NBC strings along ’30 Rock’

30 Rock

By Tabloid Baby | Wednesday, November 22, 2006 | 9:30 am | 8 Comments

30%20rock.jpg

Tina Fey ain’t Aaron Sorkin. Alec Baldwin ain’t Matthew Perry. And Lorne Michaels better think twice before he throws his weight around next time. NBC is sure playing favorites when it comes to struggling freshman series with a number in the title, set behind the scenes at a television show modeled after Saturday Night Live. If only to keep their relationship with Sorkin and partner Tommy Schlamme, the network recently gave a full-season order for the disappointing Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip. But when it comes to 30 Rock, they’re stringing them along three episodes at a time.

NBC has ordered up three more scripts for the series, just as it did last month. That brings the total to six– reminiscent of the days when NBC kept renewing its flailing Late Night with Conan O’Brien week-to-week. 30 Rock probably won’t last much longer. It has its moments, though it’s yet to find an audience, and its mix of sitcom humour and sketch comedy one-liners is not quite ready for prime time. But while Studio 60 has foisted upon us dreary Ibsenesque stage actress Sarah Paulson as Matthew Perry’s daffy love interest, at least 30 Rock has opened the door to an actor who promises to become a TV superstar.
jackmcbrayer.jpgNo, not Tracy Morgan.

The actor getting real “buzz” on the show this season is Jack McBrayer, who plays Kenneth the Page.

The improv vet was previously seen on NBC playing the occasional hillbilly on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and was seen in Will Ferrell’s Talladega Nights.

But with his role on Rock, Jack’s in line to become the next Paul Lynde or Jim Nabors. Now that’s an idea: a remake of Gomer Pyle!

–Tabloid Baby

8 Comments

  1. 1
    aloveaffairwithtivo
    Posted November 22, 2006 at 10:03 am

    My husband and I really like Studio 60 and we really didn’t get into 30 Rock. I thought I would love 30 Rock since I like Alec Baldwin and I enjoyed Tina Fey on SNL. Oh well, to each their own I suppose.

  2. 2
    james_woods_rules
    Posted November 22, 2006 at 10:27 am

    I think this show is kinda funny. I hve’t really seen more than like three episodes, but I actually didn’t know what night it was on. But now it’s on Thursdays after The Office, so I will prob continue to watch. I think some of the sarcasm and one liners are actually prety damn good. Tina Fey is great, Alec is great, those 2 main writers and the page are hilarious!

  3. 3
    pupkick
    Posted November 22, 2006 at 10:59 am

    30 Rock is awful. Like I’ve said before, if Studio 60 got a fraction of the promotion that childish crap “Heroes” got, more people would watch and ratings would be up. But I suppose its like Dennis Leary on MNF. Aimed at the wrong crowd. Oh.. well that and that Dennis Leary isn’t funny.

  4. 4
    B-Side
    Posted November 22, 2006 at 11:40 am

    The first episode of 30 Rock was pretty damn bad, but each new installment gets better and better. I think the show is really funny. I’m trying to enjoy it while it lasts. It’s all about Alec Baldwin. Even Jane Krakowski is funny, despite my initial reservations about her.

  5. 5
    Donna Martin Graduates!
    Posted November 22, 2006 at 11:57 am

    ^ I agree wholeheartedly. 30 Rock had an – uh – rocky start, but it’s definitely improving. I also have reservations about Jane Krackers. She’s just not sexy nor funny, though I’m sure she’s an improvement on weird little Rachel Dratch. How on earth could that gnome plausibly be the star of “The Girly Show”?

    I mostly like Alec Baldwin — he’s usually excellent when he hosts SNL and he’s always good when he plays blue collar (see Outside Providence).
    But I also can’t get over the fact that he’s the head of FAG!

    I just couldn’t get past 1 & 1/2 episodes of Studio 60. Matthew Perry is such a boring nonentity and Amanda Peet has never been less appealing. Actually, unappealing characters all round on that show.

  6. 6
    mountain_girl
    Posted November 22, 2006 at 2:14 pm

    I tried watching 30 Rock but the whole time kept thinking how much funnier everything Jane Krakowski said would be coming out of Rachel Dratch’s mouth. I was really disappointed when I found out about that recast.

    I also really like Studio 60. Of course, I have an admitted Matthew Perry obsession so that factors into it.

    pupkick – it was Dennis Miller on MNF, not Denis Leary.

  7. 7
    pupkick
    Posted November 22, 2006 at 2:45 pm

    Err yeah. Miller. I’m retarded. :)

    Im glad to hear 30 Rock is picking up steam, maybe I’ll check it out next week.

    Studio 60 is one of my favorite shows of the season, though the last two episodes were kind of flat. Course, that’s partially because I think John Goodman is one of the biggest idiots on tv. He ruins everything he touches. :(

  8. 8
    dumbanddumber
    Posted November 22, 2006 at 3:14 pm

    pupkick–

    I think that, prior to the season starting, Heroes probably didn’t get a third as much of the publicity as Studio 60. Once the shows started, and we all realized that Heroes is, well, awesome, and that Studio 60 is a pretentious snoozefest, that NBC began heavily promoting Heroes.

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *

*
*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

Human Verification: In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.