30 Rock

[Shekwan]

Anyone watch it? Opinions?

I watched an episode there and thought it was great. Gonna watch the whole series when I get a chance. I think what sold it for me was a scene between Alec Baldwin and Will Arnett, they're brilliant together.

 

[warpus]

30 rock is great. Tina Fey is a genius and Alec Baldwin was born for the role. Tracy Morgan is.. well.. Tracy Morgan Will Arnett's recent inclusion is awesome too - he totally fits in

I haven't really been keeping up with this season, but have watched random episodes here and there.. At times it seems like they are getting mighty close to jumping the shark.. I hope I'm wrong on this, as this has been one of the funniest (if not THE funniest) show on tv ever since it got started

 

[scherbchen]

just another sitcom imho. "here comes the punchline, get ready!"

 

[Disgustipated]

it's okay. Sadly can't compare to NBC shows in their best years. Back when they owned the 80's, 90's, and the early part of the 00's.

it's watchable, however. I used to be a real sitcom junkie back in the 80's, and I still prefer it over the stupid reality show craze that still hasn't died off yet. grrrr. There are so few sitcoms left, other than the low budget ones on the "other" networks.

 

[warpus]

it's okay. Sadly can't compare to NBC shows in their best years. Back when they owned the 80's, 90's, and the early part of the 00's.

Like which ones?

 

[Ajidica]

I like 30 Rock. Its a bit zany in parts but still good. Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey make the show. Kenneth the Page is always good though.

 

[warpus]

I like that little blonde girl who shows up from time to time.. a lot! I want to meat her.

yum!>. errr.. yeah

 

[Shekwan]

it's okay. Sadly can't compare to NBC shows in their best years. Back when they owned the 80's, 90's, and the early part of the 00's.

it's watchable, however. I used to be a real sitcom junkie back in the 80's, and I still prefer it over the stupid reality show craze that still hasn't died off yet. grrrr. There are so few sitcoms left, other than the low budget ones on the "other" networks.

Like which ones?

Good question, I too would like to hear examples, beyond Seinfeld or Cheers.

 

[Kennigit]

I definitely like it. I watch it. Most of the time I think it's very very good; other times it is ok.

Pretty much that's all. But one of my favourites.

 

[sophie]

That whole show is absolutely hilarious.

I love Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan. They're both exceedingly funny. The guy who plays Kenneth is pretty darned funny too.

You can really tell that Donald Glover (black guy in "Community") got his start writing for 30 Rock, as his acting style in Community is very similar to 30 Rock

 

[downtown]

I have a crush on Tina Fey. No lie.

 

[Disgustipated]

Good question, I too would like to hear examples, beyond Seinfeld or Cheers.

I'll go roughly in order that I can remember.

I did watch Cosby show, though I wasn't a huge fan of Cosby. I liked Family Ties alot even though it had those cheesy "touching" moments I generally hate in sitcoms. There's a reason why it launched Michael Fox's career. Night Court was pretty funny. It launched John Larroquette's career. Cheers was the best of the 80's lot however. And probably my favorite sitcom of all time.

The 90's brought about Seinfeld. Probably my second favorite sitcom of all time. Never had to worry about cheesy "touching" moments in that show. First season started off a little rough. I feel like they could have done one more season. But the last season was starting to get a little off track. I can understand why Jerry felt the need to pull the plug before it "jumped the shark".

Friends came out in the 90's. Alot of people make fun of it. It was just another sitcom. Most sitcoms are roughly the same. If you watch the old 50's ones, you realize they have been using the same jokes for over 50 years. What makes a sitcom work is the characters and acting. And the cast of Friends made it work. The only character I didn't like much was Rachael, but she had her moments.

Frasier. I admit I didn't like it when I first watched it. I was a diehard Cheers fan and was of the opinion spinoffs always suck. This one is an exception. I also didn't like the high-brow humor at first as I'm not from that culture. But it's actually quite funny.

I remember liking 3rd rock from the sun the first few seasons, but I kind of lost interest after that. John Lithgow really made that show work. Great acting by him.

Scrubs. The first few seasons were great, but I kind of lost intersest. That might be more due to my growing addiction to the computer and internet. Sigh. TV doesn't hold my interest as it once did.

 

[Mise]

It's certainly enjoyable to watch, but it's not laugh-out-loud funny.

 

[Shekwan]

I'll go roughly in order that I can remember.

