IMDb user comments for
"30 Rock" (2006) More at IMDb Pro »

Filter:

Best Chronological Prolific Authors Loved It Hated It Hide Spoilers:

Page 1 of 4:

[1] [2] [3] [4]

Index

38 comments in total

---

46 out of 55 people found the following comment useful :-
Please tell your friends!!!, 28 October 2006

Author: ChillYoda from United States

It's a great, funny show. Fey is very good in the lead role; she blew away my expectations. Kudos to her for creating such a fun, funny, witty and quality TV show. Baldwin is at his dry-witted, brilliant best (someone at work said to me, "yeah I heard Alec Baldwin is in it, but isn't that show a comedy?" ...did not know the man did comedy. Did not know). Morgan (who I don't normally like; not on SNL or elsewhere) is hysterical and plays the role perfectly. The minor characters are all very good and amusing, and I can't wait to see them develop more and more. The writing/material is quality crazy with sit-com wackiness, sketch comedy variety/character and fast-paced intelligent wit. If you like to laugh (something a comedy should make you do), please check this show out; if you think a lot of the other crap on TV is amusing, you'll really love this one. Hurry, before it gets canceled.

---

42 out of 54 people found the following comment useful :-
Pete Schwetty Fan Club Members, Be Advised.................., 24 December 2006

Author: ween-3

It's always been my contention that great comedians make some of the best dramatic actors.

Well, what we have here is the corollary to the above-stated theorum. Our good buddy, Alec Baldwin, he of the "Third place is you're fired" monologue from "Glengarry", has quietly honed his comic timing via a run of "SNL" appearances and movie roles ("State and Main")and emerged as one of the funniest actors around. His delivery has gotten so good that he's become one of those guys that's funny standing still, before he utters word one. You're laughing before you even know what the premise is. It's a hard pill to swallow, but it's gotten to the point that I don't know if I'll ever be able to watch Alec Baldwin again in a dramatic role without lapsing into hysterics before he deigns to offer a line of dialogue. "30 Rock" may put the final nail in the notable career of Alec Baldwin-"Serious Actor", but I sure ain't complaining. If for no other reason, you should be watching this show just to see him deliver a line.

And if you still want another reason, Jack McBrayer is a flat-out hoot, and Tina Fey, who wisely scrambled from the deck of "SNL" before the ship utterly submerged, is obviously having the time of her life.

"30 Rock" fits neatly into the "no laugh-track zone" that has become NBC's funniest Thursday night line-up ever.

---

48 out of 67 people found the following comment useful :-
Better than Studio 60, 28 November 2006

Author: fish_biscuit from United States

After the last few lackluster seasons of Saturday Night Live, I was worried that this show would suffer from the same affliction as those terrible SNL-based films, like The Ladies Man, Superstar, Coneheads, Night at the Roxbury.... but 30 Rock is actually a character-driven comedy, rather than a gag-driven one like those films.

Tina Fey managed to put together a great cast using classic sitcom archetypes. Alec Baldwin is hilarious and subdued as the meddling nitwit boss, Tracey Morgan is genuinely brilliant as the wild and crazy black guy, and newcomer Jack McBrayer is thoroughly enjoyable as the creepy intern. Of course, the whole show is centered on Tina Fey, the constantly put-upon producer of an SNL-type late night comedy show. She has great comedic sensibilities, but she has wisely surrounded herself with a fantastic ensemble cast.

The show is literally jam-packed with laugh-out-loud gags, so even when one joke doesn't work, there's at least two other jokes that do work around the corner. After Tracey Morgan's last sitcom flopped, I feared that we'd seen the last of him. As the Martin Lawrence-esquire egocentric star of the show-within-a-show, Morgan excels. Without the burden of carrying the entire show, Morgan is able to fully realize his potential playing 30 Rock's a psychotic, preening celebrity host. The real gem on the show is Alec Baldwin, who usually gets the best one-liners as the idiot-savant NBC executive who can manage a big business but not his own life. But what really makes the show work is its cast of veteran comedic character actors who staff the fictional comedy show, including Scott Adsit of HBO's Mr. Show and Judah Friedlander from the film American Splendor.

