30 Rock

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This article is about the TV series. For the skyscraper located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, see GE Building.
30 Rock

The 30 Rock title card.
Genre Situation comedy
Created by Tina Fey
Starring Tina Fey
Tracy Morgan
Jane Krakowski
Jack McBrayer
Scott Adsit
Judah Friedlander
Alec Baldwin
Katrina Bowden
Keith Powell
Lonny Ross
Maulik Pancholy
Composer(s) Jeff Richmond
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 36 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive
producer(s)		 Lorne Michaels
Tina Fey
Joann Alfano
Marci Klein
David Miner
Robert Carlock
Co-executive
producer(s)		 Jack Burditt
John Riggi
Producer(s) Matt Hubbard
Don Scardino
Associate
producer(s)		 Jennifer Danielson
Andrew Singer
Co-producer(s) Irene Burns
Margo A. Myers
Diana Schmidt
Editor(s) Doug Abel, A.C.E
Location(s) Flag of New York City New York City, New York, USA
Camera setup Single camera
Running time approx. 23 min.
Broadcast
Original channel NBC
Picture format HDTV 1080i
Original run October 11, 2006 – present
External links
Official website
Production website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey. The show is produced by Broadway Video and Little Stranger, inc in association with NBC Universal and airs on the NBC network in the United States.[1] It is produced in a single camera setup.[2] The show deals with the goings on behind the camera of the fictional live sketch comedy series, TGS with Tracy Jordan.[3] The pilot episode first aired on October 11, 2006.[4] The first season was comprised of 21 episodes. The second season, which premiered on October 4, 2007,[5] was abbreviated to 15 episodes because of the WGA writers' strike and third season is expected to premiere on October 30, 2008.[6][7][8]

The current executive producers are Tina Fey, Lorne Michaels, Marci Klein, David Miner and Robert Carlock.[1] 30 Rock is filmed primarily at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, New York,[9] but some scenes are filmed on location at Rockefeller Center.[10] The series has an ensemble cast which currently consists of ten regular cast members, including Fey.[1] The series main cast consists of Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski and Jack McBrayer. The show also has a cast of eight secondary characters.

30 Rock has been a critical success, winning several major awards including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series,[11] the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Series,[12] the Producers Guild of America Award for Producer of the Year in Episodic Comedy Series[13] and a Peabody Award[14] as well as achieving the top ranking on a myriad of critics' year-end best of 2006 and 2007 lists.[1] Despite these accolades, the series averaged a low 5.8 million viewers in its first season, in the United States, according to the Nielsen Ratings system, and ranked just 102 out of 142 television series.[15]

Contents

[edit] Production

[edit] Conception

In 2002, Fey, who was the head writer and a performer on Saturday Night Live, pitched the show that became 30 Rock to NBC, originally as a sitcom about cable news. NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly felt that "Fey was using the news setting as a fig leaf for her own experience and [he] encouraged her to write what she knew."[16] The show was subsequently reworked to revolve around a Saturday Night Live (SNL) style skit show. In May 2003, Fey signed a contract with NBC to remain in her SNL head writer position until at least the 2004 – 2005 television season, and to develop a primetime project to be produced by Broadway Video and NBC Universal.[17] During the 2004-2005 pilot season, a pilot was announced named Untitled Tina Fey Project. The pilot which became 30 Rock was about the head writer of a variety show who has to manage her relationships with the show's volatile star and executive producer. The storyline evolved into one that dealt with a head writer of a variety show who dealt with both the stars as well as the variety show's new network executive.[18] 30 Rock was officially given the greenlight to air on May 15, 2006 and was given a 13-episode order.[19]

The show underwent further changes during the months leading up to and following its debut. A May 2006 press release mentioned that sketches from The Girlie Show would be made available in their entirety on NBC's broadband website, DotComedy.com. The idea was to air the fictitious TGS with Tracy Jordan online.[20] This aspect of the series was abandoned prior to its debut.

