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« Roush Dispatch
30 Rock: The Height of Hilarity
Edie Falco and Alec Baldwin in 30 Rock by Nicole Rivelli/NBC Photo
Every week, after laughing myself silly at the warped lunacy of 30 Rock on Thursday nights and then being greeted by the stubbornly low ratings on Friday morning, I’m more than ever convinced that this inspired comedy is the new Arrested Development. (And not just because it’s a dark-horse Emmy winner, also taking home the best-comedy trophy after its first season.) Here’s another cult classic that is apparently too off-kilter to be more than an acquired taste, unfortunately destined to fly under the radar.
This view isn’t coming from a comedy snob. I get a kick out of most of CBS’ more mainstream Monday comedies, including the new Big Bang Theory, which gets funnier and more confident by the week. On Thursdays I’m still delighted by 30 Rock’s time-period rival, the sweetly campy Ugly Betty. But 30 Rock strikes me as something special, something to treasure, firing on all burners with a wild and hilariously absurdist sensibility.
This week’s episode, the first featuring The Sopranos' Edie Falco as congresswoman Celeste "CC" Cunningham, a liberal love interest for right-wing NBC exec Jack Donaghy (the brilliant Alec Baldwin), was so full of memorable and quotable laugh-out-loud moments. Indulge me as I share a top 10 from this half hour alone. Trust me, there were at least a dozen more.
Jack revealing he gets his hair cut every two days. "Your hair is your head suit," he informs Liz Lemon (the wry, dry Tina Fey). "When it comes to hair, no one is more bitchy than conservative males." (Cut to Jack being mocked for a messy 'do.)
Jack is getting his hair cut in advance of a party being hosted by John McCain and Jack Bauer. When Liz informs him he (meaning 24’s Bauer) doesn’t actually exist, Jack pipes up: "I assure you, Lemon. John McCain is very real." I want to live in Jack Donaghy’s world.
Liz suspects her vaguely Middle Eastern neighbor (Saturday Night Live’s gifted Fred Armisen) is a terrorist, and blabs to the authorities, who promptly nab and torture him. (Turns out he’s just preparing an audition tape for The Amazing Race.) "That pita pocket might be a terrorist. Did that sound racist?" she asks her roomie, Pete (Scott Adsit).
Jack is mocked by CC for ordering a girlie drink (white rum, with diet ginger ale and a splash of lime) that the bartender calls a Nancy Drew. "For men, it’s called a Hardy Boy," Jack corrects him.
All of the suggestions that NBC’s corporate owner, the Sheinhardt Wig Company, is polluting the world. (In a parody of New York’s "If you see something, say something" antiterrorism crusade, Liz spots a poster declaring, "We don’t poison the world. Terrorists do," courtesy of the good old Sheinhardt company.)
CC reveals she was the victim of a disfiguring accident involving a dog and a shotgun, which became the basis of a Lifetime movie: "A Dog Took My Face and Gave Me a Better Face to Change the World: The Celeste Cunningham Story." Saturday Night Live's versatile Kristen Wiig is glimpsed (as fictional actress Candice Van Der Shark) playing the Lifetime version of CC, which Jack watches in horror.
As CC yammers on about her work with the Clintons, Jack declares: "God, I want to kiss you on the mouth to stop you from saying such ridiculous things."
Tracy Morgan, the ghetto Cyrano, feeds Jack come-on lines as Jack stands outside CC’s office window in Harlem: "Tell her you want her to donate her body to science and you science."
Kenneth the page (the fearlessly goofy Jack McBrayer) loses a pair of Jack’s pants that cost $2,500. Distraught, he cries: "Uncle Butch was right. I’m just a stupid country bumpkin with great skin and soft hands." But later he announces, "We Parcells are neither wealthy nor circumcised, but we are proud."
And finally, Jack decides to keep seeing CC: "We’ll ignore our differences till the sex goes bad, then we’ll walk away bitter and angry."
That a boy. What a show.
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Nov 16, 2007 12:29 PM
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Matt, what did you think of The Office? I was falling off my couch laughing during every minute of Michael's deposition.
I didn't watch 30 Rock yet b/c I was watching Arizona put a beat-down on Oregon. Go 'Cats!
