Saying goodbye is never easy, especially
when it comes to one of the best American
comedies on 21st century television. Created
by comedienne extraordinaire Tina Fey and
helmed by Saturday Night Live producer Lorne
Michaels, 30 Rock will definitely be missed.
Since 2006, the series follows the happenings
of Liz Lemon (Fey) and her co-workers of
fictional sketch show TGS with Tracey Jordan
at 30 Rockefeller Plaza (the real-life studios
for NBC). Not afraid to poke fun of NBC and
parent company General Electric, the series is
one to remember.
Sweeping Best Comedy, Best Actor (the
charismatic Alec Baldwin) and Best Actress
(my personal goddess Tina Fey) awards over
the past several years, 30 Rock quickly became
a major critical success. Unfortunately, its
ratings in America were never its greatest
achievement. Compared to its contemporary
counterparts, 30 Rock failed to capture a solid
audience. Even down to its season finale, only
4.9 million viewers tuned in. This is a far
cry from (the inferior but far more popular)
The Big Bang Theory, where its latest season
drew an average of 18.61 million viewers per
episode.
In Fey’s self-penned autobiography
Bossypants, she admitted initially envisioning
30 Rock to be a Home Improvement-kind of
comedy (a.k.a. a massive hit), but ended up
with her very own little, zany show. I, for one,
doubt 30 Rock could have turned out any
better. The show proudly embodies a wicked
sense of humour that gives rise to its cult
status. The series primarily drives on its various
characters that might not be everyone’s cup of
tea, but their distinct approach towards comedy
is unmistakable.
There is the naïve Southern page
Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer), the loose
cannon Tracey Jordan (Tracey Morgan), the
camera-ready natural blonde Jenna Maroney
(Jane Krakowski), the suave network executive
Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) and of course,
head writer Liz “Blerg” Lemon. During a
2008 cast interview, McBrayer cited that
the cast simply plays “heightened versions of
themselves” (which led to Krakowski snapping
“Excuse me?”). True enough, the cast is not
afraid to ridicule themselves in every episode,
which results in 30 Rock developing their
trademark satirical style. Other celebrities
play in with this brand of humour too. My
personal favourite is Al Gore who guest stars
as an environmental hero in season four. Midway
through a conversation with Kenneth,
Gore suddenly exclaims, “Quiet, a whale is in
trouble. I have to go!”
The show does not wholeheartedly
embrace the absurd like The Mighty Boosh,
but instead employs a more subtle approach
towards creating its signature bizarre humour.
The show artfully pushes boundaries of the
comedic norm.
One example would be an episode from
season four, where Liz has to undergo a screen
test for her talk show, the hilariously doomed
‘Dealbreakers’. Each character passes through a
high-definition camera and a screen displays
how they would appear through high-def
lenses. Liz’s horrifying close-up of her bad skin
results in Pete’s outburst of “please step away!”,
Pete appears as a wrinkled old man on screen,
Jack is twenty years younger through high-def
and Kenneth is, of course, an adorable Muppet.
This particular scene is one of many that show
30 Rock’s immense skill in playing with the
fabric of reality for comic effect.
No ordinary sitcom would break out of
its own confined reality. Two and a Half Men
would never dare to try. Perhaps that’s why the
majority of American audiences were not used
to 30 Rock. The show steps out of a sitcom’s
comfort zone, whether it’s through their ‘Live’
episodes or other wacky antics. 30 Rock proves
to be immensely refreshing, rather crazy and
also very clever.
Now that its final season is officially over,
we ask ourselves: is there anything like 30 Rock
out there? Community is back on (fun fact:
Donald Glover, who plays Community’s Troy,
used to write for 30 Rock) and a new season of
Arrested Development is in the works. Plus,
re-watching our favourite 30 Rock episodes is
always a terrific idea. Maybe together, we can
reminiscence about how much we “want to go
to there”.
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