tina fey-related stories
What You Missed Last Night: Julia Louis-Dreyfus steals another award
Remember last year when Julia Louis-Dreyfus stole Tina Fey's Emmy on Late Night with Conan O'Brien? She did it again last night, only this time she stole an Oscar. I'm still not sure why Kenneth the Page is now in Los Angeles. Did he get transferred when Conan left 30 Rock? What does that mean for 30 Rock?
30 Rock: Kidney Now! (season finale)
(S03E22) "There's no such thing as bisexual. That's just something invented in the 90s so they could sell more hair products." - LizOK, so how long before "We Need A Kidney" is available for download from the NBC site or from iTunes? I suspect it will be up before you finish reading this review.
I was going to talk about how this episode was a little disappointing, but then I hit rewind on my DVR and watched it again and realized, wow, they actually hit all of the season finale notes rather perfectly. Not in a "we're having a baby!" or "he has amnesia!" way, but in a way that symbolized that "this is the end of the season but we're not going to go overboard" way. Some might think that having 20 big-name musical guest stars on a season finale actually is over the top, but it didn't turn out that way. This episode was quite funny.
Continue reading 30 Rock: Kidney Now! (season finale)
Musical guest stars galore on 30 Rock finale
Alan Alda returns as Jack Donaghy's dad tonight on 30 Rock for the show's season finale, "Kidney Now." The plot finds Jack trying to put together a benefit concert for Alda, who is in need of a kidney. That, of course, means the ep will be loaded with appearances by famous musicians.
Guest stars include Elvis Costello, Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow, Maroon 5's Adam Levine and Clay Aiken. The clip below reveals some shocking truths about some of these famous crooners, including Aiken's relation to NBC page Kenneth Parcell.
Guest stars include Elvis Costello, Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow, Maroon 5's Adam Levine and Clay Aiken. The clip below reveals some shocking truths about some of these famous crooners, including Aiken's relation to NBC page Kenneth Parcell.
Continue reading Musical guest stars galore on 30 Rock finale
Why isn't Jan Hooks famous?
Radner. Louis-Dreyfus. Poehler. Fey. Shannon.
Suffice it to say, the number of women who became famous on Saturday Night Live before graduating to solo success is few and far between. Sure, Gilda Radner can be considered a pioneer in the art of sketch comedy. And Julia Louis-Dreyfus undoubtedly honed her comedic skills before becoming a sitcom icon on Seinfeld. And, yes, Tina Fey can easily be considered a heroine to comedy nerds everywhere who have witnessed her climb from Weekend Update anchor to Mean Girls scribe to single-handedly decimating the vice presidential chances of one certain gun-wieldin', six-pack-totin' Alaskan governor.
But, sadly, the number of men who left Studio 8 for the superstardom of Planet Hollywood (not the theme restaurant) easily outnumbers the ladies. For every Amy Poehler, there's a Will Ferrell. And a Bill Murray. And a Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy and Adam Sandler (although, to be fair, there's also aDavid Gary Kroeger, A. Whitney Brown, and Charles Rocket for every Melanie Hutsell, too). (And for the record, no, you shouldn't recognize those names.)
Suffice it to say, the number of women who became famous on Saturday Night Live before graduating to solo success is few and far between. Sure, Gilda Radner can be considered a pioneer in the art of sketch comedy. And Julia Louis-Dreyfus undoubtedly honed her comedic skills before becoming a sitcom icon on Seinfeld. And, yes, Tina Fey can easily be considered a heroine to comedy nerds everywhere who have witnessed her climb from Weekend Update anchor to Mean Girls scribe to single-handedly decimating the vice presidential chances of one certain gun-wieldin', six-pack-totin' Alaskan governor. But, sadly, the number of men who left Studio 8 for the superstardom of Planet Hollywood (not the theme restaurant) easily outnumbers the ladies. For every Amy Poehler, there's a Will Ferrell. And a Bill Murray. And a Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy and Adam Sandler (although, to be fair, there's also a
Continue reading Why isn't Jan Hooks famous?
