30 Rock is a Golden Globe Award-winning NBC sitcom that debuted in the United States on October 11, 2006. The show was created by former Saturday Night Live (SNL) performer and head writer Tina Fey, who stars in the show and has written numerous episodes, including the pilot. Fey is also one of the show's executive producers.
The show's title comes from a nickname for 30 Rockefeller Plaza, also known as the GE Building, which is the headquarters of NBC's New York City studios, including SNL's Studio 8H. As the title suggests, the show is a workplace comedy set in this building. Specifically, it follows the cast and crew of a fictional SNL-esque sketch comedy show that was originally called The Girlie Show, but was renamed TGS with Tracy Jordan in "The Aftermath".
Fey portrays Liz Lemon, the head writer of TGS and the show's protagonist. After Liz, the show's main characters are her oily boss Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), TGS's literally insane star Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) and Liz's neurotic best friend Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski), who is also part of the cast of TGS. The supporting cast of 30 Rock includes Jack McBrayer as Kenneth Parcell, Scott Adsit as Pete Hornberger and Judah Friedlander as Frank Rossitano.
Overview
Typically, the principal plotline in each episode centers on Liz and her attempts to steer the show through one crisis or another while she struggles to maintain a social life. Liz's love life is particularly unsuccessful and suitable romantic interests have so far proven to be short-lived. The show's self-awareness of this and other sitcom clichés (at once avoiding and embracing them) has been one of 30 Rock's hallmarks. There have also been a handful episodes ("The Break Up", "The Fighting Irish", etc.) in which Liz instead deals mainly with her own weaknesses and insecurities.
30 Rock's dynamic generally plays Liz and TGS's producer Pete Hornberger as the "straight" or "sane" ones who must deal with the show's cast of eccentric and bizarre characters. Liz and Pete themselves have, however, been shown to have their own quirks and peculiarities, especially Liz with her slightly geeky persona. Pete, who seems to function primarily as Liz's confidant, does not often have a large role and there have so far been two episodes in which he does not appear. Most episodes include one or two subplots that do not involve Liz, although there are some ("Tracy Does Conan", "The Baby Show", etc.) in which she becomes entangled in all the plotlines.
The first few episodes of season one mainly involved Liz trying to keep Jack from meddling with her show, but, as the season progressed, the character of Jack Donaghy became less villainous and the show became more focused on its characters' personal lives. The origin of this shift can be traced to "Jack Meets Dennis" in which Jack decides to "mentor" Liz and she reluctantly agrees when she finds she has no better alternative. By this point, Jack seems to have gained some respect for Liz's writing abilities and has apparently ceased trying to alter TGS. Nevertheless, 30 Rock continues to satirize the commercialism of the television industry.
The show seems to strive for verisimilitude. Its titular setting is the headquarters of General Electric subsidiary NBC, which produces 30 Rock in real life, and the show frequently references the fact that its characters work for these companies. Episodes are set more-or-less around the time that they air (for example, the date is given as January 17, 2007 in "The Head and the Hair", which aired on January 18). 30 Rock also contains frequent references to contemporary events. For example, when Liz became obsessed with firing her romantic rival in "The Fighting Irish", she and Pete discussed Lisa Nowak's attack on Colleen Shipman.
Like the other three sitcoms in NBC's Thursday-night lineup (My Name Is Earl, The Office and Scrubs), 30 Rock uses a single-camera setup and does not have a laugh track. The show features a jazzy score that heightens comical moments. The music is composed by Fey's husband Jeff Richmond, who is also a producer for 30 Rock and appears in some episodes as TGS's piano player. Four episodes ("Pilot", "Jack-tor", "Hard Ball" and "Cleveland") included short original songs, two of which were performed by Jane Krakowski (Krakowski is a singer in addition to an actress).
Unlike most television shows set in New York City, including ABC's popular series Ugly Betty, 30 Rock is actually filmed in the 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. Most of the indoor scenes are filmed at Silvercup Studios in Queens. In "Cleveland" and "Hiatus", Battery Park City, Manhattan and Douglaston, Queens doubled for Cleveland, Ohio and Needmore, Pennsylvania respectively.
Characters
Although Fey's Liz Lemon is clearly 30 Rock's main character and its dramatic center, the show boasts a large ensemble cast. Thus far, Fey, Baldwin, Morgan and Friedlander are the only actors to appear in every episode, though Friedlander didn't have any lines in "Hiatus".
The cast from the unaired pilot in which Jenna was played by Rachel Dratch
Originally, Rachel Dratch, Fey's longtime comedy partner and fellow SNL alumna, was to portray Jenna, whose surname was DeCarlo at that time. Dratch played the role in the show's original pilot, but in August 2006, Krakowski was announced as Dratch's replacement, with Dratch remaining involved in the show playing various characters. Additionally, Jenna's last name was changed to Maroney. Fey attributed the need for 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. [Dratch is] so delightful when she's deep in character and she's going to be playing a range of different characters." "I think it's something that'll help the show be unique. And I think it brings a little sketch sensibility into a show where you're not going to see sketches." An interview with Dratch revealed that she would appear in at least six episodes (she ended up appearing in eleven first-season episodes) and confirmed the reason for the change:
I think the big thing was—at least what they told me—that at first they wanted to have more comedy sketches in the show. Then they decided they weren’t going to focus on the sketches, so they needed more of a sitcom actress, as opposed to a character actress....That’s the party line, at least—it’s what I can tell my parents!
