Dear Tina,
Well if I had to Sophie’s Choice the two new episodes of 30 Rock from Thursday night, I would have to choose the first. While the second episode “Khonani” had plenty of laughs, thanks in large part to the way Tracy Morgan kept saying the word “quarry,” the jokes felt recycled as if we had already seen an episode with similar situations. Liz feels unloved by her staff (“The C Word,” season 1), Tracy can’t find a way to balance his social life with his responsibilities to his family (“Seinfeld Vision,” season 2), and Jack is put in a position to resolve a fictional problem that mirrors an event happening in real life (“Cougars,” season 2). The show tends to go back and forth on whether or not the writing staff considers Liz a friend or a lame boss, usually based on the needs of the story, but 30 Rock‘s style of comedy doesn’t call for consistency. So you don’t look for story arcs, you look for sight gags and opportunities for Tracy Morgan to lift his shirt up (which have been lacking lately, by the way).
The conflict that Jack was managing involved two NBC janitors fighting over who got the first hour of the late night shift. The janitor in charge of the second hour, Khonani, approaches Jack and reminds him that five years ago Jack signed a contract that would allow Khonani to take over the 10:30 slot. Are we all now on the same page as to what real-life media drama this plot line is emulating? If you guessed the cancellation of Two and a Half Man due to Charlie Sheen’s departure from the series, you would be incorrect. Yes the Jay Leno-Conan O’Brien theme felt a little heavy handed last night as the jokes were too literal and obvious: “Ever since I’m little boy, I’m dreaming of hosting the Tonight Shift.” Nymag.com’s recap of the episode noted that “A few months ago this would have been a cutting-edge satire of the Coco kerfuffle. Now, not so much.” I agree that the story no longer carries the same heat now that all parties involved have their own shows and multimillion dollar paychecks, but I think even if this episode aired right in the middle of the drama, it would have felt too easy (But I am jealous that Nymag.com found a way to so seamlessly use the world “kerfuffle”). I find that sometimes what 30 Rock says in a single line can be substantially more affective than the outcome of a 20 minute long reinterpretation.
Tracy Jordan was an indelible part of the episode, taking extreme measures to remain at home and look after his wife by wearing an electric fence dog collar. Tonight, Tracy had a plethora of one-liners but this is where he said it best:
I can’t change! I’m like a chameleon! Always a lizard!
I had to read that joke twice to get it. That’s when I knew it was a winner.
It’s almost May so we are only a few short weeks away from the end of the regular television season. Then we have to trudge through the summer season which includes a lot of magicians on America’s Got Talent and even more unsettling, January Jones’s acting. So enjoy the spring while it lasts.
30 Rock Quote of the Day:
Jonathan: Five minutes?! Popes and princesses count their Donaghy time in seconds!
Dear Tina 