Choosing these two guys, however, is not complicated. It's actually pretty damn clever. Both men are very funny, very comfortable in the moment -- a necessity for a complicated show like the Oscars when anything can go wrong -- and they bring a lot of good will and star power to the proceedings.
(S04E03) "I met JJ Abrams once, and I don't know what this means, but he said that the island was just Hurley's dream." - Jenna
In a typical 30 Rock episode, not all of the plots always work. While the A plot will be great, B and C will be lame. If A and B are great, then C will be lame. If A and C are great, B will be lame. Sometimes A is great and B is fair, but C will be really unnecessary and forced. Sometimes there will just be an A and it's great, and there will be dashes of B and C. I don't know where I'm going with this because I was terrible at algebra.
Oh yeah: tonight A, B, and C all clicked, and that made for a very good 30 Rock.
I'm sure that Halloween isn't the main focus of tonight's episode of 30 Rock (Liz and Jack going to Kenneth's hometown to audition people for TGS is), but this clip flashes back to a party from last year that Frank, Lutz, and Toofer had. I'm trying to remember if 30 Rock did a Halloween show last year and if this contradicts it.
Rules are meant to be broken... especially for these ten television characters. For them, the rest of the world has one standard to live by and they have another. It makes them interesting and fun to watch... you just wouldn't necessarily want to be the person having to deal with them because they could drive you to distraction. Here's my ten pack of characters who live in a world of their own, according to no rules except their own. From the not-too-bad to the really bad.
10. Patrick Jane, The Mentalist
You would think that as a consultant to the CBI -- California Bureau of Investigation -- Patrick Jane would be compelled to uphold the rules and regulations of the department. However, Jane is a free spirit when it comes to office protocol. He does his own thing. For instance, bugging the office of a CBI higher-up is definitely not kosher. Jane doesn't care; he did it anyway and will probably get away with it.
As my Thursday afternoon time slot to interview Tracy Morgan came closer, I knew I was in for an interesting twenty minutes. As most people have seen and heard over the years, interviewing Tracy is an amusement park ride that even Busch Gardens couldn't conceive. He's blunt. His emotions rise and fall quicker than a roller coaster. And you never know what he's going to say.
When I got to talk to him, he had been interviewing all day in support of his surprisingly emotional and inspirational memoir I Am The New Black, and he was tired. But there was a lot of stuff I wanted to ask him about, only some of which involved his well-publicized smackdowns of SNL co-stars Cheri Oteri and Chris Kattan. There was also his criticism of David Israel and Jim O'Doherty, the creators of The Tracy Morgan Show, and just the general details about his rough upbringing in the Bronx and Brooklyn in the '70s and '80s. Tracy didn't disappoint.
So, buckle up folks, and get ready for a fun ride. Audio and a transcript is after the jump.
(S04E02) "This isn't the auto industry, Pete. The auto industry was run by a bunch of out of touch white guys selling consumers a product they didn't want. We're GE damn it, and we're going to make a giant, flimsy microwave." - Jack
It's funny how Liz Lemon wrote the book titled Dealbreakers (a plot from last season they've continued this season). You can actually picture a book like that getting published. There must have been a hundred humor books like that released in the past five years, so this doesn't seem like one of those "crazy" fake books that a TV show comes out with. Actually, I'm surprised NBC hasn't actually published a book to cross-promote the show. Hey, Castle did it.
I just hope that the book that Tina Fey is writing isn't like that.
(S04E01) "We'll trick those race-car loving wide-loads into watching your lefty homoerotic propaganda hour yet!" - Jack
One of the many, many reasons 30 Rock is one of my favorite shows is because it's well aware of its own world. For example, one of the running jokes tonight was about Josh (Lonny Ross). I spent most of the last two seasons wondering where Josh was. He'd make a cameo here and there, but he's been pretty much missing since the first season. Liz and Jack talked about this tonight when Jack revealed that TGS needed a new cast member and Liz wondered about Josh's popularity on the show. Jack said "Oh, that's right, Josh. I forgot about that guy. You think that's a good sign?"
For the record, Josh was indeed in this episode, for a few seconds. He quit and then attempted to tip over the table when he found out a new person was coming on to the show.
Tina Fey was on The Today Show this morning to promote the new season of 30 Rock (tonight at 9:30 on NBC), and besides showing a clip from the episode, Fey kisses someone from the morning show.
