What I’m Watching: 30 Rock

30 Rock: Season 4, Episode 3 “Stone Mountain” (B-)

All of the elements of this episode were a bit shaky and didn’t quite fly. It’s always fun to see Jack and Liz take a trip together, but going to Georgia doesn’t provide the best fodder for that. The most effective part of it all comes at the end with Liz’s heckling of the ventriloquist and Jack’s disappointment at discovering that Georgians aren’t the real Americans he thought they were. Having Jenna actually around in the same place as everyone, and on top of that doing something to try to keep her place in the regular rotation of the show, is a rare treat, but this isn’t terribly funny. The excitement expressed by the three writers isn’t anything hilarious, and it’s only really worth it for Jenna’s surprised discovery of their plan to get invited to the gay Halloween party for all the hot chicks who will be there. Jenna’s negotiating skills are rather impressive, and hopefully (though it’s unlikely) she’ll have much more to do once the new cast member comes aboard. Tracy’s fear that he’ll be the third celebrity to die because of the rule of threes is somewhat entertaining, but this is hardly the first time that he’s been scared of such a phenomenon. This plotline was played out much better in the “Gavin Volure” episode from last season where Tracy replaced himself with the sex doll because he was afraid his kids were going to kill him. The arrival of a new cast member should hopefully bring with it some new plotlines too.