30 Rock premiered on NBC at the same time as the similarly themed Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, another SNL-based series. While Studio 60 took the dramatic route, 30 Rock went comedic. In the end, 30 Rock is better, however. Studio 60 suffers from too much moralizing and a large cast that the scripts can't quite manage to service.

My only complaint about 30 Rock is that we don't see enough of SNL-alum Rachel Dratch on camera. Rumor has it that she was meant to be a main cast member, but the network demanded her role be cut out. It's a shame because she is one of the funniest women in television.

---

38 out of 49 people found the following comment useful :-
Watch this show: it ROCKS, 20 January 2007

Author: trixie303@hotmail.com from Toronto, ON

-Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey are brilliant -the writing is so funny and appealing to both a male and female sense of humor -I love Liz Lemon. This is a female character I don't think I've really seen before or not for a very long time. She is smart and nerdy and neurotic and successful...and she can hang with the guys and is kind of a dweeb...so relatable for nerdy girls like me! This and Ugly Betty (for different reasons) are the best new shows and they will run for a long long time.

The writing is so good and caters to smarty-pants type of people who like their comedy wry and subtle...

I applaud you Tina Fey: you are genius and the best TV heroine right now.

---

38 out of 55 people found the following comment useful :-
Witty, Intelligent and Funny, 26 October 2006

Author: lindalong0529 from United States

Alec Baldwin is great in this role. This is a very witty and funny show. It's not your usual numbing with canned laughter waste of 30 minutes. The characters are quirky and believable - they remind me of some people I work with. The only character that doesn't gel with me is Tracy Jordan. Somehow, it's not a good fit for him. Whereas Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin along with the rest of the cast are essential to the success of the show, Tracy Jordan could easily be left out and the show would still work.

If I'm not going to be home, I make sure it's recorded. This could turn into a very, very successful sitcom. Already it plays well even though it's quite new. It flows smoothly and the chemistry is there.

I've put the word out at work to be sure and tune in.

---

67 out of 115 people found the following comment useful :-
Like the Rock, 19 October 2006

Author: jerry-486 from Austin, Texas, United States

After two shows...

1. Snappy dialog.

2. Alec Baldwin great network honcho with deep expertise in oven technology. He gives himself his own rating: "it's 5 but it's thick."

3. Tina Fey great writer and same acting we saw on SNL. Let's just say she's a better writer.

4. Tracy Morgan's character is surprising. They are going to do interesting things with him, I think. Kind of a savant when you least expect it.

I recommend it whole-heartedly. Watching this show is a lot more fun than trying to submit a comment to this site that appears to have been hosted by the Third Reich.

---

27 out of 37 people found the following comment useful :-
The Best Writing on TV, 5 January 2007

Author: Todd from United States

If you've watched SNL this year (2006 -2007) you realize just how much they miss Tina Fey's writing. I think last night was episode 8 and like all previous shows it was "laugh out loud" funny. "Red wine is just not your drink", Jane Krakowski's character tells Fey's Liz Lemon. Fey has surrounded herself with some terrific unknowns including a guy who looks a lot like Jimmie Fallon who did some unfreeking believable impressions last night. Alec Baldwin WILL win the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor. Even Tracy Morgan, never my favorite on SNL, is terrific as the Martin Lawrence-esquire insane 'star'. Tina Fey has always been the reluctant sex symbol but she 'takes one for the team' and has done several episodes dressed to the nines causing jaws to drop across America. Now that the show is part of the best NBC Thursday lineup assembled since the Seinfeld-Frasier days, look for a long, healthy life for "30 Rock".