[edit] Filming locations

30 Rock is filmed in New York City. Although establishing shots of 30 Rock are often repeated, outdoor scenes are filmed on location at Rockefeller Center or in other parts of New York City.[10] Most of the indoor scenes are filmed at Silvercup Studios in Queens.[9] In the episodes "Cleveland" and "Hiatus", Battery Park City, Manhattan and Douglaston, Queens doubled for Cleveland, Ohio and the fictional Needmore, Pennsylvania, respectively.[21]

[edit] Music

 Music Sample:

"Quarter to Midnight Train to Georgia"

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

The series features a "jaunty" jazz soundtrack.[22] The music is composed by Fey's husband Jeff Richmond, who is also a producer for 30 Rock. Richmond wrote the theme song, which was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music.[23] Seven short original songs have been featured in episodes, five of which were performed by Jane Krakowski,[24][25][26][27][28] another performed by Tina Fey and Jason Sudeikis[29] and another performed by Tracy Morgan.[30] The show has also covered three existing songs,[31][32][33] including the song "Midnight Train to Georgia" by Gladys Knight and the Pips. The song had its lyrics altered to accommodate the character Kenneth being "misinformed about the time [of the 11:45 train]."[33] One song heard throughout the episode "The Source Awards" is performed by the artist The Gray Kid. It is the song "Oh My." The song was mixed with a piano arrangement composed by Jeff Richmond.[34]

[edit] Internet

On April 2, 2008 NBC announced, 30 Rock 360, an online extension of the 30 Rock series. The extension will feature Jack Donaghy's Online Business Courses (or Jack U). Users will also be able to read Jack's blogs and upload their own business advice in video form. Users will be able to submit skits for TGS with Tracy Jordan and act out skits from TGS. The feature will re-open Ask Tina, an interactive question and answer platform in which users can ask Fey questions. Fey will answer the questions in video form.[35] Ask Tina was a fixture on NBC.com's 30 Rock section throughout the first season.[36]

Complete episodes of 30 Rock are available online, to U.S. residents only, along with downloads through the "NBC Direct" service.[37] Episodes were available on iTunes, although this arrangement ceased in December 2007 as NBC and Apple Inc. were unable to come to a renewal deal.[38] The first season is currently available for streaming on Netflix, which requires a paid subscription.[39] The first and second seasons are also available on Amazon Unbox for $1.99.[40][41] The episodes of the second season are also available for free streaming on Hulu.com with brief commercials at the normal interruption points.

[edit] Cast and characters

From left: Tracy (Morgan), Jack (Baldwin), Liz (Fey), Jenna (Krakowski) and Kenneth (McBrayer)
From left: Tracy (Morgan), Jack (Baldwin), Liz (Fey), Jenna (Krakowski) and Kenneth (McBrayer)
See also: List of recurring characters on 30 Rock

The plot of 30 Rock revolves around the cast and crew of the fictional sketch comedy series TGS with Tracy Jordan, which is filmed in Studio 6H inside 30 Rockefeller Plaza.[24] The cast of the series is an ensemble cast,[1] which means that each character is seen with roughly the same amount of importance in each episode.

The initial season had seven roles receiving star billing. Tina Fey portrayed the protagonist, the head writer of TGS with Tracy Jordan, Liz Lemon; Tracy Morgan played the loose cannon star of TGS Tracy Jordan; Jane Krakowski acted as the limelight seeking Jenna Maroney; Jack McBrayer portrayed the young, obedient Southern-born NBC page, Kenneth Parcell; Scott Adsit played the "sane," quick witted producer of TGS, Pete Hornberger; Judah Friedlander acted as the trucker hat-wearing childish, sarcastic writer Frank Rossitano and Alec Baldwin portrayed the decisive, controlling, suave network executive Jack Donaghy, who constantly interferes with the goings on at TGS.[1]

Beginning with season two, three characters, who were credited as guest stars during season one, received star billing in addition to the existing cast.[1] Katrina Bowden portrayed Liz's attractive, laid back assistant Cerie Xerox.[42] Keith Powell played black Harvard alumni writer James "Toofer" Spurlock. Lonny Ross acted as the immature TGS cast member Josh Girard.

Numerous supporting characters have been given recurring appearances in the series. They include Maulik Pancholy as Jack's loyal assistant Jonathan. Grizz Chapman and Kevin Brown make appearances as members of Tracy's entourage Grizz and Dot Com, respectively. John Lutz makes appearances as the food loving TGS writer J.D Lutz.

