MovieChat Forums > 30 Rock (2006) Discussion > I really want to like this show... does ...

I really want to like this show... does it get any better?

posted 11 years ago by annacb13
9 replies | jump to latest

I started watching 30 Rock because of the hype, the many awards and my admiration for Tina Fey. I'm right now half way through season 1 and so far I'm not very impressed. I decided to watch at least the whole first season to give it a fair judgement but I'm getting a bit bored with it already.
I think that most characters are likable and well-acted, except for Tracy. I can't stand him. The character, his story lines, the actor and his delivery... (To me) there's just nothing good or funny about him. The others, like i said, are good but not hilarious. I haven't laughed out loud once since I started watching. I find most jokes and story lines recycled, unoriginal and predictable; I've seen it all before in several comedy shows.

I don't mean to be trolling, I was just wondering if anyone else felt the same when they started watching it and if it got better later on? Because I really want to like this show, but right now it's just not working for me.

[–] mmsock1971 11 years ago

I had only seen snipits of the show while surfing, and never once thought it was funny. Still, like you, had kept hearing how great it is, and decided to give it a chance.

I sat through the entire first season, and thought it was dreadful, but continued as others insisted I would one day 'get it'. For me, it wasn't until the fourth season where things clicked, and I started actually laughing at the show.

Yes, the storylines are derivative and predicable which admittedly seems odd since the show has won so many awards, but the way I see it is 30 Rock's humor is mostly character driven, based around these distinct, idiosyncratic people that just seems odd and forced at first because you don't really know them. Over time though, you learn to appreciate them for who they are, and their eccentricities not only make you like them more, but makes them funnier and funnier the more you see them.

If you do like other clever, zany shows like Parks, Sunny, AD, etc. stick with it, one day you'll 'get it' too. It will probably just take a while to get there. This is one of those shows that really does get better the more you watch it.

"I'm doing good in the game, so I'm doing good in life!" - Charlie Kelly

[–] jname96 11 years ago

This is proof that everyone has a different view on "humor". (DUH).

It's okay to not like something, even if it gets lots of praise from others. I've seen tv shows and movies that were "acclaimed" (Like last year's Best Picture nominee "Silver Linings Playbook"), and when I saw it: I effin' HATED it.

But I won't knock others for liking it. I just dislike it personally.

[–] Stubby-9 11 years ago

Jus curious, but which story lines did you find "derivative"?

======================
Much better than the other 8 Stubby's

[–] wheelr 11 years ago

Totally agree with jname96, people like different things, ooh big shock lol.

=================================================================================
Just because YOU don't like something doesn't mean it is empirically not good.-Tina Fey

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] KramericanPsycho 11 years ago

The first 2/3 of season 1 is all that I liked...

[–] AgentSkinner 10 years ago

I gave up after watching eight episodes - did not laugh once.

[–] mathmaniac 10 years ago

I watched the first two seasons again and thought how dated the show seemed, years after it ended. Recently, I watched season 3 and couldn't believe how funny it is! Why does everything now strike me as so funny about '30 Rock'?

I think just spending some time watching the seasons, something clicked. There are more funny lines per minute than almost any other show that has been on TV. And the show seems to poke fun at itself ALL the time - because it is a show about a show. It's a liberal-politics-minded show that pokes fun at liberal minds. It also eviscerates conservative politics.

But: my son who's in his 20s says, watching it: 'I don't get it.'
My daughter, who's in her 20s, laughs at all the lines.
Go figure.