30 Rock: I Do Do

30 Rock: I Do Do
NBC
May 20, 2010
Sitcom
DVD
B-

In this Fey-written episode, Liz leaves the first wedding (Floyd's) for the second (Cerie's) but has to stop by Wesley's former office to pick up his dress shoes.  There she immediately connects with Matt Damon as Carol.  (It's a family name he says, and we later find out he's another of Liz's punningly named boyfriends, since his last name is Burnett.)  Avery and Nancy meet in the bathroom at Cerie's wedding, so Nancy ends up being the one to tell Jack that Avery is pregnant.  Meanwhile, Jenna learns that Paul (Will Forte) is also torn between two loves: her and Cher (at least as females to impersonate).  And when Kenneth tries to avoid a promotion that would mean moving to California, Pete has to reluctantly fire him.  The final wedding is Grizz's, and Kenneth drunkenly confesses his love for everyone.

Kristin McGee understandably makes her last appearance as Kaitlin, Floyd's bride, while John Anderson completes his fourth-season purpose as Astronaut Mike Dexter in various forms.  Paula Pell appears as Paula, but oddly we don't see Sherri Shepherd as Angie.  (Maybe she was still doing bedrest because of the pregnancy.)  Craig Castaldo again plays Moonvest.  Russ Spiegel returns as a TGS Bandmember.  And Frank Anello of course plays a member of the Production Staff, and Sue Galloway is naturally Sue.  I'm omitting Powell and Friedlander from the overcrowded tags.

30 Rock in its fourth season ranges from C to  B, and 13 of those are B-s, so it's not surprising that it averages out to a B-.  This is a slip in quality, but not a severe one.  I just laughed less and was less invested in the characters.  On my first viewing, I actually felt like we were leaving the characters in a good place, and the gross, unfunny, and "wacky" fifth season took me by surprise.  But that's a topic for my next blog.  For now, I'll note that we are not quite done with 30 Rock on this blog.

30 Rock: Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land

30 Rock: Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land
NBC
May 13, 2010
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Matt Hubbard wrote this episode which is an unofficial first half of a two-parter.  (Well, it does end "To be continued.")  We see the beginning of the day that Liz has to be part of three wedding parties, starting with Floyd's wedding in a Catholic Church.  Jack and Nancy finally slept together the previous night, so he decides to tell her, during Liz's speech, about Avery.  Meanwhile, Dot Com and Kenneth convince Tracy to do a movie that may get him the Oscar in his EGOT goal.

Kristin McGee returns as Kaitlin and Seth Kirschner is back as Shawn.  John Anderson again plays Astronaut Mike Dexter.  Tuxedo Gala Guest Ali Khan would later be an Airline Passenger.  Frank Anello is consistent as a member of the Production Staff.  I'm omitting Judah Friedlander and Jane Krakowski from the very overcrowded tags.

30 Rock: Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter

30 Rock: Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter
NBC
April 22, 2010
Sitcom
DVD
B

Fey & Cannon wrote this episode, which is better than most that season.  Jack's triangle would get old before season's end, but here him being unable to decide between Avery and a newly divorced Nancy is funny and believable.  Meanwhile, Toofer quits because he doesn't want his job through tokenism (despite his nickname, which is lampshaded when he returns), and Liz attends singles events with Jenna and sometimes Nancy.

Steve Hely, who wrote "Black Light Attack!" earlier in the season, here plays Jerem.  Will Ferrell makes his first of three appearances as Shane Hunter, the star of the controversial and nonexistent NBC series Bitch Hunter.

30 Rock: Winter Madness

30 Rock: Winter Madness
NBC
January 21, 2010
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This is Vali Chandrasekaran's first of six 30 Rock scripts, and Tom Ceraulo's second of five.  It has the TGS cast and crew going to Boston, when Liz and Pete had hoped for Miami, simply so that Jack will have an excuse to see Nancy, who's ambivalent about both selling her house and getting a divorce.  I enjoyed the thread of Tracy learning about Boston history more than I expected.  (And, yes, that's Kevin Meaney as John Hancock.)

Sue Galloway is Sue and Cheyenne Jackson is Danny.

30 Rock: Secret Santa

30 Rock: Secret Santa
NBC
December 10, 2009
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Fey wrote this episode which introduces the marvelous Julianne Moore as Jack's old high school crush Nancy Donovan.  Baldwin and Moore have great chemistry together, and Moore is a hoot here with her Boston accent and down-to-earth attitude, so I'm very glad they brought her back.  (I'm less glad with what happened to her character, but that's down the road, and we're only one-third into this season.)  The other threads, with Liz trying to find the right gift for Jack, Pete trying to use the surprisingly great singer Danny (Cheyenne Jackson) for revenge against Jenna, and Tracy making the writers feel guilty for lying to Kenneth, don't work nearly as well, but this episode is definitely a step up from the previous ones.

Chris Fischer would again play a Policeman.  Subhas Ramsaywack returns as Subhas.  This is the last time that Teddy Coluca would be the Stage Manager.  It's also the 1100th B- I've given, as well as the show that closes out the Oughts.