30 Rock Is a Regular Laughfest

The show 30 Rock first caught my attention a couple of years ago when I began seeing the rather epic American Express commercial demonstrating the zaniness of a typical day for harried head writer Liz Lemon. I thought the ads were hilarious, though it wasn’t until the season three finale that I finally watched an episode. A guest appearance from Clay Aiken was what drew me into Kidney Now!, but I was happy to sit through the episode, what with its hilarious spoof of We Are the World and its outrageous premise involving a character played by Alan Alda and a situation that reminded me very much of the pathetic backstory of LOST’s John Locke. Pretty funny stuff.

I’ve only caught the show sporadically since then, but after I revived my dormant Netflix account and my brother discovered that several seasons of the series were available for instant viewing, he suggested we watch it from the beginning. I agreed, and we’ve been chortling over it ever since.

Tina Fey stars as Liz, a sharp-witted, perpetually frazzled sketch comedy writer who oversees a show on NBC. Her world turns upside-down when Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) is made her boss and begins demanding major changes to her series. One of his first suggestions is to bring eccentric movie star Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) on board. Much of the first season involves the struggles of the rest of the cast and crew to accept the changes that come with Tracy’s presence. Though he is both smarter and more ethical than anyone would guess at first glance, Tracy remains a loose cannon, so it’s never quite clear what he’s going to do next, especially since he has a difficult time keeping his ego in check.

Like Fey, Morgan was a familiar sight to us thanks to Saturday Night Live, where his zany antics often cracked us up, especially during the sketches in which he played the bizarre host of Brian Fellow’s Safari Planet. Baldwin, too, has been on SNL many times, though as a host rather than a regular, and other SNL alums turn up periodically, most notably Chris Parnell as the dubious Dr. Spaceman, who attends to the medical and psychiatric needs of Tracy and others, and Rachel Dratch in a variety of minor roles. It’s fun to guess where she might turn up next, as her appearances are extremely random. Also showing up in a slightly more serious role is Jason Sudeikis, a potential love interest for Liz.

Of all the major characters on the show, Liz seems the most normal, though she certainly has her share of issues. Still, she seems much more well-adjusted than folks like anti-social geek Frank Rossitano (Judah Friedlander) or attention-grabbing Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski), the actress who is most threatened by Tracy’s arrival. My favorite character is Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer), an enthusiastic intern with a perpetually enormous smile. His naivety and determination to go above and beyond the call of duty in all situations makes me think of company clerk Radar, my favorite M*A*S*H character, and he and Tracy are the two characters who most consistently make me laugh.

30 Rock is a madcap sort of show that is frequently self-referential, poking fun at a lot of the elements that go into making a television show. It’s one of these series where things frequently go extravagantly wrong; pratfalls are plentiful, as are miscommunications and outright disasters. At the same time, we get to see bits and pieces of the show-within-a-show, as well as bits of movies, music videos and other shows, and these are generally very funny. I especially like the original songs, which tend to be written on extremely odd topics. For instance, the first season features Tracy’s nonsensical Werewolf Bar Mitzvah and Jenna’s provocative Muffin Top.

As with most contemporary prime time comedies, 30 Rock can be a bit crude, but most of the humor derives from these very odd characters all working closely together to try to produce a coherent show. Nathan and I breezed right through the first season and are chuckling heartily over the second, so if you’re looking for a comedy that’s just plain silly, give the show a whirl.