3 Surefire Ways 30 Rock Can Regain Its Emmy Dominance
Now that we're headlong into 30 Rock's generally excellent fifth season, it's time for some reconnaissance: Is our beloved Thursday night jam -- which weaves in and out of being the best TV show evarrrr -- ever going to reclaim its rightful place at the Emmy dais? Before it's too late, let's figure out where the fifth season still has room to appeal to voters who might feel obligated to throw more hardware at Modern Family and/or Glee.
· Devastate Jack Donaghy and Force His Mother to Visit More Often
Alec Baldwin is the Emmy-baiting linchpin of 30 Rock; the indisputable heir to Lou Grant, who pops with just as much fire and facetiousness as ever. The three-time Emmy champ is at his best when he's rendered emotionally needy in front of his unforgiving mother, Colleen (the wonderful Elaine Stritch). Perhaps if Jack was fired for a few episodes, Colleen could sweep in, make fun of his sketchy five o'clock shadow, and take him out on the town with his real father (Alan Alda). The amount of award-wooing magic would be undeniable. (How hasn't this happened yet?)
· Longer, More Dramatic Episode Arcs
30 Rock is character-driven, but its flashiest stars need more to do than encounter problems that are all solvable in 22 minutes. Tracy's recent Boys and Girls Club commercial? Forgettable, at best. But 30 Rock's multi-episode problems are often just as uninteresting: If we're supposed to spend five episodes watching Kenneth win back his page employment, we should be spending just much as time following Jenna as she tries to win a sitcom deal (based off an unbearably sexist Twitter account, please!), or an affair between Pete and Jenna, or a tumultuous writers' room revolt. Which reminds me: Who misses the writers' room? And their Chamillionaire dance-offs? I'm craving that.
· Make Liz Impersonate More Past TV Stars
I long for the days when Liz would act out a Designing Women scene or a Jerry Seinfeld rant in desperation. Recently, we saw her stellar and pathetic Julia Roberts impersonation, but I think in order to regain Emmy ground, she should have to perform a 50-75 character marathon. I want stakes attached to this -- perhaps she'll get to become a cast member on TGS if she can fumble through 50 impressions ranging from Edith Bunker to Claire Cosby to Gregory House. A pleasant, unassuming sitcom like Modern Family cannot win against 30 Rock's compulsive showmanship twice in a row if Liz Lemon's droll mockery starts occurring at breakneck speed.
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Comments
Liz: "...a little Julia Roberts laugh: Hahahahahaha."
Pete: "What's that in your teeth?"
Liz (very enthusiastic): "Corn!"
I rewound that several times and laughed until it hurt.
Yeah, I'm missing the writers' room. I saw a S2 episode in passing just the other day and was struck by the amount of time the episode spent with Pete, Twofer, Frank and Lutz, actually building them as three-dimensional characters instead of using them as quick auto-fire gags for Liz or Jack to score cheap points from. Jenna, Tracy, Kenneth not so much - they've been well-explored and (though yes I know the rules of syndication) need to develop a little differently as characters to maintain interest. The subtext of 30 Rock seems to be that nobody ever changes at all, which is a little ungenerous for the kind of humour it runs on.
"Generally excellent" is a bit of a stretch. Reaganing and When It Rains, It Pours were excellent. But the quality of the live show's writing was so mediocre and the only reason it won plaudits was because it was live and had appearances from Damon, Hamm, Dreyfus and Parnell. Otherwise, it was a very middling episode of 30 Rock. Likewise, The Fabian Strategy and Let's Stay Together were incredibly messy, forgettable and inconsequential - like the majority of the episodes last season.
What I will say about this season so far is that the writing for Jenna has improved a great deal. Last season, she had turned into a cartoon character but this season, her character has been a lot more grounded in her absurdity and silliness - much like the way she was when 30 Rock started.
30 Rock has a way to go before it regains its status as TV's best comedy.
As far as I'm concerned, the only episodes from this season that were at all lacking were the live episode and the one with Queen Latifah. Everything else has been better than just about everything from season 4, and quite a bit of season 3.
I agree with most of the article, especially the part about the need for more dramatic storylines. But for the record, the Alan Alda storyline ended with the revelation that he wasn't Jack's father. (It would be nice to have some sort of a resolution to that, btw - are you listening, writers?)
I have liked this season (every 30 Rock on my DVR is watched...The Office, still quite a few to get through). It's not been as fresh/good as Seasons One and Two, but what is? Bringing in Elaine Stritch to play against Avery would be good (Jack always gets panicky when his worlds collide). One of the things that recommends this show is that it's not "plot driven" but "character driven". The plots are ridiculous, it's the lines and the characters that make it run. Jack's exchange with Jonathan Thursday night about cutting off the pinkie was great TV.