TVSquad

(S02E15) "I'm just gonna be a kick-ass single mom. Like Erin Brokovich, or Sarah Connor." - Liz

30 Rock fans looking for laughs, plot twists, and a cliffhanger in the finale are probably happy. You got all that, plus a guest star (more than one, actually) that I didn't even know was going to be in the episode. And if you're one of the people who was wondering "what the heck does the episode title 'Cooter' even mean?," well, he's the secret to that (and Tina Fey has been using the term for a while now).

But some 30 Rock fans - I would go out on a limb and say most of you - weren't happy to find out who the father of Liz's maybe-baby might be.

(S02E11) "When you Google 'class A moron', my name comes up first now...so step aside Randy Quaid." - Jack

Is this a happy day or what? No more writers strike, no more hiatus, no more repeats, no more Thursday nights spent crying, wrapped up in a blanket on the couch, eating tons of chocolate, depressed that new NBC Thursday comedies are nowhere on the horizon. Sorry, I may have just told you a little too much information there.

Anyway, 30 Rock is back! It's almost as if this was the season opener, but it's actually the 11th episode of the season (four more new episodes to follow this season), and it features a call back to a joke in an episode from earlier this season.

(S02E09) "That's not a Christmas tree. It's a way to lure tourists into the basement for $20 salads." - Kenneth, about the Rockefeller Center tree

I'm a sucker for Christmas episodes. The plots, the lessons learned, the music. And it doesn't matter if it's a corny, traditional type of holiday episode or a modern, irreverent look at the holiday. This 30 Rock episode is more the latter, but it doesn't mean that there isn't some crazy traditional aspects to it too. These characters - even the ones who get on each others nerves - care about each other in their own way. When Jenna sings "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and you see a montage of people arguing and Guatemalan kids destroying their Christmas gifts, that's a nice mix of the old and the odd, and the capper of having Jack and his pain in the ass mom wish each other a Merry Christmas just fits so perfectly.

On the heels of the Saturday Night Live stage show, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York hosted a live reading by the cast of 30 Rock, with ticket proceeds going to show staffers who are out of work due to the writers strike.

According to accounts of the show -- most notably, from Rachel Sklar at the Huffington Post and Dan Hopper at the Best Week Ever blog -- every major member of the cast, including Alec Baldwin, was at the reading. An upcoming episode was read for the audience, and Tina Fey asked that the audience members not divulge the plot of that episode because "this show is like Heroes and we don't want to ruin it for everyone else."

(S02E06) "We Parcells are neither wealthy nor circumcised, but we are proud!" - Kenneth, trying to find money to replace Jack's missing pants

This show is less than a half hour long but I have a harder time reviewing it than I do two-hour season finales. How do you review a show that has 25 awesome one liners and a bunch of great comedy bits and scenes without simply repeating everything that just happened to people who have already seen the episode? How do you even pick one funny quote from those 25 lines and put it at the top of the review? The one above might be the funniest, it might not be, who knows. It just stands out to me.

(S02E05) "Saving The Environment While Maintaining Profitability." - Greenzo's slogan for NBC's Green Week

I really don't know how I feel about all of these guest stars this season. On the one hand, they've all worked. It was natural to have Jerry Seinfeld on the season opener (even if he was on just to plug that damn movie) because he was an old NBC star. Carrie Fisher worked because she wasn't hyping anything and is a great character actress. And now in this episode we have both David Schwimmer and Al Gore. They were OK too, mostly because the show around them was so strong, but I can really see this show tipping too far over the line with needless celeb cameos. I really hope that doesn't happen.

(S02E04) Notice I don't have a quote above like I usually do? More on that after the jump.

This week we discover what happens when one of the NBC page jackets is damaged, why Tracy shouldn't be involved in dogfighting, and what might happen to Liz in 20 or 30 years if she doesn't start saving money.

(S02E03) "I could never pay an English-speaking woman that little - they'd starve!" - Jack, about his household staff

This year many of us here at TV Squad have been featuring our favorite quotes at the start of each review. Most of the time it's pretty easy to pick out the best line (on a show like Bionic Woman they stand out), but it's not the easiest thing to do on a comedy like 30 Rock. There's always at least six laugh out loud lines and about 5 lines that aren't hysterical but are bizarrely clever. That was true of tonight's episode too, and I hope you agree the above comment was one of the better ones.

(S02E01) Seinfeld: "What if I just buy NBC and turn it into the biggest Lane Bryant in midtown?"
Jack: "Ha! You're going to buy NBC? Oh, right, like you have $4 million just lying around..."

The above bit of dialogue is one of the many reasons I love this show. They could have gone for the easy joke, which would have been to play off of the vast wealth that Jerry Seinfeld has and just say a figure like $4 billion or $20 billion or whatever real amount it would take to buy NBC. But they go one step further, cleverly saying $4 million, thereby insulting NBC, the very network this show runs on. That's great stuff. No wonder NBC renewed this show. Besides being a new classic, then get to look self-deprecating while having what amounts to a half hour infomercial for the network every Thursday night!

First the apology, then the early look.

Dear Tina,

I've always liked 30 Rock, but I've never loved it. Maybe it was because my concentration was on Studio 60 or maybe it was because I wasn't in the right frame of mind when I watched the pilot. Or maybe I just didn't try to get into it because Thursday nights are really jam-packed (would it upset you to tell you that I watch Ugly Betty too?). I just never gave the show a chance to grow on me, though I did enjoy Alec Baldwin's performance as Jack.

While Joel was covering the New Amsterdam premiere at the New York Television Festival on Thursday night, I decided to check out NBC's Comedy Short Cuts showcase. According to a press release, seven cast members (including Tracy Morgan) from 30 Rock were scheduled to appear at the event. It was also noted on the press release that "All Talent Subject to Change."

And change it did. Tracy was a no show unable to attend due to scheduling changes (as were Judah Friedlander, Scott Adsit, and Jack McBrayer). But Lonny Ross, Katrina Bowden, and Keith Powell were present and seemed happy to pose for a TV Squad photo. So now they're my favorites. (But don't worry guys, I still love all of you).

The "30 Rockers" were on hand not only to create a photo-op for NBC and the NYTVF, but to introduce eight independent short comedy films made by culturally diverse production teams and casts. NBC Universal produces this showcase in order to uncover diverse talent suitable for future development deals.