What I’m Watching: Mr. Mayor

Mr. Mayor: Season 1, Episode 4 “The SAC” (B)

This show is still deeply peculiar, but I did find myself cracking up uncontrollably twice during the episode, and that’s not something that happens all that often. The first time was Neil asking Tommy how his sister’s cousin wasn’t also his cousin, and Neil’s response to Orly wanting to move 24,000 miles away so that she could travel all the way around the earth and then back was number two. I also loved Arpi’s immediate response to Jayden’s icebreak question about her favorite salty snack as bran flakes, which apparently have more sodium than you’d think. Arpi was very excited to go to Sacramento to combat oil drilling, and while her fears that Neil was sending her to sabotage her turned out to be unfounded, she was nearly felled by the giant blueberry pancake that Jayden stepped in to eat for his new best friend. I was quite concerned that he was up for a staring contest while he was driving, and fortunately no one was hurt in the process. It wasn’t a surprise to see Rachel Dratch, a frequent guest on “30 Rock,” as Ms. Adams at school, and of course Orly wasn’t actually doing anything bad but instead just rebelling in a relatively harmless teenage way that mostly involved being bored by her dad. Tommy got a little too into creating the finsta, attaching himself to the idea of Emmy even though she didn’t exist, and tipping Orly off in a big way as if his overuse of modern slang terms and abbreviations wasn’t obvious enough in itself. I would also beg to differ that no one under sixty is named Nancy – I have a good friend my age with that very moniker.

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock: A One-Time Special

30 Rock: A One-Time Special (B+)

I like the idea of reunion specials because it creates an opportunity for revisiting nostalgia without necessarily rebooting a show fully. Obviously, such a situation did lead to “Will and Grace” being revived back in 2016, but I’ll take this for what it is. I’m someone who enjoys trailers and montages, and so it was nice to have those substitute for other commercials, making this a fully immersive one-hour experience. Following up on the “Parks and Recreation” special that aired back in April (hard to believe it was that long ago), the plot here made a lot of sense, showing where the characters would be if they existed in real life and filming the story in high quality rather than just on computer or phone screens. I enjoyed the opening, with Liz confronting someone on the street for not wearing a mask and then revealing a second mouthlike mask under the one she was already wearing. There were subtle references to how times have changed, like Twofer no longer accepting his problematic nickname and Jenna being persona non grata because she pooped in Mandy Moore’s thermos. Jenna opening her window every night and pretending that everyone was clapping for her was funny and so on-point, and I really liked that Tracy had his own blacklist, which consisted just of things that were black. The guest appearances by NBC faces like Al Roker, Andy Samberg, and Ted Danson were all worthwhile and well wrapped up in the antics of the presentation Kenneth was trying to make while he was fretting about who his friends really were. His female clone assistant was just weird, while Tracy reading the entire dictionary in front of a green screen so they can make movies without him was just as peculiar but considerably more effective. I don’t think this show needs to be rebooted, especially since, as we saw at the very end, Tina Fey and Robert Carlock do have a new show with Ted Danson coming up, but I’d very much be up for another reunion of this cast or any other like this in the future.

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock (Series Finale)

