“Somebody to Love”
November 15th, 2007
If tonight’s episode of 30 Rock taught me anything, it’s two things: first, that Edie Falco really isn’t that funny. And, on a more positive note, training for the Amazing Race really does make you look like a terrorist.
The episode’s storyline featuring Liz freaking out over her Middle Eastern neighbour (Played by the always awesome Fred Armisen) was pretty dull until the reveal that as opposed to planning a terrorist attack he was audition for the Amazing Race. Armisen was great in the role, but the storyline took the focus away from the running of a television network. And, while the show can still be funny in this mode, it paled in comparison.
Jack’s storyline had the same problem, with Edie Falco playing a Democratic Congresswoman who meets Jack and starts a clandestine affair even when she is directly fighting environmental pollution by the Sheinhardt Wig Company. Falco wasn’t that funny, and the only great stuff to come out of the storyline was a TV movie (See below) and Tracy’s pick-up line selections at the end of the episode.
Kenneth had a sidestory about losing Jack’s pants and becoming a monkey for the writing staff, but it never clicked. After a few weeks of really fantastic episodes, this was definitely a step backward for the series. Still, there was some funny stuff, and I can’t possibly dislike a good Amazing Race reference.
Cultural Observations
- “That’s an antique, and I’m a white lady!” and “Remember when I asked that black guy if he saw Sideways?” were a quick, yet funny, departure into sketchy subjects from Liz.
- I loved Kenneth’s sign for Jack’s pants: “A Pair of Fancy Tuxedo Pants”. Oh Kenneth.
- My far the best part of Edie Falco’s cameo was the Lifetime Movie resulting from her tragic past: “A Dog Took My Face, and Gave Me a Better Face, So I Could Change the World: The Celeste Cunningham Story.” Kristen Wiig did great with the scenes, a highlight for the episode.
- Oh, and Jack singing “What the World Needs Now (Is Love)” was also kind of great in a more subtle way.
- Oddly, neither of the episode’s two main storylines really resolved themselves: are Falco and Armisen sticking around? Also, Jenna was noticeably absent…I know it might just be me, but I kind of missed her?
“The Deposition”
November 15th, 2007
Following a pattern of the past few weeks, “The Deposition” dealt with inter-office shenanigans and Michael’s storyline in very separate fashions. While the employees enjoy what essentially boils down to fun and games, Michael actually had a lot of serious weight to his storyline this week.
And I like that: living up to last week’s Michael and Jim conversation, the show let Michael have a mature storyline that while still hilarious managed to actually hold some levity. With Michael and Jan’s relationship on trial, and the ping-pong championship at stake in Scranton, both worlds were well represented in an even-handed segment…that will sadly be the last we get for awhile.
As for the ping pong tournament, Jim and Darryl go head-to-head while Pam and Kelly fight the real war – the trash-talk. I loved Kelly’s distinction between trash-talking and smack-talking, which made up for a general lack of humour outside of her smackdowns. I do wish that we could have seen a bit more of the supporting players (Andy, Angela, Stanley, Phyllis). I like Kelly and Darryl, and it was neat to see Pam being defensive about Jim’s sucktitude, but it felt a bit small in scale.
As for Michael, this is the type of storyline I like to see. The deposition provided a lot of great comic moments (Mainly everything read back from the record), while also offering some really interesting insight into a relationship that has never really been investigated as much as it should have. Michael’s realization that Jan sent him up the river, and that his loyalty belonged to the company, was a great character moment not spoiled by some sort of “Michael you’re crazy” moment. Combine with a healthy dose of Toby interactions, and you’ve got some great comedy and storyline.
It’s unfortunate, then, that this scenario will be left to hang while the show is on its Writer’s Strike mandated break. The show has finally regained an interesting narrative line, and now it’s left to stagnate.
Cultural Observations
- “Were Jim’s parents first cousins who were also bad at ping pong?” was definitely my favourite trash talk…or is it smack talk? Kelly, I need another lesson.
- Dwight being a hardcore ping-pong nut worked, but it didn’t really click even with he and Moe’s after hours session.
- I loved the return from commercial with Michael’s bathroom break details. The show really got a lot of mileage out of the stenographer, I was impressed.
- I’m really looking forward to see what lies in the future for Jan and Michael…aww blerg.
Cultural Learnings 