But that's OK. Meredith Vieria kisses Tracy Morgan too. What the hell is going on over at NBC?
[Watch full episodes and clips of 30 Rock and other shows at SlashControl.]
Tracy Morgan has a new tell-all book, I Am The New Black, coming out next week (and he's doing some crazy stuff on his new Twitter page), and one of the things that fans will find out are his true feelings for some of his old Saturday Night Live castmates.
He talks about what he could have brought to the NBC late night show, but that they didn't really listen to him. Instead, he says they... "felt bad for me. None of the cast I came up with saw this future for me. No sir. All I have to say about that is, where's Chris Kattan now? Where's Cheri Oteri now? That bitch can't get arrested."
One of my favorite features of NBC's web site are the Ask Tina videos. You send in questions to Tina Fey and she answers them. They don't do enough of them to my liking (I'd like to see them every week but I understand Tina is busy), but we have a new one this week. In it Tina answers questions about her glasses and behind the scenes 30 Rock footage and outtakes.
Why Tracy Morgan doesn't have a second career as a life coach is beyond me. The guy is a true genius. As Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock, he teaches me important things like the stages of grief: "fear, denial, horniness, wisdom, sleepiness and now depression," and how I should live every week like it's shark week.
So while Morgan still hasn't published that book of daily affirmations I've been hoping for, he is publishing a memoir, titled, I Am the New Black, which will probably be nearly as amazing. What's also really exciting about this memoir is that it's going to mean publicity-- and we get to reap the benefits.
I can't wait until the fourth season of30 Rock starts a week from Thursday. Here's a sneak peek/behind the scenes look, with the cast talking about a new plot, guest stars, and what it's like working on the set. I'm already laughing. (Note: it's a bit spoilerish; not necessarily the plots but some great lines you'll hear this season).
[Watch episodes and clips of 30 Rock and other shows at SlashControl.]
The fall season has begun and we have a ton of new and returning shows to watch again. It's great to have The Office and The Mentalistand 60 Minutes andThe Simpsonsback with new episodes, but I still feel a huge void in my TV-watching pleasure. And it's not because Lost and Chuck won't be back until next year.
I'm talking about 30 Rock. While all of the other NBC Thursday night comedies (Weekend Update Thursday, Parks and Recreation, Community, and The Office) have returned, 30 Rock won't be back until October 15. Not sure why that is, but Thursday nights just aren't the same without it. I even saw a promo for NBC's Thursday night lineup and how the show were back, and they included 30 Rock in the montage. That was just painful.
I'm sure she'd say she's too old for regular television work, or that she's having too much fun guest-starring on every television show and half of the movies, but I just can't get enough of Betty White on TV. With it coming out now that Betty White has signed for a guest spot on NBC's 30 Rock, she might as well start making room on the mantle for her latest Emmy.
After all, 30 Rock gets all the nominees for guest star in a comedy (though White did get nominated for My Name Is Earl this past year). Reportedly White would play herself, which works well considering the premise of the show. 30 Rock does amazing comedy with their guest stars, and when you get someone as brilliant and talented as White, can it be anything but perfect?
Luckily, White wouldn't have to compete for that Emmy with another hot prospect for the folks at 30 Rock. After his Emmy-winning turn hosting Saturday Night Live, why wouldn't they want to nab Justin Timberlake as well?
I would bet that most porn movie parodies are kinda lame (or so I've heard). This one, a take-off of NBC's 30 Rock, actually looks pretty good! It's well cast anyway, and they have all the aspects of the show right. The title is kinda lame though. Shouldn't it be called 30 Rock Hard or something? (Video is mostly safe for work.)
The Vegas oddsmakers were wrong about Billy Crystal. He isn't hosting the Oscars. Neither is Hugh Jackman. No, today it was announced that Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will serve as cohosts of the 82nd Academy Awards. Interestingly, Martin and Baldwin are costarring -- with Meryl Streep -- in the upcoming romantic comedy, It's Complicated.
As my Thursday afternoon time slot to interview 
The fall season has begun and we have a ton of new and returning shows to watch again. It's great to have 
I'm sure she'd say she's too old for regular television work, or that she's having too much fun guest-starring on every television show and half of the movies, but I just can't get enough of Betty White on TV. With it coming out now that 
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