This won’t come as news to anybody with two ears and a heart, but “30 Rock” is the greatest show on television right now. I literally do not know a single person who has seen it and not liked it. Maybe it’s just the company I subconsciously keep around because of their fabulous/flawless taste, but I can say with confidence that it’s impossible for someone not to like it. Unless you’re Sarah Palin.
The show is currently in its third season, which is probably its most popular yet, as evidenced by the quasi-gratuitous but nonetheless entertaining A-list celebrity cameos. When the show premiered in 2006, it was at the same time as “The West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin’s short-lived “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”, which got the bulk of critical acclaim at first, but by the end of the season was being panned across the board, while “30 Rock” was starting to come into its own and garner more ratings. By the end of the season, “Studio 60″ got cancelled for being boring, while “30 Rock” has been around ever since for being cool.
I didn’t watch “30 Rock” when it was on TV the first two seasons, for reasons I really cannot comprehend but would now attribute to an unsophisticated juvenile immaturity that played T.I.’s “What You Know” over 140 times on my iTunes. I first started watching the show online this summer as I was suffering from the crippling, life-sapping disease, home-for-summer-itis, hoping it would cure some of my symptoms, or at least stave off the misery for 24 minutes.
Three episodes in, I was cured like Lindsay Lohan after a weekend at Promises ““ that is, feeling better and happier in the present, before realizing my overall situation was still in shambles.
Anyway, as I kept watching episodes on Hulu, I was hooked, blowing through the entire first season within one or two days. I was ROFLing and LOLing and WTFing and STFUing; it was so good. My summer nights now had a purpose, were a little fuller, had some pizzazz to them that rivaled the resplendent glory of Tracy Jordan’s spooky, scary werewolf Halloween jam.
“30 Rock” won seven Emmys in 2008 and has been a vast critical hit, seeming to have hit its stride this season ““ Tina Fey’s ubiquitous portrayal of Sarah Palin in the criss-crossing pop cultural/political sphere of “Saturday Night Live’s” presidential election coverage certainly helped. But what makes the show amazing to me is that it does have a unique, universal appeal without sacrificing quality by maintaining a sharp, tongue-in-cheek wit.
Just about all of my friends regularly watch episodes of the show on Hulu or on Netflix’s instant-watch feature, and it’s a good thing to have as common ground these days, especially since things are getting heated now that baseball season has started. You can have a 415 area code or a 323, but the number “30” in this case is a uniter, not a divider. These numbers don’t run.
The best part of the show is that all of the characters are hilarious in completely different ways, and you can pick which character is your favorite while still loving all the rest of them. Kind of like Brangelina with all their kids (you know they love baby Zahara the most, come on). Tracy Morgan’s character Tracy Jordan is loveable for his deluded silliness, Jenna (Jane Krakowski) is funny for being a deluded diva, Kenneth the Page (Jack McBrayer) is a favorite for his deluded hillbilly enthusiasm, and Alec Baldwin’s character Jack Donaghy is liked for his hilariously deluded conservatism.
But for the ladies, it’s all about bowing down to Liz Lemon (am I right?). I don’t know if you could tell from this column, but I am one self-deprecating, pathetic, single lady with a fondness for silly work and physical comfort that supercedes any real desire for sophisticated glamour or romantic success. Why wear a fancy dress thing and feel uncomfortable when you could be “workin’ on the night cheese” in a Slanket? Even though she’s not a real person, I feel a sort of divine connection to the comedy sisterhood with her. I know this probably sounds creepy … but it’s probably also something Liz Lemon would feel, right?
As much as the show tries to play up Liz’s self-perpetuating lameness, we all know that everyone really does love her because she’s a hilarious, smart, successful woman who also happens to be a knockout.
At this point, it’s almost ridiculous how Liz is still ostracized by her co-workers for being frumpy and lame. But I guess it’s that very ridiculousness that makes the show so funny and appealing. I mean, having to rename Janis Joplin as “Jackie Jormp-Jomp” for copyright reasons is not exactly a believable scenario either, but how could you pass up such hilarious, absurd alliteration?
“30 Rock” may just be a television show, but I like knowing that there’s something of quality and worth that I can bond over with my friends, and even my enemies.
If you want to go to there, e-mail McReynolds at dmcreynolds@media.ucla.edu.