30 Rock...LIVE! 4/26

[randwill]

Holy crap, that was funny. I don't think I've ever laughed that much during a half hour sitcom.

[lost4life]

I thought it was hilarious as well. Jon Hamm was great.
Was it just me, or was the camera work real shakey?

[Bob Ducca]

Originally Posted by lost4life

Was it just me, or was the camera work real shakey?

I noticed that too, didn't bother me much. I figure they had to do hand-held to handle the quick transitions.

[blondebear]

Chatterton's: the tar holds your baby together!

[Cat Whisperer]

The guest list - holy shit!

I don't know if this was the funniest thing they've ever done, but I liked it! It was a gamble, but I think it worked.

[Bryan Ekers]

"Banjo!"


- that just killed me.

[DrFidelius]

Originally Posted by Bryan Ekers

"Banjo!"


- that just killed me.

Oh my, yes. "I was a Tuskeegee airman. Stop talking like that."

[Eve]

The Honeymooners and Huntley/Brinkley parodies did not work at all for me, but Amos & Andy was hilarious. I notice how everyone was really playing for the camera and the audience, which they don't do on taped shows.

[hogarth]

The cigarette commercials ("Nazi doctor") and the "Amos & Andy" bit were hilarious. The telethon bit was funny, too. The rest was kind of hit and miss.

There was some kind of technical difficulty that cut off the first part of the Joey Bishop (?)/Dusty Springfield bit with a commercial where I was.

[Cat Whisperer]

Oh yeah, the Joey Bishop/Dusty Springfield (what the hell did he call her? Corny Springbok? Something funny) was killing me. She just keeps on singing, while he is right in front of the camera talking to the crew about where they were all going drinking.

[Eve]

Dean Martin, not Joey Bishop--Alec did seems to be having lots of fun.

[muldoonthief]

"We're in New York! Anyone can marry anything!"

Does anyone know who played the young Tracey at the PBS telethon?

[h.sapiens]

It was kind of frantic and a bit of a mess, but still hilarious. I give them a lot of credit for trying something so ambitious live, with all the quick costume and set changes and the unbelievable guest stars. They even had a flying effect which they could have gotten away without, but it added so much to the scene.

Most of NBC's comedy lineup last night was exceptional.

[The Other Waldo Pepper]

Originally Posted by muldoonthief

Does anyone know who played the young Tracey at the PBS telethon?

Donald Glover, from COMMUNITY.

[Bob Ducca]

Originally Posted by muldoonthief

Does anyone know who played the young Tracey at the PBS telethon?

Childish Gambino*





*aka Community's Donald Glover.

[lost4life]

There were a few differences between the east and west coast performances. East had Paul McCartney as the bathroom guest, west had Kim Kardashian. Also, the west coast brought back Cheyenne Jackson as Danny, who sang the opening song. Brian Williams replaced Jon Hamm on the news. There were also a few different jokes here and there. Any other differences?

[Eve]

Originally Posted by lost4life

Brian Williams replaced Jon Hamm on the news.

Aw, I'd have liked to see that, I love Brian Williams, and I already got my satisfying slice of Hamm with the Amos & Andy sketch.

[randwill]

Originally Posted by lost4life

There were a few differences between the east and west coast performances. East had Paul McCartney as the bathroom guest, west had Kim Kardashian.

West coast really got screwed on that one. How was Tina Fey's last line about the amnesiac Paul being her boyfriend changed?

[Bob Ducca]

Originally Posted by Eve

Aw, I'd have liked to see that, I love Brian Williams, and I already got my satisfying slice of Hamm with the Amos & Andy sketch.

I wonder if Williams got tied up and couldn't get to the studio in time for the East coast feed, and Hamm filled in at the last minute.

The Amos & Andy bit was the hardest I've laughed at 30 Rock in a long long time.

I loved Paul (Will Forte) singing "Zou Bisou Bisou." Nice little Mad Men reference.

[lost4life]

Originally Posted by randwill

West coast really got screwed on that one. How was Tina Fey's last line about the amnesiac Paul being her boyfriend changed?

