HTF DVD REVIEW: 30 Rock: Season 2 - Recommended

Kevin EK · 10-09-2008, 05:23 AM

30 ROCK
SEASON 2

Studio: Universal
Original Broadcast: 2007-2008
Length: 5 hours 20 mins
Genre: Backstage Comedy

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Color/B&W: Color

Audio:

English Dolby Digital 5.1

English Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Rating: Unrated (TV-safe innuendos and language)

Release Date: October 7, 2008

Rating:
3

Starring: Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer

Created and Executive Produced by: Tina Fey
Executive Produced by: Lorne Michaels

30 Rock: Season 2 is a 2-disc collection of all 15 episodes of the show’s most recent season. The show itself is a comedy about the backstage antics happening on a sketch comedy series, with executive producer/star Tina Fey clearly drawing on her experience with Saturday Night Live. There’s a lot of topical humor as well as very sly references to other series, but the overall feel is that of a frothy character comedy. The cast is certainly game for the material, and the result can be a lot of fun for the viewer – especially if you’re in the right frame of mind. For myself, the humor doesn't always work and the show isn't one I would normally watch - but I can see there are a lot of strong elements present. Beyond my own opinion, I note that the season on these discs has won 7 Emmy Awards – for the series itself as Best Comedy, for the performances of Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin and guest star Tim Conway, for Tina Fey’s script for “Cooter”, and two more for casting and sound mixing. It’s no small matter to collect awards for Best Series, Best Actor and Actress and Best Script. (I believe in Horse Racing terms, that would be called a Perfecta…)

The DVD set comes with a healthy amount of extras, including commentaries on several episoded, deleted scenes, a video of the cast table read for “Cooter”, a video of a live staged reading of “Secrets & Lies”, a taped event of the cast and producers at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and a brief featurette about Tina Fey’s hosting opportunity on SNL. (As a sign this was a good year for Tina Fey, even that won an Emmy!) Subtitles are available in English and Spanish both for the episodes, but not for the extra features.

As with my earlier series reviews, I will take the 2 discs in order, detailing what episodes and features can be found on each. THERE ARE SPOILERS HERE, in the interest of letting fans of the series know where they can see key developments.

DISC ONE:

This disc contains the first ten episodes of the season, all prepared before the shutdown generated by the WGA Strike of last year:

“Seinfeld Vision – The premiere episode of the season starts things off with exec Jack (Alec Baldwin) unveiling his plans to digitally insert Jerry Seinfeld into NBC’s current lineup. (There’s a subtle dig here at an issue currently on the table for the Screen Actors Guild – the right of actors to consent for the use of their clips for other purposes.) Naturally, Seinfeld himself shows up and is not terribly happy about this.

“Jack Gets in the Game” – Jack’s nemesis (played by Will Arnett) returns amid talk that the head of GE may be retiring, while Jenna (Jane Krakowski) enjoys the notoriety of having gained that much weight eating and performing Mystic Pizza over her summer break. (This episode has a commentary by Will Arnett.)

“The Collection” – Jack hires a private investigator, and Tracy (Tracy Morgan) makes Liz (Tina Fey) cover for him when his wife insists on monitoring him. (This episode has a commentary by Jane Krakowski and Jack McBrayer.)

“Rosemary’s Baby” – Liz recruits her idol (Carrie Fisher) to write for the show only to find that she’s too controversial. Jack makes Tracy go to a therapist.

“Greenzo” – The gang deals with NBC’s new green mascot, Greenzo (David Schwimmer), whose material drives everyone up the wall.

“Somebody to Love” – Jack falls for a Congresswoman named C.C. (Edie Falco), while Liz reports her neighbour to Homeland Security. (This episode has a commentary with guest star Fred Armisen.)

“Cougars” – Tracy coaches an inner city little league team in which Jack has an interest. The new coffee boy asks Liz out on a date. (This episode has a commentary with regular cast member Judah Friedlander.)

“Secrets and Lies” – Liz fakes a satellite transmission for Tracy, driving Jenna to retaliate. (This episode is also presented as a live staged reading on the 2nd disc)

“Ludachristmas” – The annual “Ludachristmas” party isn’t so good for Tracy, who is held sober by his alcohol-monitor bracelet. And Elaine Stritch, Andy Richter, Anita Gillette and Buck Henry appear as family members of Jack and Liz.

“Episode 210” – Jack pushes a group of German TV execs on Liz, who in turn pushes off the videos of all the German programming on Kenneth (Jack McBrayer), who is dealing with his new addiction to coffee after having an espresso machine placed at his workstation. And Liz has an unfortunate meeting with a co-op board while trying to buy an apartment. (This episode has a commentary with real-life married couple Tina Fey and Jeff Richmond. They reveal some specifics about this segment – that the episode was put together at the time that the WGA Strike began, resulting in the show not having a name and two days of the shoot happening in the shadow of the picket lines. As a result, several scenes that would normally have ad-libs were filmed only with the exact scripted dialogue, so as not to violate any of the strike rules in effect.)

The aforementioned scene-specific commentaries are the only special feature available on the first disc.

When this disc is initially put in the player, you can see non-anamorphic trailers for 30 Rock (the series), and DVDs of Baby Mama, The Office: Season 4, and Saturday Night Live: The Complete Third Season.

DISC TWO:

This disc contains the last five episodes of the season, all prepared after the WGA strike ended:

“MILF Island” – Jack finds out that someone on the show has been quoted in the New York Post as calling him a “Class A Moron”. (This episode has a commentary with cast member Scott Adsit.)

