The Wall of Suck
I don't watch 30 Rock in syndication...well, I basically don't watch TV so that's not saying much. But I wanted to make sure I wasn't cribbing a half-remembered joke from the show so I had to go back and watch a couple of the Season 2 shows to be sure...and the next thing I knew I was binge-watching all of that season and Season 3 again. And then Season 1--even, with a little flinching, the quite uneven first 3-5 episodes.
Man, did the show stand up well. I mean, episodes you've already seen 3-4 times, you know the jokes are coming, and you still find yourself laughing at the screen. Just...peerless writing. Really that good.
And like Liz unhinging her jaw, I had to shotgun Season 4. Significant chunks of lame, but still pretty choice overall. By that point, of course, I'm jonesing so bad I have to go for Season 5. But hey, 30 Rock in umpteenth re-watching is so much better-written than the current dreck being shoveled out by every hack who's not on staff with Stewart or Colbert, I have to watch. I'm actually feeling sanguine and forgiving. I do have my favorites from the first half of S5. After all, Reaganing, the first live show, Double-Edged Sword...those are great scripts. So I settle back last night with a very nice bourbon to keep indulging....
Whack! It's Never Too Late for Now. OK, yeah, that's a known dud, but keep going because I always love TGS Hates Women, despite the obvious messaging...and whack! First Queen of Jordan. Whack! Plan B. Whack! I Heart Connecticut. Just sheer sucking dreck. Oh, nice cameo from the guy who created the crapfest Everyone Loves Raymond...in a script that's actually much less funny than a typical hunk of said-titled crapola!
And that's all she wrote. Give up. Throw a brick through the screen. I mean, seriously? Years later, feeling much more forgiving, really less judgmental...what was Tina thinking? It's still so obvious, even now. The quality of the writing in Season 5 went south so fast, so completely. Those scripts were, at some point, stacked up on her desk, waiting for her approval for production. She had to have known. You're running a TV comedy with maybe the best writing since Your Show of Shows...you've got a Murderer's Row of writers on staff, but getting a little lazy...and what do you do? Air two scripts written by Ned Biederman from Accounting? Who is Ned Biederman? He's not Jack Burditt, that's for sure.