I don't remember exactly, but it was something like Liz saying that 2 million people just saw Jenna's live proposal. Kim walks over, takes a picture for her twitter account and says "now 14 million people saw it, you're welcome...oh and I broke your toilet."

I'm sure some of that is wrong. I don't exactly listen when Kim Kardashian speaks.

Oh, and both are available on Hulu and NBC.com

[Marley23]

It was a fun, sort of hit-and-miss episode: some of the TV parodies were great, but the locked-in-the-dressing room premise meant that some of the cast members didn't have very much to do. Frank, for example. But the Amos and Andy parody was a highlight - after the first segment you can see Sue cracking up, at least in the East Coast version. I did love the for-no-reason Paul McCartney cameo and I thought Alec Baldwin was fantastic.

Originally Posted by lost4life

Also, the west coast brought back Cheyenne Jackson as Danny, who sang the opening song.

He appeared early in the East Coast version. He walks up to Jenna and angrily tells her he was thrown into jail in Singapore (or some other Asian country) for transporting drugs for her and has just been released. She treats him like an autograph seeker.

[muldoonthief]

Originally Posted by Marley23

It was a fun, sort of hit-and-miss episode: some of the TV parodies were great, but the locked-in-the-dressing room premise meant that some of the cast members didn't have very much to do. Frank, for example. But the Amos and Andy parody was a highlight - after the first segment you can see Sue cracking up, at least in the East Coast version. I did love the for-no-reason Paul McCartney cameo and I thought Alec Baldwin was fantastic.

Jimmy Fallon as young Jack almost lost it too. Was it Hamm behind him who kept leaning into the shot?

He appeared early in the East Coast version. He walks up to Jenna and angrily tells her he was thrown into jail in Singapore (or some other Asian country) for transporting drugs for her and has just been released. She treats him like an autograph seeker.

"Thank you. Just portion control and drinking a lot of water."

[h.sapiens]

Originally Posted by muldoonthief

Jimmy Fallon as young Jack almost lost it too. Was it Hamm behind him who kept leaning into the shot?

Fred Armisen in drag. I wish Jimmy had been wearing blue contact lenses, to look more like a young Jack. Especially since Jack had just mentioned his piercing blue eyes.

[Bob Ducca]

Originally Posted by h.sapiens

Fred Armisen in drag.

Anyone else notice Armisen in the background of an early scene in the East coast feed? He had a big fake horseshoe mustache on and was hanging out in the back of a scene chatting with someone.

[corkboard]

No, but I saw him in the dressing room as Frank, right before the Laugh-In parody where Frank and Lutz streak (now with more penis contact!).

[Marley23]

Originally Posted by muldoonthief

Jimmy Fallon as young Jack almost lost it too.

Of course he did. He did a pretty good Alec Baldwin, actually, but it wouldn't be Jimmy Fallon if he didn't collapse into giggling at some point during the scene.

[Laggard]

Havn't found this show all that funny for a while now but this episode was enjoyable.

[Bob Ducca]

Originally Posted by Marley23

Of course he did. He did a pretty good Alec Baldwin, actually, but it wouldn't be Jimmy Fallon if he didn't collapse into giggling at some point during the scene.

(East Coast) Armisen wasn't helping matters by leaning weirdly into the background of the shot while Fallon tried to keep it together.

[Skammer]

Sooo aggravated because we had violent storms last night and the local news pre-empted the first half of the show due to the weather. Came it right at the end of the cigarette commercial. *sigh* Guess I'll have to catch it on Hulu.

[randwill]

Just watched the west coast feed. I didn't spot Fred Armisen as Frank on the east coast but caught it here. One difference not mentioned yet is that the Chatterton cigarettes doctor was a "Nazi doctor" on the east coast and a "gay doctor" (because he's so happy......because he has so many homosexual lovers) on the west coast. Also, Tina got the line she blew right, "Jenna and Hazel..." but Kenneth Parcell (Jack) said "black television" instead of "black and white television" which is understandable given that it happened in the midst of the Amos and Andy parody.

