LTTP: 30 Rock

Well I am not completely finished with 30 Rock, but I thought that now would be a good time to write about my impressions of the Emmy-winning surprise hit.

But then I started season 3...and things jumped to a whole new level.

Within the first ten episodes of the most recent season 30 Rock has had AAA guest stars like Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey, Megan Mullally, and Steve Martin. On top of that is a recurring role with Salma Hayek as well as Mad Men's Jon Hamm. And along with the extra firepower, 30 Rock has really started to go full swing.

Season 1 was the show's humble beginnings and just like every other show, some issues had to be ironed out. Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan (get it?) was entertaining, but his character was a bit one-note for the first few episodes. Tina Fey as Liz Lemon was really the only confident actor on the show but that's probably because, you know, she created the show. One of the best reasons to watch first season, however, came in the form of the synergy-crazed corporate manager known as Jack Donaghy, as portrayed by Alec Baldwin. Not only did the actor create a justified reason to watch this infantile series, but Baldwin also delivered some of his most inspired comedy in a long time.

Luckily, by the end of the season I was bursting out loud in laughter uncontrollably, mostly due to Jack Donaghy. (The fireworks joke was really, really awesome.)


Then season 2 busted open a whole new can of awesome with the premiere, which I still find to be one of the funniest episodes of television I have ever seen. Getting Jerry Seinfeld on to 30 Rock was an ingenious move by both Seinfeld and NBC; Seinfeld was able to advertise Bee Movie and NBC was able to expand the range of the audience hot off an Emmy victory for the show. One of the best parts of that episode was definitely the therapy session, and you can see what I mean below.

A few more guest stars who gave hilarious cameos includes David Schwimmer as eco-friendly mascot GreenZo (who eventually goes mad with power) and Will Arnett as Jack's arch-nemesis Devon Banks (who just so happens to be gay and obssessed with the innocent page Kenneth). Despite these great actors making appearances, the season never seems to get as sharp and as witty as I hoped and there was one huge reason for that: the 2007 writer's strike.

Season 2 was tragically cut short to a mere 15 episodes and the show managed to squeeze out enough big plot lines to get fans to look forward to the third season, but the show got a little bit too preoccupied with that and the confidence the show went in to second season with was suddenly hindered. Thankfully, season 3 came out swinging and that determination was stronger than ever. Season 3 is shaping up nicely so far and I cannot wait to finish the second half.

I remember I was confused as to why a show like 30 Rock was able to clinch the Best Comedy Emmy with its first season (an extremely rare occurrence with any show) and now I think I finally understand why: 30 Rock is one of the funniest, most clever shows on television right now. It is easily recommended to anyone who would enjoy Alec Baldwin confronting his Hispanic alter ego, Liz Lemon thinking she is pregnant due to delicious Mexican snacks made with Bull semen, Tracy Morgan's Tracy Jordan creating a pornographic video game called Goregasm: The Legend of Dong Slayer, Chris Parnell as Dr. Leo Spaceman (pronounced "spa-che-men"), or...

...Well, I'm sure you get the idea.

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LTTP stands for “Late To The Party” and in this feature I will go back to certain things I missed when they were first released or popular and give my current impressions.
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