30 Rock season 5 thread (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

Not sure if the writing will be better than it has in the previous couple of seasons, but it returns tonight in its usual Thursday 8:30 p.m. EDT timeslot on NBC.
 

(Fixed the timeslot details)

 

[TravisR]

Originally Posted by Patrick Sun

...its usual Thursday 9:30 p.m. EDT timeslot on NBC.

As far as I can tell, 30 Rock is on at 8:30 and Outsourced is on at 9:30.

 

[joshEH]

Hmmm...maybe it's just me, but for my money, the writing last season on 30 Rock was largely just about every scintilla as sparkling and witty as it was back in the early days.

 

The Office certainly saw a huge downturn/falloff last year, but in my opinion, 30 Rock -- if not knocking it all the way out of the park -- scored what was at least a solid triple. On the other hand, Parks and Rec managed to improve by an enormous order of magnitude, becoming probably my favorite NBC show behind Community.

 

That said, I'm still onboard for this new 30 Rock season.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I can remember watching 30 Rock last season, and barely laughing during the episodes, but after reviewing some of the episode reactions from last season, they did have some funny bits in the 2nd half of the season, but I don't know, some of it just seems too forced at times. But we'll see if they can bring the funny on a more consistent basis this season.

 

[joshEH]

"No! It okay! Don't be cry!"

Ah, good to have you kids back. Pete stole the episode. That wife-raping joke was terrific.

 

And horrific. And amazing. And hilarious.

 

Liz tongue-lapping that bowl of Cheerios was the biggest laugh for me. I'd love it if Damon could stay on as a semi-recurring character, like Dennis Slutbanger. (I guess Damon will be back on October 14th? 'Cause Liz said, you know, "See you October 14th.")
  Every time my love for this show seems to be waning, they either pull me back in, or I just have to remember that it's either watch this, or watch some trash like Outsourced or Shit My Dad Says, or some other terrible bullshit. Anyway, I'm so glad that this and Community are back-to-back, and I can safely ignore The Office and Outsourced on their own block.   And finally, Jack's "Jamesssss." Alec Baldwin *IS* "Daddy Bear."

 

[Hanson]

Originally Posted by joshEH

"No! It okay! Don't be cry!"

My wife and I particularly liked that line. Reminded us of, "I want to go to there". Probably another thing her daughter said. See? Fey should have been tweeting the shit her daughter said all along.

 

[joshEH]

Whoever's posting these is dangerously close to a marriage proposal from me right now (click to animate):

 



 

The kicker is that they fucking showed it twice.

Twice!

 

That's exactly why it worked for me. That extra cut away hammers home "yes, we went there, and yes it's awful!". Sort of like the way Louis CK laughs to himself while "defending" rape in his act ("Well, I mean, if I want to orgasm in your body, and you're not going to let me, what choice do I have?").

 

In other words, they didn't try to pass off the rape joke as something other than a rape joke.

 

Matt Damon does some of the best fake crying/wailing I've ever heard. It immediately reminded me of the tantrum he threw on Entourage last season. He's a fantastic guest star.

 

[jackallis]

I like to watch tv shows.my favorite tv show is 30 rock show.so i watch 30 rock online.you can also watch tv show here.

 

[joshEH]

Between Jack's monologue to his son, and Tracy's Cash Cab appearance, this was the best 30 Rock in, like, two seasons. Really great stuff.

All the main players had a good, funny storyline, and a nice use of a guest star. The "Cash Cab" sequence was killer, but Jack's advice videos were just as hilarious -- "The backflip is 90% confidence."


And Kenneth's Tracy-mask was disturbing, yet awesome.


This season so far been great. It may be because of minimal Kenneth and Jenna. Last week had Jenna, but it wasn't the usual, "Jenna-is-needy-and-vain" storyline.
Baldwin was hot fire last night:

• "The song 'You're So Vain' was written...by me."
• "The secret to a healthy head of hair is Dove...blood."
• " '...And the tree was happy.' Shel Silverstein was a communist."

 

[ScottH]

Originally Posted by joshEH Matt Damon does some of the best fake crying/wailing I've ever heard.

Seriously?

 

[Kevin Hewell]

I feel like a dope but I didn't get that one.

" '...And the tree was happy.' Shel Silverstein was a communist."

 

[John_Lee]

Originally Posted by Kevin Hewell


ie, the quote started with Baldwin reading the last line of the book, the shifted to commenting on his assessment of the author's leanings.

 

[joshEH]

They need to make a spin-off miniseries from this. "The Adventures Of Spaceman and Weinerslav." Just a couple of episodes consisting only of people mispronouncing their names.

The "White" and "Colored" gag was so beautifully set up.

And Kenneth gets a pass for singing, "Everyone born before Jesus is in Hell."


Also: "Rhubarb, Rhubarb, Rhubarb. Peas and Carrots."


Although Community has become my first love, I have to say that 30 Rock has been on fire the last three weeks, and has come close to equaling Community twice now. I think they're using Jenna in just the right amounts this season. ("...Just like Mickey Rourke did with my sexuality.")

 

[Hanson]

While I do loves me some Community (I thought it was the best show on TV last season), it hasn't shot out of the gate this year. 30 Rock, OTOH, has rocketed ahead of all other comedies so far to be the funniest show on TV right now. The third episode was stellar -- the Whites/Colored joke was an instant classic, and Liz worming her way onto the black talk show had me rolling. It's been a great season so far. .

 

[Sam Favate]

Still my favorite comedy of the moment and of the past several years. This has been a great season so far. Next week's live episode promises to be very cool. Has there been a live episode of a show since The West Wing did it in their final season in the debate episode?

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Well tonight was proof positive while this is a single-camera show instead of a traditional sitcom. The audience laughter absolutely killed the pace of the show. I never really got over the SNL-ization of the sets, either. In my opinion, it was a stunt that just didn't work.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

This could be viewed as a below average 30 Rock or a very above average SNL.

 

[mattCR]

Wow. That. Was. Terrible.


And I love this show. This is a show that isn't designed for live. It's a gimmick that doesn't work.

 

[Citizen87645]

I didn't think it was so bad, perhaps because I read all your complaints first

Highlights included John Hamm's bit - he needs to do more comedy. And Jane Krakowski's space costume.

 

[ScottH]

I haven't seen it yet, but I just don't understand why they decided to go with this gimmick. I knew it would be terrible. Oh well...it's just one episode.