# 30 Rock...LIVE! 4/26 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 27, 2012, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089 "2012-04-27T01:03:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/21 "2012-04-27T15:05:31Z")
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. > [@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. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/22 "2012-04-27T15:59:31Z")
> [@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.” ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/23 "2012-04-27T16:15:33Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/24 "2012-04-27T16:43:11Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/25 "2012-04-27T16:54:56Z")
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!). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/26 "2012-04-27T17:01:12Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/27 "2012-04-27T17:38:18Z")
Havn’t found this show all that funny for a while now but this episode was enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/28 "2012-04-27T17:39:11Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/29 "2012-04-27T18:07:49Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/30 "2012-04-27T21:55:12Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/31 "2012-04-28T00:14:47Z")
> [@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”. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/32 "2012-04-28T01:36:31Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/33 "2012-04-28T01:44:23Z")
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. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/34 "2012-04-28T02:18:37Z")
No credit for Justin Timberlake? That was him seated at the lower left of the phone bank, wasn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/35 "2012-04-28T04:02:56Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/36 "2012-04-28T04:31:16Z")
> [@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! ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/37 "2012-04-28T04:38:09Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/38 "2012-04-28T08:57:50Z")
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. . .”\ 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.” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/39 "2012-04-28T13:41:32Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > WEST: What’s the difference between a woman driver and the Viet Cong? Ten thousand senseless dents! Uh…me no get. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089/40 "2012-04-28T13:56:53Z")
> [@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! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-rock-live-4-26/620089.md?page=3)