30 Rock (season 1)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

30 Rock Season 1
Image:30 Rock Season One DVD Cover.jpg
30 Rock season one DVD cover
Country of origin USA
Network NBC
Original run October 11, 2006 – April 26, 2007
No. of episodes 21
DVD release date September 4, 2007 (Region 1)[1]
March 17, 2008 (Region 2)[2]
Next season 2

The first season of the television comedy series 30 Rock originally aired between October 11, 2006 and April 26, 2007 on NBC in the United States. The season consisted of 21 total episodes: 19 episodes which were approximately 22 minutes long and two episodes which were approximately 26 minutes long due to NBC "supersizing" those episodes.[3][4] These run times do not account for commercials.

The first season moved time slots three times during its run. The first four episodes aired on Wednesdays at 8:00 pm,[5] the next thirteen episodes aired on Thursdays at 9:30 pm under NBC's promotional banner "Comedy Night Done Right,"[3] and the final four episodes aired on Thursdays at 9:00 pm.[4]

The 30 Rock first season DVD box set was released on September 4, 2007 in Region 1 format[1] and was released on March 17, 2008 in Region 2 format.[2]

Contents

[edit] Crew

Tina Fey is an executive producer, a writer and lead actress.
Tina Fey is an executive producer, a writer and lead actress.

The season was produced by Broadway Video, Little Stranger and NBC Universal and was aired on NBC in the U.S. The executive producers were creator Tina Fey, Lorne Michaels, Joann Alfano, Marci Klein and David Miner with Brett Baer, Dave Finkel, Jack Burditt and John Riggi acting as co-executive producers.[6] Robert Carlock acted as co-executive producer from the episode "Pilot" until the episode "Black Tie." Carlock was then credited as an executive producer, starting with the episode "Up All Night" onwards. Producers for the season were music composer Jeff Richmond and Jerry Kupfer with Irene Burns, Matt Hubbard and Diana Schmidt acting as co-producers. There were eight different directors throughout the season. The staff writers were Tina Fey, John Riggi, Robert Carlock, Jack Burditt, Dave Finkel, Brett Baer, co-producer Matthew Hubbard and Kay Cannon who all wrote, or co-wrote at least two episodes. Daisy Gardner, who co-wrote the episode "The Source Awards" with Robert Carlock, was a guest writer. Those who directed more than one episode were supervising producer Adam Bernstein, Gail Mancuso, Don Scardino, Michael Engler and Beth McCarthy. There were three directors who only directed one episode each throughout the season, they were Juan J. Campanella, Scott Ellis and Dennie Gordon. Fey and Carlock acted as the show runners for the season.[7]

[edit] Cast

Three members of the cast of 30 Rock. From the left, they are: Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy, Tina Fey as Liz Lemon and Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan
Three members of the cast of 30 Rock. From the left, they are: Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy, Tina Fey as Liz Lemon and Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan

This season had a cast of seven actors who received star billing. Tina Fey portrayed Liz Lemon, the head writer of a fictitious live sketch comedy television series named TGS with Tracy Jordan (commonly known as just TGS).[8] The TGS cast consists of three actors, two of whom are part of the main cast of the first season of 30 Rock. They are the loose cannon movie star Tracy Jordan, portrayed by Tracy Morgan[8] and the dense, limelight-craving Jenna Maroney, portrayed by Jane Krakowski.[9] Jack McBrayer played the naïve Southern-born NBC page, Kenneth Parcell.[10] Scott Adsit acted as the witty and wise TGS producer, Pete Hornberger.[11] Judah Friedlander portrayed the wise-cracking, trucker hat wearing, repulsive staff writer Frank Rossitano.[12] Alec Baldwin played the high flying NBC network executive Jack Donaghy who, at the beginning of the season, is employed to retool TGS.[13] Donaghy's full title at the start of the series is "Head of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming."[14]

The season also includes a number of secondary characters including Keith Powell as James "Toofer" Spurlock, a writer for TGS, and Lonny Ross as Josh Girard who is also a staff writers of TGS and a TGS cast member. Katrina Bowden was TGS's general assistant, Cerie Xerox. These actors were promoted to main cast members in season two.[15] Other recurring roles include Maulik Pancholy as Jonathan, Grizz Chapman as "Grizz" Griswold, Kevin Brown as "Dot Com" Slattery and John Lutz as J.D. Lutz.

