Work is a Funny Production (30 Rock)

Name: TheChocolateLady

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Product:	30 Rock
Date:	25/09/07 (110 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good comedy, good acting, interesting setting, funny situations

Disadvantages: I can't tell you when the show will being airing in the UK

When the new television network executive Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) decides that "The Girlie Show" needs a new star comic to pull in more male viewers, the head writer Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) realizes this is going to mean trouble. Liz's new boss is humourless, the new 'star' is the unstable Tracy Jordan (Tracey Morgan) and the previous star, Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) also must be appeased, since they're best friends. But we all know that "The Show Must Go On" and despite these stumbling blocks, on it will go. This is the basis of the new NBC comedy show "30 Rock" (which stands for 30 Rockefeller Center, which is the New York address of the studios which produce this show), which will soon be coming to your Five TV, you lucky dogs you!

Yes, this is another behind-the-scenes of a 'Saturday Night Live' (SNL) type show from NBC. But while their "Studio 60" was a drama, this is pure comedy. "30 Rock" also has the same producer as SNL, Lorne Michaels, as well as many of their cast members. In particular Tina Fey & Tracey Morgan are two of the main characters here, with Fey also contributing heavily with the writing and is also one of the executive producers here. Since it just won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, it's no wonder that this show will be showing up on your small screens soon. So let me give you an idea of what you'll be in for.

The easiest way to describe this show is "weird, but wonderful". Using all of the absurdities that go into SNL skits, this program takes the silliness back stage which only heightens the comic situations. We get very little of the fictional TV show itself, and far more about everything else. This includes things that have absolutely nothing to do with the show, as well as the obvious glitches in putting on such a program. While I personally prefer the ludicrous inter-cast/crew intrigues and farce network politics, the additional injections of such non-related situations are no less enjoyable.

Fey's 124 appearances as a writing cast member of SNL certainly qualifies her to star in, write for and produce this show. Alec Baldwin's standing invitation to host SNL also makes him a good choice to play the network executive who decides who works on the show. As the leads, they play off each other beautifully, with Tina's Liz being the nerdy, hyperactive, sensible, heart-on-her-sleeve worrier, and Baldwin's Jack being the super-suave, money motivated, irrationally bland, stealthy manipulator. With a touch of sexual tension between them written into their characters, there's not a scene where they aren't on a hysterical roller-coaster with Liz trying to pull Jack into her frenzies as Jack tries to coach Liz back down to his unnatural calmness.

The two supporting characters - Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) and Tracy Jordan (Tracey Morgan) are more alike, but don't tell them that, since they each see the other as their exact opposites. Both of them get meaninglessly sidetracked by the most ludicrous things, which become impediments to their getting the show successfully on the air. Of course Jenna's jealousy of Tracy for pushing her onto the sidelines so that her show has become his doesn't help things. But Tracy is oblivious to anything but his own stardom. Thankfully, Jenna is also very self-absorbed, and these two prima donnas make more trouble for Liz than they do for each other. I say 'thankfully' because had this show deteriorated into a constant cat-fight between the shows two stars, I would have gotten bored quickly, as I'm sure would the audience.

Instead, by mixing up all these strange attributes, we get a half-hour of total foolishness that includes slapstick, sexual innuendo and general preposterousness that fits all of the actors like a glove. Added to this are some smaller characters who heighten these already inane situations. For instance, Kenneth the page (Jack McBrayer) plays an incomprehensibly innocent dork whose eagerness to please gets him into some of the maddest situations that you couldn't even dream of. No less is writer Frank Rossitano (Judah Friedlander) who not only looks idiotic, but whose unlikely friendship with the token conservative, whiter-than-white black guy Toofer (Keith Powell) defies all levels of sensibility. That's just the beginning, and I didn't even mention all the guests appearances, many of whom are presently SNL regulars (in particular Rachel Dratch, playing several different parts, along with Chris Parnell and Jason Sudeikis in more singular parts), as well as some bigger stars like Isabella Rosselini, Rip Torn and Elaine Stritch (who just won an Emmy for her guest appearance here).

It seems Lorne Michaels has succeeded in doing what was, until now, the impossible – making a successful TV spin-off from his own SNL, without making it into a real spin-off, per se. "Studio 60" failed to get a second season with its drama out of comedy format, but Michaels' comedy out of comedy will keep on going. Partially based on Fey's own experience as a head writer on SNL, the "stranger than fiction" feeling also has a "based in reality" undertone throughout, that barely keeps it from going over the top. The pace is breakneck, the laughs come from every corner, and they aren't afraid to use every comic device known to man. With a cast that jelled faster than the speed of light, I can see this being a long-running series (despite initial low ratings) that will soon be grabbing faithful fans (and Emmys) for many years to come. This is why I'm giving it five stars out of five and urging you all to watch your "Five TV" schedules like hawks for the airing of the first episode, since you'll not want to miss a single minute. Highly Recommended!
Thanks for reading!

Davida Chazan © September, 2007

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Technical Stuff:

I'm writing this review based on this article http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2007/07/19/5555/five _is_ready_to_rock which clearly shows that Five TV will be showing this program soon.

The official web page for this show can be found at http://www.nbc.com/30_Rock/ and the IMDb page is at http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0496424/.

The DVD of the first season is already available in the USA (for a whopping US $32.99 on Amazon), and for those who can watch NTSC DVDs on their players, you can buy the first season via Amazon.co.uk through their marketplace starting from £10.19 for the two-disc version and £19.31 for the three-disc version.
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Summary: A new behind-the-scenes comedy about a TV show