My TV evenings have been pretty much set in stone. Local news, network news, an hour of the Simpsons, and then baseball, or Turner Classic, or simply turn off the TV.
So the second half-hour of the Simpsons has suddenly turned into 30 Rock. Last evening’s show didn’t amuse me at all; today it had a couple of good moments. Is it worth sticking with?
Some time ago in Denver, the same thing happened, and allowed me to get into the Drew Carey Show, which I wound up enjoying very much. So I don’t want to just growl about losing a Simpsons episode, but frankly, so far I’m inclined to find something else at 6:30.
It’s a favorite of mine - and the way that practically every line is a joke actually reminds me of The Simpsons - though I think it’s the sort of show you either like a whole lot or not at all.
I’ve seen every episode of 30 Rock, most more than once.
At it’s best, it’s very, very funny in a “just a little edgy but not quite enough to offend anybody.” At it’s worst, it’s lazy and formulaic (but, hey, it’s an NBC sitcom, what’s new?).
It’s what I’d call “very good bad TV.” Very little substance, but solid entertainment and certainly better than generic multicamera sitcoms.
Are the episodes where she’s breaking up with her boyfriend, and the black guy tries to stab Conan right at the beginning, or am I being brought in in the middle?
Sure. I liked the earlier seasons better than now, frankly. Watch it, maybe laugh; it’s pretty funny. Not “Three Stooges” (with Curly) funny, but what is? Skip those episodes with Julianne Moore (?) – I dislike her as an actor, which is why I don’t re-watch Big Lebowski again and again, but there’s still some redeeming stuff even within her terrible arc with her stupid accent and her stupid face.
Its in the first season (I think, they might do the clip with Tracey stabbing Conan more then once, and Liz Lemon breaks up with 800 boyfriends over the course of the show).
There are some jokes that are call-backs to previous episodes and some reoccuring characters, but in general the show doesn’t really need to be watched in order.
It stands up to repeated viewings if that’s what you’re asking. Last night was the ep where LL finds out she has the ability, and then desire, to fire the girlfriend of a guy she likes. How she goes about it is so wonderfully full of fail, and Tina Fey does a great job with it. And you get Jack’s sibs all together, with Nathan Lane as Eddie, the prodigal son and “magnificent douchebag” - a lot of funny…
Right now they’re still pretty early in the first season. The first episodes of the show were kind of boring and seemed to deal with Tina Fey’s personal past issues with men more than anything else. I didn’t like it when it first aired, but my wife implored me to give it a chance. Things turned around with the episode with Paul Reubens – that’s when the show really started to get good. Just stick with it – it’s seriously one of the best damn shows on television. Wait’ll you get to the second season.