[edit] Reception

[edit] Ratings

The pilot episode garnered 8.13 million viewers, finishing third in its timeslot of 8:00pm Eastern Standard Time.[16] After three further low rated airings on the following three Wednesdays, including a series low of 4.61 million viewers,[17][18][19] NBC decided to move 30 Rock to Thursdays at 9:30pm. Its first airing on a Thursday night was on November 16, 2006.[3] Along with this change, the even lower rated comedy Twenty Good Years was put on hiatus and later cancelled.[20][21] 30 Rock's first Thursday airing was viewed by 5.19 million viewers.[22] The series then received ratings of a consistent amount of around 5.5 million viewers till the episode "Hard Ball" when a series low, set by the episode "Jack the Writer," was met with just 4.61 million viewers watching the episode.[19][23] After a further three episodes, which were higher rated than "Hard Ball," NBC moved 30 Rock to 9:00pm on Thursdays[4] serving as a lead-in to Scrubs. Upon its first airing at 9:00pm, the episode "Fireworks," a "supersized" episode attracted the attention of 5.37 million viewers.[24] 30 Rock aired at 9:00pm for four episodes. The season finale, "Hiatus," was watched by 4.72 million people.[25]

The first season averaged 5.8 million viewers for all 21 episodes. Out of all regular primetime programming that aired during the 2006-2007 American television season, 30 Rock ranked #102 out of #142 according to the Nielsen Ratings system.[26]

[edit] Critical reception

"Look for 30 Rock to blossom into the next Arrested Development, but let's hope it lasts a little longer than its Fox counterpart."
Kyle Braun of UGO, comparing the series to the heavily praised Arrested Development.[27]

The pilot episode, the first episode of the season as well as the series, received generally positive reviews.[28][29] Metacritic gave the pilot a Metascore—a weighted average based on the impression of a thirty-one critical reviews—of 67%.[28] Despite positive reviews for the pilot, Marc D. Allan of The Washington Post said that "viewers who tuned in for the first month or more saw shows that weren't consistently funny" but after a few episodes "the writers discovered the core of the series -- the push-pull between Fey's character, Liz Lemon, the harried head writer of The Girlie Show, and Alec Baldwin's domineering network executive, Jack Donaghy -- that 30 Rock found its rhythm."[29] Henry Goldblatt of Entertainment Weekly, whilst reviewing the DVD release of the season, called 30 Rock "[the 2006 – 2007 television season's] finest sitcom." Goldblatt said that the episodes "Hard Ball" and "The Break Up" were "some of the strongest episodes." He awarded the first season of 30 Rock a grade "A."[30] Christopher Monfette of IGN thought that season one was "well-written and hilariously-performed" and that it was "refreshing to travel through the season and watch these characters grow and evolve." Monfette gave the season a score of 8 out of 10.[31] UGO's Kyle Braun said that the season "didn't start out as the funniest new show of 2006" but he praised the seasons progression, proclaiming "Now that the show has found its audience, it's hard to argue with the laughs thrown down from high atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza."[27] Anna Johns of AOL's TV Squad said the final 14 episodes were when "Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan got into their groove and the supporting characters started getting better story lines."[32] After six episodes, NBC picked 30 Rock up for a 21 episode season on December 1, 2006.[33][34][35]

[edit] Awards

See also: List of 30 Rock awards and nominations

Season one received ten Emmy nominations; six of which were for Primetime Emmy Awards and four were for Creative Arts Emmy Awards.[36] Two of these ten nominations were won.[37] They were in the categories of Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, which was awarded to Elaine Stritch for her portrayal of Colleen Donaghy, Jack's mother.[37] Alec Balwin picked up a Golden Globe Award, in the category of Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical, for his portrayal of Jack Donaghy.[38] Baldwin also won a Screen Actors Guild Award in the category of Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series.[39] Another of Baldwin's three award wins, for the first season, was for a Television Critics Association Award in the category of Individual Achievement in Comedy.[40] Tina Fey was also nominated in that category.[41] Despite Fey's two loses in acting categories, she did win a Gracie Allen Award in the category of Outstanding Female Lead in a Comedy Series, for her portrayal of Liz Lemon.[42]