30 Rock: Season 7, Episodes 12 and 13 “Hogcock!” and “Last Lunch”

This show was always going to go out in style. I can’t say that I loved every part of the two-episode finale – the focus on Lutz being the one to choose where the last free lunch came from was a bit much for me – but, overall, it was a fitting sendoff for the show. I liked how Liz and Jack’s relationship played out, with Jack making Liz think that he was going to commit suicide only to hop onto his boat for a several-second journey, brought to an end by his brilliant idea to market clear dishwashers. Liz going to meet her cyber-enemy at the park only to discover that it was Cris was great, and I’m glad Liz realized that she needs to be the one in the relationship working. The fact that Tracy had it in his contract that he gets $30 million if TGS filmed less than 150 episodes was fantastic, and Liz’s pep talk for him was perfect. I will miss Tracy spelling out his name by letter and explaining all the ridiculous things he references. The multiple breakings of the fourth wall were superb, including Tracy trying to roll the credits halfway through the episode and Jenna announcing to the camera that she has to confess that she’s never met Mickey Rourke. Jenna heading to Hollywood, starring in a Broadway adaptation of the eternally awesome “The Rural Juror,” and coming to life as a corpse on SVU was entertaining, but the best finale for Jenna and Tracy was the goodbye moment they shared while both dressed as Hitler. Pete faking his own death was a hilarious subplot, the likes of which the writer hasn’t seen in years. Kenneth telling Jack that he would be comfortable if they switched places, even though it was his office, was fitting, and the final moment of the show was admittedly silly but fun. This was the most fitting finale that a show like this should have, and helped to cap a final season that was, for the most part, pretty good. This show was never quite as excellent as people seemed to think, but it definitely had its moments, and made its mark in TV history.

Series finale: B+
Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Tina Fey as Liz Lemon
Series grade: B+
Series MVP: Tina Fey as Liz Lemon
Best Season: Season 1 and 2
Best Episode: “Hardball” / “Seinfeld Vision”

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock (Penultimate Episode)

30 Rock: Season 7, Episode 11 “A Goon’s Deed in a Weary World” (B)

There are two directions that this show could take as it signs off permanently this coming Thursday – literal or figurative. There is no way that Jack could be convinced, through a “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” style set of circumstances, to put Kenneth in charge of NBC, since his purity most clearly resembles the original intentions of the Peacock. Additionally, Liz could have had a disaster on her hands in terms of the kids she got, and instead she ended up with miniature versions of Jenna and Tracy, the kind of children she has been taking care of for years. I suppose that’s a fitting coda, and the not-so-dramatic “I quit” sequence was just the right level of offbeat for this show. I liked how Liz, faced with an impossible number of tasks, chose to watch the episodes of “Treme” that had been building up on her DVR, something I decided not to do when I was watching too much TV on a weekly basis and had to cut something out, pointing out what everyone says about HBO’s slow-burn drama, that it gets good after a while. It’s crazy to remember that TGS used to be “The Girlie Show” with Jenna at its center, and how far its immature leads, Jenna and Tracy, have come from hating one another to understanding that they’re both the same type of person, desperate for attention and the spotlight. Let’s hope that the one-hour finale is satisfying rather than purely ridiculous.

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock

30 Rock: Season 7, Episode 10 “Florida” (C+)

This show is heading towards its end soon, and therefore the cancellation of TGS seemed inevitable. Yet this episode was wholly ridiculous, and trying to cast Colleen as a happy lesbian just doesn’t track with anything that we’ve seen before. I know that this show loves to go for shock value and to do things that are utterly absurd, but this just didn’t do it for me. I did enjoy Liz asking Jack why they never got together romantically since it’s the best way to acknowledge that people thought it might eventually happen on the show without actually having it happen. Those kind of subtle breakings of the fourth wall are what this show has always done best, and it’s good to see that happen again. Liz is going to have to deal with a lot now that she has twins coming, and I wonder how far we’ll get with that in the final three episodes. I was much less impressed with the happenings back in New York, Tim Meadows’ entertaining cameo aside. His best line was that he didn’t “super duper finish law school.” Pairing Tracy and Jenna up and giving them responsibility is never a good idea, and here we had to have poor Kenneth manipulated by them, something that’s become so regular at this point that it’s just not that funny anymore. I suppose that Hazel made her mark in a positive (or rather, negative for the purposes of the show within a show) way by reporting all of the abuses she had encountered while working at NBC. The montage of some of her claims was amusing, and I think that’s a fitting farewell for her.