[edit] Casting

Frank (Friedlander), Pete (Adsit), "Toofer" (Powell) and Jenna (Krakowski) look as Liz (Fey) is wearing a wedding dress.
Frank (Friedlander), Pete (Adsit), "Toofer" (Powell) and Jenna (Krakowski) look as Liz (Fey) is wearing a wedding dress.

Fey started by casting herself as the lead character, Liz Lemon. The next actor to be cast was Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan.[43] After that was Jack McBrayer who plays Kenneth Parcell and then Rachel Dratch.[44][44] Originally, Dratch, Fey's longtime comedy partner and fellow SNL alumna, was to portray Jenna. Dratch played the role in the show's original pilot, but in August 2006, Jane Krakowski was announced as Dratch's replacement, with Dratch remaining involved in the show playing various characters.[45] Fey attributed the change to the role itself, one Fey called a "straight-ahead acting part" better suited for Krakowski; Fey said she and Dratch "were both very excited about this new direction."[46] Dratch appeared in eleven first season episodes.[24][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][26][55] Shortly following the casting of McBrayer and Dratch, Alec Baldwin was cast as Jack Donaghy, the "totally uncensored" Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming.[56] Judah Friedlander was later cast as the staff writer of The Girlie Show, Frank Rossitano.[57] Finally Scott Adsit was cast as Pete Hornberger, a long time friend of Liz's and producer of The Girlie Show.[58]

[edit] Season synopses

See also: List of 30 Rock episodes

[edit] Season one

Main article: 30 Rock (season 1)
Dennis Duffy (Winters, left) and Liz Lemon (Fey, right) were in a relationship in the middle of the first season.
Dennis Duffy (Winters, left) and Liz Lemon (Fey, right) were in a relationship in the middle of the first season.

Season one began airing in the United States on October 11, 2006[4] and featured 21 episodes.[59] The season finalé aired on April 26, 2007.[60] When Jack Donaghy, the "Head of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming" at General Electric (GE), is transferred to work at the NBC headquarters, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, and retool the late night sketch comedy series The Girlie Show, outrage storms through the show's cast and crew, especially among the head writer, Liz Lemon, and the main actress, Jenna Maroney. Jack proceeds to wreak havoc on The Girlie Show, forcing Liz to hire the off-the-wall movie star Tracy Jordan, and then again angering the cast and crew of The Girlie Show when he changes the name to TGS with Tracy Jordan (or just TGS). As the season progresses, the episodes become less about TGS and more about how the characters deal with juggling their lives and their jobs--specifically the protagonist, Liz Lemon, but other characters are also explored. Episodes also become less self contained and various story arcs develop in the second half of the season. For example, the first major story arc centers on Liz's relationship with Dennis Duffy (Dean Winters), "The Beeper King." Other story arcs include: Jenna promoting her movie The Rural Juror; Tracy going on the run from The Black Crusaders; Jack's engagement, which was eventually called off, to a Christie's auctioneer named Phoebe (Emily Mortimer); and another relationship of Liz's with Floyd (Jason Sudeikis).

[edit] Season two

Main article: 30 Rock (season 2)
Devon Banks' (Arnett, left) and Jack Donaghy's (Baldwin, right) aspirations to run for the GE chairmanship become more evident during the second season.
Devon Banks' (Arnett, left) and Jack Donaghy's (Baldwin, right) aspirations to run for the GE chairmanship become more evident during the second season.

