TV Review: '30 Rock' rolls with smart commentary
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Jerry Seinfeld pays a visit to "30 Rock," to the joy of NBC page Kenneth, played by Jack McBrayer, in the comedy's season premiere.
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It's not often that you think of a TV comedy as a cultural critique. And yet, that's what viewers get in NBC's "30 Rock" (8:30 tonight, WPXI), which has a sly ability to mix goofy fun with commentary about modern media.
Tonight's second-season premiere proves the low-rated show's best comedy Emmy win was no undeserved fluke. The episode, written by star/executive producer Tina Fey, gleefully takes shots at NBC and broadcast network culture.
NBC executive Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin, perfecting a mix of fear and pomposity) is coming off a winning summer of reality shows, including "America's Next Top Pirate," "Are You Stronger Than a Dog?" and "MILF Island."
Donaghy describes that last show this way: "25 super-hot moms, 50 eighth-grade boys, no rules."
It sounds ridiculous, but it's not that much more outlandish a concept than "Kid Nation."
- When: 8:30 tonight, NBC.
- Starring: Tina Fey.
"30 Rock," in its chipper way, also excoriates NBC for craven attempts to use past success to win over viewers today. In May, NBC announced Jerry Seinfeld will return to the network to star in 20 "mini-sodes" inspired by his experience making the upcoming animated film "Bee Movie."
On "30 Rock," Donaghy uses modern technology to implement "Seinfeld- Vision," digitally inserting Jerry Seinfeld (playing himself) into current NBC shows, including "Heroes," "Deal or No Deal" and "Law & Order: SVU."
Donaghy sells $20 million in ad time for the stunt without even talking to Seinfeld about it. Seinfeld eventually takes the network to task, and Donaghy tries to sweeten the deal, offering unlimited promotion on the "Today" show for the film "Bee Movie."
In the real world, entertainment executives should not promise promotion on a news show, but given the high level of pimping "Today" and other news programs seem to do for their networks' entertainment shows, Donaghy's offer is completely believable.
It's these little details that set sunny, cynical "30 Rock" apart from other TV comedies. When "30 Rock" premiered a year ago, it showed promise, but it became far more incisive than the pilot suggested it would be. The characters also grew in unexpected ways.
Tonight's episode, set on the first day back from hiatus for "TGS," the fictional sketch comedy show within "30 Rock," finds Liz Lemon (Fey) trying valiantly to proclaim she's over her breakup with boyfriend Floyd. Jack wants to keep his spring heart attack a secret from his bosses. Jenna (Jane Krakowski) has put on 40 pounds after eating too many slices of pizza in her performances of the Broadway show "Mystic Pizza: The Musical" (another brief but smart commentary on the current state of Broadway shows).
Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) has separated from his wife after a tabloid ran photos of him in the arms of a transvestite hooker, so Liz assigns Kenneth the page (Jack McBrayer) to serve as his temporary caretaker.
Obviously, asking Seinfeld to appear on the "30 Rock" season premiere is an example of the show indulging in the same sort of behavior that the episode mocks. It's a bid for ratings, and I hope this stunt works. It will be a shame if "30 Rock" goes the way of "Arrested Development," a critically beloved show that was simply too smart for the masses. If more viewers don't tune in, "30 Rock" could meet a similar fate.
First Published October 4, 2007 12:00 am