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock

30 Rock: Season 7, Episode 9 “Game Over” (B+)

With this show headed swiftly for its final hour in less than three weeks, it’s refreshing to see an episode as funny as this one. It was fun to see Chris Parnell, who I watched moments earlier on this past week’s episode of “Suburgatory,” pop up once again as Dr. Leo Specimen, who ended up in Westchester despite Liz’s deliberate efforts to avoid him and promptly got promoted to surgeon general. It was great to see another snippet of “Celebrity Homonym,” which has to be the best fake TV show ever created. On the guest star front, Megan Mullally’s return appearance as the adoption agent was brief but amusing, highlighted by her sarcastic assertion, echoed by the next agent Liz called, about her remembering Liz because she only deals with one person. Octavia Spencer certainly had fun parodying herself as an extremely difficult star for Tracy to contend with, and she had many great lines, like changing Tubman to Tubgirl. The best part of her appearance was the fact that her assistants were named Mizz and Dotgov. It was entertaiting to see Steve Buscemi’s Len Wosniak again, who really went undercover for his latest job and seems to have found a whole new life as an engaged woman. Chloe Grace Moretz’s Kaylie Hooper and Will Arnett’s Devon Banks will eternally be fabulous nemeses for Jack, and it was great to see him trick Kaylie after realizing that she would trick him. It’s just like Hank to emphasize something like the notion of a happy birthday wish only counting on your actual birthday, and Jack’s well-timed birthday card turned out to be a triumph. Two of my favorite lines from the episode were Kaylie’s description of pleasure as “the name of a pony I hate” and Jack’s response to Liz’s insult of “You’re off the rails,” which was “thanks for the compliment; train travel is for hobos.”

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock

30 Rock: Season 7, Episode 8 “My Whole Life is Thunder” (C+)

Sometimes, this show is just too nutty for its own good. The aftermath of Liz’s wedding was even wackier than the event itself, mainly because Jenna was trying hard to steal the spotlight. The aggressive mockery of women in the “80 Under 80” plotline was a bit much, and I think that the show used to be much better with both subtle and unsubtle running jokes in the past. Both Jenna and Kenneth have become utterly uncontrollable characters at this point, both drawing so much focus away from what the show was originally supposed to be about, which would be TGS and the two parties warring over its welfare. Kenneth’s obsession with television has been much funnier in the past, and the “Brady Bunch” cameo was among the least memorable nod to TV stardom that this show has ever done. Jack explicitly trying not to do anything so that Colleen couldn’t find things to criticize was a fun idea but didn’t lead anywhere worthwhile, and it seemed like a waste to have Rebecca Mader of “Lost” fame pop up just to proposition Jack for sex, only to be forgotten while he was on the phone with his dying mother. Jack obsessing over Colleen’s seemingly complimentary last words was amusing, and he delivered one hell of an over-the-top eulogy. Only on this show could a wedding during a funeral make sense, pleasing everyone at first and then resulting in puzzled stares on their faces, mainly because of Paul’s decision to take Jenna’s first and last name.

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock

30 Rock: Season 7, Episode 7 “Mazel Tov, Dummies!” (B-)

In theory, this episode should have been much funnier than it was. Liz and Criss’ wedding was never going to be a spectacular event, but inviting the always hilarious Dennis and Tony Bennett didn’t make it all that memorable. Jack arguing in favor of the institution of marriage didn’t quite track with his beliefs on the matter either, and his points were far less effective as a result. I’m not sure what lies ahead for Liz and Criss, since adopting a baby is their endgame but it doesn’t feel like something that would actually come to fruition on this wacky show, which is hurtling towards its series finale in just a handful of episodes. Jenna has clearly gone downhill, being valued by Jack at only $2,000, though I’m not sure Terry’s initial estimate of $800,000 is all that much more reassuring. I would have hoped for a better usage of John Hodgman than as the lifelong collector of points so that he could enslave Jenna, and given how her plotlines usually go, it seemed strange that it turned to money so fast without any depravity and submissiveness on Jenna’s part first. I feel like Tracy realizes that he should live life seriously every other episode, and there’s always something that brings him back to his old irresponsible lifestyle. Passing his physical was hardly a compelling impetus for his latest bout of responsible thinking, and deciding to make a period piece about Harriet Tubman likely won’t lead to much in the way of funny storylines in the near future.

