TVSquad

I haven't noticed a decline. Maybe it's just me, but it's seemed to have stayed fairly consistent. I think the strike has hurt with viewership, not the show's quality.

Reply

I don't think that viewers are getting turned off as much as they would rather watch Grey's. NBC needs to give up thursdays, and put the comedy block somewhere it will succeed, you know, on any night that isnt Monday or Thursday.

Reply

i really liked last weeks episode.

Reply

I laugh just as hard at this show now as I did last year and earlier this year.
...which is probably harder than I laugh at almost anything else on TV, excepting some Office, some House, and any time Sock is on the screen during Reaper.

Reply

I don't need some Art School dropout critic telling me what I need to watch or not watch. Esp with film critics, they are the worst, I do the opposite of what they reccommend. They're just pissed off because they couldn't make it in showbiz so they have to crap all over somebody that actually has talent. I like TV Squad because most of the time you guys get it right and cover just about all the same shows that I watch. Keep up the good work.

Reply

i think the screaming for her sandwich is justified.

i guess at USA today they don't have those annual days (a la Pretzel Day on the Office).

these days are held in high regard because they break the clockwork / monkey business that generally runs through corp worlds.

i don't think it has gone downhill at all and i think it was better slotted before the Office though.

Reply

actually, i think it's been better post strike.

Reply

I haven't seen a decline at all. It's still witty and hilarious in a smart way, as it ever was. The ratings have always been low...it's not dumbed down for most people or to pander to a broader audience. It has stayed true itself. Bravo, 30 Rock!!

Reply

Since coming back from the strike, I think that only last week's show was the least funny. And in the flashbacks on The Sandwich Show, they were told from the perspective of the writers, so they could embellish Liz flipping over the table screaming about her mac and cheese (I thought that was hilarious). Ratings are down because they moved it against the second halves of GREY'S and CSI. What do they expect???

Reply

I love the show but nobody watched 30 rock before its supposed decline and no ones watching now.

Reply

I think the recent run of episodes since the writer's strike has been solid 30 Rock gold. 30 Rock has always been slightly surreal, and that's part of the show's charm: being insane without being unrealistic. Liz's screaming for her sandwich and flipping over tables is entirely in line with her character, by the way - it's been established pretty early on how important food is in her life, and I can completely imagine her flipping out, especially over such an important thing as Sandwich Day.

Reply

"Now, according to Bianco, even Liz is getting wacky, screaming for her sandwich in "Sandwich Day,""

Is Bianco forgetting that in the pilot Liz bought all of the hotdogs from the stand because she was upset with cutters??

Reply

Sounds like this critic has never watched the show. Liz has always been just as wacky and crazy as the rest of the writers. She's just more self-conscious about it, and it just builds up until the pressure gets to her and we get CRAZY Liz.

Reply

30 Rock is at a series high at the moment, as far as I'm concerned. Why isn't anybody writing this about The Office? You know...where it's actually a valid concern?

Reply

I think 30 Rock has gone downhill. Every line used to be clever, to the point where I would rewind the DVR and watch a bit over again to make sure I didn't miss some pointed jab at the President, society, or Liz herself. Now the characters seem to be dissolving into caracatures of themselves. I hope it comes back to it's original sharp form; in the absence of "Chuck" there isn't anything else to watch. And most of us aren't watching "Grey's" which is arguable one of the dumbest shows in the history of the world.

Reply

The episode two weeks ago (with Will Arnett) was epic -- one of the best -- but this is what I had to say a week earlier: "I will have to watch it again -- my first impression was that it felt forced at times and wasn't as good as the shows at the end of last season."

http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/04/17/30-rock-subway-hero-video/#c11690858

Reply

I have to agree with the complaint that the show is getting "too wacky". It's really similar to what happened to The Office.

I know it offends people to point this out, but this is the "dumbing down" of television. Season 1 of both Office and 30 Rock were clever parodies of real life (office/writers room), but subtle humor doesn't grab audiences. So they have to resort to wacky schemes, unrealistic plots and in-your-face jokes.

Next thing you know Michael Scott and Liz Lemon will share a green little alien buddy that grants them wishes and calls them "dum-dum".

Reply

How can something go downhill if it started at the bottom of a ravine?

Reply