30 Rock

Queen Latifah and Rob Reiner appeared on tonight's broadcast, and both were very funny. This is what is so great about 30 Rock, you get these big name actors to humiliate themselves on the show.



Tonight's episode was a little over the top, but it was definitely an enjoyable one. You could say it was about nothing, I mean to be honest, no recurring arcs were really moved forward with the show, but the two Law and Order references, and Liz going on that talk show, it is just the smart writing you can expect week in and week out from 30 Rock. Solid ep.

Last week, I lauded 30 Rock for being able to effortlessly blend so many guest stars into one episode. I thought they all worked on equal levels and it made the episode one of the best 30 Rock episodes I had seen in awhile. However, this week, even though we're given a couple more guest stars, I felt it didn't work nearly as well. The main cast did a great job, and the writing is still extremely witty, but there were some weak spots that can only be blamed on the bad stunt casting.



For the most part, though, the episode did work. Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan were on their game as usual tonight. Tracy's line about his website being "Tracy Jordan backwards," and then seeing Tina Fey's confusedly shaking her head was priceless. Somehow, the writers even got me to enjoy Kenneth and Jenna's sideplot. Jenna appearing out of nowhere as soon as Jack mentioned tap-dancing was classic Jenna and it also didn't come across as extremely irritating. And I have nothing against the actor who plays Kenneth.. I think he's hilarious, but sometimes, the writers don't really know what to do with him, and we're left with some insane plots involving him. Tonight's episode proved he can be very funny when given the right opportunity.



However, it was a bad choice to have Queen Latifah and Rob Reiner appear. I don't know about Rob Reiner enough to be able to understand the jokes he was saying (they clearly were self-referential), and that made his appearance very lackluster. Also, Queen Latifah's only addition to the episode was grand-standing and talking in a loud boisterous voice as if she were a preacher. Both characters lent little to the plot, but the usual supporting cast (Jonathan, Dotcom etc.) and the lead cast were excellent.



Next week is a live show and should be very interesting to see.

This is another good 30 Rock, but since they are always good, I'd say it is up to their standard, but not one of the all time best. I liked it, though. Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer) is trying to get his old job as page back, but he has to audition. It is almost like a beauty pageant nowadays. Before you can say "swim suit competition" Jenna Moroney (Jane Kakowski) is coaching him, just like her mother used to coach her. Liz Lemon is getting sick of all the guff and pranks she has to take as head writer. For instance, they keep changing the name on her door to derogatory and denigrating insults. At one point Frank Rossitano (Judah Friedlander) shows her the latest ones, and says he doesn't know who did it. But his hat says otherwise. When they make Toofer co-head writer, in the name of diversity, she is ready to let it happen, if only so he will take some of the flack. But when she hears that he is being interviewed, she horns in. The show turns out to be a black progress type show, and she is totally out of place. Finally, we have Congresswoman Regina Bookman touring 30 Rock, and don't you know that the most embarassing, and taken out of context, racist incidents would have to happen while she is there. Jack begs her for 3 months to show her his commitment to diversity. The congresswoman is played by Queen Latifah. The bantering between the two is really first class. A parody of business and politics, and you almost can predict that at the end of three months, with things going as bad as you'd expect, Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) is going to have to put the moves on Congresswoman Regina Bookman.





One last thing: On Letterman Dave made a joke about Sarah Palin being 16th on the Forbes list of Powerful Women. Tina Fey playing Sarah Palin was 15th.

As usual, 30 rock delivers. This episode centers around the 'cable town' 'nbc' merger and vertical integration. Jack says it's good and several celebrity congresspeoples say it's bad. Once special congresswoman suggests that NBC is racist. The episode is all about Jack trying to convince them that NBC has a diverse group of employees. Of course, several missunderstandings happen along the way. One of the better reoccurring jokes cetners around the cancellation of the original "Law and Order" in order to make way for "Law and Order: Los Angeles'. Not the best episode of 30 rock, but still pretty funny.