What I’m Watching: 30 Rock

30 Rock: Season 4, Episode 2 “Into the Crevasse” (B+)

Even though this episode’s threads are all excessively wacky, it’s hard to disregard the very frequent laughs its jokes produce. The reappearance of Will Arnett as Jack’s nemesis Devon Banks is always welcome, and his comment that aired in countless promos for the episode is still the funniest, when he attempts a metaphor highlighting the merits of food that tastes better cold instead of hot. The ability of Arnett and Baldwin to go at it time and time again on screen demonstrates that they’re evenly matched in their fantastic ability to make the most inane of dialogue hilarious. The release of Liz’s book prompts quite a bit of angry reactions, starting with the very amusingly aggressive decapitation of Liz’s cardboard cutout and her attempt to demean him by reminding him that he doesn’t even have a cardboard cutout. The reactions to Liz’s book from Frank proved especially funny, though Pete pushing her and Tracy promptly moving in with her were entertaining as well. The idiotic suggestions from Frank and crew about ways to make a better microwave were foolish but fun. Nothing, however, could top the ridiculousness of Jenna’s movie being shot in a country that only has one minute of night per day, one minute at a time. Jenna’s good at being farmed out for silly side projects, but it’s about time that TGS hires a new cast member and has him or her wreak havoc on the already questionable sanity of both Tracy and Jenna.