30 Rock Review:
"Secret Santa" (episode 4.8)

You know, I like Christmas episodes. They're cheap and easy, they tend towards heavy-handed moralizing and more often than not they end up sickeningly saccharine in a way that makes me wish the holiday would just go away. But when done right, they just kind of hit that special sweet spot that manages to be both heart-warming and funny. Think of the original Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas as the rarity in pulling things off and Jim Carrey's nightmare-inducing demonic crap-o-rama from a few years back as the other 90% of things out there. For whatever reason, regardless of the medium this is how things work out. It's why for every "I Want an Alien for Christmas" by the Fountains of Wayne there's at least one Alvin and the Chipmunks album my family still inexplicably insists on playing once December rolls around.

For a really good comedy like, for instance, 30 Rock the holiday season manages to bring out the best in episodes year after year because there's just so many stupid things we do at that time. Giving presents regardless of religion or beliefs, for instance. Or pretending that office parties are a good idea and not just a combination of awkwardness and drunkenness rarely seen outside of family reunions. There's a certain gimmickry to these things that ends up charming just because our holidays themselves tend to be just as ridiculous. With two of "Secret Santa"'s plotlines firmly entrenched on this magically silly time of the year, 30 Rock finished off the first half of its fourth season with one of its stronger notes in a while, even if it paled yet again on the show's early season grading curve.

Due to their newfound friendship, Liz decides that she and Jack should exchange Christmas presents. This is apparently a big deal because, as a high-powered corporate executive, he takes gift-giving very seriously. Extraditing political prisoners-level seriously. Nevertheless, Liz is determined to out-gift her boss because, well ... she just is. We've all got to have strange goals and some people just really like being the one to give more generously. When it becomes clear that due to their financial states the competition, which is what this becomes, is unfair, Jack sets down that the prices of the presents must be nothing.

Jack's other plotline is that due to connecting to the facebook-like social networking site Youface, he's reconnected with his high school crush. She just happens to be visiting NYC with her children and just happens to want to meet up with Jack. The two hit it off in what would be a somewhat plodding part of the episode if it weren't for Jack's love interest being played by Julianne Moore, affecting an over-the-top Boston accent and bringing up priceless strange moments from their adolescence. Jack falls for her again, but unfortunately she's married and pretty skittish about the whole seeing another man business. Jack's two plotlines end up colliding when Liz gifts Jack with a bomb threat that delays her train ride out of town. It's a bomb threat of love and respect, the true spirit of Christmas.

But while Jack and Liz are engaged in their own private gift-giving shenanigans, Kenneth is trying to get the staff to indulge in his reportedly horrible Secret Santa setup, chock full of obtuse rules and obvious annoyance. TGS' writing staff, well its named writing staff, wants out of this and so invents a religion to escape from the horrors of gift-trading. Their religion seems to largely revolve around Kenneth doing them favors, which Tracy won't have any of and eventually lets Kenneth in on the deception. Kenneth loses his religion based upon this--apparently he's not so devout after all?--but regains it when, miracle of miracles, the trio is arrested due to Liz calling the bomb threat using their phone. Yes, they have a collective phone ... screw realism.

But whew, that's not all. Remember that new cast member they added a few episodes back and then completely ignored last week? Well he's back, and after Pete hears his amazing singing voice, he's enlisted to help humiliate Jenna and her largely unexplained annual Christmas song. Why such a thing exists is anyone's guess, but after Jenna explains that it's the one thing that brings joy into her life, he does a bad job for the sake of her ego. It's Christmas magic all around.

The show doesn't come together perfectly and has more than its fair share of rough edges, but it still powers through. Even if all the right notes weren't being hit, the cast felt natural and the comedic timing was there. Of course, the writing itself still isn't hitting all of its marks, but with all the cast's rust long gone there's the hope that things will get better. We'll see if a few weeks off ends up refreshing the crew or if we go back to the doldrums again.

Stray Observations:

-Youface is a pretty damn great joke.  Finger tagged I'm more meh about.
-"This wasn't a TV crush, this was real." "Oh mine got pretty real."
-The worst parts of Christmas are in fact giving and rules. Oh wait...
-"New dude is as good at singing as Tracy Jordan is at everything."
-Conversely, Christmas vengeance is in fact the most wonderful part of the season of all.
-Wait, sarcasm is Jewish? 
-"It's definitely not a rage stroke."
-"Why won't catholics eat meat on Fridays? Because the Pope owns Long John Silver's."
-"Weird in a good way--like going to the gym drunk."
-"There are definitely faces here but they are NOT being treated with respect."
-Flip video = yet more product placement. Lord.
-"If you excuse me, I'm going to buy some guitar music."
-"Holiday of mouth pleasures"
-"Have you ever read my terrible short story, the two paths of Virginia Apple?"
-I'll repeat it again here, I love that all the writers have one phone.