30 Rock 701 Review - Dunston Checks In

Many shows seem to return to their former glory once an actual end is in sight. It gives the writers a new-found purpose, and that may be the case for 30 Rock here in season seven.

"Governor Dunston" continued the longer arcs of Jack trying to tank NBC and Liz's attempt at pregnancy nicely, while adding some hilarious moments with Tracy Morgan as the eponymous politician, along with a couple of guest appearances by Catherine O'Hara and Bryan Cranston.

Morgan as the aloof Vice Presidential candidate, who looked exactly like Tracy Jordan, was funny enough in and of itself - with the "okey dokey doo" and ripping his pants off at the podium - but the fact that it was a direct call back to Tina Fey as Sarah Palin made it even better.

To read the rest of my review of last night's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 701 Review - Tanking It

The seventh and final season of 30 Rock began this week, and "The Beginning of the End" started the abbreviated run out with a bang. Classic one-liners and references were joined by a hilarious plotline that ended with Jack and Liz teaming up to tank NBC.

The idea that Jack - and now Liz as well - wants to tank NBC so that Hank Hooper will sell the company to the guy who makes the only successful Easter Egg dyeing company in the world is funny in and of itself.

It also creates an atmosphere rich with opportunities for humor, like Jack coming up with ridiculous new shows for the network. God Cop may have had the most play here, but Homonym may have been funnier, and Tank It was certainly more idiotic.

To read the rest of my review of this week's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- 20 Through 11

Although it has been three months since the last installment of The Quiet Pool Perspective Power Rankings, they will keep the Bi-Monthly moniker, because I am simply shifting everything back one month.  August, October, December, February, April, and June works better anyway.  There's that, and there's the fact that I was way too busy moving and starting a new job to post anything at the start of July.  I still don't have time to say a lot, but I do have some new rankings for y'all so take a look...

Rank. Show (Last Time, Highest Ranking) green=moving up, red=moving down

20. Cougar Town (-, -) Unknown on TBS
Jules and crew have really come into their own after a dreadful start to the series.  This show is worth it for the Bobby/Andy bromance alone.

19. Survivor (17, 14) Wednesdays on CBS
It's still the most watchable and interesting reality competition out there.  If they could just find more successful ways of tweaking it every season.

18. Shameless (16, 16) Sundays on Showtime
I continue to be surprised at how much I enjoy Shameless given how many characters I absolutely detest on screen.

17. Sherlock (-, -) Sundays on PBS
If this series kept its quality while changing the episode style to 12 eps of an hour, it would be one of my favorites on television.

16. 30 Rock (14, 2) Thursdays on NBC
Wait really?  30 Rock is still this high?  It hasn't had a bad season yet, which means it's getting by on decent years with at least some laughs in every episode.

15. Parenthood (15, 13) Tuesdays on NBC
There probably isn't much time left in Parenthood's lifetime, so we better enjoy it while we have it.  Maybe if they got rid of Jabbar more people would tune in.

14. Boardwalk Empire (13, 12) Sundays on HBO
A fantastic finale leaves me excited for the story to be told in season three.  The issue is that they killed off one of the most intriguing characters.

13. Mad Men (12, 3) Sundays on AMC
The most recent season wasn't bad at all, but it kept feeling like nothing was happening.  Slowly but surely, things happened, but it didn't feel that way while watching.

12. Wilfred (19, 12) Thursdays on FX
Easily the best comedy of the summer, Wilfred stepped up in a big way this second season.  They continue to come up with hilarious situation after hilarious situation.

11. The Vampire Diaries (11, 11) Thursdays on The CW
Unfortunately it seems my favorite version of Klaus won't be with us in the near future, which has me worried.  On the other hand, there's always Damon Salvatore.

30 Rock 622 Review- I Now Pronounce You Divorced

Liz- "Hey, I don't bail. I am still watching Smash, Criss."

Television shows, especially sitcoms, normally lose some of their luster as time goes on. Whether it be that the series actually gets worse, or simply our perception of it does because the novelty has worn off, more often than not, things are not going to be the same by season six.

Because of that fact, 30 Rock should be commended for how good its sixth season has been. There have been misses like Hazel Wassername, and big hits like the second live show, but all in all, this spring has been a solid run for the veteran sitcom.

