30 Rock Review: "Sun Tea" (episode 4.6)
The most tiresome thing about this season of 30 Rock has been the entire Dealbreakers plotline. There’s a lot of other gripes people have had, some well-founded, some not so much, but for my money the Dealbreakers thing has generally slowed things down and turned a somewhat funny joke into a running gag that lost its steam some time ago. It’s sadly a bit like what SNL will do by taking whatever success it accidentally stumbles upon and reusing it again and again until even hearing about it makes you cringe. Dealbreakers had become like that for me, and the... read more
Found in: TV, Reviews30 Rock Review: "The Problem Solvers" (Episode 4.5)
Last night’s episode of 30 Rock was the best one so far in the season. Ok, who am I kidding, it was the best. I’m not going to pretend I’m not still a little disappointed in it, though, but it’s just because the show was so close to greatness and we all know it’s done it before and can do it again. 30 Rock is like a mistress I’m going through hard times with at the moment. She continues to give me enough to keep coming back, but I know she’s delivered better in the past and that she’s just... read more
Found in: TV, Reviews30 Rock Review: "Audition Day" (Episode 4.4)
You know how sometimes a song can be well-written, the lyrics literate and its singer passionate, but you still think "meh" about it? That's kind of what this episode of 30 Rock was like for me. It had a good premise that had been set up for episodes and the usual manic comedy that the show thrives on, but I wasn't really feeling the whole thing. ... read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsSteve Martin and Alec Baldwin to Host 2010 Oscars
Nothing makes four hours fly by like comedy. Clearly, this is the philosophy behind the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ choice of hosts for the 82nd annual Oscars. On Tuesday, MPAAS announced that Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin would host 2010’s awards show.... read more
Found in: Movies, NewsJames Franco to Play Jenna's Boyfriend on 30 Rock
30 Rock never wastes a good guest star. Salma Hayek’s six-episode arc last season as Jack Donaghy’s girlfriend was rapaciously sharp-edged and clever. Will Arnett’s appearances as Jack’s closeted nemesis who sexually harrasses Kenneth is always squirm-worthy and hilarious. And hey, even that ridiculously unfunny comedian with the hatemonger puppets was well placed in last week’s episode.... read more
Found in: TV, News30 Rock Review: "Stone Mountain" (episode 4.3)
Two weeks ago, Todd VanDerWerff from the AV Club wrote a blog entitled “30 Rock’s Dangerous Decline and the Shadow of Will and Grace,” which I took some umbrage with mostly because I disagreed with many of the points ... and partially because there were a few that I did in fact agree with. He basically posited that the lack of character development and proliferation of plots has been what's bringing the show down, though that's a bit of a reduction of his argument. Last week’s episode was particularly disappointing and made me question whether VanDerWerff was right on more... read more
Found in: TV, Reviews30 Rock Review: "Into the Crevasse"
Last week’s episode of 30 Rock could really have come out at any point in the show’s continuity. Sure, it agreed that the events from previous episodes happened, but there wasn’t really any sort of play or acknowledgment of the show's past. The show has always been somewhat ambiguous with its own continuity, able to deal with multiple-episode plots but never really willing to let its characters grow or change. They’re stuck at a permanent point, even if the show makes some concessions to plotlines.... read more
Found in: TV, Reviews30 Rock Review: "Season 4" (Episode 4.1)
The question as each subsequent series of 30 Rock has aired is whether or not the show is as good as it used to be. Like a lot of classic groups, the show will always have its fans who say that they liked the early stuff but then it became too commercial, too pandering, or whatever else that’s code for too mainstream. 30 Rock’s increasingly ridiculous number of Emmy nominations has done little for its cult status as the heir apparent to Arrested Development and with this, has given it a fair share of haters. Surely, the logic goes, if... read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsLymelife
Think of it as The Ice Storm lite—there’s less sex, drugs and angst, but... read more
Found in: Movies, Reviews30 Rock Review: "Generalissimo" (Episode 310) and "St. Valentine's Day" (Episode 311)
As a longtime fan of 30 Rock (IE: since the beginning, IE: old school), I cannot tell you how exciting it is when the show gets on a roll. This season has been pretty good and fits and spells, but the last three or four episodes of the show have been firing on all cylinders—especially "Generalissimo," which might be one for the ages in the already illustrious 30 Rock oeuvre.... read more
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