A new 30 Rock thread because I can't find the old one

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That's the sort of thing that wouldn't have been on AD

MR. F to thread!

― David R., Monday, 26 February 2007 21:39 (nineteen years ago)

I so disagree. Blue man was probably one of my three favorite 30 Rock episodic elements so far (Kenneth's poker skills and Brian Williams' dressing room being a couple others).

― Johnny Fever, Monday, 26 February 2007 21:41 (nineteen years ago)

the lame part abt AD is the forced zaniness and narration - it's still really funny but 30 rock is more better

― jh0shea, Monday, 26 February 2007 21:41 (nineteen years ago)

The Tracy-off-his-meds episode was one of my favorites, between the "I'M BUGGIN OUT" on the ceiling part and the introduction of Dr Spaceman.

― nickalicious, Monday, 26 February 2007 21:43 (nineteen years ago)

Also I want more Grizz and Dot Com!

― nickalicious, Monday, 26 February 2007 21:44 (nineteen years ago)

I love both shows, but AD has the edge. There was a poignancy to the characters that 30 Rock doesn't have yet.

― Nicole, Monday, 26 February 2007 21:45 (nineteen years ago)

The other thing that really sags about Arrested Development in this comparison is the shotgun narrative construction -- it's really antic and all over the place, all kinds of cutaways and flashbacks and insert gags taped together with voice-over, so that over the course of 30 minutes it can't exactly put together a story that feels natural and coherent, and instead goes for a kind of Seinfeld / Larry David-style "random scattershot things that start to intersect with one another in bizarre and hilarious ways."

Which is funny, but if you put the DVD in my hand, I can only watch so many episodes of that in a row. Part of what's amazing about 30 Rock is that it gets that same kind of humor into a format that feels a lot more coherent, and spends a lot more time sticking with the characters in an actual situation-type comedy, rather than just hitting a gag or awkward pause and then racing off to the next one. I mean, if you measured scene lengths and stuff, I'm not sure 30 Rock is actually constructed THAT differently from Arrested Development, but it definitely feels like it is, and I'm guessing my one-episode-after-another DVD-viewing tolerance for it would be like three times as long as with AD.

― nabisco, Monday, 26 February 2007 21:45 (nineteen years ago)

Mr. F was wonderful. I still sing the jingle to myself when I need a little pick-me-up.

― Chris H., Monday, 26 February 2007 21:45 (nineteen years ago)

I think the AD characters mean more to me, but that's probably because it was a show about family, whereas 30 Rock is a show about co-workers, whose relationships with each other just isn't quite as important.

― nickalicious, Monday, 26 February 2007 21:46 (nineteen years ago)

"I'M BUGGIN OUT!" indeed. Everything about that episode was perfect (Pete wearing the wig/parting the crowd of NBC tourists, Conan and Liz's chat outside Tracy's dressing room, Dr. Spaceman, the blue dude... all of it).

― Johnny Fever, Monday, 26 February 2007 21:46 (nineteen years ago)

I guess the main element there is that 30 Rock actually focuses in trad sitcom style on particular characters dealing with particular issues, whereas Arrested Development's humor is more often about characters' repetitive / predictable wacky behavior -- I can't recall it ever grounding itself in anything so straightforward as, you know, "Liz Lemon struggles to balance her role as hard-assed boss with her desire to be well-liked and 'feminine.'"

― nabisco, Monday, 26 February 2007 21:50 (nineteen years ago)

Two things:

1. 30 Rock's characters are not as wacky as AD's, which helps

2. I always felt like AD strained at times when it tried to hook up with every character in every episode. With 30 Rock we sometimes see Jenna's character in an epsiode, and sometimes we don't--and that's okay.

― Mr. Que, Monday, 26 February 2007 21:56 (nineteen years ago)

I've watched a couple of the AD re-runs and it's just not as good as I remember it being. There's a lot of time wasted in episodes (where 30 Rock fills in with sight/background gags) with oh-look-how-wacky-we-are filler. Feh.

― Elvis Telecom, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 01:29 (nineteen years ago)

Okay, what the hell is going on? Did they export the writing duties offshore or something? This episode isn't funny so far AT ALL!

― Johnny Fever, Friday, 2 March 2007 02:48 (nineteen years ago)

"Ghostface, do you think you could mention Donagy Export dot com?"
"Yeah, let me get my rhyming dictionary."

― nickalicious, Friday, 2 March 2007 03:02 (nineteen years ago)

^crazy. it was really funny! so many good tracey lines!

Ghostface: "Let me get my rhyming dictionary"

― johnny crunch, Friday, 2 March 2007 03:03 (nineteen years ago)

Tracy does an excellent Oprah.

― nickalicious, Friday, 2 March 2007 03:03 (nineteen years ago)

It picked up once they moved to the Source Awards, but before that it was just a couple of Tracy zings and... nothing! Even Alec Baldwin was off tonight.

― Johnny Fever, Friday, 2 March 2007 03:04 (nineteen years ago)

this was one of the best episodes yet.

― kenan, Friday, 2 March 2007 03:06 (nineteen years ago)

"Ray, go get my nose back!"

― horseshoe, Friday, 2 March 2007 03:07 (nineteen years ago)

i lol'ed so hard at go get my nose back. also, mc skat kat

― A B C, Friday, 2 March 2007 03:09 (nineteen years ago)

"...it's a Catch 22...oh man he's gonna be there too!"

