30 Rock

Hopefully, some of the post-Palin SNL attention for Tina Fey has continued to carry for the rest of the season. This is a geniune hilarious show and it's an episode like this that shows just how great the show can be. Jack is back in action and everything is back to where it was. Tracey and Jenna continue their bickering rivalry between the other to a quest to discover the answer for the ages: Is it harder to be black or to be a woman? Each provides hilarious examples as to why their case is true. Poor Liz has to be caught in the middle once again but it takes a backseat when she ducks on doing jury duty. After a major painkiller and a glass of wine, Liz runs into someone in American that is an extremely successful African-American woman: Oprah. Liz, startstruck and still a bit wasted, pours her heart out to Oprah and Oprah promises to help. Back at 30 Rock, Jack has to deal with Kenneth, who caught Jack unveiling an unsavory network lie. Keeneth, being the angel Southern boy, argues that a lie is never good, cheating is wrong, he won't even steal cable, and Jack, instead of taking the high road, sets out to prove to Kenneth that everybody lies and is a human being. Tina comes back to New York, catching Tracey dressed up as a white woman and Jenna as a black man. Both of them look horrible but honestly, Jenna looked better although it was racist, as stated. Oprah comes and it's revealed it's not Oprah but a 12 year old kid Liz mistook as Oprah while drugged. All is not lost, as somehow the girl teaches both Tracey and Jenna a valuable lesson. And Kenneth gets a valuable lesson in self-humility as Jack cruelly shows him that not even Kenneth is perfect, involving a plasma tv and not giving him the cable. It's great to have the show back and now other people are willing to watch it.

The episode that we'd heard about for months and months finally came and while I thought it was really funny, Oprah was sitting in the same spot throughout her guest star appearance. Why couldn't she have appeared in some more places than just that darn airline seat? I feel like that was a missed opportunity. She really only interacted with Liz Lemon, and even there the chemistry between her and Tina Fey wasn't that good.



Back at 30 Rock, the quarrel between Jenna and Tracy was really hilarious. It was great how they had absolutely no limit to what they would do to prove their side of the argument.

While Jerry Seinfeld's guest appearance last season was less than stellar (although not worthy of all the criticism it received) this episode can only be viewed as disappointing. Oprah Winfey could not have looked less interested in what was going on and the storyline with Tracy and Jenna switching places was even more bizarre. If 30 Rock wants to head down the path of generic comedies and do plotlines like this that's their prerogative, but it certainly will not garner them a third consecutive Emmy.



I am not completely dismissing this episode as there were some very well crafted jokes, although nothing was that memorable. Jack gave another great performance and I found myself laughing at Tracy nearly as much as usual, just not as hard. The fake tetherball skits were amusing as was Jack calling Kenneth an inner-city Latina, but there was not a single line that people will be quoting tomorrow at the water coolers.



If 30 Rock expected to hook in any new viewers with this and maintain that audience I do not see it happening.

A lot of fun! There were some fantastic bits, like when Liz puts on a Princess Leia costume in court to get out of jury duty:

Liz: I don't really think it's fair for me to be in a jury because I can read thoughts --

Judge: Dismissed.

You HAVE TO see her impression. I laughed so hard I almost peed a little.



There was this storyline where Jenna and Tracy are arguing about who has the hardest time: white women or black men. They got some hilarious quotes out of this, like:

Jenna: Men think they can get away with anything. It's like when Adrien Brody kissed Halle Berry at the Oscars.

(A little while later)

Tracy: White folks think they can do whatever they want to black folks. It's like when Adrien Brody kissed Halle Berry at the Oscars.



Tracy: Do you know it's still illegal to be black in Arizona?



Liz: No one has it harder in this country today than women. It turns out we can't be president, we can't be network news anchors, Madonna's arms look crazy!





Liz thought she met Oprah on the plane back to New York from Chicago, but it turned out to be a twelve-year-old named Pam. Although, the actual Oprah guest starred in this episode. I was actually pretty impressed, she did a good job acting like a twelve-year-old version of herself, or whatever it was..



Liz: Oprah smells like rose water and warm laundry.



In conclusion, a great, funny example that will probably be remembered - maybe mostly because Oprah was in it..

30 Rock,

Believe in the Stars,

Liz goes to Chicago for jury duty. Hoping to get out of it by dressing up as a character from "Star Wars". Her plan works and she flys back to NYC. Jack had given her some medication to take on the plane. She takes the meds and finds out she is sitting next to Oprah. The two have a chat and chat about Liz's sad life. In the end "Oprah" comes to 30 Rock. / While Jenna and Tracy see who has a harder life. Tacy in drag and Jenna in black face angerers some of the crew. Liz gets "Oprah" to come and get them to talk things out. When "Oprah" arrives it turns out to be teenager that Liz thought was Oprah. But anyway Jenna and Tracy make up somehow. Good episode overround but it wasnt my favorite.