tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post8220366787584751984..comments2024-03-28T18:01:28.997-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: 30 Rock, "The Problem Solvers": She's the oneAlan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-39013313037806048612009-11-15T15:55:24.818-05:002009-11-15T15:55:24.818-05:00OK, I know I'm being nitpicky, but did anyone ...OK, I know I'm being nitpicky, but did anyone else notice the *real* continuity problem with Cheyenne Jackson's character? "Danny" was hired on after being a robot that was nice to Jack during auditions, but that clearly wasn't him in the last episode! Cheyenne is noticeably taller than Alec Baldwin, but the robot was actually a little shorter--what gives? Can Cheyenne not do a good robot?<br /><br />That said, I did like the episode a lot and laughed a good deal. Season 4 overall is shaping up pretty well... though, I do secretly miss Josh, Lonny Ross's character--is he ever coming back?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-86733831621081375042009-11-14T12:30:50.605-05:002009-11-14T12:30:50.605-05:00It just seems to me that the shows have become gag...It just seems to me that the shows have become gag after gag without much of a story or even a grounding in reality. It's OK when the gags are funny, but it's not what I really like about the show. 30 Rock seems like it's becoming more and more surreal. A little of that is good, but now it's becoming overwhelming.Chuchundrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09816400814788703687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-46607340366733175182009-11-14T10:51:36.893-05:002009-11-14T10:51:36.893-05:00<<"Alright hosers! I want all twelve of...<<"Alright hosers! I want all twelve of us fighting for every meter on all three d-o-o-wns. We're going to make this a Boxing Day the Prime Minister will never forget!">><br /><br />The CFL doesn't play on Boxing Day. They're done in November. <br /><br />It's as if a Canadian version of "30 Rock" said "we're going to make this a 4th of July the president will never forget," and then congratulated itself for the "American jokes."<br /><br />They should have said "Grey Cup," not Boxing Day.<br /><br />(They don't play football in meters either; they use yards.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-76288397974117174172009-11-14T02:59:44.104-05:002009-11-14T02:59:44.104-05:00i thought the part in the very beginning where ken...i thought the part in the very beginning where kenneth was speaking backwards was one of the funnier things ive seen in a while..i know it was kind of silly, but it really just got me..anyone else think this was good, or did it just roll by??Ms. Connectionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15953442958353864662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-9852743973785107912009-11-14T02:14:07.687-05:002009-11-14T02:14:07.687-05:00So I have succeeded in recruiting help, but the ly...So I have succeeded in recruiting help, but the lyrics are really not as crazysauce and out there as I'd hoped. I suppose there's a limit to the layers on this show after all. And I think I just killed the joke for myself. If you want to know, just ask, but like I said, it really isn't worthwhile.Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09508169301781696390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-41027860258859005722009-11-14T02:01:46.901-05:002009-11-14T02:01:46.901-05:00@Jim: I went back, but I do think it is Japanese. ...@Jim: I went back, but I do think it is Japanese. I recognized him singing "dokomademo" which, according to Google Translate, means "stubbornly." Damn. If only I could figure out what he's really singing! I need to ask a Japanese friend of mine.Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09508169301781696390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-26778253984242875302009-11-14T01:47:05.170-05:002009-11-14T01:47:05.170-05:00"A client of mine buried a bone in his yard....."A client of mine buried a bone in his yard..."<br /><br />Probably my favorite line of the night.Rob S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07331286524477806963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-26177974144355792422009-11-14T00:49:56.035-05:002009-11-14T00:49:56.035-05:00Stewart, I was just about to post the same thing. ...Stewart, I was just about to post the same thing. I don't think they were even singing in the same language. (Words on the screen were in Japanese, but the singing was something else.) I have to love a show that would put in a joke that only a tiny percentage of viewer would have a chance of getting.Jimnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-8894882475333348302009-11-13T22:42:36.359-05:002009-11-13T22:42:36.359-05:00The Padma Lakshmi bit reminded me of the Jon Hamm ...The Padma Lakshmi bit reminded me of the Jon Hamm episode where he's so attractive that everything is different for him. For her, it seems kinda meta, cause it seems true. Still funny.