What I’m Watching: 30 Rock

30 Rock: Season 4, Episode 7 “Dealbreakers Talk Show No. 0001” (B-)

Liz’s shot at stardom isn’t all that entertaining, and the attempts to make her appear uglier aren’t great, especially because she’s really not all that unattractive to begin with, and the show trying to force that down its viewers’ throats is obnoxious. That tricky camera which added years to Liz and took away years from Jack was amusing, but that was pretty much the only positive aspect of the entire Dealbreakers thread in this episode. The need to over-emphasize Tracy’s stupidity through blatant repetition is something I can’t really stand about this show, and this episode did that for a whole scene for no reason. The explanation, simplification and analysis of the exact same information by Tracy’s minions didn’t accomplish much, and Tracy’s random pursuit of accomplishing the EGOT sweep wasn’t quite as exciting as it could have been. Bringing Whoopi in as one of the EGOT winners was fun, and maybe I just missed the promos, but her arrival was an actual surprise for me, as opposed to most of the celebrity guest stars featured on this show. The guest star who continues to be a fantastic presence on this show is Will Arnett, whose banter with Jack at the beginning of the episode was hilarious. His confused response to the “moron says what” bit and his strong desire to know what he said is still running through my head.