Season two began airing in the United States on October 4, 2007[5] and featured 15 episodes.[61] The second season was originally intended to consist of 22 episodes but the order was cut to 15 due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike,[61][62] The season finalé aired on May 8, 2008.[61] As Liz broke up with Floyd during the summer, she is looking for ways to rebound and when Jerry Seinfeld confronts Jack, about a new marketing campaign which featured Seinfeld in all NBC shows, a chance encounter with Liz gets the much needed advice she needs. The first episode is a fitting parallel to the struggles of the show, as the show attempts to rebound from a poor viewership year as jack and liz keep saying, "this is our/my year". After winning a number of awards the producers were hoping to have a massive increase in ratings. Also during the TGS summer hiatus, Jenna becomes obese due to performing in the broadway show Mystic Pizza: The Musical and with the help of Kenneth, loses the weight. Tracy has encountered some marital problems with his wife Angie Jordan (Sherri Shepherd) and they become separated, but later reunite. During the season, Jack develops a relationship with a Democratic congresswoman named Celeste "C.C." Cunningham (Edie Falco). They later break up. An arc that was established in the first season but becomes more apparent in the second is regarding Jack running for the GE chairmanship against his archnemesis Devon Banks (Will Arnett). The season ends with Liz planning to adopt a child after believing she was pregnant with Dennis' baby. Kenneth also travels to Beijing to be a page at the 2008 Summer Olympics and Tracy invents a pornographic video game. Jack ends the season working at a new government job in Washington, D.C., but plans to get fired with plans for a "gay bomb."

[edit] Season three

See also: List of 30 Rock episodes#Season 3: 2008 – 2009

NBC announced on April 2, 2008 that 30 Rock will return with a third season as part of NBC's fall schedule. The season will consist of 22 episodes and is expected to premiere on October 30, 2008.[6][7][8]

[edit] Impact

[edit] Critical reception

30 Rock has been well received by critics but has struggled to attract viewers.[63] Robert Abele of LA Weekly declared that the show was "A weirdly appropriate and hilarious symbol of our times."[64] The Wall Street Journal's Dorothy Rabinowitz wrote that "The standard caution is relevant - debut episodes tend to be highly polished. All the more reason to enjoy the hilarious scenes and fine ensemble cast here."[65] Some less favorable reviews were received from Brian Lowry of Variety. Lowry said that "Despite her success with "Mean Girls," [Tina] Fey mostly hits too-familiar notes in the pilot. Moreover, she's a limited protagonist, which is problematic."[66] Criticism was also received from Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune, who said that "30 Rock is less than the sum of its parts, and, as an entry in the single-camera comedy sweepstakes, it fails to show either the inspired inventiveness of Arrested Development or provide the surprisingly perceptive character studies of The Office."[67] Metacritic gave the pilot episode a Metascore—a weighted average based on the impressions of a select thirty-one critical reviews—of 67 out of 100.[68]

The season premiere of the second season, "SeinfeldVision," which featured Jerry Seinfeld,[69] received mostly positive reviews. Jeff Labrecque of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "SeinfeldVision was a clever and ironic way to incorporate [Jerry] Seinfeld."[70] Matt Webb Mitovich of TV Guide said that "['SeinfeldVision'] was a solid start to the new, fought-for season" and that it did have "some great, great moments." Despite this praise, Webb Mitovich criticised Kenneth and Tracy's "office wife" storyline saying that "we've seen this shtick before on countless other sitcoms, so it was a bit empty and filled with 'easy' jokes." Criticism was also received regarding the "striped outfit... it didn't work. No," referring to a joke involving Jenna trying to distract the TGS writers from her newly gained weight.[71] Lisa Schmeiser of Television Without Pity graded this episode as a "B+."[72] Despite the mostly positive reviews, Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times thought that "SeinfeldVision" "is mostly a reminder that even the most talented actors and writers sometimes slip under pressure."[73] Days before the premiere of the season premiere, Seinfeld was criticized as using his appearance in this episode as a plug for his upcoming feature film Bee Movie. Seinfeld, NBC and General Electric stated that this was done as metahumor.[74]

At the end of 2006, LA Weekly listed 30 Rock as one of the best "Series of the Year."[75] The show also appeared on similar year end "best of" 2006 lists published by The New York Times,[76] The A.V. Club,[77] The Boston Globe,[78] The Chicago Sun-Times,[78] Entertainment Weekly,[78] The Los Angeles Times,[78] The Miami Herald,[78] People Weekly,[78] and TV Guide.[78] The Associated Press wrote that NBC's "Thursday night comedy block—made up of My Name Is Earl, The Office, Scrubs, and 30 Rock—is consistently the best night of prime time viewing for any network."[79] In 2007, it appeared on The Boston Globe's "best of" list[80] as well as the "best of" lists of The Chicago Sun-Times,[80] The Chicago Tribune,[80] Entertainment Weekly,[80] The Los Angeles Times,[80] New Jersey Star-Ledger,[80] The New York Times,[80] Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,[80] The San Francisco Chronicle,[80] The San Jose Mercury News,[80] TV Guide and USA Today.[80] 30 Rock was named the best series of 2007 by Entertainment Weekly.[80]

