You wait a whole week for a 30 Rock post and then three come along at once, as I finally caught up on the ones I haven’t watched yet. I can never decide whether it’s more satisfying to watch them in a bunch like this or wait and watch them weekly as they come out. That seems to be affected by how much of a continuing narrative the show has.
Anyway, I didn’t think this episode was quite as strong as the other ones I’ve watched today. The character of Banks is always entertaining and there were some good moments. But Tracy just didn’t seem as well done as previously. He seems to be best when he’s used sparingly rather than as the focus of something. Perhaps I am just missing the cultural reference points to really appreciate some of the nuances of this episode, was it Amadeus? I think for the first time 30 Rock kind of attempted something that it didn’t pull off. It doesn’t seem like its cut out to tackle drama, even if it’s faux drama in the name of comedy.
The Jack and Liz stuff was good, but I love Liz too much just the way she is to enjoy an episode about her changing. Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey both continue to be hugely impressive in their roles though, despite what I think were problems in the story. I was starting to think 30 Rock could do no wrong, and I think it’s good to see that even when it’s not on its game it can still be funny to watch and entertaining. I have enough faith in what I have seen so far to convince me that it won’t take long for it to be great again. And despite not enjoying the story so much as usual I am still highly anxious to find out what’s gonna happen next.