenneth to his entourage! Good grief I laughed so hard! And the Jack and Liz negotiating with Liz making Josh do the worm and his agent be a crab. Pretty much perfect if you ask me.

Suck it! That's right I DO read the newspaper!

The crab is getting aroused. Shut it down. Shut it down.

Grizz is in charge of sitting on me when I get over-stimulated.

Television on! Pornography!

The pinwheels aren't spinning...

Anonymous said...

a-men, Toby. MC Skat Cat was the funniest damned thing I've heard in months. I actually thought this week's 30 Rock episode was the purely funniest 30 minutes of TV this season.

Now, I couldn't believe I remember that - the fact that someone else did...

Anonymous said...

I laughed so hard at Tracy's "I don't want my kids to have to go to college" I about died.

Also, little Tracy on Nickelodeon, singing the "brush your teeth" song. And afterwards: "I'm sorry, I'm really drunk."

Lisa

Anonymous said...

BOGGLE. Thank you, SJ. That was the line I was thinking of. Ha ha, Boggle.

Anonymous said...

I think every line I loved has already been quoted above, so I'll just say how great it is that the rest of the show has generally reached the level of awesome-ness that Baldwin has shown from Day One.

And Alan, I hope that you did not take my FNL query as a complaint, but that you can take it in the spirit it was intended -- I just really like to hear what you have to say about the shows I love! I hereby promise to sit back and enjoy whatever you write, whenever you choose to write it.

Anonymous said...

"Haters to the left!" - best kenneth ever.

SJ said...

Let me just say that I rarely watch episodes twice of any show (unless it's months after), but I just had to watch this episode again. Just so many great moments.

"MC Skat Kat", "RiDonkeyKong". Another hilarious moment was when young Tracy was drunk, as Lisa pointed out.

Donaghy (referring to Kenneth): "He's unstable."

Anonymous said...

I read you all the time, but never comment, until now...

Another poster already said it, but my favorite line (from last week's show) was:

"It's Grizz's job to sit on me when I get overstimulated."

Then later in the show Kenneth beats him at a video game and we see Grizz do his job... I was rolling.

I also found this week's episode priceless... the feud between Kenneth and Ridikulos, Doneghy Estates ("My mother always said Doneghy was Gaelic for loser."), and Liz trying to date the weirdest guy in New York, who just happens to be black, while also being a Black. Hilarious.

I love this show.

Anonymous said...

Hey everyone... is there a fake website out there for Doneghy Estae as mentioned on the show? I thought NBC legal had a rule about that, to prevent cybersquatters...

J said...

ALEX! WRONG THREAD! BAD, BAD ALEX.

Sigh. Can't win.

Alan Sepinwall said...

Sorry, J. Just came to it. God just wants you to be spoiled on this, I guess.

Unknown said...

Oh, well. As long as no one tells me who won the Superbowl I guess I'll be fine.

Alan Sepinwall said...

It was the sled.

Anonymous said...

Kenneth is SO NOT FUNNY.