[edit] Episodes

# Title Director Writer(s) Original airdate
1 "Pilot"  Adam Bernstein Tina Fey October 11, 2006
Liz Lemon is head writer for The Girlie Show, a live comedy show filmed in New York City's 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Things start to get complicated when her new boss, Jack Donaghy, insists that wild movie star Tracy Jordan join the cast. 
2 "The Aftermath"  Adam Bernstein Tina Fey October 18, 2006
Jack makes major changes to the show, renaming it TGS with Tracy Jordan and thus taking the spotlight away from Jenna Maroney. An indignant Liz struggles to keep everyone happy, but it is Tracy who saves the day by hosting a party for the entire cast and crew on a private yacht. 
3 "Blind Date"  Adam Bernstein John Riggi October 25, 2006
Realizing that her near or total lack of a social life is having an adverse effect on her work, Jack sets Liz up on a blind date with a friend of his. Jack infiltrates the writers' weekly poker game and starts winning hands until Kenneth the Page joins in and proves to be a surprisingly adept player. 
4 "Jack the Writer"  Gail Mancuso Robert Carlock November 1, 2006
Jack decides to join Liz and her staff in the writers' room, but his lack of writing ability becomes all too evident and his presence ends up stifling the others' creativity. Tracy mentors Kenneth on how to be successful and Liz encourages Cerie, her young assistant, to dress less revealingly. 
5 "Jack-Tor"  Don Scardino Robert Carlock November 16, 2006
Forced by Jack to plug General Electric products into the show, Liz integrates Jack himself into a self-referential sketch about product placement. Frank and Toofer trick Jenna into thinking that her job is in danger and Liz wonders if Tracy might be illiterate when he refuses to read the cue cards. 
6 "Jack Meets Dennis"  Juan J. Campanella Jack Burditt November 30, 2006
When Liz takes back her sleazy ex-boyfriend Dennis Duffy, Jack takes it upon himself to convince her that she is headed for a life of mediocrity. Tracy is enraged when a magazine calls him "normal" and Jenna becomes worried about her age when Jack asks her how old she is. 
7 "Tracy Does Conan"  Adam Bernstein Tina Fey December 7, 2006
Jack bumps Jenna's scheduled appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and puts Tracy on in her place. To make matters worse, Tracy has gone off his medication and he is consequently acting more erratic than ever. Jack encourages bald producer Pete Hornberger to wear a wig. 
8 "The Break Up"  Scott Ellis Dave Finkel & Brett Baer December 14, 2006
Liz finally dumps Dennis and prowls the singles scene, where she proves to be particularly inept at picking up guys, under Jenna's tutelage. Tracy and Toofer clash, landing both in sensitivity training, and Jack dates a certain "high-ranking African-American member of the Bush Administration." 
9 "The Baby Show"  Michael Engler Jack Burditt January 4, 2007
Cerie gets engaged so that she can be a "young hot mom", causing Liz to think about marriage and having a family. Jack has trouble dealing with his own domineering mother, who wants to move in with him, and Tracy becomes upset by Josh's impression of him. 
10 "The Rural Juror"  Beth McCarthy Matthew Hubbard January 11, 2007
Liz and Jenna's friendship is put to the test when Liz admits that she dislikes Jenna's new independent film. To get himself out of debt, Tracy places his name on a "meat machine" that eliminates the "bread" part of sandwiches. 
