30 Rock Live: Ranking the Ten Characters Who Worked Best

From Julia Louis-Dreyfus as cutaway Liz Lemon to Rachel Dratch as a helpless Russian cleaning lady, the much ballyhooed live edition of 30 Rock featured its fair share of former Saturday Night Live stars. (Hey, there's Bill Hader!) But were those veterans of live comedy any match for the rest of 30 Rock's sparkling cast? Ahead, Movieline ranks the ten best performances from the East Coast edition of "Live Show." Do your TGS with Tracy Jordan "power rankings" match up to ours? Join us for the definitive countdown.

10. Jonathan (Maulik Pancholy)

I was worried the magnificent Jonathan had been written off the show sometime ago. But no, he's back, suffering through Liz's Slumdog Millionaire jokes, water bottle squirts and screeching at Kenneth when questioned about forgetting Ms. Lemon's birthday.

Best line: (To Liz): "Oh, are you turning a thousand?"

9. Kenneth (Jack McBrayer)

Kenneth giggled like some sort of Pixy Stix-addled preteen throughout the live episode, an idea that never came together comically. But Kenneth's role at least seems renewed after a couple of disappointing episodes for the perky page.

Best line: (To Jenna): "If you need someone to scream at, I'm right here."

8. Dr. Spaceman (Chris Parnell)

In one skit-tish segment, Liz's "doctor" (his air quotes, not mine) stars in an informercial and claims that erectile dysfunction can be curbed if only the world produced a "doing-it song" that rivaled Teddy Pendergrass's "Close the Door." That's a Time/Life special I'd sit through.

Best line: "Erectile dysfunction is not just a dog problem anymore."

7. Danny (Cheyenne Jackson)

The little-seen Danny scored two big lines in last night's episode and both were dynamite. He gave us Canadian confusion during one adorable moment and a hysterical impersonation of Dr. Oz in the other.

Best line: (As Dr. Oz, holding up a slab of something on Oprah): "This is what the inside of a child's face looks like."

6. Tracy (Tracy Morgan)

Though Tracy was reduced to a single conceit this episode -- breaking character and laughing at his own ambivalence -- he found time to squeeze in some classically baffling rejoinders. For instance, he said he'd laugh onstage "harder than [he] laughed at Dotcom's play" (which was Angels in America).

Best line: "Why do people do anything? Because they're rich or they have Attention Deficit Dis -- Hey! Look at Lutz's shirt."

Pages: 1 2