Broadcast history
The changes prior to the debut did not help the show's early ratings. The show's pilot episode attracted 8.13 million viewers, third in its time slot and 58th for the week. The ratings for "The Aftermath" (the second episode) were down 21 percent.
Although the second episode's ratings were revealed on the same day that NBC announced plans to replace expensive scripted shows in the 8–9pm time slot with reality series and game shows, the network demonstrated an apparent confidence in the series a week later, announcing a new time slot for the show (Thursdays at 9:30pm ET) beginning in mid-November. The move helped reestablish a two-hour block of comedies on an evening NBC once promoted as Must See TV.
The third episode attracted 6.01 million viewers, making it 73rd in Nielsen's prime-time television in the U.S. As November sweeps began, the show's fourth episode attracted 4.61 million viewers in its fourth week, making it 85th in Nielsen's prime-time television rankings.
CTV, which had broadcast the first four or five episodes in Canada, dropped the show effective November 30 after a brief run during which it never entered the BBM Nielsen top 30. CTV has since re-added the show to its lineup on Sundays at 8:30pm ET.
NBC waited until December 1 to commit to a full season of the show, announcing the commitment the day after the show followed Scrubs for the first time. The 30 November episode drew 6.6 million viewers, nearly a million more than the previously televised episode and only 1.5 million fewer viewers that the show's pilot. The increase in viewership occurred in spite of the show's new time slot, opposite the second halves of Grey's Anatomy and a repeat of CSI, two of the three most highly-rated scripted series of the November 2006 sweeps. The December 7 episode continued its rise, drawing 6.8 million viewers and attracting its highest 18–49 demographic, 3.2.
On January 17 NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly announced that he expected 30 Rock "to return next season"; the next day's episode, competing against new episodes of CSI ("Sweet Jane") and Grey's Anatomy ("Six Days, Part 2"), attracted 5.04 million viewers, the fewest since the beginning of the November 2006 sweeps, and 80th in Nielsen rankings.
On February 2 NBC announced that 30 Rock would take a six-week break after the March 8 episode so the network can test out Andy Barker P.I..
Then on March 12 NBC announced that 30 Rock would return sooner than previously stated. On April 5 30 Rock returned for a 35 minute super-sized episode at (8:40pm ET) following a new episode of The Office. The following week 30 Rock moved to its new time at (9:00pm ET), where it finished the rest of the first season. The season finale aired on April 26, 2007.
On April 4, 2007 it was announced that 30 Rock had been renewed for a full second season of 22 episodes.
The following day (April 5) Reilly explained that despite its so-so ratings even though it retained 80% of its lead-in, he notes that the renewal of 30 Rock demonstrates NBC's commitment to the series, plus he added that the decision to move it to the 9PM slot was due to having the show serve as a better lead-in for The Office than Scrubs: "There was some evidence that Scrubs while a qualitatively good match is not demographically necessarily the best flow for the show."
Following the negative publicity resulting from the tirade he left on his eleven-year-old daughter's phone, Baldwin announced his intentions to leave television. Baldwin made the announcement on an episode of The View that aired on April 27, 2007, which was ironically the day after 30 Rock’s season finale. NBC has stated that they will hold Baldwin to his contract for 30 Rock and it has been announced that the actor will fulfill his contractual obligations for the show. Baldwin is signed on to appear in at least twelve episodes of the second season. On June 4, Fey stated that Baldwin would be voluntarily returning for the second season and denied rumors, perpetuated by In Touch Weekly, that Baldwin had made her cry on set.
DVD release
On September 4, 2007, Universal Studios Home Entertainment will release 30 Rock - The Complete First Season on DVD (region 1) to the U.S. and Canadian markets. The three disc collection will include all twenty-one episodes with subtitles in English and Spanish and with an anamorphic widescreen format.
References and Similarities to Other Media
That Girl and Mary Tyler Moore
Critics have often compared 30 Rock to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, with parallels especially being drawn between the relationship of Liz and Jack and that of Mary Richards and Lou Grant. It has also been compared to That Girl. Like That Girl and Mary Tyler Moore, 30 Rock is a sitcom centering around a single, brunette career woman living in a big city where she works in the television industry. 30 Rock, however, uses a more droll style of humor and is much less upbeat.
The title sequence used in 30 Rock's pilot (which was not used in later episodes) was stylistically reminiscent of the opening sequences to That Girl and Mary Tyler Moore. A promotional video formerly included on NBC's 30 Rock website depicted a montage sequence of Liz struggling at romance while an updated version of "Love is All Around" (the same version featured in Mary and Rhoda) played in the background.
3rd Rock from the Sun
The show's name is similar to 3rd Rock, the commonly used short title for 3rd Rock from the Sun, another NBC sitcom created by and starring Saturday Night Live alumni. At the 64th Golden Globe Awards, Tim Allen mispronounced the show's name as 3rd Rock when mentioning Alec Baldwin had been nominated for the Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical Award
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