30 Rock really hits its stride when it goes for broke and holds nothing back.
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Fresh off the success of her hit film, "Mean Girls", Tina Fey left "Saturday Night Live" before the 2006-2007 season to start up her own sitcom, "30 Rock." Originally pitched as centering around a news show, Fey reworked the concept and based it loosely on her experiences as a head writer and performer on "SNL." The series is a single camera sitcom so the most annoying concept ever created by mankind, the laugh track, is not present. "30 Rock" is named after the GE Building located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza which is the headquarters for NBC. The series is filled with self-referential humor as they mention NBC and its parent company, GE, numerous times.
Fey plays Liz Lemon, the producer and head writer for "The Girlie Show", a sketch comedy series on NBC. The series focuses on Lemon´s struggles at balancing her extremely tasking professional life with her almost nonexistant social life. There´s definitely an influence from past sitcoms like "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "That Girl" (the pilot plays homage to the latter) in the way Liz´s life is presented. Her troubles only begin when she meets her new boss, Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming and no, that doesn´t mean he programs microwaves. Donaghy possesses a curt demeanor and an uncanny ability to read people. He also prides himself on inventing the Trivection Oven, a state-of-the-art microwave that is an actual GE product. From the get-go, Donaghy makes drastic changes to "The Girlie Show", the first of which is hiring erratic, mentally unbalanced Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan). Donaghy retools Liz´s program into "The Tracy Jordan Show" and builds everything around him to draw in the ever-important 18-34 male demographic. This puts a great strain on Liz´s relationship with her writing staff and that of her longtime friend, Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski), the former star of "The Girlie Show." Jenna is the stereotypical sexy starlet who isn´t very bright.
Other cast members include; Liz´s producer and confidant, Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit) who is married, middle-aged, and bald; Frank Rossitano (Judah Friedlander), a slovenly writer who constantly wears a trucker cap; Toofer (Keith Powell), a Harvard educated, African-American writer who clashes with Tracy´s negative portrayal of black people; Cerie (Katrina Bowden), a shallow assistant with a skimpy wardrobe; Josh Girard (Lonny Ross), a "Girlie Show" performer and master of impressions; and Kenneth (Jack McBrayer), the always cheerful NBC page. Kenneth is the only person Jack cannot read and finds himself under deep scrutiny from the boss. In Jack´s words, "In five years, we´ll al be either working for him…or dead by his hands." Fey´s fellow "SNL" cast member, Rachel Dratch, makes several appearances in various roles like an animal trainer, a frightened Hispanic maid, and Barbara Walters. A number of celebrities also make guest-appearances as themselves or other characters. They include John McEnroe, Whoopi Goldberg, Conan O´Brien, Sean Hayes, and Ghostface Killah.
Fey brings an irreverent sense of humor to the proceedings. The show utilizes a variety of comedy styles such as pop culture references, snappy dialogue, physical comedy, and wacky cutaways that are actually cogent to the plot, unlike "Family Guy." Some of the self-referential jokes get a little tired. One gag where the writers refuse to do product placement then slyly compliment Snapple (one of the show´s real sponsors) was funnier when it was first done in "Wayne´s World." Fey is very funny and extremely likeable in the lead role. She proves she can do more than sit behind a desk and read news. Baldwin is the perfect foil for her and his performance has garnered many accolades including an Emmy nomination and wins at the SAG Awards and Golden Globes. Liz´s relationship with Jack goes beyond the intimating boss pushing around his lowly employee. As the season progresses, Jack shows several dimensions to his personality as he proves to be right most of the time and attempts to mentor Liz in her professional and personal lives. That still doesn´t make it any easier to work with him.
"30 Rock" really hits its stride when it goes for broke and holds nothing back. Tracy is a part of many of the show´s funniest moments. When he´s introduced, Tracy is shown in a pair of Martin Lawrence-esque escapades, the first is playing a fat, white woman in a blockbuster film. The second is news footage of him roaming the 405 in his underwear while wielding a lightsaber and screaming, "I´m a Jedi! I´m a Jedi!" The show´s best episode is the absolutely outrageous "Black Tie." Pee-Wee Herman himself, Paul Reubens, guest-stars as an inbred Austrian prince who takes a liking to Jenna and Liz gets into a one-sided fight with Jack´s ex-wife, played by Isabella Rosselini.
The episodes included in this set are:
-Disc 1-
"30 Rock – Pilot" – Liz Lemon is thrown for a loop when a new network executive is put in charge of the show and changes everything.
"The Aftermath" – Liz tries to please both Tracy and her staff at the same time with disastrous results.
"Blind Date" – Jack sets Liz up with on a blind date…with a woman. Turns out, they actually get along swimmingly.
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