Friday, February 10, 2012

An Extra Long Snore

30 Rock used to be one of my favorite shows a season or two ago, but their sixth season is severely lacking for me.  I'm not sure where the magic went.  Perhaps the writers have changed--it's a mystery.  The characters are still their loveable selves, but perhaps after a while, the jokes are stale and their antics are unimpressive.  This week, there was a double-episode, which I decided to write about, as there was more material to work with than usual for this show.

So there were a few different stories going on.  The most boring was Jenna's.  She was having a case of the yips before her live performance.  Jenna only shines best when she is in pain--what a wonderful revelation!  It would be if I gave a damn.  The next up on the boring scale was Jack and his mother-in-law's story.  I love Mary Steenburgen, but I thought her character was lacking.  That was a shame!  All their troubles were solved with golfing...  I was slightly interested in their story only because I wondered if Jack would be a big enough ass to sleep with his mother-in-law.  Thankfully no.  How would his Canadian daughter respect him after that?

Okay, so let's go to the stories that didn't make me completely turn away from the screen.  There was the new page at their neck of woods, Hazel, who wasn't adapting well to the insanity that surrounds TGS.  She seemed on the verge of quitting until she met Liz at her apartment.  She quickly became obsessed with her to a level I thought we would see episodes later.  No, we got a little taste this time.  She was sitting in Liz's room, hugging her pillow, and then she was found to be in Liz's room, putting lipstick on her.  With all the psychos that already occupy the show, you'd wonder why I'd want another.  I like Kristen Schaal (from her various voice-over roles), so I welcome her to the cast if she can jump start my interest again.  The show's missing something, and she might fill that void.

Liz and Criss' story was fairly interesting in that they went to IKEA.  I love that store, but I like the idea that it's a place where couples come to break up after disagreeing on various furniture and home decor choices.  I don't care much for Criss, but I did like how this guy in the store was nearly walking on his heels as Criss moved throughout the store.  In the end, they argue, but Liz decides to apologize.  It turns out that she didn't even need to because Criss had made her a crudely but sweetly made table, along with dinner.  It's sad that she seems to be in a good relationship and I can't cheer her on.  My favorite person she dated was by far Carol.  Man, it sucks that he couldn't be a permanent fixture on the show.  But it was Matt Damon, so I don't know how much longer they could have kept him on anyway.

The best story was the one with Tracy, Frank, and Lutz.  They were scheming in different ways to take advantage of women and get dates (or possible just some sex, knowing them).  The general technique was to step in exactly when a woman was at her most vulnerable point and ask her, "Hey, Baby, what's wrong?"  Frank and Tracy kept saying this line in unison, forcing me to laugh during this episode.  They could have made this the central story, and I would have been happy.  Poor Lutz, who made the horrible mistake of suggesting to a postal lady that her hair looked bad, didn't get any dates for Valentine's Day, but he did get to go to IKEA and enjoy some meatballs with his boys.  That last part where they were all eating together outside of the store was the kind of silly fun that I have missed on this show.  But there just wasn't enough of it this time.

Lastly, I'll mention my favorite line from this episode (besides the "Hey, Baby" thing).  This was when Jack's mother-in-law was telling him that you catch more flies with honey, and Jack replied:
First of all, why do you want flies?
Yeah.  That phrases makes sense, and it doesn't make sense.  Anyway, I'm a little more motivated to comment (or watch) next week's episode if there is going to be more Hazel.  I could do with less Criss, and Tracey is always welcomed.  It's a good thing, though, that there aren't so many people I know watching 30 Rock.  I would have to be tortured by friends coming around and saying "Hey, Baby, what's wrong?"  It was funny on the show, but I'd probably punch someone in real life if I had to hear it more than twice.

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