# I am astonished at how bad "30 Rock" is **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 5, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734 "2011-10-05T23:48:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/1 "2011-10-05T23:48:58Z")
I never saw a single episode of this show until Comedy Central put reruns in the 6-7 PM slot and moved Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert an hour earlier. Did CC sign a contract for only the unfunny episodes or something? I had hopes, I heard it was good and I’m a fan of most of the people on it. But Jeez, it’s _remarkably_ unfunny. Everyone seems to communicate in snappy one-liners instead of actual conversation, and it seems more like they are delivering lines of script and hitting their marks instead of … living. And the repartee is not witty. Was it good for a while and then jumped the shark? ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/2 "2011-10-05T23:53:18Z")
Last season was not so great. The previous two were excellent. Never saw any prior to that, and haven’t had a chance to see any reruns yet. I can understand how it could either hit your funny bone dead center or miss completely… Joe ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/3 "2011-10-05T23:53:20Z")
I found it hilarious, its first three seasons anyway, but the ones I’ve seen after that left me feeling very mehsome. At its best it is hilarious, but even in the seasons I like there are dud episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/4 "2011-10-06T00:29:38Z")
Have you tried watching the 1st season? It was stronger at that time. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/5 "2011-10-06T00:38:28Z")
I have no idea what season I’m watching now – whatever Comedy Central is running. Al Gore appeared, and David Schwimmer played a eco-character named Green Zone. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/6 "2011-10-06T00:41:36Z")
Yeah…a bunch of quick, glib one-liners is not natural conversation and does not real characters make. Phail. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/7 "2011-10-06T00:42:51Z")
Never cared for it. It just tries to hard to be wackier than wacky, and it smells of desperation. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/8 "2011-10-06T00:48:52Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Never cared for it. It just tries to hard to be wackier than wacky, and it smells of desperation. Very well said. People seem kinda frantic in it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/9 "2011-10-06T00:52:19Z")
It’s never held me. There’s a laugh here and there, but nothing makes me feel like I’d miss anything if I didn’t see it, which I haven’t done for a while now. Also, I hate Tracy Morgan. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/10 "2011-10-06T00:54:02Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Yeah…a bunch of quick, glib one-liners is not natural conversation and does not real characters make. Phail. Its a sitcom. A form which by design is made for snappy one liners and un-natural conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/11 "2011-10-06T00:54:05Z")
It’s definitely a “mileage varying” type of show. I love it … think it’s one of the best things on TV, along with Community and Modern Family. Or, at least, it _will_ be back on TV come January. The Al Gore/Green Zone episode was from one of those “Green Weeks” NBC did, where they put enviro-friendly stuff into every show airing that week. So that explains some of that. It is pretty madcap, though, but that’s a lot of the appeal for me. And I think Alec Baldwin is freakin’ hilarious. And Tina Fey is pretty hot. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/12 "2011-10-06T00:55:27Z")
I cream my jeans catching up on 30 rock, it’s very meta, hilarious, and a writer’s dream. Never saw much of it , only caught it in later seasons, and much more of it is making sense in syndication. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/13 "2011-10-06T00:57:56Z")
Its one of those shows that I enjoy when I watch it but I don’t actively seek it out. So I can’t say I’m a big fan but I do like it. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/14 "2011-10-06T01:01:32Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > It is pretty madcap, though, but that’s a lot of the appeal for me. And I think Alec Baldwin is freakin’ hilarious. And Tina Fey is pretty hot. Love the show because of him. A real life Uncle Scrooge. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/15 "2011-10-06T01:11:39Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Yeah…a bunch of quick, glib one-liners is not natural conversation and does not real characters make. Phail. > [@Loach](#): > > Its a sitcom. A form which by design is made for snappy one liners and un-natural conversation. More specifically, it’s a sitcom with ties to/origins in sketch comedy (specifically, SNL). “Natural conversation” is _so_ not the point. I find it very entertaining, and I think it’s fair-to-wonderful at what it tries to do: the wacky, the contrived, the sly, the meta, the over-the-top. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/16 "2011-10-06T01:39:27Z")
CC is running the very first episodes right now. They were still in the stage of throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks, and Tina Fey seemed hellbent on channeling Mary Tyler Moore for the 21st century. The characters will develop and the storylines will get better, but if you aren’t a fan of the dialog and the one-liners, I don’t think you’ll like the later episodes either. In terms of overall quality, I think \*Parks and Recreation \*has overtaken and passed _30 Rock._ ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/17 "2011-10-06T03:52:12Z")
It has some great moments but Judah Friedlander has never been funny. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![hazynlazy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/bb73d2/32.png) [@hazynlazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazynlazy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/18 "2011-10-06T04:30:15Z")
I don’t like 30 Rock either. It’s tone doesn’t work for me - too blatant in its humour. Every time I see 30 Rock while I’m scrolling through the guide, I get briefly excited, and then realize it’s not 3rd Rock from the Sun and my heart sinks a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/19 "2011-10-06T04:38:46Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > It’s never held me. There’s a laugh here and there, but nothing makes me feel like I’d miss anything if I didn’t see it, which I haven’t done for a while now. Also, I hate Tracy Morgan. This. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734/20 "2011-10-06T04:42:06Z")
I think it’s one of the best shows currently on TV. They’ve had their dud episodes, but this & Modern Family are my favorite comedies. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-astonished-at-how-bad-30-rock-is/598734.md?page=2)