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Thursday, September 30, 2010

30 Rock: When it Rains, it Pours

I was delighted by this episode of 30 Rock. This was a really well-written and funny episode, and my quick reaction is that it was better than any episode from last season. Just a lot to love about this one:

Loved the use of guest star Paul Giamatti. His presence didn't detract at all from the show, and his mouthing Liz's lines during their play-acting was very funny.

Brilliant idea to have Tracy, rushing to get to the hospital for his wife's delivery, get stuck in the Cash Cab and face getting thrown out of the cab before they make it to the hospital. This storyline started strong with Tracy "werewolfing" himself in his room, where Grizz and Dotcom have taken away his phone and his mood ring. Tracy's not sure how he feels about that.

Avery is just a great character. Her joy in having a son (because all he girlfriends would be deemed wanting in comparison) and despair when it turns out she's having a daughter (she's concerned about her spatial reasoning and upper-body strength) were great.

Jack's tapes were great, especially punching and loving Lutz, as was his catch-all advice should he have missed a possible issue: "Find a woman named Liz Lemon, ask her advice, and do the opposite."

The return of Dr. Spaceman! "I have to warn you, my expertise is in putting babies into women." Angie: "I'm going to kill that man!" Dr. Spaceman: "You just described my morning." Gold, pure gold, every single time.

I hope Kenneth remains in the extreme background for longer. His Tracy mask bit was slightly funny, but they've shown too often that they can go too far with his character. He did have a great line on the phone with Angie, about the point of childbirth being to feel the pain of God's punishment.

I know it's only two episodes, but I'm really excited about what seems to be a real resurgence in 30 Rock.

1 comment:

  1. This was one of the rare episodes that I watched from beginning to end, and then immediately put it on again. There was a lot to love about this episode, even the throw away jokes like when L.L. describes her love life with Carol, and Giamati character says "Wow that sounds really...fake"
    Also, some people thought it was too over the top but Jack's history about himself had me dying. "Where I was voted 'Most.'"

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