---

24 out of 34 people found the following comment useful :-
World Class comedy!, 5 January 2007

Author: LeonardOsborneKael from United States

There's an ever-so-faint "Woody Allen" tinge to this inspired behind the scenes look at a live network TV comedy show. But Tina Fey and the other writers can ALWAYS be counted on to take everything just a step or two farther. The performances are uniformly brilliant. Jane Krakowski is delicious as the slightly passé actress who blissfully pounces on the feeblest opportunity to perform. Tracy Morgan is unrestrainedly larger than life in a role that only he could play. Alec Baldwin has such a rich insight into his convoluted, unpredictable character and plays him with such abandon -- it just makes you gasp! And the rest of the cast plays with a level of virtuosity that has only been seen a few times in the history of network television. The comedy is so dense and so polished that it's hard to believe you are watching a weekly program. I come by way of Monty Python, SNL, SCTV, Kids In The Hall, Frasier, Seinfeld, Larry Sanders, Jackie Thomas, Newsradio, Just Shoot Me, and Everybody Loves Raymond. I can hardly believe I'm saying this, but, even after all these GREAT comedies, I think this is the smartest and the funniest TV show I've ever seen!

---

15 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
Extremely clever but also laugh-out-loud funny, 8 October 2007

Author: Hagar7 from United States

I wasn't sure to expect from 30 Rock, having watched the steady decline of SNL over the last seven years or so. I felt, however, that this was not really a result of the writing as much as it was of the underutilization and/or departure of the most talented players (Ferrell, Oteri, and now Maya Rudolph, for example) and the periodic overexposure of less talented players (I'm looking at you, Jimmy Fallon). I was also encouraged by the fact that the many of the bright spots in SNL's history during that period were provided by host Alec Baldwin. So I was not 100% surprised to find that I love 30 Rock. Baldwin is, as usual, brilliant, and Tina Fey is a fantastic writer who also is humble enough to recognize her strengths and limitations as an actor. Tracy Morgan is constantly off his chain and, along with Baldwin and Jack McBrayer, provides most of the "God, I had to rewind because it was so damned ridiculous" moments ("Imagine Christmas wishes shooting out of your eyes.") The supporting cast is also talented and well utilized; I was very glad to see that "Toofer" and "Cerie," among others, were upgraded to regulars for Season Two. From political satire to slapstick, it's all here. And as an African-American, I was impressed by the way racial issues were handled, from the use of the "N word" to the "white guilt" issues to the country club episode; they were skillfully handled, as some of these are hot button topics and could have gone very, very wrong. This show is just plain good.

---

17 out of 23 people found the following comment useful :-
I'm rooting for this show!, 6 January 2007
Author: S.R. Dipaling from Topeka,Kansas,USA

Who better to make a show,comedy or no,about the backstage goings-on with a live,sketch comedy show,than Tina Fey,the former head writer and anchor for "Saturday Night Live"? After pitching the idea a few times to the network,Fey finally got her chance here and it is very strong!

Fey is Liz Lemon,a put-upon,single,thirty-something who heads up the writing and production of "The Girlie Show". It's tottered along just fine to this point,but when the network's hired mucky muck,an arrogant ass whose entertainment experience is almost nil and whose previous departmental supervision dealt with hardware appliances named JAck Donaghy(Alec Baldwin,relishing his ubiquity as comedic ace and character actor everyman)is hired to overlook the show's productionthe pot gets stirred. His first move is to shake up the cast of her show by bringing aboard Tracy Jordan(Tracy Morgan,who REDEFINES acting with abandon),a talented comic with alarming tendencies to emotional meltdowns and irrational behavior.

To make life just a little harder for Liz,she has to deal with:a sexually insecure blonde starlet with aging problems(Jane Krackowski)who considers Liz a friend;an oily,selfish boyfriend;writers who aren't very supportive(Judah Friedlander,Scott Adsit among them)and an unnaturally perky network page(Jack McBrayer).

I understand why NBC was more apt to put the PR rush for Aaron Sorkin's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip",but this is EASILY the better show between the two of them,not the least of which because Miss Fey's work on SNL and the decision to make this show more than bitingly ironic and preachy(as Studio 60 seems to be),comedic and yet not gimmicky. I'm rooting for this show to succeed,and for once,I feel like the network nursing this show is willing to oblige my(and I know I'm not alone feeling this)wishes.

---

---

Page 1 of 4:

[1] [2] [3] [4]

Add another comment

---

Related Links

Ratings	Awards	External reviews
Official site	Plot keywords	Main details
Your user comments	Your vote history