Unfortunately, "What Will Happen to the Gang Next Year?" wasn't one of 30 Rock's better outings. The season finale had some one-offs that were nice enough, like the different things Liz's plant baby was up to, the fact that Criss has seen everything The Beek has done except Dawson's and Kenneth's reasons for calling people he likes bitches.

There were very few truly hilarious moments, though, and that is what we usually look for in a great episode of 30 Rock. For a season finale, this was pretty underwhelming. There was too much Hazel, Jack and Avery weren't at their best, and Jenna and Tracy were sidelined a bit too much.

To read the rest of my review of last night's 30 Rock season finale, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 622 - "What Will Happen to the Gang Next Year?"
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30 Rock 621 Review- Soccer. Jazz. Infidelity

Liz- "I could dip into my 401 K...is something I've heard old people say in commercials."

On the heels of the announcement that the series was picked up by NBC for a seventh and final season, 30 Rock aired a staggeringly average episode in "The Return of Avery Jessup."

The originality and creativity involved in recent outings such "Live From Studio 6H" and "Queen of Jordan 2" make them inherently divisive. People will either respond well to such comedy... or hate everyone for putting it on their televisions.

On the other side of the spectrum is an episode like "The Return of Avery Jessup," which seemed impossible to love or hate, because it was just so run of the mill. If you enjoy watching 30 Rock, you probably thought this was fine. If you don't like 30 Rock, why are you reading this review?

As I've said a number of times before, 30 Rock is such a great show because even when it doesn't fire on all cylinders creatively, there are always enough jokes to make it a worthwhile 30 minutes.

To read the rest of my review of last night's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 621 - "The Return of Avery Jessup"
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30 Rock 620 Review- Reality Blerg-ed

Gus- "We're higher up here, so the sun's electricity is stronger."

30 Rock debuted "Queen of Jordan" last season to rave reviews, specifically from me. It was a hilarious parody of the awful reality television that America has embraced in recent years.

The problem with this week's sequel, "The Mystery of the Phantom Pooper," was that all of the shiny, new mockery from the first one had already been used. The funniest moments from the original just felt a bit watered down in part two.

Whether it was using subtitles when we could obviously hear what the characters were saying, playing up the fact that all these types of shows want to do is have giant fights or the ridiculous titles and descriptions on the title cards, we had seen it all before.

To read the rest of my review of last night's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 620 - "Queen of Jordan 2"
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Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- 20 Through 11

It is that time again, and with the Fourth Annual Poolies only a month away, the most recent installment of the Quiet Pool Bi-Monthly Television Power Rankings could not be any more relevant.  As always, these rankings take into account current success or failure, as well as those achievements or defeats that occurred well in the past.  We now move onto those ranked 20 through 11.

Rank. Show (Last Time, Highest Ranking) green=moving up, red=moving down

20. Top Chef (-, 18) Wednesdays on Bravo
It wasn't the best season that Top Chef recently finished, but you can never go wrong with sitting down to a nice and easy episode of this cooking classic.  If the unbelievably annoying Sarah hadn't made it to the final three, this reality competition might have made its way even further up the rankings.

19. Wilfred (16, 16) Thursdays on FX
This strange comedy returns to television screens in less than two months, premiering its second season on June 28.  Jason Gann and Elijah Wood were terrific in the first season, with the former putting forth one of my favorite individual performances of the year.

18. The River (HM, 18) Tuesdays on ABC
In all likelihood, with the below average ratings it continually brought in, The River was probably a single season endeavor.  It was a pretty good season though.  The eight episode run made it possible to keep things tight and not bore the audience at all, while the mystery always kept me guessing.

How long could this mockumentary go on with The River?

17. Survivor (14, 14) Wednesdays on CBS
While I still find it as the top reality show in the game, Survivor takes a bit of a drop due to the severe lack of talent on this year's cast.  Thanks to the fact that the women have taken control of the game, we are probably in for a mediocre end to the season, especially since the lone entertaining dude - Troyzan - is out the door.

16. Shameless (18, 16) Sundays on Showtime
Even though the show found a way to ruin my favorite first season character - Lip - Frank and Kevin made such great strides in season two that Shameless continues to climb up the Power Rankings.  Now that I'm thinking of it, Frank's ex, his mom, Sheila, and Ian all were absolutely worthless as well.  Maybe I didn't like this season as much as I thought I did.

