Hi everyone! Miss me? Sorry I've been away so long.
Anyway, i'm not much for explanations... So there.
So, how nicely coincidental that I get to watch both Studio 60 and 30 Rock one day before the Americans do. I don't get how that works, but hey, I'm not complaining.
So... There's a lot of hype surrounding the new sitcom written by and starring SNL alumnus Tina Fey. How is it?
It's good.
It's not great, but it's good.
I watched it and I couldn't help compare it to Studio 60, which I'm not totally taken with either... I couldn't help but wonder if the network executives asked Fey to push 30 Rock more into the realm of the absurd so that it is enough of a contrast to Studio 60 that audiences won't feel like they're watching two shows on the same subject. Which they are... Essentially.
Take away all the self importance of Studio 60, the cool shots, the dark lighting, add some "real" jokes, some "comedy music" and you've got 30 Rock.
Tina Fey is outstanding. Alec Baldwin is the best thing on the show, and Tracy Morgan actually proves that he's funny. The rest of the actors are forgettable, but their parts were pretty small... They didn't have a lot to work with.
What I loved the most about the show was that it wasn't afraid to poke fun at itself. The sketches within the show aren't trying to be funny, they stink. And the audience (within the show) eats them up. Tracy Morgan is a hackneyed "Jamie Foxx" type whom America loves. The show plays off this well... They're clearly mocking today's audience, and how low the bar has been set for comedy.
What I didn't like about the show was the fact that the tone was far too silly. It plays like a half hour sketch. There's no emotional investment in any of the characters.
Ideally, Aaron Sorkin and Tina Fey should have sit down together and found a happy medium, because the things that don't work in Studio 60 work in 30 Rock, and vice versa.
Still, it's a solid show, and NBC is proving that they're on top of their game when it comes to half hour comedy.
And thank god, there's no laugh track.
