A quick review of last night’s “30 Rock” coming up just as soon as I go to a cat rodeo in a gay guy’s apartment…
“30 Rock” is having a very strong season, but “Mrs. Donaghy” was not a particularly strong episode. There were some laughs, because there will always be laughs (Angie’s reality show, Liz as Drew Barrymore as Little Edie from “Grey Gardens”), but most of the episode dragged. And the Jenna/Danny/Kenneth story felt particularly lazy, like they didn’t even want to take the time to set up the familiar “two people who aren’t married act like they are” gag, since the only point of it was for Jenna to be able to vent about fake marriage to Liz at the appropriate moment.
But in spite of all that, the last scene in Weinerslav’s(*) office was pretty wonderful. Even when all else is going wrong on “30 Rock,” the writers can almost always rely on the Jack/Liz relationship for both heart (it’s usually the only genuine emotion the show has) and comedy. (I particularly liked the camera cutting to Jack when Weinerslav mentioned mothers and then to Liz when he mentioned diarrhea. But then, I’m 12.) It was the first part of the episode that made me consistently laugh, and it also worked because I like Jack and Liz – and like that the show remains committed to a complete lack of romantic tension between them, which it mocked again as they rolled their eyes at Weinerslav – and almost always enjoy episodes where they’re forced to confront how much they matter to each other.
(*) Dr. Spaceman is clearly a funnier, more durable character than Weinerslav, but who has the funnier name? Discuss.
Overall, a disposable episode, but that closing scene was worth tuning in for.
What did everybody else think?