11 "The Head and the Hair"  Gail Mancuso Tina Fey & John Riggi January 18, 2007
Two guys, one a cerebral nerd and the other a gorgeous hunk, capture the attention of Liz and Jenna. Jack and Kenneth trade places for "Bottom's Up Day" and Tracy enlists Frank and Toofer to write his autobiography in one day. 
12 "Black Tie"  Don Scardino Kay Cannon & Tina Fey February 1, 2007
Liz attends a foreign prince's birthday party with Jack and meets his ex-wife. Tracy tries to convince Pete to cheat on his wife at a wild party while Kenneth encourages him not to. 
13 "Up All Night"  Michael Engler Tina Fey February 8, 2007
The writers struggle to pull an all-nighter on Valentine's Day. Liz receives flowers from a secret admirer, Jack gets all the way divorced after years of legal separation, Tracy tries to spend the evening with his wife, Pete forgets the holiday and Kenneth is encouraged to pursue Cerie. 
14 "The C Word"  Adam Bernstein Tina Fey February 15, 2007
After being criticized for her working habits by her co-workers, Liz decides to be more lenient with her staff and work overtime herself. Meanwhile, Jack brings Tracy to a major golf event to get closer to Don Geiss, the CEO of GE, but his plan backfires when Tracy decides to drop "truth bombs". 
15 "Hard Ball"[43][44] 
"Negotiation"		 Don Scardino Matthew Hubbard February 22, 2007
When Josh's contract comes up for negotiation, Jack tries to save money by not renewing it while Liz tries to prevent Josh from joining the cast of a rival show. Meanwhile, Tracy allows Kenneth into his entourage and Jenna gets into trouble after she is misquoted in a popular magazine. 
16 "The Source Awards"  Don Scardino Robert Carlock & Daisy Gardner March 1, 2007
Jack enlists a rap producer to unload his line of inferior champagne while Tracy reluctantly hosts the Source Awards. Liz tries to sever ties with a Black man she dislikes without looking racist. 
17 "The Fighting Irish"  Dennie Gordon Jack Burditt March 8, 2007
Jack's long-lost brother Eddie shows up and announces their father's death. Meanwhile, Liz, forced to make staff cutbacks, fires her romantic rival "Other Liz" while Tracy seeks spiritual fulfillment at his lawyer's request. 
18 "Fireworks"  Beth McCarthy Dave Finkel & Brett Baer April 5, 2007
Threatened by a sneaky West Coast NBC executive, Jack enlists Kenneth to help thwart any attempts to usurp Donaghy's TV throne. Meanwhile, Tracy discovers that he is a direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Liz fakes being an alcoholic to get closer to her crush. 
19 "Corporate Crush"  Don Scardino John Riggi April 12, 2007
Liz has found happiness with Floyd while Jack pursues a relationship of his own with Phoebe, an eccentric Christie's auctioneer. Tracy vies for Don Geiss's attention, hoping to turn his Jefferson movie idea into a reality. 
20 "Cleveland"  Paul Feig Jack Burditt & Robert Carlock April 19, 2007
Sick of New York and frustrated with his career, Floyd contemplates a move to the Midwest and asks Liz if she would consider leaving TGS behind. Tracy discovers that the "Black Crusaders" are after him and Jack continues to prepare for his marriage to Phoebe. 
21 "Hiatus"  Don Scardino Tina Fey April 26, 2007
As TGS's summer hiatus approaches, Liz deals with the difficulties of her long-distance relationship with Floyd as she tries to find Tracy, who is hiding out in the sticks with Kenneth's uncivilized cousin. Meanwhile, Jack's impending marriage brings his mother, Colleen Donaghy, to town. 

