What I’m Watching: 30 Rock

30 Rock: Season 5, Episode 16 “TGS Hates Women” (B-)

In certain respects, this episode is better than last week’s installment, but in others, it’s not. It’s especially disappointing because this show is occasionally capable of producing quality, scathing humor that provides some of the best parody seen today on television, as evidenced two weeks ago with “Double-Edged Sword.” Yet sometimes the show appears to be both lazy and over-the-top at the same time. I’m a bit befuddled that Tracy, despite being the show’s most unhinged and out-of-control character, appears to have been unceremoniously written out of the show, leaving some of the crazier stuff to the more normal characters. I was not a fan of Abby’s entire storyline, and the surprise revelation that her violent husband was actually after her didn’t do it for me. I didn’t find Abby to be particularly funny, and the only amusing part was seeing Frank and Lutz get dressed up to try to impress her. Having not seen either “Kick-Ass” or “Let Me In,” I was rather impressed with the work I saw from young actress Chloe Moretz here as Jack’s would-be, and apparently truthful, nemesis. It’s always hilarious to see Jack get wrapped up in something completely ridiculous, and his off-the-wall storyline worked much better than anything else in this episode. It makes sense that Jack would engage in trickery and extensive mental combat with a child, and it’s fantastic that she’s able to resist his influences and even able to one-up him by pulling off the exact same trick on him.