In 2006, two shows premiered on NBC. One was Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, the other 30 Rock. Both shows dealt with the behind-the-scenes happenings on sketch comedy shows. Studio 60 was Aaron Sorkin's return to television, while 30 Rock was Tina Fey's first big project since leaving Saturday Night Live. Sorkin's show was riding a lot of buzz generated by its excellent pilot that brought to mind Network. The pilot for 30 Rock, on the other hand, was roundly panned as being rather mediocre bordering on bad. I hadn't seen the 30 Rock pilot, but I loved the Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip pilot. I thought for sure that Sorkin had hit gold again, and a deserving successor to The West Wing had been found. If I even thought about 30 Rock, it was how it was likely to run through 13 episodes, maybe even a full season because of Lorne Michaels sway, and get cancelled.
Blergh, was I wrong.
Studio 60 ended up being far more "Bad Sorkin" than "Good Sorkin", and ignominiously bowed out after one season. These days it is rarely brought up, other than as evidence along with The Newsroom to show how "Bad Sorkin" has taken over his TV projects. The only time I think about the show is when Jeff Daniels is bitching about those young folks and their technology, when I remember how stupid it was Nate Corddry's parents didn't recognize Abbott and Costello, and when I listen to the admittedly great version of "O Holy Night" from the Christmas episode*.
Meanwhile, 30 Rock became one of my favorite shows, with Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy becoming two of my favorite characters of all time. Yeah, the pilot was not great, but it very quickly gathered its momentum, and was firing on all cylinders within a few episodes in the first season. The unhinged craziness of Tracey Morgan and Jane Krakowski worked wonders in contrast to the grounded craziness of Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin and the weird cheerfulness of Jack McBrayer. Beyond the big five characters, the rest of the group, including Scott Adsit and Judah Friedlander, helped flesh out the show. If those still weren't enough, the show had many great guest stars, ,such as Dean Winters, Jon Hamm, Will Arnett, and many others. Oftentimes it was the funniest show on television.
The core of the show was the relationship between Jack Donaghy and Liz Lemon. It was a special relationship, and fairly unique in that it was a friendship between a man and a woman character that didn't descend into "will they or won't they" nonsense. This seems to be a pretty rare thing, although more frequent in recent years with others like Leslie Knope and Ron Swanson, or Don Draper and Peggy Olson. I'm glad they never tried to force that situation, because it worked so much better as a platonic friendship.
And now, after seven seasons, it's time to say farewell to the show. Although I am sad to see it go, I am happy to say it is leaving strong. Unlike many shows, such as The Office, it is going out on its own terms, before it gets too stale. Although the show did get a bit weak (at times) in the middle of its run, it has rebounded to be consistently great the past couple of seasons. Of course, they have yet to stick the landing, so perhaps you'll see me on here tomorrow decrying the awfulness of Seinfeldesque proportions of the finale. Given the show's track record, I'm confident that won't happen.
*As annoying as the show could be, this was still a pretty great moment. Oh, the episode Allison Janney guest starred in was pretty good as well, if I recall.
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