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: The Moms

30 Rock: The Moms
NBC
May 6, 2010
Sitcom
DVD
B-

In this Cannon & Carlock episode, some of the mothers of the performers and writers show up for a special Mother's Day episode of TGS.  It's the backstage drama, including in one scene between Frank and his mom (I'm omitting Patti LuPone and Judah Friedlander from the overcrowded tags),  that is the real focus here.  Note that Colleen Donaghy meets Avery and she pushes Jack to choose between his two girlfriends.

Frank Anello continues his streak as a member of the Production Staff.  John Anderson plays Astronaut Mike Dexter again, and Will Ferrell is back as Shane Hunter.

30 Rock: Argus

30 Rock: Argus
NBC
April 29, 2010
Sitcom
DVD
B-

In this episode written by Morgan, Pell, and Siegal, the title thread is the weakest, although it's not bad.  Jack inherits Don Geiss's pet peacock Argus and, with help from Liz and Kenneth, really mourns Geiss for the first time.  Meanwhile Tracy seems to be typically selfish in insisting on being Grizz's best man, but Tracy knows that Dot Com is in love with Grizz's fiancee, Feyonce.  And Liz and Pete are suspicious of Jenna's new boyfriend, Paul (Will Forte, who previously played Tomas).  I like the twists in plotting and expectations in this episode, and I just wish it was funnier.

Marceline Hugot is back as Kathy Geiss.  Carmen Osbahr is again a Puppeteer, this time working the peacock puppet (although it is a live bird in some shots), while Peter Linz would be a Puppeteer in a future episode.  Frank Anello makes a welcome return as a member of the Production Staff.  This is the only episode directed by producer/composer/actor/husband Jeff Richmond that I'll be reviewing on this blog, so I've decided not to tag him.

30 Rock: Khonani

30 Rock: Khonani
NBC
April 22, 2010
Sitcom
DVD
C+

IMDB has this listed as the same date as the previous episode, but it's simply not as good.  Jack promises to decide between Nancy and Avery but instead sidetracks himself into resolving a conflict between two janitors: the title character and Subhas (Subhas Ramsaywack).  Meanwhile, Liz throws an engagement party for Cerie out of vengeance against their co-workers, and Tracy puts his dog's shock collar on himself in order to become a more doting husband.  It would take much sharper writing to make these plot threads more than passable, and this is the 600th C+ I've given on this blog.

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: Floyd

30 Rock: Floyd
NBC
March 25, 2010
Sitcom
DVD
B-

As you can guess from the title, this episode marks the return of Liz's "best boyfriend," in a script written by Paula Pell, who played Pete's wife Paula.  Liz hopes they'll get back together, but he's getting married to a woman named Kaitlin (Kristin McGee, who'd previously played an Exercise Lady).  Meanwhile, Jenna, Tracy, and eventually Pete have erotic dreams about Kenneth, and Jack and Danny get involved in a prank battle against Frank, Toofer, and Lutz.

Lester Holt and Meredith Vierira return as themselves.

30 Rock: Anna Howard Shaw Day

30 Rock: Anna Howard Shaw Day
NBC
February 11, 2010
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This Matt-Hubbard-written episode introduces another love interest for Jack: Elizabeth Banks as Avery Jessup, who's a good match for Jack in the sense that they're both conservative and tough but sophisticated.  Meanwhile, Liz hopes to avoid Valentine's Day by going to the dentist, but she ends up hallucinating three of her exes.  I might've gone with a B, but I wasn't crazy about the thread about Jenna's stalker.  Note that we actually meet one of Pete's kids, Evelyn, his only daughter.

Stewart Steinberg is again the Old Janitor.  Maechi Aharanwa would be Keisha the nurse in the following episode as well.  I'm omitting Friedlander and Powell from the overcrowded tags.

30 Rock: Verna

30 Rock: Verna
NBC
February 4, 2010
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Ron Weiner wrote this episode where Jenna's mother, the title character (Jan Hooks in her first of two cameos), shows up and seems to want to make up for being a bad mom, but Jack doesn't trust her.  Hooks is quite good (even if she is only about eleven years older than Krakowski) and I wish the rest of the episode were at her level.  Frank moving in with Liz and the two of them having a bet about breaking bad habits (junk food for her, smoking for him) isn't that interesting, although the pay-off is pretty good.  Also, I don't like how people keep moving in with Liz without her really wanting them to.  I could see it with Pete in the first season, but not with Frank here, or with Tracy earlier this season.  Director Don Scardino plays a Maitre d'.

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: Black Light Attack!

30 Rock: Black Light Attack!
NBC
January 14, 2010
Sitcom
DVD
B

I guess this episode aired the same night as the previous one, but it's much funnier.  In a sort of replay of a first season episode with Floyd, Jack wants to hang out with Danny (Cheyenne Jackson), especially when he finds out that Danny is casually dating Liz.  Meanwhile, Tracy is looking for a female perspective, since he's hoping to have a daughter, so he adds Sue to his entourage.  (Sue Galloway has as many lines in one scene as she's had total in previous episodes.)  And Jenna has to face that she's now being cast as middle-aged mothers rather than college students.  Note that Jack breaks up Liz and Danny by confessing he's in love with Liz, but it's clear to the audience and Liz that he doesn't mean it.

