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| Angie performs her single on "Queen of Jordan" Credit: NBC |
My review of this week's episode of 30 Rock is after the jump.
30 Rock really committed to its gimmick this week. Basically, 30 Rock became an episode of a Bravo reality show this week. The show satirizes reality shows and did a great job doing that. There was no familiar opening credits sequence and every character was introduced with a caption. It was certainly different then your average episode of 30 Rock (it was similar to the many format departures that Community has made this season). I thought while the new format was a departure, it told stories that were fun and that I enjoyed watching. It was far from the best episode of the show this season, but it still was a good episode.
The show did really go all out in turning this into an episode of a reality show. Everyone was introduced with a caption, and these were all very funny. We had Liz introduced as "another person". We had Dot-Com introduced as "Grizz's best friend" and then Grizz introduced as "Greg's Best Friend" as he leavesfor lunch with him. Pete was "Powerless, Bald". Though my favorite was probably Jack, "Tracy's Gay Boss". The show also introduced characters in the world of the show, who have not appeared before and will probably not appear again and made them fit seamlessly into the would of the show. They were integrated seamlessly, as if they have been there all along. That's quite an achievement and something that the show did really well. The main cast was also credited as guest stars and the writer of the episode was credited as the writer of the episode of "House of Jordan). It successfully spoofed reality TV to very funny results.
The A-plot of the episode was Liz trying to convince Angie to get Tracy to return from Africa. I thought this was very well done in terms of the show and it was very funny. It worked around Tracy Morgan's medical leave, not quite with ease, but well enough that the thought was only in the back of my head. They did a good job integrating the plot into the reality show and it was a lot of fun to watch.
There was also a plot involving Frank meeting his long lost love, his 8th grade teacher (played by Susan Sarandon) who was just released from prison. This was the one weak point in a strong episode because it made me slightly uncomfortable. As a student, the portrayal of a teacher/student relationship generally makes me uncomfortable so even something in the silly world of 30 Rock didn't really work for me. I had nothing against the actors, they were clearly selling it and Sarandon was great (I didn't even notice that the role was stunt cast).
There were also funny subplots for Jenna and Jack. Jenna got the throwaway plot with her trying desperately to get on camera. I didn't hate it, but the fake intervention tried my patience a little bit. What worked for me there was Pete, him trying to send Jenna off to rehab was very funny. Jack was trying to work around being portrayed as a flatulent and gay. The deeper he sank into the caricature, the funnier it was. I thought that this worked really well and it was very funny, especially all the talking heads that Jack had. They were all very funny.
Some Other thoughts (or this week, some funny lines):
What did everyone else think?
The show did really go all out in turning this into an episode of a reality show. Everyone was introduced with a caption, and these were all very funny. We had Liz introduced as "another person". We had Dot-Com introduced as "Grizz's best friend" and then Grizz introduced as "Greg's Best Friend" as he leavesfor lunch with him. Pete was "Powerless, Bald". Though my favorite was probably Jack, "Tracy's Gay Boss". The show also introduced characters in the world of the show, who have not appeared before and will probably not appear again and made them fit seamlessly into the would of the show. They were integrated seamlessly, as if they have been there all along. That's quite an achievement and something that the show did really well. The main cast was also credited as guest stars and the writer of the episode was credited as the writer of the episode of "House of Jordan). It successfully spoofed reality TV to very funny results.
The A-plot of the episode was Liz trying to convince Angie to get Tracy to return from Africa. I thought this was very well done in terms of the show and it was very funny. It worked around Tracy Morgan's medical leave, not quite with ease, but well enough that the thought was only in the back of my head. They did a good job integrating the plot into the reality show and it was a lot of fun to watch.
There was also a plot involving Frank meeting his long lost love, his 8th grade teacher (played by Susan Sarandon) who was just released from prison. This was the one weak point in a strong episode because it made me slightly uncomfortable. As a student, the portrayal of a teacher/student relationship generally makes me uncomfortable so even something in the silly world of 30 Rock didn't really work for me. I had nothing against the actors, they were clearly selling it and Sarandon was great (I didn't even notice that the role was stunt cast).
There were also funny subplots for Jenna and Jack. Jenna got the throwaway plot with her trying desperately to get on camera. I didn't hate it, but the fake intervention tried my patience a little bit. What worked for me there was Pete, him trying to send Jenna off to rehab was very funny. Jack was trying to work around being portrayed as a flatulent and gay. The deeper he sank into the caricature, the funnier it was. I thought that this worked really well and it was very funny, especially all the talking heads that Jack had. They were all very funny.
Some Other thoughts (or this week, some funny lines):
- "Who the f*** are the Beatles?"
- "Actually, legal says we can't use the word best."
- "I'm contractually obligated to pull out some bitch's weave eight more times this season."
- "I only pass gas once a year atop a mountain in Switzerland."
- "At Princeton, I played Maria in an all-male production of West Side Story."
- "If this reality show chooses to portray me as a clumsy, gay flatulent, so be it."
- "Switch hitter. Pitcher. Catcher. Whatever the boy's needed."
What did everyone else think?
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