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-24248372566988506992009-11-13T21:40:21.102-05:002009-11-13T21:40:21.102-05:00Another subtlety: In the Japanese karaoke gig Jenn...Another subtlety: In the Japanese karaoke gig Jenna took part in, the words on screen don't match up AT ALL with what the guy is singing. It took me a while to notice, but I was surprised. It only makes me love it even more.Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09508169301781696390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-9034985328977659752009-11-13T21:01:59.286-05:002009-11-13T21:01:59.286-05:00Hmm, I'm still not sure about 30 Rock this sea...Hmm, I'm still not sure about 30 Rock this season. The only thing that really worked for me this week was The Problem Solvers T-shirts running joke. Perhaps my lack of interest in ESPN and Top Chef prevented me from enjoying the episode as much as others, but something seems off with 30 Rock this year. I will keep watching though.Emily N.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16021233527140771193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-76118801901764209842009-11-13T18:18:41.266-05:002009-11-13T18:18:41.266-05:00Very good episode, and it looks like 30 Rock is ta...Very good episode, and it looks like 30 Rock is taking flight after a very uneven start of the season.<br />Quick hits:<br />*It wasn't quite on the level of "Jimmy James: Macho Business Donkey Wrestler" but hell, I'd buy a book from a Lesbian Yellow Sour Fruit!<br />*The crawls for that horrible faux-SR show were hysterical. If my DVR pause was correct, baseball's 2010 schedule is going to ignore the Kansas City Royals, and citizens of Jacksonville no longer realize they have an NFL franchise in town.<br />*It's always great when Jack MacBrayer brings some edge to Kenneth, and having him to do in service of restoring office equillibrium/his "underhuman" status was inspired.<br />*Whomever came up with that perfectly building joke involving the The Problem/Solvers T-shirts deserves lunch for a year.<br />*During the otherwise LOL Canadian football flashback, I only wish he'd invoked either Doug Flutie or Raghib Ismail.DolphinFannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-83582918018725257832009-11-13T17:15:30.122-05:002009-11-13T17:15:30.122-05:00"knock knock!"
"Hahahahahahahahahah..."knock knock!"<br />"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahah!"Orihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06467842739859533468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-89771804789614055072009-11-13T16:30:31.562-05:002009-11-13T16:30:31.562-05:00Can't believe no one's mentioned Liz's...Can't believe no one's mentioned Liz's incompetent boychild agent. He was hilarious, the highlight of the episode for me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-69348537428745324512009-11-13T15:18:09.397-05:002009-11-13T15:18:09.397-05:00@jcpbmg, I thought it was a spot-on parody of Arou...@jcpbmg, I thought it was a spot-on parody of Around the Horn, but my husband, who doesn't watch as much ESPN (I know, we're weird) thought it was obviously Pardon the Interruption. Which is a show he hates, because "all it is is a couple of guys yelling at each other." <br /><br />Tracy would have definitely gotten the mute button on ATH, so you could be right that it was just generally making fun of ESPN.Angelanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-26708692677276027002009-11-13T14:41:45.682-05:002009-11-13T14:41:45.682-05:00This episode was funny, but the conclusions to eac...This episode was funny, but the conclusions to each plotline were really surreal. <br /><br />Is Kenneth some sort of supernatural creature? Was it all a dream? My head hurts. <br /><br />Oddly as it sounds, fourth-wall breaking doesn't work for this show.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13557309916831859531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-79872282528383774142009-11-13T14:27:17.527-05:002009-11-13T14:27:17.527-05:00I enjoyed this! I'm not sure why the previous...I enjoyed this! I'm not sure why the previous poster was so disappointed, but I laughed through the whole (too short) 30 minutes. Not sure if the Wade Boggs Carpet World refers to Wade's hair restoration or his activities with Margo Adams (shaving her...um...merkin)...?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-39830131692145017352009-11-13T13:52:41.230-05:002009-11-13T13:52:41.230-05:00This episode was so shockingly poor that my wife u...This episode was so shockingly poor that my wife uttered the following line when it was over, "You don't need to keep recording this. It's just not funny any more." Sadly, she's right.