Queen of Jordan takes over 30 Rock

30 Rock really hit it out of the park this week. Not only was this (by far) the best episode of the season, I think this was one of the best episodes of 30 Rock ever. I suppose it wasn’t even an episode of 30 Rock, though. Nay, my friends, this was a sneak peak at the new reality show Queen of Jordan, following the weave-pulling, wine-throwing antics of Angie Jordan, wife of Tracy. Ever since Angie’s reality show was discussed a few weeks back, I have been eagerly waiting to see if we would get a glimpse of it. I never dreamed that we would see a whole episode!

There was just so much awesome happening this week. There were a ton of little details that worked perfectly in this episode. I loved the subtitles on screen to introduce the characters to the reality show audience. Jenna was a “former child star,” Kenneth was an “elderly page,” and poor Liz was billed as “another person.” In some of the most clever word play since the release of The Rural Juror, Jenna started a website with the URL www.jennas-side.com (and yes, it’s a live webpage). How about the detail that Angie was opening a restaurant with Dennis Rodman and Webster (his name is Emmanuel Lewis)? I would have loved to have seen that episode of Queen of Jordan.

Then there was poor Jack. The gay double entendres he spouted while discussing playing sports at Princeton had me laughing. They were great. Sure, most of them were a little obvious (switch hitter, playing both ways, etc, etc), but Alec Baldwin really sold it (as he always does) and it worked. Also, there was the “chair” farting and the tripping to add to his humiliation, all of which I enjoyed.

This episode also introduced us Lynn Onkman (played by Susan Sarandon), a woman fresh out of jail for bedding one of her young students many years ago. As it turned out, that young student was Frank! It was odd to shove this storyline into such a full episode, especially with a guest the caliber of Sarandon. I can only assume that we will see her again.

I think my favorite part of the episode, however, may have been the wine throwing. The montage was fantastic (ending with someone throwing a glass of wine in the face of a poor German Shepherd), as was Liz’s deft dodging of Jenna’s glass early in the episode. I may have to start carrying around a half empty glass of chardonnay just so I can be ready to throw it when the mood strikes.

Clacked by Bob Degon
on Mar 18, 2011 @ 20:03 EST5EDT