15. Parenthood (15, 13) Tuesdays on NBC
I feel like it has been forever since Parenthood has been on the air, and I've wanted to slap Jabbar across the face.  Do I just have too much hate built up right now?  There ARE characters on these shows that I enjoy.  Adam, Max, and Joel are a fantastic trio on Parenthood.  If they could find a way to get Sam Jaeger more screen time, this show could be in contention of the Top Ten.

14. 30 Rock (17, 2) Thursdays on NBC
Maybe I am still on a high from the great live show last week, which introduced us all to this instant classic - "Alfie and Abner" - but I think 30 Rock is having itself a fine season.  If Tina Fey could only figure out to write her own character in a way that didn't make me want to throw up so much, this comedy could make it back to the top of the heap.



13. Boardwalk Empire (13, 12) Sundays on HBO
Nothing much to see here as Boardwalk won't return again until this fall.  The HBO drama concluded its season in fine fashion, not unlike the similarly loved Breaking Bad.  It's just too bad that neither can figure out a way to start its seasons the way they end them.

12. Mad Men (10, 3) Sundays on AMC
Mad Men is great and all, but a conversation I had with T-Time recently helped me understand why it will never be in the same league as the top dramas on television.  The stakes are just never as high, and nothing ever seems as important as what goes on during an episode of Justified or Game of Thrones.  That's not to say that you need murders to make a show fascinating, but it is just the scope of everything that is happening just seems a bit trivial.

11. The Vampire Diaries (11, 11) Thursdays on The CW
The CW's lone hit has continued its success this season.  To go along with non-stop action, unlimited twists and turns, and some great romance among its characters, The Vampire Diaries benefits from what I have discovered is the best looking cast on television.  Top to Bottom, male and female, TVD's cast is the best looking, and I'm not sure how close it is.

30 Rock 619 Review- We'll Do It Live!

Jon Hamm (as Chuck)- "Honey you have a dynamite shape, but you're gonna have to shut up and let a man tell us what's happening."

30 Rock completed a very successful live show last season, which made me believe that Tina Fey and company decided to do another one this year mainly because they felt they were supposed to. I went in thinking that it was going to be a bit forced, but came out thoroughly pleased with "Live From Studio 6H."

You really have to have a good and completely different plan for one of these episodes to actually work. By flashing back to the numerous fake live shows, 30 Rock created both a fun play on the plot, and ample opportunity for the main as well as guest actors to show off their chops.

The MVP Award has to go to Alec Baldwin. Whether it was his exaggerated Jackie Gleason, the drunkard Joey Montero, that quick Nixon impression, or his role in the fantastic NBC News duo, Baldwin proved once again why he continues to get asked back to Saturday Night Live, and that he may actually be underutilized on 30 Rock on a regular basis.

The Best Guest was definitely Jon Hamm.  His blatantly racist character Abner was by far the single funniest moment from the episode. I mean between "I's done stoled this catfish!" and "Zip-a-dee-doo-doo," I was on the ground laughing for that entire flashback.

To read the rest of my review of last night's live 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 619 - "Live From Studio 6H"
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30 Rock 618 Review- Negotiating a Nickname

Spokesman- "When did gum get so soft you sons of b*tches?"

Although I am too young to know what a Murphy Brown is, apparently she lied to the good working women of America. Yes, in "Murphy Brown Lied to Us" Liz Lemon took yet another step towards growing up, something she's been doing more and more of lately.

It was mostly thanks to Jack, who set Liz up with Kev's awesome daughter. The girl wasn't just beneficial for Liz, because she helped Lemon realize that she still might want to have kids in this life time. Kat was also extremely entertaining, which is rare for an actress of her young age.

Between her obsession with To Kill A Mockingbird, her understanding that a short haircut would make her look like a lesbian, and her negotiating a new nickname, Kat portrayed a Manny Delgado-esque maturity that played very well opposite Tina Fey.

By the end of it all, Liz realized that she didn't want to throw out that baby Leia costume, and might want to have a kid after all. Thankfully Criss might feel the same way, and if 30 Rock's lifespan isn't all that much longer, it wouldn't be a bad route to take with the series.

To read the rest of my review of this week's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 618 - "Murphy Brown Lied to Us"
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30 Rock 617 Review- Double Donaghy Downer

Tracy- "Son this isn't easy for me to say because my tongue caught what my foot has..."

