Although I’m only here to discuss last night’s second episode of 30 Rock, considering Jack’s continuing plot — choosing between Avery (Elizabeth Banks) and Nancy (Julianne Moore) — it behooves me to make at least a nominal mention of episode number one: it sucked. Sorry Bob (double apologies to you!). Sorry fans. It sucked.
But it sparkled and shined in comparison to episode number two, so it definitely had that going for it. What surprised me most about the second outing was how stale and untimely the Conan/Leno parody was, as played out by janitors Khonani and the other guy (name?). Maybe that has to do with the fact that the show’s been off the air for a few weeks now, but I’d expect a writer as skilled as Tina Fey (whose talents, I’m sorry, include nothing else) to either be in-the-moment, or to not bother. Doing it anyway smacked of pandering to an audience that expects such commentary from her.
By the way, if he asked my opinion I’d tell Jack to drop both women. Nancy’s accent is almost as unbearable to listen to as Jenna, whereas Avery frightens me. Jacky Boy has failed miserably many times in love, but that doesn’t mean he should continue on a destructive path. Maybe he should check into some love rehab, get himself right, and try again. It’s not like he spends much time working, so why not?
Liz Lemon is definitely part of the group of television characters who are not always so good. I know that almost every single one of you is going to disagree with me, but from her perspective on the world, to her “endearing” quirks, she is predominantly annoying almost all of the time. And kind of gross, if you think about some of the things that she says and does. I think I enjoyed her and not the show when I finally started to watch in season two, but as time has gone on, and she (and Fey) has become more iconic, Liz has become more of a caricature of herself. She’s more socially awkward. More hygienically questionable. More pathetic. More floundering. And the result has been the complete opposite of what I imagine Fey was going for. Either that, or her new status in Hollywood gives her less time to focus on what made her a household name. But Liz is not doing well.
Which bothers me more than the fact that I continue to not enjoy characters like Jenna or Tracy (even if I do laugh at some of his antics … although not last night). Because I’ve been watching the show despite the two TGS actors, so the characters I do enjoy are even more important to me. Jack’s currently stuck in boring love land, Liz is committed to weak plots, and Kenneth was MIA in episode one, and got stuck with Tracy’s stupidity in episode two. I think the pair can be tremendous together, but last night’s plot belly-flopped from up high.
The best part of the entire episode? I record both The Office and 30 Rock, and the last scene in one show usually runs into the 30 minutes of the next. Somehow episode two of 30 Rock made it to 10:00 pm with time to spare, and my recording ran into the next regularly scheduled program. Catching the Marriage Ref preview was easily the most enjoyable part of that half hour.
What does that tell you?
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Apr 23, 2010 @ 11:00 EST5EDT
That I shouldn’t watch “The Marriage Ref” because usually I laugh about stuff you hate and vice versa :-)
*POST AUTHOR*
:) I actually hold The Marriage Ref in zero regard, so that should tell you how little I enjoyed the episode of 30 Rock. ;)
Oh god :-)
Anyway I didn’t feel as if I needed to defend 30 Rock. I like the show and it doesn’t bore me. I’m a Comedy nut so it’s hard to argue :-) All I can say is that for me the show didn’t have anything near those weak episodes HIMYM has had.
*POST AUTHOR*
“All I can say is that for me the show didn’t have anything near those weak episodes HIMYM has had.”
Absolutely agree.
How about asking someone else to review 30 Rock & the Office?
I thought both were on form last night
*POST AUTHOR*
But should reviews only ever be positive? How would we get an authentic representation of the pluses and minuses of anything if only positive reviews of books, movies, shows, etc. — not to mention products that we buy — were available?
I don’t know Aryeh, should they only ever be negative? (-;
*POST AUTHOR*
Touche. ;)
But I see a distinction between shows that I’ve felt the need to push the eject button on (Nurse Jackie, In Plain Sight), and those that I’m disappointed in but still enjoy watching and observing … and hope will improve magically.
And I feel as if The Office, for one, has retained something to hold on to each week. The greater whole has disappointed me tremendously, but there’s always been traces of the successful formula in there somewhere. Like I said, Cookie Monster may have made last night’s the best episode of the season.
Positive, no? :)
Indeed, of course we can’t all have the same tastes, however in both these reviews (& quite a few more recently) I’ve read nitpicking on a colossal level.
*POST AUTHOR*
Okay. I think it depends on how you look at it. I feel as if shows like this (and The Office, for example) have historically done the little things well, which makes them so consistently strong. So pointing out small hiccups isn’t so much nitpicking as it is pointing to areas they once excelled at that I see falling short now, which in turn affects the success or failure of every episode.
Or nitpicking. ;)
I think you’ve hit the simplification of the Liz Lemon character on the head. I feel the same way with many sitcoms (HIMYM, Friends), wherein characters that felt like real people in the first couple of seasons became increasingly cartoonish as the show went on.
Nancy is pretty much the ideal wife for high school Jack, whereas Avery is the perfect power wife to rich, conservative network executive Jack. I can see why he feels torn, but at the same time they’re both better matches for him than any of his other love interests, except his ex-wife.
And I actually laughed at the “love has been right in front of you all along” moment, which doesn’t always happen.
*POST AUTHOR*
That, and the fact that Liz has become a player with her own plots, most of which I’ve found weak, as opposed to before when she played a strong role in Jack’s, or ensemble stories. I don’t think she excels playing the dope looking for love. She does a lot better trying to blunt the blow of a corporate parent on her fellow artists.
The show has seized on her individual success and interpreted it as a license to expand and change, instead of solidifying the manner in which she’s been successful. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that she didn’t win the Emmy in 2009 or the Golden Globe in 2010.