Four reasons that I’m thrilled to have 30 Rock back

I’m still not entirely sure why NBC likes to push 30 Rock back until October, as they have done every year. I’m not sure if it’s a case of “absence makes the heart grow fonder,” or if I just love 30 Rock as much as I think I do, but I sure was excited to see the show back on the air tonight.

I thought the first outing this season was a strong return to the program, with a nice balance of all the characters. You had Tracy being crazy, Liz being awkward, Jenna being self centered, Jack being republican, and Kenneth being innocent. It’s everything that we love about 30 Rock!

As I was watching tonight’s episode, I realized that there are a few things that 30 Rock does extremely well that I think helps them to stand apart from the crowd.

• In-jokes: I loved that the characters consistently cut down Josh, forgetting about his existence. It’s particularly funny because Josh was mostly absent through the entire previous season of the show, and I, for one, took a really long time to notice that he was missing. I wonder if he’s really gone for good after quitting.
• The great set-ups: 30 Rock always has great references late in the episode to something set up early in the evening. Tonight it was the “cheesy blasters” (which caused Liz to get a bad case of the “cheesy blasters”) and Tracy’s previous career as a bucket drummer.
• Topical humor: 30 Rock is great at tackling the issues of the day. It’s right up there with South Park, in my opinion. It’s a double-edged sword, however. It makes the episodes particularly funny upon first viewing, but I wonder if the show is going to be dated and much less effective when revisited on DVD in a few years from now? This episode tackled “Comrade Obama’s recession” and executive bonuses in a very clever way.
• Funny guest stars: I know that last season 30 Rock went a little over board with the guest stars, but for the most part, I think they do a great job getting very funny guests and working them into the episodes. Tonight’s episode featured frequent guest Steve Buscemi in another turn as moderately crappy private investigator Lenny Wosniak.

Some choice quotes from the premiere:

“Have I lost touch with my roots? I better talk to Rabbi Schmuli about this.” – Tracy

“To TGS! We’ll trick those race car loving wide loads into watching your lefty homoerotic propaganda hour yet!” – Jack

“I blame you and Dot Com, you two have built a protective shell around me like a hermit crab or mermaid booby, and now I’ve lost touch with the common man!” – Tracy to Grizz

“Are you a pre-op transcentaur?” – Tracy to a random guy on the street

“I would like some chicken nuggets, a beer, and some of my wife’s rice to stay!” – Tracy, trying to order from a hot dog cart

“Has anybody seen my wallet? It’s an L.L. Bean child’s wallet from the 1970s. There was no money in it, but I was one hole punch away from a free tasty delight… Damn it to hell, I hate my life!” – Liz

“Hey dudes, I’m organizing a viral protest on Tweeter and YouTubes.” – Lenny Wozniak, undercover at the page strike.

What did you think 30 Rock’s big return?

Clacked by Bob Degon
on Oct 15, 2009 @ 22:30 EST5EDT