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock

30 Rock: Season 7, Episode 6 “Aunt Phatso vs. Jack Donaghy” (B-)

After a promising season thus far, this episode gets overwhelmed by some of its characters’ ridiculousness. No one doing any work while Liz went to her doctor’s appointment wasn’t much of a stretch, and Hazel volunteering to be her personal assistant signaled a descent into madness. Hazel is a character who, since her first appearance, has been unhinged, the female version of Kenneth that no one really asked for since he’s nutty enough all by himself. Warring with Jenna is somewhat entertaining, but ultimately, Hazel is just too weird for her own good. Jenna’s failed efforts to actually listen to Kenneth when he spoke were mildly amusing, and that’s another relationship that isn’t quite as fulfilling as perhaps it should be. The idea of Jack being parodied as the villain in Tracy’s new movie could have been funny, but it was ultimately too much of a stretch. This show has succeeded much more with plotlines like Governor Dunston, the Tracy lookalike whose similarities no one could deny. Fortunately, there were some good parts of the battle between Tracy and Jack, namely Tracy’s delight and Jack’s misery at Tracy paying the orchestra to play the “Sanford and Son” theme for four hours straight. Liz telling Jack that he sounded exactly like Tracy was hardly inaccurate, and it definitely served as a compelling impetus for him to fight back. Jack trying to prove to Tracy that what he was doing was libel was typical, and Tracy did a decent job of outsmarting Jack on a technicality and proving him ever so slightly wrong.

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock

30 Rock: Season 7, Episode 5 “There’s No I in America” (B+)

This half-ridiculous, half-hilarious, and sometimes both installment was definitely worth airing in advance of the election, and I’m glad NBC opted to put it on Wednesday night rather than bump it a week like the rest of its Thursday night lineup. Any episode that heavily involves Jenna at its center is bound to be absurd, and this half-hour was just that. It did, however, include two of the best Jack moments yet: his point that the head has five holes, all of which are needed, and his insistence that he has never dropped a hat. The debate was entirely silly, but it’s fun to see Liz and Jack trying to so hard to make points that definitely did not go over as they had planned, for the most part at least, with Jenna. Liz defiantly shooting back “herstrionics” to Jack’s mention of histrionics was great, and I enjoyed their accidental exchange of drinks at the end of the episode, which got Liz drunk instantly Pete’s Obama enthusiasm related to the great kiss he had with Maria four years earlier was entertaining, and it’s entirely accurate that this election doesn’t feel anywhere near as exciting as the 2008 race. Tracy is getting wilder and wilder as he’s featured less and less, though I guess that Twitter insensitivity totally tracks with his personality. Kenneth’s election questions were, at best, disturbing, but that’s nothing surprising for the page who manages to exist in a world even more preposterous than the ones inhabited by Tracy and Jenna.

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock

30 Rock: Season 7, Episode 4 “Unwindulax” (B+)

This show is often at its best when it’s most delusional, as long as it has some firm grounding in reality. This episode doesn’t necessarily rely on much logic for its claims, but it does do a spectacular job of mocking the current political situation, an effective follow-up to Governor Dunston’s ascension to the vice-presidential ticket. Liz fast-forwarding through Jack’s story was hilarious, and the notion of her being at a Republican fundraiser was comedy gold. Jack’s obsession with money as the solution to all problems resulted in an extraordinarily funny Romney ad starring Don Cheadle and the breakdown of Florida’s political leanings by both Tracy and Jack. Discovering that it was the Crab Catchers, Jenna’s loyal followers, who would decide the election made for a humorous “To be continued” segment at the end which promises plenty of wacky resolution coming next week, which just happens to be the last episode before the election happens. I liked the quick summary of TGS’ coverage of the election up until this point, featuring Baseball Mitt Romney and Barackallama. Lutz’s grand-nephew being a star of “Twilight” was sort of silly, but it did help underscore the banality of the execution of the election material Liz tried to write. Jenna having to be Island Jenna in front of her groupies was the perfect setup for Frank, Lutz, and Twofer to mess with her, and she did a pretty impressive job of fighting back and trying to give them a taste of her own petty medicine.

