TV Diary
1. 30 Rock
After a few weeks of Studio 60 hype to the point that 30 Rock's ads play off the fact that it's "the other new show" about a late night sketch comedy show, it was kind of nice to finally see 30 Rock premiere this week. I wasn't really expecting much, but I must've forgot that Alec Baldwin is probably my favorite SNL serial host. His character kind of reminds me of Jimmy James from Newsradio, which is an extremely positive comparison to draw. Also nice to see Tracy Morgan doing something that plays to his strengths after his crappy attempt at a family sitcom, although his character in this (despite being named Tracy Morgan) is more of an embattled/crazy movie star comic like Martin Lawrence or Eddie Murphy than Tracy playing himself or a typical SNL character. The polite was good, but I could see it going either way from here, really consistently funny or just weak.
2. Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip
Already there's some talk of cancellation after the precipitous drop in ratings since the pilot, which means Studio 60 may very well fall victim to the same self-fulfilling prophecy as Sports Night, a show-within-a-show in which ratings are a problem in both fiction and reality. I can't see them not giving it at least a full season or two to fail or find an audience, though. The show's not perfect, but I'd be pretty annoyed if it got killed by being programmed opposite the worst C.S.I. show. It wasn't until the 3rd episode that they really focused on the actual act of putting together a comedy show, and was the first time that it really felt like a workable model for how most future episodes can go. At least, I hope it's more of that and less of the love triangle stuff. I've read a lot of complaints about certain aspects (like the comedy bits they show not being that funny, which I agree could use some work), and about certain cast members, particularly Amanda Peet (who I've never liked in anything but has completely won me over in this, partly because it's not too different a character from Felicity Huffman in Sports Night) and Sarah Paulson. Her character, Harriet, definitely seems like an unfortunate strawperson for a lot of fairly boring "liberal Hollywood vs. religious right" plotlines, but I've started to kind of warm to the character (as both a believable comedic talent and a believable romantic foil for Matthew Perry), and someone as uptight and religious as her being on a show like that isn't that implausible, considering that's basically what Victoria Jackson was. My one big complaint about the episods since the pilot
3. Saturday Night Live
Meanwhile, the real SNL is just kind of plodding along (although the inevitable Studio 60/30 Rock joke in the Dane Cook episode was pretty good). I know that SNL kind of has this cycle where at the beginning of the season, some of the established cast members move on and at first you think that nobody good is left and the new people all suck and eventually you realize things weren't so bad, But it's pretty hard to be optimistic about this season, considering that Tina Fey is gone, as are the massively underrated Chris Parnell and Horatio Sanz, who always seemed to be a season or two away from stardom. I mean, shit, Parnell was one of the two people responsible for last year's most popular sketch, Lazy Sunday, and they still canned him (assuming he didn't leave)? WTF. The craziest shit, though, is that Darrell Hammond is still around for his 12th season. Is that a new record for a cast member? I mean, they constantly did jokes about how Tim Meadows had been there forever and even he left after 10 seasons, Hammond's presence doesn't even seem to be remarked upon. I guess they just know they're not going to get a better celeb impressionist and are holding onto him, probably the same reason Will Forte's still around, they need a Bush. I don't think there's even anyone new so far this season, the cast is actually down to under a dozen people for the first time in a while. I generally like the new people that came in last year, particularly Kristen Wiig, even if none of them have really made their mark quite yet. The first couple episodes were weak as far as I saw, but at this point I'm not even going to lie to myself and say I'll stop watching.
After a few weeks of Studio 60 hype to the point that 30 Rock's ads play off the fact that it's "the other new show" about a late night sketch comedy show, it was kind of nice to finally see 30 Rock premiere this week. I wasn't really expecting much, but I must've forgot that Alec Baldwin is probably my favorite SNL serial host. His character kind of reminds me of Jimmy James from Newsradio, which is an extremely positive comparison to draw. Also nice to see Tracy Morgan doing something that plays to his strengths after his crappy attempt at a family sitcom, although his character in this (despite being named Tracy Morgan) is more of an embattled/crazy movie star comic like Martin Lawrence or Eddie Murphy than Tracy playing himself or a typical SNL character. The polite was good, but I could see it going either way from here, really consistently funny or just weak.
2. Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip
Already there's some talk of cancellation after the precipitous drop in ratings since the pilot, which means Studio 60 may very well fall victim to the same self-fulfilling prophecy as Sports Night, a show-within-a-show in which ratings are a problem in both fiction and reality. I can't see them not giving it at least a full season or two to fail or find an audience, though. The show's not perfect, but I'd be pretty annoyed if it got killed by being programmed opposite the worst C.S.I. show. It wasn't until the 3rd episode that they really focused on the actual act of putting together a comedy show, and was the first time that it really felt like a workable model for how most future episodes can go. At least, I hope it's more of that and less of the love triangle stuff. I've read a lot of complaints about certain aspects (like the comedy bits they show not being that funny, which I agree could use some work), and about certain cast members, particularly Amanda Peet (who I've never liked in anything but has completely won me over in this, partly because it's not too different a character from Felicity Huffman in Sports Night) and Sarah Paulson. Her character, Harriet, definitely seems like an unfortunate strawperson for a lot of fairly boring "liberal Hollywood vs. religious right" plotlines, but I've started to kind of warm to the character (as both a believable comedic talent and a believable romantic foil for Matthew Perry), and someone as uptight and religious as her being on a show like that isn't that implausible, considering that's basically what Victoria Jackson was. My one big complaint about the episods since the pilot
3. Saturday Night Live
Meanwhile, the real SNL is just kind of plodding along (although the inevitable Studio 60/30 Rock joke in the Dane Cook episode was pretty good). I know that SNL kind of has this cycle where at the beginning of the season, some of the established cast members move on and at first you think that nobody good is left and the new people all suck and eventually you realize things weren't so bad, But it's pretty hard to be optimistic about this season, considering that Tina Fey is gone, as are the massively underrated Chris Parnell and Horatio Sanz, who always seemed to be a season or two away from stardom. I mean, shit, Parnell was one of the two people responsible for last year's most popular sketch, Lazy Sunday, and they still canned him (assuming he didn't leave)? WTF. The craziest shit, though, is that Darrell Hammond is still around for his 12th season. Is that a new record for a cast member? I mean, they constantly did jokes about how Tim Meadows had been there forever and even he left after 10 seasons, Hammond's presence doesn't even seem to be remarked upon. I guess they just know they're not going to get a better celeb impressionist and are holding onto him, probably the same reason Will Forte's still around, they need a Bush. I don't think there's even anyone new so far this season, the cast is actually down to under a dozen people for the first time in a while. I generally like the new people that came in last year, particularly Kristen Wiig, even if none of them have really made their mark quite yet. The first couple episodes were weak as far as I saw, but at this point I'm not even going to lie to myself and say I'll stop watching.
This entry was posted
on Sunday, October 15, 2006 at 11:57 PM.
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30 Rock so far has excited me.
Mat