30 Rock: Mama Mia
(S03E21) "Liz Lemmon, I may hug people too hard and get lost at malls, but I'm not an idiot" - Tracy Jordan
Maybe Jack Donaghy is right. More family does mean more aggravation. The search for Jack's real dad yielded a plot based on Mama Mia (apparently, I've never seen it, and I'm pretty sure I'll die that way) and an appearance by TV's most recognizable liberal – Alan Alda.
Don't get me wrong. I love Alan Alda. I was looking forward to seeing him on the show. He was great. But imagine ultra-conservative Jack's heartache when he found out that Hawkeye Pierce was his dad. The look on Jack's face when Alda stormed out of his office and cursed in Yiddish said it all. And I'm pretty sure Jack never imagined himself living out the plot of an Abba musical. Liz Lemon seemed pretty excited about it, though.
Continue reading 30 Rock: Mama Mia
NBC thought you said you wanted more Weekend Update
It looks like NBC is going to expand Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" segment with more half-hour specials, most likely on Thursday nights. Judging by the success of SNL and its Thursday night election specials during the campaign season, this move isn't too surprising. Plus, this is a progressive step in reaching the network's ultimate goal, which seems to be filling the airwaves with as many former SNL employees as possible. Actually, the next season of Celebrity Apprentice is probably just going to be all the early-90s players that aren't doing movies right now. And Rob Schneider. That guy isn't doing anything.
Continue reading NBC thought you said you wanted more Weekend Update
30 Rock: The Natural Order
(S03E20) "It's the biggest regret of my life, Lemon. And I once made love to Kathy Hilton." - Jack, about not confronting his dadOh, come on. There's no way that Liz Lemon would be that incompetent when it comes to replacing a water bottle. It was like she was a mixture of Steve Urkel and Barney Fife, dropping the bottle, getting herself soaked. I mean, she could have at least known that you take the empty jug off before you attempt to put the new one on. That whole scene was odd. It went on a lot longer and was more slapstick-oriented than most 30 Rock gags.
Continue reading 30 Rock: The Natural Order
NBC's new promo: should it be "Tina" or "Liz?"
I've seen this promo half a dozen times and I didn't realize that NBC calls Tina Fey "Tina" and not by her character named "Liz."
Now, I'm not posting this because I think NBC made a mistake (I'm sure they actually did mean to say Tina), nor do I think it's important. I'm posting it because it illustrates how things have changed, how the lines between a character and an actor are now a lot more blurred than they used to be. Or maybe NBC just isn't secure in calling Tina by her character name because there's not much recognition, but everyone knows and loves Tina Fey so they say "Tina?" Regardless, can you imagine an X-Files promo ten years ago where they called David Duchovny's character "David" instead of "Mulder?" Or a Golden Girls promo twenty years ago where they called Bea Arthur "Bea" instead of "Dorothy?"
Now, I'm not posting this because I think NBC made a mistake (I'm sure they actually did mean to say Tina), nor do I think it's important. I'm posting it because it illustrates how things have changed, how the lines between a character and an actor are now a lot more blurred than they used to be. Or maybe NBC just isn't secure in calling Tina by her character name because there's not much recognition, but everyone knows and loves Tina Fey so they say "Tina?" Regardless, can you imagine an X-Files promo ten years ago where they called David Duchovny's character "David" instead of "Mulder?" Or a Golden Girls promo twenty years ago where they called Bea Arthur "Bea" instead of "Dorothy?"
Tina Fey answers your questions
One of the great things about the web is that it gives us a connection to stars we didn't have before. No, I don't meaning stalking, I mean extra content from celebrities and shows that you couldn't get in 1965 or 1980 or even 1999. Almost every show has some extra features on their site (some good, some horrible and needless), including 30 Rock. You can send questions in to Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Jack McBrayer and they'll answer them. In the latest "Ask Tina" (a regular feature at NBC.com), Fey discloses who her heroes are and whether or not you'll ever see a live version of 30 Rock on television.
Why the frak was Salma Hayek wearing a Battlestar Galactica T-shirt on 30 Rock?
I want answers, people.
