It was Thursday evening, somewhere in America. A couple was watching The Late Show With David Letterman … and, after Dave’s extraordinary confession, a commercial break came on.

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Jill: “Was that for real?”

Jack: “You betcha. You’ve seen him like that before.”

Jill: “No. I haven’t. That’s why I asked if it was for real. He seemed … weird … about it.”

Jack: “You mean … he seemed serious while injecting bits and pieces of jibes and sarcasm here and there?”

Jill: “Yeah! That’s why I asked if it was for real.”

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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.

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When I ask people to describe my personality for various reasons – curiosity, recommendations for a job or school, ego boosts on crappy days, et cetera – generally one of the first things that comes up is usually either “good sense of humor” or “funny”. And I like it that way. I like it better than the other most common adjective (”smart”), and way, way better than the third place adjective (”stubborn”).

For a long time, I’ve very seriously considered writing for or about TV professionally, more specifically – for comedic TV (because I hate the word “sitcom” – it implies a laugh track, and laugh tracks and I have a long-standing grudge match). I have always thought that what would hold me back from such aspirations would be either numbers (there are simply so many people who want to do what I want to do) or location (you’ll pry me away from Boston over my cold, dead body). Read the rest of this entry »

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.

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Welcome to part three of my four-part retrospective of Sesame Street on the occasion of it hitting the big 4-0. If you missed it, be sure to also check out part one and part two.

As I’ve mentioned before, Sesame Street is everywhere on television and in pop culture (Scrubs, The West Wing, Angel… need I go on?) but it’s pretty safe to say that Sesame Street is just as hip and relevant as the shows that allude to it are. After all, what other program that isn’t news can boast to hosting not one, but two different first ladies? Not only did Michelle Obama recently have a very publicized appearance talking about healthy eating and exercise habits, but Barbara Bush also appeared in the ’80s to promote literacy.

And neither of them are alone. Going through old Sesame Street episodes is like trawling a who’s who of famous people. Musicians, actors, and athletes have all showed up on Sesame Street for various reasons, most of them delightfully goofy and entirely undignified. Frankly, it sort of makes me wish I was famous enough to be on Sesame Street. Not that I have a goal or reason for why I want to be famous, it’s just on my bucket list: “Become famous enough to be on Sesame Street,” right under “become famous enough to be a crossword puzzle clue.” (Again, how will I become famous? Who knows/cares? The important part is that I will be on Sesame Street.)

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In their infinite wisdom, the powers that be here at CliqueClack have given me the opportunity (yet again) to air my grievances about 30 Rock. Somebody’s asleep at the wheel!

And not only here; over at 30 Rock, as well. Bob’s recently been writing about the good run the show’s been on; permission to respectfully disagree, sir? Because, my God, has the show sucked lately!

Let me be clear: the writing continues to excel. As do Jack (Alec Baldwin), Kenneth (Jack McBrayer), and … right. But that’s about it. When Liz (Tina Fey) has too much to do (non-Jack related), or Jenna (Jane Krakowski) or Tracy (Tracy Morgan) are featured too heavily, 30 Rock sinks into the abyss. They’re capable of delivering solid lines (Fey continues to score in the writer’s room), but they’re just not pleasant to watch. I laugh sporadically during each episode, only to find myself somehow disappointed with it on the whole when it’s over.

However, as we have plenty of fans of the show here at CliqueClack, I’ll share with you some of my memorable moments from last night: Read the rest of this entry »

I have a mixed relationship with 30 Rock. I tried it when it first aired on NBC back in 2006. I quickly passed. And, that had nothing to do with the fact that I loved Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip; the two have absolutely zero in common. Rather, it just wasn’t funny for me.

Zoom ahead six months, or so, to the spring of 2007. With nothing to do one day, I was surfing around NBC.com. Having already watched every episode of The Office more than a dozen times, I decided to try 30 Rock again. I watched the entire season, and, you know what? Still not laughing.

Then speed on to late summer, when NBC aired the final episodes from season one in anticipation of the new year. My wife and I, having nothing to fill our TiVo with (God, I miss those days now!), decided to try 30 Rock once more. Three times was not the charm.

However, she wanted to give season two a shot. We did, recording week after week of episodes, without being able to make up our minds. By mid-season, we realized that we’d seen so much we’d inadvertently committed ourselves anyway. So, we finally season passed it. It was nice not to have to remember to manually set the show to record anymore.

Anyway, to the point. We continue to watch 30 Rock today, and I’ll let you in on a little secret: still not so funny. Shh! Read the rest of this entry »