TV Critic Fodder

"30 Rock" Has Shaky Foundations

Is it just me or is Tina Fey extremely hot? I’ve often imagined a blissful domestic scenario where every morning she reads me the news Weekend Update style over breakfast. Kellogg's Corn Flakes come out of my nose now and again, but we’re basically happy.

Alas it’s not to be. Tina's a little too old, a little too rich and a little too married for my breakfasty dreams to come true, but the next best thing was for NBC to let the lady create, write, produce and star in her own show. And so I looked forward to 30 Rock with bated breath, and a big bowl of Corn Flakes.

And I was disappointed. Though there are tons of great lines in the behind the scenes of a sketch show show - “It's not HBO, it’s TV” etcetera - something just isn't right. There's also some excellent silliness, how can you not love last weeks "one minute dance party" or the brief but brilliant "good walk-and-talk" exchange? But for all the laughs it’s hard to shake the feeling that something’s missing. It’s like drinking Michelob Ultra. Tastes OK, refreshing even, but no matter how much you drink it’s impossible to get a buzz going. It’s a confusing experience, but here’s my take on why that happens.

Just as Michelob Ultra has a low alcohol and carbohydrate content, 30 Rock has a low character and drama content. Too many characters are thinly drawn, giving the show a cartoony feel. Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) is a triple alpha male. Jenna (Jane Krakowski) is a needy prima dona. But neither is anything more, and so too shallow to be sympathetic. While Fey’s character is endearing, her name - Liz Lemon - is just plain ridiculous. She sounds like a cartoon character for selling citrus fruit to kids.

Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) on the other hand is perfectly named. He may be the best thing on (or should that be at?) 30 Rock. Baldwin's a big man (he was on Real Time With Bill Maher last Friday and literally couldn’t fit his legs under the desk) with a big personality and plenty room to flex his considerable comedy muscles. He’s also the only character you could call interesting, in terms of layers. He’s a tyrant, but shows just enough glimpses of humanity and has an obvious affection for Lemon. Maybe he shares my “Weekend Update” breakfast fantasy? Fey’s written him some great lines too. “Five inches, but it’s thick” springs to mind, if only because it was pretty brave for a primetime network show.

Though Baldwin is ballsy, his lines have a transparently female origin. Too often Jack says something that cuts to the core of a woman’s insecurities. His parting shot to Lemon last Wednesday was “go easy on the pizza.” It’s funny(ish) but a man would never think to use that as banter, not unless he wanted to die. Painfully. It’s especially odd, maybe even a little unnerving, that Fey is pretty thin already. This aspect of 30 Rock is either very fresh and a bold representation of female humor, or it’s just plain silly. Either way, the dialogue doesn't fit the character.

And where are the sketches? We were initially promised scenes from the actual sketch show, hence Rachel Dratch's involvement, but now there are almost none. Could the until recently Head Writer at SNL not come up with any sketches? Even Studio 60 has shown us a few sketches (including the excellent "We'll be the very model of a major network TV show" song which was better than anything the real SNL has done in a while).

And as for the plots... too often the separate plotlines fail to intersect. The best sitcoms have multiple, seemingly separate stories that dovetail neatly in the final few minutes. Remember how effectively Seinfeld did that? Last Wednesday, the plots about Jack in the writers room and Ken working for Tracy barely touched each other, like two heavily chaparoned teenagers.

The characters will hopefully flesh out (not literally though, the last thing 30 Rock needs is more jokes about Tina Fey's non-existent weight problem) which should lead to the plots flowing a little smoother. Certainly the Jack & Lemon relationship has the potential to develop into something interesting, something that will drive the show. Until that happens, 30 Rock provides just enough smart laughs to keep chugging along. But Fey and co. will have to provide Rock with a more solid foundation by the end of November when the show joins My Name Is Earl, The Office and Scrubs as part of a great looking new NBC Thursday night line up.

Critic Fodder Weekly Awards

Quote Of The Week (sans context):
“I wish Burt Reynolds was here” - Everybody Hates Chris.

WTF?!?:
Mr Eko dead! Already? But we were only just getting to know him.

Rerun Of The Week:
The “Bizarro Jerry” Seinfeld episode. Kevin, Gene, Feldman,you know the one. Oh, and man hands too, shudder...

Wish You Were Here:
Lucky Louie
HBO’s first multi-camera sit-com is dead, and I'm missing it already. Let’s hope Louis C.K. gets the chance to work for HBO (or similar) again sometime soon. In the meantime, the next best thing is to watch Roseanne reruns and add your own swear words.

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Posted by Daryl on November 6, 2006 1:26 PM
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