(S03E22) "There's no such thing as bisexual. That's just something invented in the 90s so they could sell more hair products." - Liz
OK, 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.
(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.
(S03E20) "It's the biggest regret of my life, Lemon. And I once made love to Kathy Hilton." - Jack, about not confronting his dad
Oh, 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.
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?"
(S03E19) "It's not product placement, I just like it!" - Liz, wearing a Slanket
OK, 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).
(S03E18) As longtime readers of these reviews know, I like to list a lot of lines from each episode of30 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.
(S03E17) "Top front? Good lord, Lemon, that's your worst quadrant." - Jack, to Liz about what she gave the night before
Well, 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.
(S03E15) "His video game made a fortune and he invested all of it in a company that dismantles bank signs. They're doing very well." - Jack, about Tracy
I have to really disagree with Jack and Cerie: Liz Lemon is a bubble person.
Sure, Cerie is hot, but Jack himself admits that he hasn't been great looking since he was 25 and still had really blue eyes. They think Liz is merely nice and "pleasant looking"? That's crazy talk. Tina Fey is a bubble person.
That's a line I never thought I'd actually type, but she is. She really is. Liz should get what she wants a lot more than she does.
(S34E19) It's a great, big homecoming party for Tracy Morgan and he brought enough jaunty delivery for us all. I'll admit, if anyone else were to try and pull off this type of delivery, I'd be pretty annoyed. However, it's Tracy Morgan and he's got this choppy, unrealistic speech down to an art. It has become him, I guess. This episode had a few strong moments here and there, but overall, it was an "all right" episode. At least we got to revisit some old favorites from Tracy Morgan's featured player days.
Now, check out some video highlights from the evening. Also, note to self: I will stop typing "Tracy Jordan", I will stop typing "Tracy Jordan"...
(S03E14) "Passing out? Cursing? On St. Patrick's Day? Is nothing sacred?" - Jack
Wasn't it great to see an episode of 30 Rock that revolved around NBC and TGS and the work of the staff? Sure, there was the plot with Liz trying to get out of jury duty, but even that was tied into her work life at the studio. We've had a lot of episodes that had the various characters scattered away from each other, involved with people and places that had nothing to do with NBC, so it's great to see the writing staff working together, Jenna going crazy at the studio, Tracy wanting to take over all of the advertising on the show, and Jack working on a new microwave product.
(S03E13) "Donuts and then bed. What are you depressed about or celebrating?" - Pete, to Liz
Holy crap, Josh was in this episode! Sure, he only had one line and wasn't on screen for too long, but Josh was in this episode! It's good to see that he's still a writer on this show (and that Lonny Ross is still a member of the cast).
It's also good to see a TV show whose plot is based around the 1987 filmHarry and the Hendersons. There aren't enough TV shows based on the 1987 film Harry and the Hendersons.
(S03E12) "Elisa? I was about to do the whole run to the airport thing, like Ross did on Friends and Liz Lemon did in real life." - Jack
Am I wrong or did something look really weird with Tracy's interview with Larry King? There were a lot of shots of King alone and Tracy alone and only a handful of them together, from odd angles. And it kinda looked like Tracy wasn't even on the same set as King, like they actually did it with special effects, the way they used to have two Patty Dukes on the screen at once. Maybe King and Morgan couldn't film together because they're on different coasts?
Anyway, that's just an observation I had about this episode, which I think was the best of the season so far.
So what's a second banana? Well they're certainly not second best. No, in fact they're often the main reason to tune into a particular show. Not because the show's major plotlines revolve around them, in fact they generally don't, but because they liven up every scene they're in. Virtual show-stealers, a good second banana can turn a generic sitcom or drama into television gold. The ultimate wingman on television, there was no greater second banana than my man Barney Fife, brilliantly played by Don Knotts on The Andy Griffith Show, and later Mayberry R.F.D.
When it came time to put together this list, I wondered if I'd be able to find ten viable and qualified bananas on the airwaves today. But I guess I needn't have worried. It looks like Barney was an inspiration (in more ways than one) to the current crop of second bananas. They litter their peels all over the television landscape, leaving us to trip over in laughter time and time again at their antics. But how do they stack up? Who's the biggest fruit in the tree? There's only one way to find out!
(S03E11) "Nice ... you mean like stew?" - Liz to Jack, about what dinner to make Drew
OK, I think it's officially time to call out an APB on Josh and the rest of the writing staff. They're missing again this week. Not many supporting characters at all this week. Even Jenna had only one quick (though very funny) scene, while Frank was reduced to just handing off one of the subplots to Kenneth. I really want to see this show get back to some episodes about TGS and NBC and the inner working of the show. It's like TGS is on summer hiatus or something.
Notice I said Tracy Jordan and not Tracy Morgan, because this audio of a meltdown on the set of NBC's TGS with Tracy Jordan is a takeoff on the Christian Bale meltdown on the set of Terminator: Salvation, which I'm sure everyone has heard by now. If it was Morgan who did it, I guess I would have titled it Tracy Morgan Goes All Christian Bale On 30 Rock Set.
It's pretty funny, though it probably goes on a little bit too long. Jordan is ranting at the cameraman because he dares to film him while he's trying to act. They should actually show this at the end of one of the episodes, or maybe as an extra on the next DVD set. At one point you can even hear Tracy make a reference to TMZ.
It could be a little NSFW, though all of the bad words are bleeped out. For the record, Bale has effin' apologized.
(S03E22) "There's no such thing as bisexual. That's just something invented in the 90s so they could sell more hair products." - Liz
(S03E19) "It's not product placement, I just like it!" - Liz, wearing a 
(S03E17) "Top front? Good lord, Lemon, that's your worst quadrant." - Jack, to Liz about what she gave the night before
(S03E15) "His video game made a fortune and he invested all of it in a company that dismantles bank signs. They're doing very well." - Jack, about Tracy
(S03E12) "Elisa? I was about to do the whole run to the airport thing, like Ross did on Friends and Liz Lemon did in real life." - Jack
So what's a second banana? Well they're certainly not second best. No, in fact they're often the main reason to tune into a particular show. Not because the show's major plotlines revolve around them, in fact they generally don't, but because they liven up every scene they're in. Virtual show-stealers, a good second banana can turn a generic sitcom or drama into television gold. The ultimate wingman on television, there was no greater second banana than my man Barney Fife, brilliantly played by Don Knotts on The Andy Griffith Show, and later Mayberry R.F.D.
Notice I said Tracy Jordan and not Tracy Morgan, because 
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