I became very uninterested in "Meet the Woggles" shortly after the episode started. With Jenna in another weird yet boring relationship, and Colleen Donaghy back to annoy us all, Tracy attempting to keep his son out of college was the only story I could hang on to.

Colleen did have that one good line about the stork, but other than that she was just grumpy as always, and not in the funny old curmudgeon way. She just took most of the life out of 30 Rock this week.

Jenna has been great this season without Paul, so bringing her weird love life back to the forefront was disappointing. Also, the musical group that gave this episode its title wasn't really a humorous addition. I think the Woggles didn't work because they weren't much of an exaggeration on the children's groups they were trying to make fun of.

To read the rest of my review of last night's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 617 - "Meet the Woggles"
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30 Rock 616 Review- Liz-Daddy Issues

Tracy- "You're still here! You didn't go to the store for milk and heroin and then never come back."

To all comedy writers out there, contrast is funny. Sure, it was aided by the hilarity of his love for the half father/half boss that was Liz Lemon, but an on the ball, eager-to-succeed Tracy Jordan was good for nothing but laughs in "Nothing Left to Lose."

We are used to the Tracy that purposefully wants to screw up, or the one that is too lazy to leave his dressing room to get to rehearsal. On this week's 30 Rock, the star of TGS was finished memorizing his lines before LL-Dad even got to the set, worked out a perfect Jimmy Fallon impression and began writing a comedy sketch based on political commentary.

The change of pace for Tracy was welcomed, and I have no doubt that his return to form in the next episode will also make regular Tracy funnier than before. Tracy's increased level work ethic was brought about because of Liz, and her new scent that was reminiscent of TJ's absentee father.

How great were those "I want to please you" moments from Tracy? No matter what clearly not clever nickname he used for his boss/father hybrid - Liz Dad, Smell or the ever popular LL Dad Liz Dad - I laughed every time. His childhood exuberance was only matched by the return of Dr. Spaceman!

To read the rest of my review of last night's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 616 - "Nothing Left to Lose"
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30 Rock 613 and 614 Review- Off The Charts, Kimosabe

Liz- "I thought you said a man should never wear pastel unless he's a black guy on Easter?"

30 Rock treated us to a double feature of laughs with The Office taking the night off this week, and while both episodes had success in the joke department, one excelled because of its inherently funny stories.

"Kidnapped by Danger," the second half-hour of the night, gave us the making of Avery Jessup's TV movie, Liz as The Blocker, and Jenna and Tracy attempting to maneuver around Weird Al's evil brilliance... all of which allowed the laughs to flow freely.

The table read for the movie itself was worth the entire storyline. The introduction of William Baldwin - playing an actor that was playing Jack Donaghy, who is played by his brother Alec Baldwin - was brilliant. Said actor doing an exaggerated version of Jack made it even better.

Liz's script was hilarious, Cynthia Nixon's portrayal of Nancy Donovan was just as overacted as Julianne Moore's, and when Liz admitted that she thought all people from Boston sounded like that, I almost lost it.

To read the rest of my review of last night's episodes of 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 613 - "Grandmentor"
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30 Rock 614 - "Kidnapped by Danger"
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30 Rock 612 Review- Smells Like Green Spirit

Tracy- "It sure is rewarding as a TV viewer when someone you're invested in shows growth."

In an extremely meta moment, Tracy uttered those words about Liz on the St. Patrick's Day special he was hosting with Jenna. Yes, Liz Lemon did depict growth in 30 Rock's "St. Patrick's Day," but as I've noted before, that's not a necessity for a comedy.

There are those sitcom that need to fuse the funny with character development in order to be successful - take Parks and Recreation or Modern Family, for example - but 30 Rock is so out there and obviously after as many jokes as it can muster that the addition of growth seems unnecessary.

That's not to say that it wasn't welcome here, especially if it meant the return of Dennis Duffy! There is plenty of Dean Winters to go around, as those All State commercials never stop, but he's never better than his pop-ins at 30 Rock.

To read the rest of my review of last night's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 612 - "St. Patrick's Day"
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30 Rock 611 Review- Son of a Dingbat

Kaylie- "My mom is in Indonesia visiting her charity where poor children make shoes."

Jack- "Isn't that just a sweatshop?"