[edit] Awards and nominations

Main article: List of 30 Rock awards and nominations

Capping its critically successful first season, 30 Rock won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series and Elaine Stritch was awarded an Emmy in September 2007 for her work as a guest actress in "Hiatus."[11] Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin were nominated in the Outstanding Lead Actress and Outstanding Lead Actor in a comedy series categories respectively.[81] "Jack-Tor" and "Tracy Does Conan" were both nominated in the category of Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.[81] The series received four Creative Arts Emmy Awards.[81] Alec Baldwin received the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical in 2007.[82] Baldwin also received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series in 2007.[83] The series also received various other guild award nominations during its first season.[84][85] In 2008, Tina Fey won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical.[86] That year, the series also received a nomination for Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical.[86] Fey and Baldwin both won Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2008.[87] The series took home the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Series in 2008.[12] 30 Rock also received the The Danny Thomas Producer of the Year Award in Episodic Series - Comedy from the Producers Guild of America in 2008.[13] Most recently, the series was honoured with a prestigious Peabody Award.[14] Upon receiving the award, it was noted that "Tina Fey's creation is not only a great workplace comedy in the tradition of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, complete with fresh, indelible secondary characters, but also a sly, gleeful satire of corporate media, especially the network that airs it."[88]

[edit] Ratings

Based on average total viewers per episode of 30 Rock:

Season Timeslot (EDT) Season Premiere Season Finale TV Season Rank Viewers
(in millions)
1 Wednesday 8:00 P.M. (October 11, 2006 - November 1, 2006)
Thursday 9:30 P.M. (November 16, 2006 - March 8, 2007)
Thursday 9:00 P.M. (April 5, 2007 - April 26, 2007)		 October 11, 2006 April 26, 2007 2006–2007 #102[15] 5.8[15]
2 Thursday 8:30 P.M. (October 4, 2007 - December 6, 2007)
Thursday 9:00 P.M. (December 13, 2007)
Thursday 8:30 P.M. (January 10, 2008 - April 17, 2008)
Thursday 9:30 P.M. (April 24, 2008 - May 8, 2008)		 October 4, 2007 May 8, 2008 2007–2008 #113[89] 6.4[90]
3 Thursday 8:30 P.M. (October 30, 2008 - TBA)[6][7][8] October 30, 2008[6][7][8] TBA 2008–2009 TBA N/A

The pilot episode generated 8.13 million viewers,[91] which currently remains the series' highest rating. In its original timeslot of Wednesday at 8:00PM EST, the show averaged 6.23 million viewers.[92] 30 Rock aired on Wednesdays for its first four episodes. The seasons lowest ratings were achieved by "Jack the Writer" and "Hard Ball" which both achieved 4.61 million viewers.[93][94] The season two premiere, "SeinfeldVision," was viewed by 7.33 million viewers, the highest rating the series had seen since the pilot episode almost a year previously.[95] 30 Rock entered a hiatus due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike on January 10, 2008.[96] The episode that aired on that date was viewed by 5.98 million viewers.[97] The second season finale, "Cooter", which aired on May 8, 2008, was viewed by 5.6 million viewers.[98]

On December 29 2006, Nielsen Media Research (NMR) reported the results of having, for the first time, monitored viewers who use a digital video recorder to record shows for later viewing. NMR reported that 30 Rock adds nearly 7.5% to its total audience every week as a result of viewers who use a DVR to record the show and then watch it within a week of its initial airing.[99] A March 2007 report from MAGNA Global, based on NMR data about viewership ranked by among adults 25–54, shows that as of the time of the report 30 Rock's viewers have a median income of $65,000, high enough to place the show tied at 11th in affluence with several other shows. This is during a period where for the season 30 Rock is tied at No. 85 in the 18–49 demographic.[100] As of January 2008, 30 Rock is one of the two most watched television shows with viewers having incomes of $100,000 or more. The other program is The Office.[101]