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock

30 Rock: Season 7, Episode 3 “Stride of Pride” (B+)

This episode is exactly what I like most about this show. It’s a commitment to comedic characters and understanding what drives then and makes them tick, exemplified in all of the characters’ storylines in this installment. Tracy telling Liz that he doesn’t think women are funny provided a perfect platform for her “nerd rage” that resulted in a performance of a two-woman show with Jenna that led Tracy to conclude that the notion of a female doctor was hilarious. Tracy may seem like an idiot on a regular basis, but it’s fair to say that he tries to incite Liz’s passion as much as possible by making inflammatory remarks that he knows will set her off. Jack’s insatiable need to know what kind of partner he is for one of his many girlfriends is funny for a number of reasons, mainly due to his breakdown of the archetypes that might make up a typical person’s many partners. His identification of himself as the father figure was an amusing conclusion specifically because it came just at the moment that Jenna burst in to affirm his fears and doubts about playing that role. Their shared enjoyment of the older companion role because it doesn’t require much effort was great. Jenna leaking a story about looking good at 56 and vying to be the model of an electronic chair put her to better use than she’s been put in a while, allowing her to accept her situation by overcompensating in the other direction far too much.

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock

30 Rock: Season 7, Episode 2 “Governor Dunston” (B+)

There’s something very exciting about having a direct political parody that’s extremely timely, airing right before the vice-presidential debate and replacing the Republican vice-presidential candidate with a comedic stand-in. Hearing that Ryan was resigning because it had been discovered that he was born in Kenya was hilarious, and though a Tracy look-alike was a bit of an easy way out, it did work well to create a fantastically difficult situation for Jack and Liz to discuss. I enjoyed seeing Matthew Broderick’s Cooter return, openly and awkwardly discussing his hopes for friendship with Jack while informing him that the Romney-Dunston campaign was pleased with Tracy’s mockery since it was painting Dunston in a funny way, which helped to distract from the fact that Dunston is actually really mean. The connection between Liz’s organizing and her sex life was put quite bluntly and overtly, and I’m not sure the sight of Liz pouring white-out on Criss’ bare chest is a sight I can ever unsee (and a horribly toxic idea at that). Liz’s complete lack of shame, however, is what keeps this show going, and I wouldn’t protest against that. Jenna meeting Kenneth’s parents was weird and unconnected as usual, and I most liked the casting of Catherine O’Hara and Bryan Cranston as Kenneth’s peculiar parents. His whole backstory is entirely odd and often disconcerting, but it’s nice to see him acting somewhat normally every once in a while, though I do wonder where Hazel was, since one would think that she would be merit an introduction to Kenneth’s parents.

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock (Season Premiere)

30 Rock: Season 7, Episode 1 “The Beginning of the End” (B+)

I had grown somewhat tired of this show and didn’t even realize this show was premiering again this past week until I happened upon the listing. I was pleasantly surprised, therefore, to discover a very funny and enjoyable half hour representing the first episode of the final season of a series that’s really ready to end. I’m pleased to see that it’s aiming to go out on top rather than feature guest star after guest star until it finally reaches its agonizing death. Jack’s plan to tank NBC is definitely the funniest plotline of all, and I loved the snippets of “God Cop” that were shown, featuring God kneeling down to pray (“To who?!!”) and Jack calling his costar Liz. I’m not sure his plan will work, but it’s sure to be entertaining while it lasts. Jenna has always been out on her own planet, and it was good to incorporate her by having her select Liz as her reluctant maid of honor, a job she too tried to do so poorly to get herself discarded in favor of the obvious choice, Jenna herself. Everything with Kenneth and Hazel has gotten a bit too weird for my tastes, and things are never normal when Tracy seems like the sane one in the room. Though she’s odd, Hazel is a character made for this universe, and it’s only fitting that she be around when this show takes its final bow. I suspect that it’s going to be one hell of a nutty season, and I do hope that we’ll get to see some of the more memorable recurring characters from seasons past.