Sometimes a joke doesn't always hit on the first try. On occasion, a reference is actually inserted into the script so that can make you laugh later on in the episode. Both of these situations were executed perfectly at some point during "Standards and Practices."

30 Rock enjoys the callback in general, but it was specifically successful at it with the use of the word "dingbat" and in spreading out a couple of appearances by Jack's friend Akaido – Update: Kato – and his sneak attacks.

Liz originally bringing up the fact that "dingbat" was the worst word that could now be used on TGS wasn't necessarily funny, but the fact that she ended up taking even it out of the script was. Jack jumping on board and exclaiming "son of a dingbat" on multiple occasions was absolutely the icing on the hysterical cake.

Elsewhere, we were treated to a number of moments that were hilarious all on their own... specifically everything that happened once Liz walked into the men's restroom. From using a man's voice to talk to Ken to only being able to come up with the fake name Kenneth Toilet Hole, Tina Fey was on her game.

To read the rest of my review of last night's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 611 - "Standards and Practices"
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Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- 20 Through 11

For my 81st post of the day, here are shows 20 through 11 of the March Power Rankings.

Place. Show (Last Time) red=moving down, green=moving up

20. Dexter (17) Sundays on Showtime
I'm still holding out hope that this awful season, and the anticlimactic reveal at the end of it, haven't ruined the series completely.

19. Big Brother (-) Summers on CBS
I've missed this summer series so much that it makes its way back into the top 20.  As annoyed as I get by its contestants, it's still more interesting than most of the competitions on tv.

18. Shameless (-) Sundays on Showtime
The increased role for Steve Howey as Kevin has me thoroughly enjoying season two.

17. 30 Rock (-) Thursdays on NBC
It's been a long time since this laugher has made the power rankings, but a back-to-form sixth season will do that for you.  Jenna Maroney has been on point this year.

16. Wilfred (16) Thursdays on FX
The second season premiere date of June 28 already has me excited to watch my favorite man in a dog suit this summer.

15. Parenthood (13) Tuesdays on NBC
It hasn't gotten me as emotional as of late, but I always enjoy sitting down to watch the Bravermans.  I nice guest appearance by Kadeem Hardison a couple weeks ago didn't hurt either.

14. Survivor (15) Wednesdays on CBS
This season looks to be as good as ever, with a bunch of dudes taking out the chicks one-by-one...well except for the women winning this week.

13. Boardwalk Empire (14) Sundays on HBO
It won't return for a while, and with that finale, it's going to be tough to wait.

12. Fringe (HM) Fridays on FOX
I am still angry that I gave up on this show after seven episodes in season one.  I'm glad that I made my way back though.  It's been a fun ride, and I really hope it doesn't get cancelled this year.

11. The Vampire Diaries (12) Thursdays on The CW
The only bad thing about this underrated show is the fact that it takes such long breaks sometimes.  I wish all shows would use the cable formula of running straight through a season with no breaks.

30 Rock 610 Review- "What You Got Cooking?

Tracy- "The sight of these people, plus the crayons I ate earlier, make me sick."

"Alexis Goodlooking and the Case of the Missing Whisky" was yet another funny episode of 30 Rock's sixth season, filled with a number of hilarious one-off jokes.

Those stand alone quips are exactly what make 30 Rock so watchable even when it might fail to knock the episodic stories out of the park.  Jack helping Kenneth make it in this world, and Frank using Liz to hide the love affair with his former teacher, weren't all that inherently funny, but each had its share of laughs.

I loved that Jack did an entire speech on eye contact by using no words. His title was the best part! The fact that Kenneth's rival was four credits shy of a degree in Bro Studies at Syracuse was also good, but my favorite moment from that story had to be Jack's Family Matters reference.

As a child of the 90s I appreciate any mention of a series that once aired on TGIF, but the fact that he referenced Stefan Urquelle made it that much more amazing. Jaleel White must be the coolest dude in the world if he makes Stefan look like Steve Urkel.

To read the rest of my review of last night's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 610 - "Alexis Goodlooking and the Case of the Missing Whisky"
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30 Rock 609 Review- Real Life Is For March

Tracy- "It's just fan mail. I mean would you read a bunch of letters from people who look up to me?"

"Leap Day" was an episode of 30 Rock I respected a whole lot more than I laughed at.