[hogarth]

Originally Posted by Eve

Dean Martin, not Joey Bishop--Alec did seems to be having lots of fun.

Clearly he was doing an impression of Dean, but I watched it again and the character was "Joey Montero". And he called Dusty Springfield "Donkey Stringbean".

[Fair Rarity]

I literally gasped out loud when Jon Hamm came out in blackface. I was having an internal debate if I should turn it off or keep watching. I kept watching and got over it because it was meant to be horrifying. And hilarious. I never thought Jon Hamm could be physically unattractive either. I loved the episode.

[Marley23]

The funny thing about that was ... he wasn't really in blackface. Not the horrifying version of blackface you see on Amos and Andy or Al Jolson. It kind of looked like he had soot on Hamm's face. You could tell it was supposed to represent blackface, but I'm sure they were not comfortable with doing the real thing. That was probably the right choice - it would have taken people out of the comedy even if they weren't offended. As it was, Tracy's line about being a Tuskegee Airman was perfect. It was funny and a serious comment on that issue. So that made for a nice contract when he hit Hamm with a chair and strangled him.

[dropzone]

No credit for Justin Timberlake? That was him seated at the lower left of the phone bank, wasn't it?

[Nunzio Tavulari]

Originally Posted by Eve

Dean Martin, not Joey Bishop--Alec did seems to be having lots of fun.

I was puzzled why they chose to emulate Dean Martin. The premise of the show was to reminisce about the glory of live television. To the best of my recollection, The Dean Martin show wasn't live. He famously refused to rehearse, but the rest of the cast did and I believe the show was taped.

It was a semi-funny bit, but felt out of context to me.

[Krokodil]

Originally Posted by lost4life

There were a few differences between the east and west coast performances. East had Paul McCartney as the bathroom guest, west had Kim Kardashian. Also, the west coast brought back Cheyenne Jackson as Danny, who sang the opening song. Brian Williams replaced Jon Hamm on the news. There were also a few different jokes here and there. Any other differences?

A couple of jokes that got bungled the first time around--like Kristen Schaal's Hollywood-California-Tinseltown bit--were told better and more clearly the second time around. And Dr. Spaceman magically transformed from a Nazi doctor to a gay doctor. Alec Baldwin popped out of the Laugh-In wall as Nixon in the East coast, but by the time of the West coast he'd become Charles Nelson Reilly. And the Gruber Brother and Nipsey joke changed:

EAST: What's the difference between a hippie chick and a chicken? I dunno, but LBJ likes them both fried!

WEST: What's the difference between a woman driver and the Viet Cong? Ten thousand senseless dents!

[Krokodil]

Originally Posted by Nunzio Tavulari

I was puzzled why they chose to emulate Dean Martin. The premise of the show was to reminisce about the glory of live television. To the best of my recollection, The Dean Martin show wasn't live. He famously refused to rehearse, but the rest of the cast did and I believe the show was taped.

I think Laugh-In was taped, too. Given a choice between a good joke and an accurate anecdote, they went with the joke.

[Face Intentionally Left Blank]

I avoided reading this thread until I got around to watching it. Wow! I laughed nearly nonstop. I'm always amazed how much Alec Baldwin seems to enjoy doing live comedy.

I love that they change things simply to get people to watch both versions, like when Jenna went to sing on the west coast broadcast, and Danny walked in front of her and sang instead. Kristen Schaal 's Hollywood speech was better in the west coast version. EVERYTHING seemed better performed and smoother, actually, though I'm still glad I got to see the east coast version as well. Jimmy Fallon and Amy Poehler's appearances as young Jack & Liz cracked me up, and the "Amos and Andy" segment was a hoot. I noticed that Kenneth was in the Huntley/Brinkley sketch, putting papers on the newsdesk.


Random funny, because I can't quote the entire episode:

"BANJO!"

"I got syphilis from Orson Wells!"

"Clap your feet until your service monkey dials the number below."