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock (Season Finale)

30 Rock: Season 6, Episode 22 “What Will Happen to the Gang Next Year?” (B+)

There’s no better way for this show to go out than with Kim Jong-Il ranting about the idea of Jack and Liz finally getting together and then typing out a script on a typewriter. The vow renewal ceremony was comic in so many ways, with Liz officiating, and three different parties all anxiously awaiting the part where you can object to the union. When Diana, Scott, and Kim all failed to state their objections, Jack and Avery’s simultaneous explosions of frustration were amusing, and their divorce worked out quite nicely. I very much enjoyed watching Jack discover the Morse Code affair that Avery and Scott were having while hosting American News Channel USA. Criss referencing James Van Der Beek was fun because of his regular appearance on “Apartment 23,” and his run-in with Ultra-Orthodox Jews furious about his 100% pork hot dogs was hilarious. It looks like Liz and Criss might just last and go through with their adoption, provided that Liz follows Jack’s hastily invented twenty-five pillars of motherhood. Tracy needing to reform his image was funny, and his best comment was his rejection of Frederick Douglass as a role model because he had two first names. Kenneth and Hazel’s drama wasn’t exactly my favorite part of the hour, but they’ve always been a bit too deranged for their own sake. Despite some less impressive moments, this season has actually been decent overall, and I think that a thirteen-episode final season next year is just what this show deserves.

Season grade: B/B+
Season MVP: Tina Fey

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock

30 Rock: Season 6, Episode 21 “The Return of Avery Jessup” (B+)

Avery’s return has been coming for so long that it’s a relief to see that having her back isn’t a disappointment. Instead, it actually gets Jack all riled up to learn that she was imprisoned with another American, Scott Scottsman, played by Michael Mosley from “Scrubs” and “Pan Am,” who were both part of the laughably ridiculous North Korean version of American television, in which they attempted to pretend dead people were still alive and other silly things. Avery’s quick forgiveness of Jack was the ultimate mind game, getting him to spiral out of control and confess everything he had done during the time they spent apart, whereas she had in fact done nothing wrong. The homecoming party that combined all of the holidays into one night was entertaining, and I enjoyed the scene with Mayor Boo-mberg bragging to Jack about his clever costume. Liz’s concern at the notion of Jack and Avery renewing their vows is not unfounded, and that will likely take us into next season. The balance of power in terms of money in Liz and Criss’ relationship is sure to cause problems, and they just barely avoided major issues in this installment. Jenna’s efforts to master accents to get a prime sponsorship for her wedding were amusing, and the funniest bit was the closing list of off-brand Heelz names. Tracy’s command to Sari to bring Jessica Tandy back to life was hilarious as well. As of Thursday, the show has officially been renewed for a final thirteen-episode seventh season. I think that’s just right, since it will enable the show to wrap up at a time when it’s ready to end.

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock

30 Rock: Season 6, Episode 20 “Queen of Jordan 2: The Mystery of the Phantom Pooper” (C+)

I really didn’t like this format the first time the show tried it last season, and it’s not entirely improved this time around. It’s not clear to me why this show can’t simply have a normal episode, instead going from theme to theme after last week’s live installment. It doesn’t feel repetitive like reused tactics do on other shows, but at a certain point, it’s just too irreverent. I don’t see why Angie needed to return to being central when Tracy has been relatively entertaining recently, and his lone, hardly crazed contribution to this episode is to be lazy and ultimately purport that he had planned it all along so that Angie could get into a big blow-up fight with her husband in front of the cameras. Their cries of divorce and cheating likely won’t go anywhere, and I hope we don’t have to see more of their relationship this way anytime soon. Avery’s return has been a long time coming, and the invention of Gus and Russ felt highly unnecessary as Jack and Diana strove to deceive the cameras about their illicit romance, before Jack planted one on Diana and had to start kissing everyone, including D’Fwan, on the lips to try to make it seem unimportant. Liz’s drama with the baby and the frequent invocation of “Rude!” by all of the players were only funny to a point. Maybe it’s because I don’t watch the reality genre, but give me a straight episode of television any day over this.

