Oh, NBC. Typical of the 4th place Network to play two episodes of 30 Rock in one night and have only one of them be half of a two part episode. They really couldn’t have found a way to run last week’s episode and this week’s first episode on the same night? Truly, it wasn’t a big deal, but getting the little things right might help drag NBC out of the basement.
I enjoyed the conclusion to last week’s episode, and was glad that Kelsey Grammer got a lot more screen time this week. I really liked the crazy plot with Jenna, Kenneth, and Kelsey, and watching Grammer channel Abraham Lincoln in an improvised one man show just to create a distraction was pretty amazing.
Unlike An, I don’t think that Jack and Liz are going to end up as a romantic couple. At the same time, though, I do find the two of them to be completely adorable. They have a great friendship and it is really sweet how protective Jack is of Liz. Yeah, he was probably overstepping his bounds getting so involved with Criss, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The second episode of the evening didn’t live up to the first. Truly, 30 Rock is at its best when Jack and Liz are interacting, and the two characters were in separate plots in this episode, as Liz and Jenna had a big fight and Jack fired all the pages.
It was nice to see Grizz and Dotcom back on the show for the first time this season, even if only one of them had lines. Tracy’s story, however, was definitely the weakest of the evening. The highlight was definitely the opening minutes that showed us the trailer for Martin Luther King Day, a celebrity filled film in the tradition of Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve.
Quotes from the night:
“Since its founding earlier this afternoon The National Association for Zero Intolerance or NAZI — We should change that…” – Tracy
“We can call it quits and I go back to sleeping on the floor of my uncle’s mattress store.” – Criss
“Idiots can do anything we put our minds to. I played a Nuclear psychiatrist in a James Bonk movie” – Denise Richards.
“Wazzzzup! Yeah, baby! I’m here today to apologize for my earlier comments. I used an offensive term to describe a group of people who made America the great… continent that it is today. These kick ass people have given the world countless bodacious things like the birther movement, intelligent design, water parks… No! I will not endorse water parks. They are a cesspool of disease and people boo you when you walk back down the stairs. You know what you people have given the world? Girls Gone Wild, The Golden Globes, cans that tell you how cold beer is. Florida. Bratz dolls…. Because of you there may be an Entourage movie!” – Liz’s apology to idiots everywhere, as written by Tracy and Denise Richards
“I’ve got to get back into character. HIT ME IN THE FACE!” – Kelsey Grammar preparing for act two of his Abraham Lincoln play
“If a poor boy from Boston can become … me, maybe you can become a suitable sex partner for Liz Lemon.” – Jack to Criss
“Jenna has become a huge star for this network. She is bigger than Maulik Pancholy on Whitney.” – Jack
“Where does Liz Lemon go when she’s out on the town? To the Barnes & Noble bathroom!” – Liz
I only caught the second episode and it nixed any romantic views I had. However, I found it funny. On a side, side note, I would TOTALLY see MLK Day as a rom com –