30 Rock also airs in other countries; ratings and rankings for some of these markets include:

  • Australia: The first season premiered on December 4th 2007 on the Seven Network. Originally screening only on Monday at 10:30, another night, Wednesday, was also added. After the summer season its timeslot was changed to Mondays only, showing at 11:30pm. The first season completed its run on April 28th 2008, and the DVD was released two days later. The show is considered a critical success. The second season is slated to premiere on the Seven Network on June 9, 2008, though still at the 11:30 timeslot.
  • Canada: The series premiered on the CTV network on October 10, 2006, a day before its premiere in the United States. The network aired the first four episodes of the series,[102] but dropped the show effective November 30, 2006 after a brief run during which it never entered the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement Nielsen top 30.[103] CTV later re-added the show to its lineup on Sundays at 8:30pm ET, but moved the show to its secondary A-Channel system for the show's second season.
  • United Kingdom: The first season premiered on October 11, 2007 on Five. The premiere was watched by 700,000 viewers which was 6% of all people watching television, in the country, at the time it was broadcast.[104] For the first fourteen episode, 30 Rock was aired at 10:40PM. Five moved the show to 11:05PM and began airing back-to-back episodes of 30 Rock on January 31, 2008. The first episodes to be aired in this style were "Hard Ball" and "The Source Awards." Season two has not been aired yet.

[edit] Similarities to other media

Two shows debuting on 2006–07 NBC lineup, 30 Rock and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, revolved around the off-camera happenings on a sketch comedy series. Similarities between the two led to speculation that only one of them would be picked up. Baldwin said "I'd be stunned if NBC picked up both shows. And ours has the tougher task, as a comedy, because if it’s not funny, that’s it."[105] Kevin Reilly, then president of NBC Entertainment, was supportive of Fey, describing the situation as a "high-class problem":

“ I just can't imagine the audience would look at both shows, choose one and cancel the other out. In some ways, why is it any different than when there have been three or four cop shows on any schedule, or Scrubs and ER, which are totally very different?[106] ”

Evidence of the overlapping subject matter between the shows (as well as the conflict between them) is the fact that Aaron Sorkin, the Studio 60 creator, asked Lorne Michaels to allow him to observe SNL for a week, a request Michaels denied.[105] Despite this, Sorkin sent Fey flowers and wished her luck with 30 Rock after NBC announced it would pick up both shows.[107] Said Fey, "It's just bad luck for me that in my first attempt at prime time I'm going up against the most powerful writer on television. I was joking that this would be the best pilot ever aired on Trio. And then Trio got canceled."[105]

Fey wound up "winning" over Sorkin when Studio 60 was canceled after one season and 30 Rock was renewed for a second. Though 30 Rock's first-season ratings proved lackluster and were lower than those of Studio 60,[15] Studio 60 drew increasingly mixed reviews and was more expensive to produce.

30 Rock's crew have reportedly made jokes about the similarity with Studio 60. For example, one early promo for 30 Rock portrayed Alec Baldwin mistakenly thinking he would meet Sorkin[108] and, when asked on her "Ask Tina" space what she thought of criticism 30 Rock got, Fey jokingly replied that people who didn't like it were probably confusing it with Studio 60.[109] Even the name of Jane Krakowski's character, "Jenna Maroney," evokes the name of comic actress Janel Moloney, who starred in Sorkin's biggest hit, The West Wing.

At least three 30 Rock episodes have briefly parodied Studio 60:

  • "Jack the Writer" contains a self-referencing walk and talk sequence, such sequences being commonly used on Studio 60 and Aaron Sorkin's previous shows.
  • "Jack-tor" - Liz tries to quote global education statistics, only to mess up and realize that she doesn't know what she is talking about.[110]
  • "Jack Meets Dennis" - Liz says the upcoming show will be "worse than that time we did that Gilbert and Sullivan parody". The second episode of Studio 60, "The Cold Open," included a parody of the "Major-General's Song" on the show-within-the-show.