"This just in: NBC male news reporter Jamie Garnett is missing!"
"I'M Jamie Garnett, you mother. . ."<fast cut>

It felt so much like a really good episode of SNL, it made me miss seeing all the SNL alumni performing live comedy in a sketch format. The "Prince William and Prince: Time-Traveling Fart Detectives" show reminded me of an old SNL sketch with Maya Rudolph, "Tennis Talk with Time-Traveling Scott Joplin."

[Bryan Ekers]

Originally Posted by Krokodil

WEST: What's the difference between a woman driver and the Viet Cong? Ten thousand senseless dents!

Uh....me no get.

[Marley23]

Originally Posted by Bryan Ekers

Uh....me no get.

I believe it's "ten thousand senseless dents" vs. "ten thousand senseless deaths." It's funny because it's tragic!

[kenner116]

I think it was:

"What do you get when you cross a lady driver with the Viet Cong?

A hundred thousand senseless dents."

Do it to it!

[Inner Stickler]

Originally Posted by Face Intentionally Left Blank

I love that they change things simply to get people to watch both versions, like when Jenna went to sing on the west coast broadcast, and Danny walked in front of her and sang instead.

They did the same bit last time they did a live 30 Rock. I got no complaints. Cheyenne Jackson looks good; I just wish he was on the show more.

I agree that the West Coast version was smoother but I thought "Best Prom Night Ever!" was a better line than "Best Sweet 16 Ever!"

[Bryan Ekers]

Originally Posted by kenner116

I think it was:

"What do you get when you cross a lady driver with the Viet Cong?

A hundred thousand senseless dents."

Well, that version makes a little more sense, I guess.... was the specific phrase "a hundred thousand senseless deaths" bandied about in the Vietnam era?

[dropzone]

Constantly. During and after. Still is, except we have newer wars with senseless deaths to bemoan.

[Nunzio Tavulari]

I enjoyed the episode but I think it would have sucked if it had not been live. The whole intrigue was the inherent danger, and who would be in the next cameo. The comedy was average, the situation was exceptional.

I definitely had more of a sense that it was live than I do when watching SNL. I've become immune to the effect on that show.

[MsRobyn]

Originally Posted by h.sapiens

It was kind of frantic and a bit of a mess, but still hilarious. I give them a lot of credit for trying something so ambitious live, with all the quick costume and set changes and the unbelievable guest stars. They even had a flying effect which they could have gotten away without, but it added so much to the scene.

Most of NBC's comedy lineup last night was exceptional.

I just saw both feeds on Hulu.

I think that a big reason that the show worked as well as it did was because most of the cast is used to doing live comedy. Many of the guests are SNL alumni and a good number of the regular cast members worked with Fey when she was doing improv before SNL. Had the show gone with a cast not already skilled in live performance, it probably wouldn't have been as good or as funny.

Oh, and Cheyenne Jackson and Jon Hamm..... yummy!

[SAI26]

Originally Posted by Marley23

I believe it's "ten thousand senseless dents" vs. "ten thousand senseless deaths." It's funny because it's tragic!

I 'm a french translator for the TV and I don't understand the joke.
Could you explain it to me please

Thank you

[DrFidelius]

Originally Posted by SAI26

I 'm a french translator for the TV and I don't understand the joke.
Could you explain it to me please

Thank you

In traditional American humor, a woman driver was a bad driver. (This has been replaced with an Asian sterotype which is no more accurate.) Therefore, a woman driving would probably get thousands of dents in her car for no reason.

The opposition to the Vietnam war used the impression that the conflict did not act to protect American interests to make the point that the deaths on both sides were "senseless," that is that there was no compelling reason for us to be killing the Vietnamese.

The actual joke was that this is a terrible, artificially edgy political joke. The joke itself is not funny; the humor comes from the recognition that comic writers in the late '60s would have thought something like that would be "hip" and funny.

[hogarth]

I don't know how you would translate the (bad) pun in French.

"bosse" vs. "blesse"?

[ftg]

Caught up with this episode last week. The urge to blurt out "Banjo!" is overwhelming.

Jon Hamm was great.