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Nov 16, 2007 12:35 PM
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One top ten moment for me and my husband was Kenneth informing Tracy that he'd lost Jack's pants to which Tracy revealed that he just yells until he finds things that he's lost and then demonstrated this by just standing in the hallway screaming "PANTS! PANTS!" until his posse guys came running with different options for him to wear.
My husband wondered where in the world the writers could come up with such a funny, funny idea like a grown man screaming for a lost item, when, almost on cue, our 2 year-old daughter started bellowing from her crib "WATER!! WATER!!!" Suddenly it made perfect sense to me. Tina Fey's daughter is only like a week older than ours so something tells me that much of Tracy's childish behavior is stripped from the real world. 
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Nov 16, 2007 1:42 PM
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Hey, a fellow Wildcats fan! I missed the game because I drove to Phoenix to go to the Suns game instead...
Anywho, reading your 30 Rock recap just launched me into hysterics again. Last night's episode was fantastic. I think my favorite part was Liz watching her neighbor's Amazing Race audition tape in horror. "Oh no. Ooooh no." I also really loved the Lifetime movie. I was laughing so hard when the woman was shot by the dog and then exclaimed, "I'm going to go into politics!" Great episode. I also really enjoyed The Office this week (probably because there was less Dwight).
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Nov 16, 2007 1:46 PM
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How could you not mention the hysterical Verizon pitch? My boyfriend and I were dying with laughter after Tina Fey said directly to camera, Can we have our money now?
Awesome!
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Nov 16, 2007 2:58 PM
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Awesome review matt. I wish you would do this every week. I love this show so much. I didn't catch everything, so I'm gonna have to watch it again.
I always love the jokes where Liz tries to prove she's not racist. Like the episode with wayne brady last season.
The verizon pitch was hilarious.
I've always been a fan of Alec Baldwin, but since 30 Rock started, I love him even more.
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Nov 16, 2007 3:18 PM
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Matt, great review but you forgot to mention the "news" crawl as Jack was watching CC on CNN (mentioned in the other matt's blog I think they should be repeated here)
-Anne Heche leaves husband for pony
-Wolf Blitzer injured in a wolf blitz
-Visitor from future wins lottery again
There was one about the writer's strike too but I couldn't quite see it.
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Nov 16, 2007 3:54 PM
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Matt,
I admire your reviews so much...and this one was so spot on. I love your parenthetical descriptions of the actors. That was so well-written. Actually, I watched the show with my grandma last night and had to explain who was who. I did tell her it is the only show that makes me laugh out loud.
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Nov 16, 2007 4:54 PM
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Thanks, Matt. Transcribing those jokes was a true public service. They went by so fast, it's nice to be able to go back and enjoy them again.
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Nov 16, 2007 6:46 PM
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Matt, you're examples show why 30 Rock isn't a hit. Their tone is full of sourness and loathing. No one likes anything or anyone. Or at least only writes about the characters when they don't like something or someone. It turns the audience off.
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Nov 16, 2007 10:06 PM
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"Anne Heche leaves husband for pony" was my favorite. :D (Who wouldn't love a pony? :p)
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Nov 16, 2007 10:32 PM
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I think 30 Rock is on a roll, definitely. It is smart and goes so fast, if you aren't paying attention you'll miss half of what is going on. I think it's why some people don't like it - they want mind numbing comedy. I have nothing against that sort of show, it obviously has it's audience. Give me NBC's thursday night line-up with it's off beat characters and often irreverent attitude. I love it -with 30 Rock leading the charge for me this season.
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Nov 17, 2007 12:03 PM
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I've finally decided to give Earl and the Office a chance. The first disc of the fist season of each is next in my queue at netflix. I'll watch those as soon as I finish season 2 of supernatural.
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Nov 17, 2007 12:13 PM
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Hey Matt, great job on Charlie Rose! 
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Nov 17, 2007 5:38 PM
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What was also great about this episode was that moment when they were plugging Verizon and Liz turns to the camera with a plea obviously meant to dig at the lack of compensation for writers and impressed me with its timing (which was certainly planned). Awesome show, which truly deserves better ratings.
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Nov 17, 2007 8:25 PM
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