<br /><br />Not only has this season been about as laugh-free as "Hank", it's made "Parks and Recreation" seem like "Seinfeld" in comparison. Has Fey lost her fastball? Too much time on her Palin impressions maybe? <br /><br />I'm stunned by how quickly this has plummeted from "Must See TV" to "We'll Get to it When We Have Time TV" in my house. Been with it since the start. I hope it gets back to brilliant soon or I might just have to take my wife's advice (shudder).bsangshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11292004104772610373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-82652663967838528722009-11-13T13:42:12.677-05:002009-11-13T13:42:12.677-05:00Was anyone else surprised to not have a final joke...<i>Was anyone else surprised to not have a final joke at the end? I'm so conditioned for it that it was very surprising to just end on the rotating. But it was a nice moment after an extra-surreal/zany episode.</i><br /><br />"The final joke" was that Tracy and Jenna thought they were rehearsing in front of a camera that wasn't taping. Thus when Tracy went to push the button to turn the camera on to tape the real ad, he actually turned the camera off (and ended the episode). The Problem Solvers strike again!dybhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04994051221188320527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-24249621611327845982009-11-13T13:13:02.613-05:002009-11-13T13:13:02.613-05:00What was the crawl about Ted Williams?What was the crawl about Ted Williams?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-25475408711963631872009-11-13T12:48:06.280-05:002009-11-13T12:48:06.280-05:00From the "crawl" under Sports Shouters:
...From the "crawl" under Sports Shouters:<br /><br /><i>MLB to add real bulls to bullpen.</i>LDPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-45741887637308355162009-11-13T10:59:51.929-05:002009-11-13T10:59:51.929-05:00Was that a Baldwin in the restaraunt?Was that a Baldwin in the restaraunt?Gridlockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13959099751063828174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-83827921194679560722009-11-13T10:28:28.515-05:002009-11-13T10:28:28.515-05:00Lesbian Yellow-Sour-Fruit- best line of the nightLesbian Yellow-Sour-Fruit- best line of the nightKathleen Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08096607261757810034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-76912925012905431202009-11-13T10:12:33.688-05:002009-11-13T10:12:33.688-05:00"I don't know, all white people look the ..."I don't know, all white people look the same to me, Pete."<br /><br />God, how I love this show. <br /><br />And Liz's "Japanese" name? "Lesbian Yellow-Sour-Fruit" Nice.<br /><br />And Kenneth, who sometimes manages to bug, wound up having some of the greatest lines of the night. <br />Tracy: "You don't want to be a page forever."<br />Kenneth: "Who said I'd been alive forever?"<br /><br /><br />And add me into the mix of people who was slightly annoyed that NBC ruined the waffle joke by showing it in a preview. I already mute the commercials, and usually I mute the promos too, but when it's a visual gag, there's not much you can do to avoid that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-60618239319527611602009-11-13T09:54:47.893-05:002009-11-13T09:54:47.893-05:00I'm convinced that the reason this show works ...I'm convinced that the reason this show works so well is because the throw-away gags and side bits are always coming at you fast and furious and enough of them are funny to keep you coming back. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter if the overall arc of any particular episode works or not because that's all secondary to the characters and the jokes. <br /><br />Loved the Sports Shouters stuff. Especially got a kick out of the bit when they were waiting for the "new guy" and Lutz walks off the elevator:<br /><br />Cerie: "Oh no-- Is that the new guy?"<br />Lutz: "What? No! It's me Lutz... Worked here for three years... Gave you that car I won?" <br /><br />The whole scene lasted less than 15 seconds (yup I timed it) but the expressions and body language were perfect. Before you can catch your breath from laughing it's into another hilarious bit where the new guy walks off the elevator and Jack changes his name to Danny--also 15 seconds. Then there's a not-so-funny throw-away joke of the janitor saying "He looks like all the guys from my magazines" but it goes by so fast you don't hardly hear the thud of that one because about 15 seconds later you're howling over the Canadian football scene, which is an instant classic as far as I'm concerned:<br /><br />"Alright hosers! I want all twelve of us fighting for every meter on all three d-o-o-wns. We're going to make this a Boxing Day the Prime Minister will never forget!"<br /><br />All told, that whole string took less than 90 seconds. There were five or six punchlines, three of which were laugh-out-loud funny and went a long way towards developing characters.<br /><br />If that ain't comedy genius I don't know what is!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com