“30 Rock” — Hiatus (Season Finale) + Alec Baldwin wants off the show!
Oh, I was at a costume party…
Last night 30 Rock ended a pretty terrific season with a kind of so-so episode. It was the first time Tina Fey had penned an episode since the fall. This may or may not have been why the episode wasn’t as relentless as it had been. Once the writing staff started to take over for Ms. Fey this season, it seemed like the jokes-per-minutes ratio started to go through the roof. This isn’t a knock against her writing, just that when you’re used to laughing A LOT and then only laugh SOME, you walk away feeling a little let down.
Chris Parnell had all of the best lines this week as Dr. Spaceman (Spa-CHE-mon), but the other go-to characters Jack and Tracy were both out of their element (literally) and just couldn’t deliver the goods.
What I did appreciate was that the episode didn’t feel the need to throw in a lot of season finale nonsense despite the show learning early on that it was getting a second season. In fact there were no cliffhangers at all. Liz broke up with Floyd in a very ho-hum sort of way. Jack broke it off with Phoebe as something of an afterthought, and Tracy Jordan made it back to 30 Rock in time for his weekly pre-show rant (Tonight I think it’s going to be about immigration!).
This leads us to the Alec Baldwin news, which I’ll get to right after the jump…
One week ago VoiceMailGate broke open and everyone (except for me?) reacted in horror as Baldwin screamed at his daughter. I don’t know, am I the only person who has pissed off his parents sometime over the course of growing up (though I will concede that Baldwin has considerably more baggage than most)? Yesterday, Bill Carter at the New York Times reported that Mr. Baldwin not only left his talent agency (Creative Artists), but had also asked NBC to let him out of his contract.
NBC released a statement saying, “Alec Baldwin remains an important part of ‘30 Rock.’ We look forward to having him continue in the role.”
Great, so now not only does Mr. Baldwin not want to be there, but he’s going to be held against his will — a great formula for dynamite comedy. Actually, the summer hiatus has barely begun for the series and a lot can happen over the next 5 months. Either way, can 30 Rock survive without him?
I would argue that the show can survive, but it will take a hit (not like it’s racking in the viewers). The cast is big enough to redistribute the heavy lifting, but someone will have to replace him in that role — my initial thought would be to get G.O.B. Will Arnett back on the show.
Either way, this doesn’t bode well for one of the few new shows from this season that was given a second life despite its horrible ratings.
May 2nd, 2007 at 3:41 pm
You’re ruined the act, GOB!