Do you know why sitcoms are a half hour long and not an hour long? Because that’s the right length for a comedy. Why, oh why does NBC have so much trouble realizing this? For years they thought that “super sizing” episodes with an extra 10-15 minutes was a good idea. This usually results in a normal episode with 10-15 minutes of completely non-funny filler. This week, 30 Rock had an entire hour for the Valentine’s Day episode, and I think it was the weakest episode of the entire season. It’s beating a dead horse, I realize this, but come on NBC! You’re in fourth place for a reason.
Yes, there were some funny moments in tonight’s episode, but overall, I felt like the episode dragged on and felt a little long. With so much more time to fill, the writers decided to spread the characters out. Instead of Jack and Liz spending an episode together, or Tracy and Jenna bringing out the crazy in each other, all the characters were separated. Liz and Criss went to Ikea, Jack spent the day with Avery’s mother (Mary Steenburgen), Jenna prepared to sing on America’s Kidz Got Singing, and Frank and Tracy tried to help out Lutz.
I enjoy Liz and Criss’s adventure through Ikea, which greatly tested their relationship. However, everything turned out okay for the two of them. I… I just don’t know what to think about Liz being in a mature, happy relationship. It feels wrong somehow. What’s going to happen? Is she going to ruin it? Could she and Criss possibly work out? Or will Hazel, the new page, go completely crazy and ruin things?
I really liked Steenburgen and Baldwin together and I hope that we get to see more of them together. I’ve never been a huge fan of the Avery kidnapped in Korea story, and it has led to Steenburgen’s guest spot being a bit awkward. I think it would be fun to see Jack and Diana together, but it’s all sorts of wrong. Oh well, I’m willing to see where it goes. If it goes anywhere at all.
Quotes:
“You haven’t had … Mommy Daddy sheet monster times” – Liz, to Jack on his dry spell
“The UN is a useless organization with a ridiculous army. Robin’s egg blue helmets? Great camouflage … if you’re invading an Easter egg hunt!” – Jack
“Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to meet vulnerable women — It’s scumbag Christmas!” – Frank
“We both married much, much older men, which can be hard … or more often flaccid.” – Diana
“Are you gonna tell me about black lady hair you Louie Anderson little bitch!?!” – Post office worker, to Lutz
“Right now Angie is in a hotel room dressed as a clown and I’m supposed to get into an elephant costume and interview her for a job at the circus!” – Tracy
“I stopped shopping at Kmart because I found out that kathy ireland didn’t design any of her signature socks.” – Liz Lemon
“I love your brown hair. It’s so bouncy, like the after picture in a lice ad” – Hazel, to Liz
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Feb 09, 2012 @ 21:21 EST5EDT
I feel like 30 Rock has lost much of its charme from earlier seasons. Especially Jenna and Tracy’s storylines annoy me most of the time, but this episodes had some big laughs. The best scene was with the transilvanian attaché.
I couldn’t stop laughing when the guy tried his “Vampire push!” and Jack’s threads of stopping to air Friends in his country.
Actually its 25 minutes and its because that is actually what has been believed of many to be the attention span of a human being. After that it becomes a struggle for the memory to keep the storyline.
Movies and other medias can handle this by dividing it into parts so that one part gets concluded and goes on to the next so we can keep track.
Just felt it needed to be said. Atleast i did in the beginnning..