Will I like 30 Rock?

Cafe Society
1

Greetings to cultural Dopers. :slight_smile:
Here’s the situation.

I like:

Big Bang Theory
Entourage
Sports Night
Studio 60
West Wing
Law + Order (Original series plus Criminal Intent*)
CSI (Original series; not so much the others)

Based on that, will I like 30 Rock?

Thanks for your time.

*SVU is too harrowing.

2

Yes. The first half of the first season isn’t great, but it really picks up steam after that. I too put my money behind Studio 60 winning the “we produce a weekly variety show” contest and thought that 30 Rock was going to suck. I came around.

3

I like Big Bang Theory, Sports Night and Studio 60 - don’t watch the others.

It is a mixed bag for me. On the one hand you have Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin who usually make me laugh. Then on the other you have the rest of the cast. Tracey Morgan is a talentless hack whose character *could *be funny with good delivery. The rest of the show doesn’t work for me.

4

Tracy Morgan is a misunderstood genius.

In about 3000 years, it will all make sense.

5

Definitely. Although, like the others said - give it time. Don’t go into it thinking it’ll be the greatest comedy of all time. Just let it grow on you. Oh, will it grow on you…

6

Thanks for the replies!

7

IMHO, the show that 30 Rock most resembles is NewsRadio.

8

It’s not a question of poor delivery. You just don’t like it. IMHO, Morgan’s timing and delivery are perfect. Then again, I like the Brian Fellow’s skits from SNL.

I think the show is brilliant and the funniest thing on network televison. I think funniest shows on television are Flight of the Conchords and East Bound and Down, numbers one and two in that order .

9

I was slow to embrace it, but I now think it’s the funniest sitcom on broadcast TV. (I know that’s a low bar… but still, it’s consistantly hilarious).

10

It isn’t a question of good delivery. You just like it… :stuck_out_tongue:

In discussions like this, it is always about opinion. IMO, it is poor. Opinions, by their nature, vary. Else they would be facts.

11

Do you have two ears and a heart?

12

I agree with this. (And The Muppet Show, of course.)

13

I find it’s a spiritual cousin of Arrested Development.

14

Yes, you will.

15

If AD and NewsRadio had a kid, it would be 30 Rock.

I’m with whole bean on Tracy Morgan. I thought I’d hate him when I first started the show – now he’s my favorite performer on the show, although Baldwin comes very close. Morgan’s readings slay me. He manages to combine a raunchy despot with childlike innocence.

OP: Yes, you probably will. I like all the shows you mentioned, with the exception of Studio 60, and I love 30 Rock. Give it three or four episodes, less than two hours of your time. Don’t decide after the first episode – it takes a while for any show (especially comedies) to find their rhythm and/or for the viewer to get used to said rhythm.

16

OK, I’m buying the first two series. :slight_smile:

17

Goodness, don’t buy the first two series without having seen any of the episodes!! If you have Netflix, go the Watch Instantly route – both series 1 and 2 are available and you can see if you like it before spending the bucks.

18

I agree, watch a couple first. We came in on “Jack-tor” and immediately fell in love. I had read here that people weren’t loving it, but we must have started watching just as it got good.

19

Can you get Hulu.com in the UK? There’s a few episodes and plenty of scenes up there.

20

Meh, let glee live on the edge! He’s stimulating the US economy by flat out buying the DVDs anyway. Go glee! :slight_smile:

(Just please don’t come back and yell at us if you actually didn’t like the show.)