Wherefore art thou, Liz Lemon?
It should come as a surprise to approximately no one that I, above all else, positively worship Tina Fey. That woman is a comedy genius, and 30 Rock brings a light to my life that is only rivaled by puppies and newborn babies.
So why does NBC insist on holding out this show on me every year?
Look, I understand that 30 Rock has pretty low numbers, ratings-wise, but I absolutely fail to understand how starting the season later helps matters. Wouldn’t it stand to reason that people want things to start all around the same time? I can’t help but think that the late starts are actually hurting 30 Rock in the long run — people look at a late-starting show and go “oh, I don’t need another thing to start watching” once their schedule is made. Meanwhile, long-time fans like me often miss the premiere by accident or go crazy waiting.
30 Rock Blew the Hatch when Jack and Kenneth played poker
Remember how 30 Rock and Studio 60 premiered at the same time, and everyone knew that there was only room for one “behind the scenes at a late-night sketch comedy show” series, and most people, it seemed, had their money on the Sorkin one? Before they aired, one of my friends even dismissed 30 Rock “the un-funny sitcom version” of what was sure to be the far-superior Studio 60.
Well that obviously turned out to not be true. But while Studio 60 became universally hated, 30 Rock was busy being universally ignored. No one I knew was watching 30 Rock. I fell instantly in love, but felt as though I were by myself. I tried to get my friends into it, but nobody was biting. Until, that is, Jack and Kenneth played poker.
Daily Rerun Roundup – Labor, The Bubble, and undercover cops
Not only is Burn Notice new tonight, but ABC is airing the last two episodes of Samantha Who?, so you should really be watching that. However, if you just need more, here are some of tonight’s reruns:
- In case you missed it the first time around, the newest Lindsay Lohan opus, Labor Pains, is re-airing at 8:00, on ABC Family. Remember when she was good in The Parent Trap? And Freaky Friday? And Mean Girls? Sigh.
- Also at 8:00, Clark goes undercover as a cop to find out who shot Tom Jones on Smallville, in “Bulletproof.”
- NBC is playing The Office and 30 Rock from 8-10 again, but at 9:30, 30 Rock is airing “The Bubble,” in which Jon Hamm (sadly) finishes his arc playing Liz’s boyfriend.
- At 10:00, CBS is showing an episode of The Mentalist that I may be checking out myself, since I haven’t seen it before. In “The Thin Red Line,” Jane and the CBI crew investigate the murder of a witness in a drug case.
- If that isn’t your cup of tea, and you hate yourself, you can always watch Private Practice, wherein they discuss gender reassignment surgery in babies. Ugh.
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30 Rock – Liz helps Jack save face, Frank helps Jenna lose some face
(Season 3, Episode 9 – “Retreat to Move Forward”)
Another episode devoid of guest stars, and another episode full of laughs. Even Salma Hayek got the week off in this installment, but I thought it was one of the stronger episodes of the season.
It had all the right elements — Jack and Liz being funny and adorable, Tracy and Jenna being crazy, Kenneth being “folksy,” and we even got to spend some time with the overlooked writers’ room, including appearances by Frank and Toofer.
30 Rock – Liz runs from zombies; Jack romances Salma Hayek
(Season 3, Episode 8 – “Flu Shot”)
I may have thought that last week’s episode was slightly disappointing, but I thought “Flu Shot” was a great return to form. The long line of guest stars took another rest; I’m not counting Salma Hayek, as she’s sticking around for a multi-episode arc. Tonight also saw an episode that stayed inside of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, dealing with the comforting confines of TGS for the most part. That was refreshing for a change.
30 Rock – Salma Hayek does the Macarena
(Season 3, Episode 7 – “Senor Macho Solo”)
I feel like it’s been a while, and it was good to have 30 Rock back. The season of stunt casting continued this week with Salma Hayek starting her guest starring stint, as well as an appearance by Peter Dinklage (who I loved in Elf and Nip/Tuck). Add in a Janis Joplin biopic, a medical scare, and Liz being Liz and … it all added up to a subpar episode. Bummer.
Someday I would like to be rich enough to buy a shirt made out of money to go with a shiny new pair of gold shoes. It’s never gonna happen, but a boy can dream….
15 most kickass women on television – Guest Clack
Our Guest-Clacker today is Julia Hass, a twenty-something living in the Boston area. Upon realizing she could not major in “being Tina Fey” in college, she’s been taking some time off trying to figure out what to do with her life, and watching TV. A lot of TV. She discusses her various attempts at employment, politics, pop culture, music, her family, and super-cute boys at her personal blog.
Is anyone else sick of this Twilight phenomenon? Because I am. God, I am. In case you haven’t heard, Twilight is the epic love story of Bella (a human) and Edward (a vampire), full of enough thwarted, passionate romance and heartfelt-yet-ridiculous declarations of adoration to make any tweeny girl sigh.
And while I have never been a fan of the whole cliched vampire/human pairing, this takes my dislike to whole new levels, and I will tell you why — it hurts every notion I have ever held dear about heroines. Bella, as far as a heroine goes, is pretty lame. She’s flat, drab, and completely helpless without her boyfriend, who follows her around everywhere and (creepy spoiler alert!) watches her while she sleeps.
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