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock

30 Rock: Season 6, Episode 19 “Live From Studio 6H” (B+)

I wasn’t too fond of this show last time it tried to pull off a live show, and I’m not big on the concept in general. Yet what’s most clear from this half-hour is that the cast is having fun, and there’s something to be said for that. This installment managed to send up the live show from last season in a major way by one-upping the cameo by Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Liz’s flashback self and inserting plenty of familiar friends and faces. Flashing back to invented old television shows with the cast playing the parts was quite hilarious, and I especially enjoyed seeing Jon Hamm opposite Tracy Morgan in the awful show that the producers decided to keep on the air despite the fact that there was no content. Amy Poehler as Liz’s younger self and Jimmy Fallon as Jack’s younger self were inspired choices, and I liked seeing Fred Armisen pop up there as well. Learning how everyone’s back stories were intertwined was terrific, and the best bit of flashback casting had to be Donald Glover from “Community” as Tracy, who managed to elicit quite the shocked applause as he danced his way to being ridiculous on television. Kenneth uniting everyone to save live television was a good way to incorporate the quirky, passionate character and to structure the episode. I enjoyed Nazi Doctor Leo Specimen’s past and present commercials. Who could disparage this episode, however, after hearing Tina Fey give a shout-out to her good friend Amy Poehler’s “Parks & Recreation,” telling all her viewers to tune in at 9:30pm to watch this show. Now, that’s just awesome.

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock

30 Rock: Season 6, Episode 18 “Murphy Brown Lied to Us” (B+)

Jack’s never-ending quest to find productivity in his failing business led to a rather entertaining and biting satire of the American workforce in this episode, as the all-American team of engineers didn’t have a clue how to build a coach, and instead created something that forced its sitter into a stress position. Hiring Stacy Keach to do the commercials was a great idea, and he proved to be very funny. Jack setting Liz up with a guy so that she could meet his incredibly cool daughter was actually quite sweet, and her father lived up to the reputation set forth for him by his signature of “Sent from one of my four iPads.” Criss crashing Liz’s date wasn’t terribly impressive, but it’s not to think that they might be interested in starting a family together, though something tells me that the process won’t go smoothly at all. Jenna’s celebrity breakdown was rather extreme, highlighted by her running through a wall in the middle of an interview and it was fun to hear Tracy giving her advice on how to act crazy, though he actually proved to be the voice of reason, determining that she was in fact having a breakdown. The return of her ex-lovers, including Frank and a poisonous package sent by Mickey Rourke, was amusing, but none of them compares to Paul, who was secretly in the room the whole time, disguised as a nurse and tending to the love of his life, with whom he can hopefully restart his relationship peacefully and semi-normally.

What I’m Watching: 30 Rock

30 Rock: Season 6, Episode 17 “Meet the Woggels” (B+)

It’s nice that Elaine Stritch is available to stop by this show on an annual basis to make Jack’s life a living hell for a little bit. Having her show up in New York after heart surgery was a great way to kick-start the episode’s theme of Liz encouraging everyone to talk about their feelings. Colleen harking back to Jack crying and crying that one time in the hospital (his birth) was hilarious, and most of their interactions were extremely funny, as tends to be the case. Tracy’s desire for his son George Foreman not to go to college and instead to attend the School of Hard Knocks, a one-year vocational program which teaches how to knock on doors and sell magazine subscriptions, was so typical of him, and I liked their subsequent montage, in the absence of the stripper with the same name. Tracy’s immediate dismissal of his son despite college not starting for five months was also not too surprising. Jenna’s fervent need to Yoko a band didn’t play out nearly as perfectly as she had planned, mainly because she picked a subtly white supremacist Australian children’s band that sang ridiculous lyrics through the episode’s closing moments, and Paul appeared to have moved on by dressing like someone else. I expected to see Dean Cain during the course of the episode since his name was invoked twice in a rather derogatory manner. I love that Tracy and Jenna solve their problems together, so unproductive independently and oddly successful as a pair.