However, none of 30 Rock's producers have given Studio 60 any serious criticism, positive or negative. In a November 1, 2006 interview, Fey said she'd seen the first two episodes of Studio 60. When asked what her impressions were, she jokingly replied, "I can't do impressions of Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry."[111]

Some critics have compared 30 Rock to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, with parallels drawn between the relationship of Liz and Jack and that of Mary Richards and Lou Grant.[112][113] It has also been compared to That Girl.[114][115] Like That Girl and Mary Tyler Moore, 30 Rock is a sitcom centering on an unmarried, brunette career woman living in a big city where she works in the television industry.

[edit] Notable guest stars

[edit] Appearing as characters

[edit] Appearing as themselves

[edit] DVD releases

DVD Name Release Date Ep # Additional Information
30 Rock: Season One September 4, 2007 21 The entire first season of 30 Rock was released as a widescreen three-disc Region 1 DVD box set in the USA on September 4, 2007, a month before the premiere of the second season. It was distributed by NBC Universal. Featuring all the episodes that had aired, it also included several extra DVD features including episode commentaries, outtakes and deleted scenes.[116][117][118] The season boxset was released on March 17, 2008 in Regions 2, 4 and 5 format, but not the separate volumes and without special features.[119]
30 Rock: Season One — Volume One 14
30 Rock: Season One — Volume Two 7

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g NBC Universal Media Village. "30 Rock Thursdays on NBC (8:30 – 9 p.m. ET)". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-03-26.
  2. ^ Laporte, Nicole. "Why don't smart comedies draw big audiences?", Variety, 2007-06-12. Retrieved on 2008-05-23. 
  3. ^ Prior to "The Aftermath", the show-within-the-show was called The Girlie Show.
  4. ^ a b NBC Universal Media Village (2006-08-17). "Jane Krakowski joins the cast of new NBC comedy 30 Rock". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  5. ^ a b NBC Universal Media Village (2007-07-16). "Television superstar Jerry Seinfeld returns to NBC to guest-star as himself in NBC's 30 Rock during comedy's second-season premiere October 4". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-03-26.
  6. ^ a b c d Adalian, Josef. "Full NBC schedule takes shape", Variety, 2008-04-02. Retrieved on 2008-04-02. 
  7. ^ a b c d Dos Santos, Kristin. "Breaking: 30 Rock Picked Up!", E! Online, 2008-04-02. Retrieved on 2008-04-02. 
  8. ^ a b c d Hibberd, James. "NBC announces fall premiere dates", The Hollywood Reporter, 2008-05-23. Retrieved on 2008-05-23. 
  9. ^ a b "New York-Based Television Programs", Back Stage, 2006-08-24. Retrieved on 2008-02-23. 
  10. ^ a b 30 Rock on location. New York Daily News (2008-03-19). Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ a b Writers Guild of America, West. "Writers Guild Awards AWARDS WINNERS 2008 AWARDS WINNERS FILM AND TELEVISION WINNERS". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
  13. ^ a b Simmons, Leslie. "'No Country' tops PGA Awards", The Hollywood Reporter, 2008-02-04. Retrieved on 2008-02-18. 
  14. ^ a b Peabody Awards (2008-04-02). "67th Annual Peabody Awards Winners Announced". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  15. ^ a b c d "2006-07 primetime wrap", The Hollywood Reporter, 2007-05-25. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. 
  16. ^ Poniewozik, James. "Do Not Adjust Your Set", Time Magazine, 2006-09-18. Retrieved on 2007-10-16. 
  17. ^ Schneider, Michael. "Peacock updates SNL anchor's deal", Variety, 2003-05-05. Retrieved on 2008-04-01. 
  18. ^ Adalian, Josef; Schneider, Michael. "Bruck finds Ring leader", Variety, 2005-02-01. Retrieved on 2008-04-01. 
  19. ^ Goldman, Eric. "Upfronts Announcement: NBC's Schedule for 2006 – 2007 Season", IGN, 2006-05-15. Retrieved on 2008-04-01. 
  20. ^ Consoli, John; Berman, Marc. "NBC Upfront: Unveils DotComedy.com; Kidnapped, Studio 60 Set for Fall", Mediaweek, 2006-05-15. Retrieved on 2008-04-01. 
  21. ^ Webb Mitovich, Matt. "Funny Business: Tina Fey Previews 30 Rock's Future", TV Guide, 2007-06-12. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. 
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