“Subway Hero” – Liz books a man who jumped in front of a subway train and saved a life – only to find out that the man is her ex-boyfriend. And Jack can’t find a young or hip Republican celebrity for a John McCain fundraiser and has to make do with 50’s TV personality Bucky Bright (Tim Conway). (Note: This was the episode for which Tim Conway won his Emmy this year.) (This episode has a commentary with Tim Conway and Jack McBrayer.)

“Succession” – Jack is named as the NBC CEO’s successor, and Jack names Liz as his successor. (This episode has a commentary with exec-producer Robert Carlock and co-exec producer John Riggi.)

“Sandwich Day” – Liz deals with her ex-boyfriend Floyd, who needs a place to stay when his flight is cancelled. Jack is demoted to the 12th Floor. (This episode has a commentary with Tina Fey.)

“Cooter” – Jack takes on a new role in Washington DC, but works with the episode's title employee (Matthew Broderick) to try to get fired when he realizes what he will really be doing. (Note: The script for this episode won an Emmy for Tina Fey) (This episode has a commentary with Jane Krakowski and Jack McBrayer.)

This disc contains the following special features:

Deleted Scenes - (Non-Anamorphic) – Here we find non-anamorphic deleted scenes for several episodes. Two scenes are presented from “Seinfeld Vision” (0:27 and 0:10), one is from “Rosemary’s Baby” (0:52), one is from “Cougars (0:35), one is from “MILF Island” (0:41), and one is from “Sandwich Day” (1:14)

”Cooter” Table Read - (31:28, Non-Anamorphic) – This is basically a video of the cast at the regular “table read” for this episode. (Many TV series casts will gather for an hour each week to read through the script and have the writers and producers hear everything in one sitting. All sitcoms do this as part of their process, and some hourlong episodics do as well.) Here, we have the cast gathered at the tables with the staff, and in the lower half of the screen, we can see the script scrolling by. It’s a nice feature, allowing the viewer to read the script for themselves as well as inviting the viewer into a part of the production.

30 Rock Live at the UCB Theater - (46:45, Non-Anamorphic) – This is the video record of a staged reading by the cast of the episode “Secrets & Lies” in late November 2007 at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. The event was held during the WGA Strike as a benefit for the production assistants on the show who lost their jobs for four months due to the shutdown of the series. This is a pretty raw video – recorded on a pair of camcorders with variable sound and video quality – but it’s got a great energy and the cast’s enthusiasm comes through. I would argue that the live performance is actually more interesting than the completed episode – even on a tiny black box stage, the script comes to life in ways you would not normally see. (The reading was also held two weeks before the episode in question aired. Based on the comments on the stage, the event happened on Thanksgiving weekend.)

Backstage with Tina Fey: Hosting Saturday Night Live - (8:05, Non-Anamorphic) – This brief featurette focuses on Tina Fey’s hosting return to Saturday Night Live from last season. Some backstage video is included of the weekly readthru and various backstage antics, intercut with footage from the episode and a look at the promo shoot. In all honesty, this feels more like a commercial for SNL than an in-depth featurette, but there's still a little interest, just for the quick look behind the curtain at SNL.

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Presents: An Evening With 30 ROCK - (23:08, Non-Anamorphic) – This is the taped record of the group event held at the Academy, with the cast and creative staff assembled on the stage for a question and answer session moderated by Brian Williams.

VIDEO QUALITY: 3 ½/5 ½

30 Rock: Season 2 gets an anamorphic 1.78:1 transfer that looks entirely presentable on an HDTV. This is a pretty colorful show, and the picture quality lives up to it, with what good flesh tones and a pleasingly varied palate of environments and New York locations. This is entirely appropriate, given that these episodes just aired on network TV within the last 12 months.

AUDIO QUALITY: 3/5

30 Rock: Season 2 is presented in an English Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that primarily uses the front channels, as one would expect with a television series. Most of the emphasis here is on the dialogue coming through the front speaker. There is also a 2.0 English mix available.

I should note that while the individual episodes are selectable from menu screens on each DVD, there are no chapters within the episodes. This isn’t a huge problem, given that the shows only run around 20 minutes each, but it will be an issue if you need to stop an episode midway and then want to pick it up again. Subtitles are available in English and Spanish, but only for the episodes themselves – the extra features do not have any subtitles. When making selections from the menus on the DVDs, brief clips from the show are displayed with a quick one-liner to set the tone.

IN THE END...

30 Rock: Season 2 serves as a good introduction to the series for anyone who may not have seen it yet. It’s just short enough to make it possible for someone to quickly catch up on the show, but there are also enough special features to make it worth the time of the show’s fans to pick it up. It’s an easy set to recommend readers to find.

Kevin Koster
October 8, 2008

Sam Favate · 10-09-2008, 12:39 PM

Would have liked to have seen a Blu-Ray release, but I got mine yesterday just the same. A shortened season due to the strike, but this season has some great episodes. Best show on TV, IMO.

I found the package a bit strange - the disc trays are huge for only two discs. But I guess that's to make it the same size as future (full season) releases. Also, is it usual for 10 episodes to be on one disc? Seems like a lot.

Looking forward to getting into this one, and to the new season Oct. 30.

Kevin EK · 10-09-2008, 03:02 PM

Sam, I think they could fit all 10 eps in because they're only about 20 minutes long each, and the only special features on the first disc were the audio commentaries. It's roughly the equivalent of 5 full episodes of an hourlong series, and some of the shows I've seen will pack 5 eps per disc.



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