― nickalicious, Friday, 2 March 2007 03:12 (nineteen years ago)

I also liked "death by chocolate" and the line that introduced the Nickelodeon show, which I can't remember.

― horseshoe, Friday, 2 March 2007 03:19 (nineteen years ago)

hahaha kid Tracy "sorry man, I'm pretty drunk"!!!!

― nickalicious, Friday, 2 March 2007 03:21 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, like I said it picked up right after I posted. But something still seemed off about tonight's show, amirite?

― Johnny Fever, Friday, 2 March 2007 03:23 (nineteen years ago)

I think there was just a long buildup to the Liz-is-really-invested-in-not-being-racist payoff of the Oprah moment.

― horseshoe, Friday, 2 March 2007 03:25 (nineteen years ago)

I really don't get what fever thought was off. I thought is was f'in great.

― kenan, Friday, 2 March 2007 03:55 (nineteen years ago)

We should take a carriage ride around the financial district

― mizzell, Friday, 2 March 2007 04:22 (nineteen years ago)

Maybe it's because so few regulars were on this week. Liz, Jack, Kenneth and Tracy... that's it (oh, and Jenna for three seconds).

― Johnny Fever, Friday, 2 March 2007 04:32 (nineteen years ago)

the episode didn't gel as well as some others, but had some of the funniest stuff...the whole Nickolodeon bit killed me, the little kid saying "sorry, I'm drunk".

― dan selzer, Friday, 2 March 2007 04:34 (nineteen years ago)

There was absolutely no resolution, which I found a bit jarring considering the previous episodes. Still funny, though.

― Gukbe, Friday, 2 March 2007 04:54 (nineteen years ago)

The Ron Mexico joke was golden.

― sous les paves, Friday, 2 March 2007 06:08 (nineteen years ago)

Wasn't it Juan Mexico?

"...the urine of Satan after a heavy serving of asparagus."

― nickn, Friday, 2 March 2007 06:14 (nineteen years ago)

It's a reference to Michael Vick's fake name he used when he gave someone herpes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Vick#Ron_Mexico_controversy

― sous les paves, Friday, 2 March 2007 06:25 (nineteen years ago)

Watching it again (thanks torrents!), it's funnier. Still awkward, but funnier.

― Johnny Fever, Friday, 2 March 2007 06:41 (nineteen years ago)

There was absolutely no resolution, which I found a bit jarring considering the previous episodes.

Some of the best episodes haven't had any resolution whatsoever, though - the one where Liz has to kick Jack out of the writers room for example

― HPSCHD, Friday, 2 March 2007 10:55 (nineteen years ago)

Even Alec Baldwin was off tonight.

I don't know, I liked the line about Murphys being nothing but mud farmers and sheep rapists. Also the whole date between Lemon and Stephen was fantastic. He doesn't own a telly but does Vietnam war re-enactments and takes pictures of interesting doors. Genius.

― accentmonkey, Friday, 2 March 2007 11:01 (nineteen years ago)

Also, the manatee has become the mentor.

I love this programme so much.

― accentmonkey, Friday, 2 March 2007 11:05 (nineteen years ago)

yeah that ending was particularly cliffhangerish. it felt like there was still 10 mins of episode to go. it was almost a seinfeld sort of ending! i mean with the shooting and all, it could totally have faded to that stupid bass-lick interstatial theme.

― s.clover, Friday, 2 March 2007 11:05 (nineteen years ago)

also, i thought it was actually "the manatee has become the mentos"

and the "Donagy sort of rhymes with party" thing!

― s.clover, Friday, 2 March 2007 11:07 (nineteen years ago)

I agree with the consensus (funny, but a step back from the giddy heights of hilarity attained in recent weeks)

I wish I could remember what Tracy said in the Oprah-voice that had me cracking up

― bernard snowy, Friday, 2 March 2007 13:13 (nineteen years ago)

also, i thought it was actually "the manatee has become the mentos"

Even better.

― accentmonkey, Friday, 2 March 2007 13:20 (nineteen years ago)

'remember, you told me to live every week like its shark week, and that nothing's impossible except dinosaurs!

― and what, Friday, 2 March 2007 13:34 (nineteen years ago)

also tina fey's zing about tracy's lazy oprah impression

― and what, Friday, 2 March 2007 13:35 (nineteen years ago)

'young jeezy' 'i called his pitbull a gaywad on 106 & park!!'

― and what, Friday, 2 March 2007 13:36 (nineteen years ago)

'people always get shot at the source awards! its a tradition, like christmas, or getting shot outside hot 97'

― and what, Friday, 2 March 2007 13:37 (nineteen years ago)

the race stuff was pretty hilarious.
like jack talking about the Blacks and how Condi wold yell at the screen when they went to the movies.

― mizzell, Friday, 2 March 2007 14:07 (nineteen years ago)

ron mexico lolololololololololol

― jh0shea, Friday, 2 March 2007 14:49 (nineteen years ago)

'hes a black.' 'what!' 'his last name is black, they're a family. great athletes, very musical, not so great at swimming though..'

― and what, Friday, 2 March 2007 14:52 (nineteen years ago)

"I blog about Star Wars on the internet"
"I was Princess Leia for four years in a row on Halloween!"
"Not the Star Wars with all the monsters. Star Wars, the Strategic Defense Initiative"

― brownie, Friday, 2 March 2007 15:09 (nineteen years ago)

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