Joseph D'Onofrio is a Crew Guy for the last time.  Jonathan Cohn is again a Cute Guy, while Andrew Goldfarb is again a Page.  Russ Spiegel makes his first of four appearances as a TGS Band Member.  Hockey Fan James Coker would later be a Gen-Y D-Bag.  (Or is that a proper name?)  The screenwriter Steve Hely would play Jerem later in the year.

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.

30 Rock: Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001

30 Rock: Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001
NBC
December 3, 2009
Sitcom
DVD
C

Devon Banks calls Jack and makes him insecure enough to make Liz insecure about her new talk show.  And meanwhile Tracy decides to go for EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony).  This Kay Cannon story would've been a C- if not for Frank becoming Liz in her absence.

Ali Reza's last 30 Rock appearance is as Yakov.  John Anderson makes his first of five appearances as Liz's fantasy husband Astronaut Mike Dexter.  Sherri Shepherd returns as Angie.  Sue Galloway plays Sue.  And Kristian Alfonso, here in her most famous role of Days of Our Lives' Hope Brady, had had a series-changing role on Who's the Boss?, playing Tony's girlfriend Frankie, who makes Angela realize her love for Tony.  And I'm unable to tag Whoopi Goldberg this time.

30 Rock: The Problem Solvers

30 Rock: The Problem Solvers
NBC
November 12, 2009
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Nothing quite works in this Ron-Weiner-written episode, which introduces Cheyenne Jackson as new TGS cast member Danny Baker.  (Real first name Jack, but Jack Donaghy immediately renames him.)  "Danny" is trying to get his bearings, but he gets dubious advice, including from the title team.  Tracy and Jenna also give Liz bad business advice that pits her against Jack, until the rom-com-ish resolution scene.  This isn't as painful as a Season Five episode, but it does show the beginnings of the decline, with characters Flanderized for the sake of jokes, rather than jokes revealing character.

Old Janitor Stewart Steinberg returns.  Josh Fadem would be back as Liz's new agent, Simon Barrons.

30 Rock: Audition Day

Goodbye, Josh.  Sorry
things didn't work out.

30 Rock: Audition Day
NBC
November 5, 2009
Sitcom
DVD
B

Matt Hubbard wrote this story that has some trends that would be troublesome in the next two or three seasons but are still reasonably under control here, with enough wit and intelligence coming through.  Liz and Pete have finally selected a new cast member, but they have to stack the auditions for Jack, using "the Hornberger System."  Unfortunately, the audition is thrown wide open by Jack, who has a different perspective on life now that he's suffering from bedbugs.  Ironically, when Pete literally pulls in a guy off the street-- a robot mime-- that's who Jack likes best.  (The performer is played by a different actor than later, and as Liz observes, "I hope he can speak English.")  As for those trends, the already established Tracy and Jenna Act Like Vain Morons team is obvious here, where they feel threatened by the new cast person, especially since Jenna has baggage with Liz's choice, so they go out and try to find more talented people.  And Jack being humbled works OK here, but it would be an abused motif starting in Season Five.  Not to mention that Jack and Pete making fun of Liz's age feels odd when they're both older than her.

Crew Guy Joseph D'Onofrio previously had played Dave.  Old Janitor Stewart Steinberg would return five more times.  Angela Grovey is Kolandra here and would be Portia in 2011.  Brian Williams returns and is one of the people auditioning, as is Marceline Hugot as Kathy Geiss.

30 Rock: Stone Mountain

She'll outlive us all.

30 Rock: Stone Mountain
NBC
October 29, 2009
Sitcom
DVD
B

John Riggi wrote this episode where Jack and Liz go to the location of the title, Kenneth's hometown.  (McBrayer plays two of the locals, one a mustached man, another a blonde woman.)  They're looking for someone for TGS, and Jack thinks a ventriloquist act is perfect.  Meanwhile, Frank, Toofer, and Lutz butter up Jenna so that she'll invite him to her gay friends' Halloween party, where all the hot girls will be.  And Tracy fears the Rule of Three of Celebrity Deaths will hit him next.  For a change, all three threads cross over in the end, when the obnoxious dummy (think Soap's Bob without a conscience and a filthier mouth) is beheaded by Jack, and so Tracy can relax and enjoy the Halloween party.

Blaine Horton repeats his role as Jenna's gay friend Sacha.  Frank Anello takes time out of his busy schedule to play a member of the Production Staff, and Sue Galloway is typecast as Sue.   Jimmy Fallon makes his first of four appearances on 30 Rock.  Then 87-year-old Betty White plays herself and in a nice sight gag is shown reading Milton Greene's Carter biography.