[edit] References

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
General
Specific
  1. ^ a b 30 Rock - Season 1 (2006). Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  2. ^ a b 30 Rock: Season 1 (3 Discs). Play.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.
  3. ^ a b c NBC Universal Media Village (2006-10-25). "NBC re-makes two-hour comedy block on Thursdays with return of Scrubs and move of 30 Rock to join My Name Is Earl and The Office beginning November 30". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
  4. ^ a b c Berman, Marc. "NBC Flips 30 Rock With Scrubs", Mediaweek, 2007-03-13. Retrieved on 2008-03-29. 
  5. ^ NBC Universal Media Village (2006-08-31). "NBC swaps Wednesday-night time periods for new fall comedies 30 Rock and Twenty Good Years". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
  6. ^ NBC Primetime Schedule. Memorable TV (2006-07-08). Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
  7. ^ Pencils Down Means Pencils Down. Writers Guild of America, West. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
  8. ^ a b Tina Fey channels SNL on ‘30 Rock’. MSNBC (2006-10-11). Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
  9. ^ NBC Universal Media Village (2007-08-17). "Jane Krakowski joins the cast of new NBC comedy 30 Rock". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  10. ^ Porter, Rick. "'30 Rock' talk with Jane Krakowski and Jack McBrayer", Zap2it, 2007-10-03. Retrieved on 2008-03-24. 
  11. ^ Scott Adsit: Actor, Writer, Improviser. Filmography. Variety. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
  12. ^ Robertson, Lindsay. "Judah Friedlander's Hats on '30 Rock'", Comedy Central, 2007-04-13. Retrieved on 2008-03-24. 
  13. ^ Andreeva, Nellie. "Baldwin eyes Fey's NBC pilot", The Hollywood Reporter, 2006-02-17. Retrieved on 2008-03-24. 
  14. ^ "Pilot". Writer(s): Tina Fey; Director: Adam Bernstein. 30 Rock. NBC Universal. NBC. 2006-10-11. No. 1, season 1.
  15. ^ 30 Rock; Thursdays on NBC (8:30-9 p.m. ET); Season Premiere: Thursday, October 4. NBC Universal Media Village. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
  16. ^ Kissell, Rick. "NBC's 'Rock' solid in premiere", Variety, 2006-10-12. Retrieved on 2008-02-27. 
  17. ^ Kissell, Rick. "Peacock's not laffing", Variety, 2006-10-19. Retrieved on 2008-03-24. 
  18. ^ Kissell, Rick. "'Lost' up, 'Nine' down for ABC", Variety, 2006-10-26. Retrieved on 2008-03-24. 
  19. ^ a b Kissell, Rick. "Football drives NBC win", Variety, 2006-11-07. Retrieved on 2008-03-24. 
  20. ^ Mahan, Colin. "NBC tweaks Thursday, 30 Rock", TV.com, 2006-11-06. Retrieved on 2008-03-24. 
  21. ^ Armstrong, Jennifer. "Mo' Better Tube", Entertainment Weekly, 2007-05-14. Retrieved on 2008-03-29. 
  22. ^ ABC Medianet (2006-11-21). "I. T. R. S. Ranking report 01 thru 99 (out of 99 programs) Daypart: Primetime Mon-Sun". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
  23. ^ Kissell, Rick. "Season high for 'Grey's'", Variety, 2007-02-23. Retrieved on 2008-03-11. 
  24. ^ ABC Medianet (2007-04-10). "I. T. R. S. Ranking report 01 thru 102 (out of 102 programs) Daypart: Primetime Mon-Sun". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
  25. ^ ABC Medianet (2007-05-01). "I. T. R. S. Ranking report 01 thru 99 (out of 99 programs) Daypart: Primetime Mon-Sun". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
  26. ^ 2006-07 primetime wrap. The Hollywood Reporter (2007-05-25). Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
  27. ^ a b Braun, Kyle. 30 Rock Season One DVD Review. UGO. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
  28. ^ a b 30 Rock; SERIES: NBC, Wednesday 8:00p (30 minutes). Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-02-27.
  29. ^ a b D. Allan, Marc (2007-08-26). Polished 'Rock' Rolls On. Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
  30. ^ Goldblatt, Henry (2007-08-31). 30 Rock: Season 1 (2007). Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
  31. ^ Monfette, Christopher (2007-08-29). 30 Rock DVD Review. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
  32. ^ Johns, Anna (2007-07-25). 30 Rock comes to DVD on Sept. 4. AOL's TV Squad. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
  33. ^ Adalian, Josef. "NBC orders full season of '30 Rock'", Variety, 2006-12-01. Retrieved on 2008-03-25. 
  34. ^ Wilkes, Neil. "Full season for Tina Fey's '30 Rock'", Digital Spy, 2006-12-03. Retrieved on 2008-03-25. 
  35. ^ "Nine More for '30 Rock'", Zap2it, 2006-12-01. Retrieved on 2008-03-25. 
  36. ^ The 59th Primetime Emmy® Awards and Creative Arts Emmy® Awards Nominees are.... Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved on 2008-02-18.
  37. ^ a b Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (2007-09-16). "Academy of Television Arts and Sciences 59th Primetime Emmy Awards" (PDF). Press release. Retrieved on 2008-02-18.
  38. ^ Nominations and Winners 2007. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
  39. ^ "'Dreamgirls' and 'Sunshine' Dreams Come True", Entertainment Tonight, 2007-01-28. Retrieved on 2008-02-18. 
  40. ^ Television Critics Association (2007-07-21). "NBC Triumphs At TCA Awards". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
  41. ^ Television Critics Association Announces 2007 Award Nominees. Television Critics Association. Retrieved on 2008-02-18.
  42. ^ AWRT (2007-02-27). "American Women in Radio & Television Announces 32nd Annual Gracie Award® Winners" (PDF). Press release. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
  43. ^ Negotiation. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-29.
  44. ^ Writers Guild Awards. Writers Guild of America, West. Retrieved on 2008-03-29.
v • d • e
30 Rock
Cast
Characters
Episodes
Elements
Related articles