I did watch Cosby show, though I wasn't a huge fan of Cosby. I liked Family Ties alot even though it had those cheesy "touching" moments I generally hate in sitcoms. There's a reason why it launched Michael Fox's career. Night Court was pretty funny. It launched John Larroquette's career. Cheers was the best of the 80's lot however. And probably my favorite sitcom of all time.

The 90's brought about Seinfeld. Probably my second favorite sitcom of all time. Never had to worry about cheesy "touching" moments in that show. First season started off a little rough. I feel like they could have done one more season. But the last season was starting to get a little off track. I can understand why Jerry felt the need to pull the plug before it "jumped the shark".

Friends came out in the 90's. Alot of people make fun of it. It was just another sitcom. Most sitcoms are roughly the same. If you watch the old 50's ones, you realize they have been using the same jokes for over 50 years. What makes a sitcom work is the characters and acting. And the cast of Friends made it work. The only character I didn't like much was Rachael, but she had her moments.

Frasier. I admit I didn't like it when I first watched it. I was a diehard Cheers fan and was of the opinion spinoffs always suck. This one is an exception. I also didn't like the high-brow humor at first as I'm not from that culture. But it's actually quite funny.

I remember liking 3rd rock from the sun the first few seasons, but I kind of lost interest after that. John Lithgow really made that show work. Great acting by him.

Scrubs. The first few seasons were great, but I kind of lost intersest. That might be more due to my growing addiction to the computer and internet. Sigh. TV doesn't hold my interest as it once did.

Well Scrubs isn't a 90s sitcom really. I think your problem is just that you stopped following stuff on TV. American TV has improved by an order of magnitude last decade, and sitcoms are no exception.

 

[warpus]

@Disgustipated All the shows you listed follow the traditional tv-sitcom-ciomedy formula. (with the exception of Scrubs)

I can see why you wouldn't like 30 rock - it is way different than all the shows you listed.. It breaks with the formula and just .. well.. turns it upside down.

Watch some "it's always sunny in philadelphia", "dog bites man", the office, extras, maybe some reno 911, then give 30 rock another chance.

 

[scherbchen]

could you explain in which way 30 rock breaks the traditional formula? I have only seen about 2/3 of the first season and then checked back in every now and the for half a show and found it rather bland as opposed to Friends I have to admit. what did I miss?

 

[warpus]

could you explain in which way 30 rock breaks the traditional formula? I have only seen about 2/3 of the first season and then checked back in every now and the for half a show and found it rather bland as opposed to Friends I have to admit. what did I miss?

First and foremost there is no laugh track, no clap track when characters enter the set, there isn't even a set I don't think, there is a major black character!, the humour is a bit out there and off-the-wall as opposed to traditional humour (seinfeld started going in that direction and inspired a whole bunch of shows imo)..

I've always wondered how a show like 30 rock would be received overseas.. I mean.. is it dubbed? or do you have subtitles? I wonder how much that takes away from the show.. also, a lot of the jokes are pop culture references, as well as references to american politics.. how well do those translate to a german/austrian/mongolian audience?

 

[scherbchen]

well I don't watch dubbed shows, can't answer that bit. not sure it is even being aired here.

but, sure, it does not have the "live audience" bit, which the already mentioned scrubs omitted as well so it isn't that groundbreaking there. I suppose it has a set in the same way as any tv show has a set unless it is filmed on location which would surprise me. sure, they do have a major black character but it is the zany funny guy. he is the whacky Eddie Murphy or Chris Rock comedian. not that roundbreaking, really.

on the other hand they do have the dumb jock/hunky guy who is still loveable (Baldwin) and the intelligent-not-gorgeous-but-geeky-pretty girl in dire straits (Fey) and the nerdy white kid (receptionist guy) and the famous star female that goes for dumb jock/hunk (Hayek). not to mention the infamous "here comes the joke" pause before a, well, before a joke. if you telegraph it like that there is no need for canned laughter tbh.

 

[Disgustipated]

It's not groundbreaking. No live audience was done much better here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrested_Development_(TV_series)

The link is a show that was groundbreaking, and stomps 30 Rocks' ass into the ground. Check it out if you have the time.

I'm not saying I don't like 30 rock. I like Tina Fey. But I liked her better on SNL. Her character isn't that great on the show. Though I do like Baldwin's character.

 

[warpus]

I didn't say it was groundbreaking, just that it didn't follow the usual formula. (which all the shows that Disgustipated listed did, except for scrubs, which made me wonder whether he was just not exposed to non-traditional sitcoms enough to appreciate 30 rock)