30 Rock: Into the Crevasse

30 Rock: Into the Crevasse
NBC
October 22, 2009
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Considering this has Jenna filming an Icelandic werewolf movie, Kenneth popping up in an American Bandstand episode from the early '60s, Tracy making Liz's life into a porno, and the return of Devon Banks, this isn't as funny as it could be.  Note that Liz's "Dealbreaker" book shares space in the bookstore window with Dr. Spaceman's "sex book for couples" and Milton Greene's Jimmy Carter biography.

Subhas Ramsaywack makes his debut as Subhas the janitor, while Seth Kirschner first appears as Shawn here.  John G. Pavelec, an Attorney here, previously played a Congressman.  Frank Anello is in a rut as a member of the Production Staff, while Sue Galloway continues in the role of Sue.

30 Rock: Season 4

30 Rock: Season 4
NBC
October 15, 2009
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Yes, Season 4 starts here, as well as in a restaurant called Season 4.  (And Alan Alda once made a movie called Four Seasons.)  Jack wants Liz to cast someone that middle America can relate to better than they can to Tracy and Jenna.  So Liz and Pete sneak around to comedy clubs and eventually try lying that they're having an affair (or "intercoursing each other" as Liz puts it), so of course Pete's wife, Paula (Paula Pell again), walks in at that moment.  Meanwhile, Kenneth leads a pages' strike when he finds out what a big bonus Jack got when the company is supposed to be cutting corners.

Writer Eric Gurian's second onscreen role is as 30 Rockefeller Plaza Stranger, while writer Matt  Hubbard's only one is as a Payroll Guy.  Andrew Goldfarb would return as a nameless Page.  Frank Anello is typecast as a member of the Production Staff, and Sue is again played by Sue Galloway.  Lonny Ross makes his penultimate appearance as Josh Girard, with the script by Fey lampshading the neglect of this character and having him quit.

30 Rock: Kidney Now!

30 Rock: Kidney Now!
NBC
May 14, 2009
Sitcom
DVD
B

In this Burditt & Carlock episode, Jack holds a musical benefit to find a kidney for his father.  Meanwhile Kenneth encourages Tracy to accept an invitation to speak at Tracy's old high school.  And Liz gives out bad romantic advice to various women as part of her "Dealbreaker" persona.

I won't name all the singers in this episode (OK, it's cool to see Cyndi Lauper), but I will note Michael McDonald had also played himself on the Doobie Brothers episode of What's Happening!!  (an episode that a previous 30 Rock episode referred to).  Staff writer Kay Cannon's last onscreen appearance on the show is as the Young Woman whose boyfriend runs a tanning salon, while staff writer Donald Glover's third is as the Gay Kid.  (He was 25 at the time he was playing 18.)  Paula Pell and Sherri Shepherd return as Paula and Angie respectively.  Frank Anello captures the essence of the Production Staff, and Sue Galloway gets another line as Sue.

Near the end of the episode, Liz tells Jack, "It's been quite a year," and he replies that it's May.  Of course this episode wraps up the second year of 30 Rock, and of TGS.   The former, with the exception of one C-, ranges from B- to A-, averaging out to roughly the B-/B border, slightly on the B side.  The regular cast continues to work well, even if some Flanderization is setting in already.  The guest stars are good to great.  And the writing is still mostly solid.  I recall Season Four as a decline, if not to the point of Season Five of course.

30 Rock: Mamma Mia

30 Rock: Mamma Mia
NBC
May 7, 2009
Sitcom
DVD
B

In this Ron-Weiner-written episode, Pete and Liz are suspicious of Tracy's supposed "love child" Donald (Michael Benjamin Washington in his first of two appearances), while Jack, at Liz's urging, finds out whose love child he is.  And meanwhile, Liz resents Jenna taking credit for the "dealbreaker" catchphrase, and the photo shoot shows that Jenna has learned from the Maxim debacle of the first season.  The title here is, as is made clear, a reference to the stageplay and film of that name, although in this case two of the three potential dads are immediately ruled out, leaving Jack to deal with the fact that his biological father is a liberal, secular humanist agnostic History professor from Vermont, perfectly cast with Alan Alda.

I'm omitting Friedlander and Powell from the overcrowded tags.  Frank Anello works hard at playing a member of the Production Staff.  And while Alda is of course going to walk away with the "Most Shows In My Collection" Award (if there was ever any doubt), the Longevity award will likely see Stuart Margolin pushing Ann B. Davis out of the way, since his role as Jack's potential-if-not-injured-in-the-war dad Fred comes a good 41 years after his first That Girl cameo.

30 Rock: The Natural Order

30 Rock: The Natural Order
NBC
April 30, 2009
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Liz scolds Tracy, so he brings in a gibbon as his stand-in, behaves professionally, and makes some muddled point about how Liz also wants special treatment because she doesn't like changing the water tank and going to strip clubs.  (Both of these done funnier on Ellen.)  Meanwhile, Jack deals with the 35th anniversary of his father's final abandonment, and finds out that the first abandonment coincided with Jack's conception! 

Dancer #1 Semar Ghebremichael would later be Dancer #2.  Frank Anello gives under-appreciated contributions as a member of the Production Staff.