Dear Tina,
As a personal fan of my own mother, I was pleased to see 30 Rock dedicate their first episode of May sweeps to matriarchs everywhere. It was a cavalcade of some of our most beloved guest stars from Elaine Stritch to Buzz Aldrin. Oh wait, he was a new addition, but we embrace him just the same. The show within the show, TGS With Tracy Jordan, has made arrangements to dedicate their upcoming episode to the moms of the entire cast and crew, allowing these women to make a special appearance on stage at the very end. Prior to the live taping, the moms roam the halls of 30 Rock driving their children crazy and playing without request their mother-knows-best greatest hits. Applause to the casting department for mother-consistency, particularly with Tina’s mom who we haven’t seen since season 2 as well as recognizing that the only woman who could pull off playing Lutz’s mom was Lutz in a wig and crewneck sweatshirt. We digest below.
Liz’s mom Margaret has always been supportive of Liz’s feminist nature and high standards when it comes to the search for her life partner. Or at least she tried to be. When the other moms figure out that Liz is pushing forty and has never been married, they in turn go for the jugular and inform Liz that whatever it is she thinks she’s waiting for, it doesn’t exist and it’s time to settle. Liz goes to her mom hoping she will reaffirm Liz’s position and discovers that Margaret does indeed believe that there is a perfect guy out there for everyone. After all, she found hers. It just happens to not be Liz’s father, but Buzz Aldrin, or “Ed” as Margaret liked to call him. This discovery shakes Liz’s entire belief systems and leads her to a confrontation of America’s favorite astronaut himself, Mr. Buzz Aldrin. Let me say this Buzz, you have found your place in comedy. You should have never signed up for Dancing With The Stars and instead turned your attention to sitcom guest spots:
Liz: Excuse me, Dr. Aldrin, there wasn’t a door so I just…
Buzz Aldrin: I don’t believe in barriers because I always break them.
During their meeting Liz learns that despite his hero status, Buzz had plenty of demons in his life to overcome that would have been no walk in the park for her mom. This so-called soulmate of Margaret’s turns out to be just as average as the rest of us, struggling with fidelity and booze (according to the script–I have no personal knowledge of Buzz’s real-life history). So while Liz gets some relief out of this and decides to put the search for Astronaut Mike Dexter (her fantasy husband) to rest, this whole plot line has me a little turned around. I myself take major issue with the idea of settling so…was I supposed to interpret this as tongue-in-cheek and I can continue to demand my husband know how to sew a button on my blouse and take our children out to breakfast so I can sleep in on Saturday mornings? Or am I supposed to interpret this as gospel and instead begin my search for a man who doesn’t know how to turn on the dryer and runs away from a baby with a poopy diaper? I hope there’s at least a happy medium.
Jack is still in the midst of his own love triangle, holding on to both Avery and Nancy until he can make a thoughtful decision as to who he wants to settle down with. His tough as nails mother Colleen, who has been notoriously hard on Jack his whole life (“My mother tried to send me to Vietnam to make a man out of me. I was twelve.”), continues to push Jack to figure out the direction he wants his life to go in. She recognizes that while he has conquered the business world, he has never found a way to balance this life with a personal one. As we have seen before with Colleen, it’s not about shaming Jack, it’s about a mother’s need to know that her children will be taken care of. The longer Jack continues to waver over these two women, the more likely it is that they will both leave and he will be alone once again. In a touching moment for those who have watched the history of this mother-son relationship, Jack resigns himself to Colleen’s advice, “Then I’m asking for the first time in my life, what should I do?” to which Colleen replies, “Then I’m going to tell you for the first time in my life, I can’t!” It’s hard to imagine Jack making the decision at this point in his life to get married (again) and it is even harder to imagine that Elizabeth Banks or Julianne Moore would be interested in becoming a series regular. Actually, no I take that back, it’s hardest to imagine that NBC would grant 30 Rock the budget to even consider putting one of these actresses on the payroll. If they couldn’t afford to keep Rachel Dratch around, they definitely can’t afford a four-time Oscar nominee or Women in Film Crystal ‘Face of the Future’ Award winner. I’m just saying.
In other news around Rockefeller Center, Jenna’s mom Verna kept up her end of the bargain with Jack and made an appearance on Mother’s Day in order to receive the next lump sum from their settlement. A business deal she has to see through to the end in order to complete the next step in her surgery–as of right now she was only able to afford to have one breast lifted. Tracy Jordan does not know where his mother or is nor has the means to track her down so Pete decided to cast someone to play his mom for the upcoming special. Hoping that they might get Phylicia Rashad to fill those shoes, Tracy doesn’t appear to understand that casting a celebrity would likely interfere with the allusion that this woman is actually his mom. Pete hires Novella Nelson, the woman from the Pajamaralls commercial (for the person who needs to find a balance between their chafing overalls and pajamas they can’t wear fishing) and Tracy is insulted to say the least. Last night Tracy said it best:
Novella Nelson: And you think I want a fake son that recorded an Anti-condom PSA?
Tracy: I saved a lot of kids from lame sex!
A well-rounded episode with excellent use of guest stars. I have to commend 30 Rock this season for finding the right context to use its guest stars. Last season the use of Jennifer Aniston and Oprah felt a little like NBC gave them an ultimatum and they were throwing a hail mary pass to boost ratings. This year with stars like Michael Sheen and Julianne Moore using their talent to embrace the style of the show and allow it to stay true to itself. Relying on great writing and implausible antics, 30 Rock feels like the authentic, superior program we fell in love with during the first season.
30 Rock Quote of the Day:
Jack: You! What is wrong with you? I am 51 years old, do you not think I cannot take care of my own personal life?
Colleen: Think?! I know you can’t. You do a lot of things well. Make money. Choose wine. Wear Ties. But you and women, disaster! Divorce. Broken engagement. I assume herpes.
Dear Tina 