Between the creation of this fictitious holiday, everyone's absurd involvement in the day's festivities and especially the development and execution of the faux movie starring Jim Carrey, the outing was a lot of fun, if not all that overtly funny.

Steve Buscemi, who earned his second 30 Rock directing credit this week, made the episode enjoyable. Everyone watching Kenneth direct traffic as the office's very own Leap Day William, or the fantastic transitions between Leap Day past, present, and future for Jack, are a couple of examples of the magical feeling to the half hour.

Sure, there were some outright funny moments, but not nearly as many as the standard episode of 30 Rock. Tracy thinking that Dot Com is his imaginary friend is absolutely hilarious, especially when Dot Com continues to give him evidence to the contrary.

To read the rest of my review of last night's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 609 - "Leap Day"
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30 Rock 607 Review- She's A Joker

Jenna- "Oh don't be so dramatic. That's my thing, and if you take it away from me I will kill myself...and then you."

Did Batman need to get rebooted again? Isn't the Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale series still going on? Oh, sorry, apparently "The Tuxedo Begins" was just 30 Rock's way of parodying the superhero movie style of the first Nolan film.

It wasn't nearly as funny as some of the earlier episodes this season, but the half hour was certainly enjoyable... especially from the rooftop scene onward.

As Jack stood in the dark, using his deep ominous voice to explain to Liz what his plans were to help the city, I got wrapped up in the moment. Liz was there, finally taking her turn into full superhero villain mode (crazy hair, strange clothing, Joker-esque lipstick), which made the fact that she was using the city to her own benefit the final piece to the puzzle.

The rest of that story, with Jack flipping Liz into the trash, and the crowd of New Yorkers applauding the event - which included Mr. Met, the Statue of Liberty and the singing prostitute - was all the more entertaining.

To read the rest of my review of this week's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 607 - "The Tuxedo Begins"
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30 Rock 606 Review- I'm Female Lutz!

Tracy- "Let's prepare for the adventure of a lifetime! And then after we watch Fievel Goes West, we're gonna get you some action."

There are inevitable pros and cons to airing a one-hour episode of a sitcom. Some stories that wouldn't have the chance to develop fully in 30 minutes get to do so with the extra time. Then again, there are others that either drag on or are unnecessarily added due to the doubling of episode length.

30 Rock's super-sized "Hey Baby, What's Wrong" featured both of these pluses and minuses. Jenna and Pete dealing with the former's case of the yips, and Tracy and Frank helping Lutz be a dirt bag, were basically perfect examples of plots that would have been hurt by 21 minutes of run time.

With Jenna, we were able to diagnose the problem, watch her struggle through it and then fix it in a very well-paced funny story. The return of Dr. Spaceman, with his assumption that there is no field of medicine that deals with the brain, and finding out that Jenna has two more nemeses*, also added plenty of laughs.

*Count them now: Abigail Breslin (1), Flo at Progressive Insurance (2), and Gina Gershon (3) from "Today You Are A Man."

Without the added time for Tracy and the gang, we would have missed out on either him and Frank talking about the hilarious things they do to pick women; watching them try to get Lutz to do said atrocities; or Lutz hitting on Liz outside an Ikea and eating Swedish meatballs. Each of those layers of the story was funny.

To read the rest of my review of last night's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 606 - "Hey Baby, What's Wrong"
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30 Rock 605 Review- It's A Jack-Off!

Liz- "After six years, there's still room for growth in this friendship."

As Tina Fey smirked at the camera while reciting those words, I wondered if she and the writers were attempting to make a jab at those who might criticize 30 Rock for not evolving its characters in any way.

Then the thought vanished from my mind, because whether or not the show has done a good job of allowing its characters to grow over the past six seasons, "Today You Are a Man" - like many 30 Rock episodes - was funny enough that it doesn't matter.

Yes, Kabletown Jack finally figured out how to defeat Liz-Jack thanks to his realization that emotion can be used as a weapon (the aforementioned growth), but it was everything involving this contract negotiation that led up to that moment that made this yet another hilarious episode at the front end of this season.

The entire sequence after Jack found out Liz was using him as a coach, which included classic Donaghy, playing with himself, and the Jack-off, was fantastic. Then again, it couldn't even compare to how great the negotiations at the ice cream store were.

To read the rest of my review of last night's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 605 - "Today You Are a Man"
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