I know opinion has been negative on the show, and with some valid reasons. But I thought last night was quite good, not only for this show, but for sitcoms in general. Alec Baldwin is a god, Tina Fey got to actually do something, and the page (Kenneth?) was a lot funnier than Tracy Morgan has been.
I thought last night’s episode was much funnier, and more pulled-toghether than the first two. I laughed several times, and not just at Alec Baldwin (which was the case before). They actually had a running gag (Lemon choking) which almost worked. And yes, Kenneth was very funny: “Also, people were yelling, and I got confused about the rules.” Reminds me of Buster from Arrested Development.
I noticed that each of the three first episodes has had a different opening credit sequence. I wonder if that will be an ongoing thing, or if they’re just trying to figure out what to do.
I look forward to this show each week, and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s fresh and quirky. NBC is moving it to Thursday, as part of it’s new "Please See TV lineup, which is a good thing, because the further they get from Twenty Good Years, the better.
I hate that it’s on at 8, b/c that’s the kids’ bedtime, so I always miss the first 15 minutes. But I loved Alec Baldwin channeling Hannibal Lecter (“all the way to the N - B - C…”), and when he was convinced Lemon was gay (“those shoes are at least bi-curious”).
It got a few audible chuckles out of me, which is a rare thing for a 30 minute… um- sitcom? I guess technically it’s a sitcom.
I liked it. The page became my favorite character last night.
I’ve yet to see it all the way through, but I like it. It’s one of a handful of keepers I’ve seen so far. I’m bummin’ about John Lithgow, though. Even though the show sucks, I still love him.
I like it! I’m the type who loves stuff like “Laughter on the 23rd floor” and this is much more true to it than the terminally dour “Studio 60”.
I wish The Office was moving to 9:30, though. I need to sit and contemplate it after it’s done and not go into another rollicking comedy.
I liked last night’s episode quite a bit. I thought it had several good laughs in it, and I liked that line from the page, too. (“People were yelling, and I got confused about the rules…”)
I didn’t like the first episode AT ALL, and then I missed the second one, so hopefully this is a sign of improvement for the show. Alec Baldwin’s character cracks me up.
I’ve liked all the episodes and this was no exception, though Tina Fey is not particular good at physical comedy (Jane K, who was MIA last night, would’ve handled it a lot better). But the characters are all being nicely drawn in clear, funny strokes, with Alec still being the King of the Mountain. And last night was a perfect amount of Tracy (whose bizarro Tourettes outbursts I find funny in small quantities).
Did you catch the throwaway reference to Conan O’Brien? Looking forward to his appearance on the show.
p.s. me likey “lesbian” Tina.
I hated the first episode, but thought last night’s was funny. Who was playing Gretchen Thomas? She seemed like maybe she’d been one of the Law and Order babes at some point?
Correctamundo! That was Stephanie March who played ADA Alex Cabot (the best ADA, imo).
Good call.
Her name was surprisingly hard to find. I guess none of the promo information given out listed her as the guest star because that would have given away the joke.
I was actually surprised. I haven’t laughed that hard at a 30 minute sitcom since…well…Arrested Development.
the “It’s the worst!” was just so perfect.
I’m trying hard to like it, because I’m a big Tina Fey fan, but I find the humor a little too broad and stereotypical. Baldwin, Morgan and the slovenly writer in the “Joystick Master” baseball cap are all types, not characters. I’d find the situations funnier if I believed in the characters, and I don’t.
I did think the wedding-ring joke (“Weird thing was, I still had money left.”) was pretty funny.
That’s what I was thinking, but I couldn’t find it confirmed anywhere on the usual suspects (imdb, tv.com, etc). And then I wasn’t sure if I was maybe mixing her up with Lawyer Barbie on L&O:TOS, the one whose character got written out with ‘Is this because I’m a lesbian?’ By the time I started looking this stuff up, my mental image was fading and I couldn’t remember anymore.
Elizabeth Rohm.
[quote=Mehitabel]
I wish The Office was moving to 9:30, though. I need to sit and contemplate it after it’s done and not go into another rollicking comedy.Not me! That would conflict with Grey’s Anatomy and lead to a personal Sophie’s Choice.
I liked it a lot. There was a lot of clever writing. I like shows that bury jokes in the dialog (like the Conan reference). I liked when Tina Fey said, “Where’s my Emmy?” - delayed jokes like that can be funny, and this one was. Good timing.
I also liked how they played out the ‘relationship’ between Lemon and the Lesbian. You got the sense that Lemon really wanted to be gay, because her new friend was everything she was looking for, except in the wrong sex. But in the end she was straight and knew it. That whole thing was well handled. Not heavy-handed, no preaching, funny, and yet it made valid points.
I hope the Studio 60 writers are watching this and going, “Oh, so THAT’s how you write comedy!”