Last night we found out that Elisa, Salma Hayek's character on 30 Rock, was hiding a dark secret.
That secret (which I won't reveal) was weird and unexpected. But seeing Salma wearing a "What the Frak?!" T-shirt – complete with the Battlestar Galactica logo on the back, I might add – on the show was even weirder and more unexpected.
It was also way cool, and probably the most random moment in an episode full of random moments (like that Brian Williams cameo). I loved it. It made me kooko for Choco Puffs. But can someone explain it to me?
Continue reading Why the frak was Salma Hayek wearing a Battlestar Galactica T-shirt on 30 Rock?
30 Rock: The Ones
(S03E19) "It's not product placement, I just like it!" - Liz, wearing a SlanketOK, can we settle this once and for all? Liz Lemon/Tina Fey is not an unattractive woman. I don't care if she's wearing a rumpled TGS sweatshirt or a casual jacket or has glasses on or has her hair tied back or if she's wearing a potato sack or even a track suit. There's no way a snooty jewelry store clerk would look at her and doubt that Alec Baldwin/Jack would marry her.
Yes, she even looks great in a Slanket. Interesting they didn't go with the Snuggie, but also great that they didn't go with the Snuggie (and kudos to Fey for the above shout-out to viewers).
Continue reading 30 Rock: The Ones
30 Rock: Jackie Jormp-Jomp
(S03E18) As longtime readers of these reviews know, I like to list a lot of lines from each episode of 30 Rock. Each episode of the show has a ton of great one-liners and jokes, but there are so many that sometimes I feel like I should forget writing a traditional review and just print a damn transcript of the entire episode. It's seems like that's what I'm on the edge of doing every week anyway.But there's more to the show than just rapid-fire comedy.
Continue reading 30 Rock: Jackie Jormp-Jomp
30 Rock: Cutbacks
(S03E17) "Top front? Good lord, Lemon, that's your worst quadrant." - Jack, to Liz about what she gave the night beforeWell, obviously, what we can learn from this episode of 30 Rock is that sexual favors can probably help save the economy. That's probably something that Suze Orman and Dave Ramsay haven't thought of yet. It seemed to work at NBC, though. It's probably not the most moral solution, but it works in our little TV world.
But I'm worried that we've lost a very funny supporting character tonight.
Continue reading 30 Rock: Cutbacks
Here's Liz Lemon's OKFACE ad - VIDEO
One of the many things that 30 Rock does well is the video spoof. That part of the plot where they show something that one of the characters did in the past. Most of the time it's not something that they linger on for an enormous amount of time, it's just a quick flash they show to get the point across in the scene (which is probably a good thing since a lot of these jokes could be ruined if they went on for too long). Remember Tracy's "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah?" It was a video he made and they only showed a few seconds of it on the show, but fans loved it and wanted to see more of it.In last week's episode, we saw the chat line TV commercial that Liz Lemon made when she lived in Chicago years ago. They actually showed quite a bit of it in the episode because it was a major part of the scene with everyone laughing (and "Lizzing"), but after the jump you can see the whole thing. The funny thing is, this ad really isn't that much more outlandish than the real ads I see late at night during Everybody Loves Raymond reruns.
Continue reading Here's Liz Lemon's OKFACE ad - VIDEO
30 Rock: Apollo, Apollo
(S03E16) "Computer, when do I get my tang? Also I'm thirsty. Word play!" - TracyTo put it bluntly, I think this was one of the most explosively hysterical and imaginative half hours of TV this season, and one of this show's best episodes ever. 30 Rock embodies that idea you have of what a great TV comedy can be, the one that is non-stop funny and unpredictable and wild. This episode was a bizarre combination of sex addiction apologies, surreal Muppet appearances, videos of old birthday parties, faked space travel, vomiting, and old late-night chat line commercials.
That paragraph makes it seem like it was a bizarre mess, but it all seems to make sense and come together in the TGS/NBC world.
Seven greatest hand cannons in TV history
TV Squad previews NBC's new shows (part 1)
TV 101: How ESPN controls the world and what the other networks can learn from it
