30 Rock again

[author_by_night]

So I finally finished 30 Rock. Spoilers under the cut. Also, more thoughts on the P&R comparisons.

- First, the whole time I've been watching the show, I wanted Dot Com to get his own show. And then the show ends with him having one! I really liked his character, which is weird considering he mostly just served as Tracy's voice of reason and rolled his eyes when Tracy (frequently) ignored him. (Although he was probably the smartest character on the show, too.) And of course that's why I liked him.

ETA: Just found the actor on twitter. Kevin Brown actually sounds kind of cool. I'd seriously never heard of him before.

- Kenneth was so fit to run NBC. And for once, it's confirmed he's immortal. :P

- I honestly was surprised that Liz stayed with Criss. I knew she adopted twins, but I somehow envisioned her just doing it on her own. I was also expecting Criss to be the naive dreamer who becomes pretty disposable pretty quickly, and while yeah, he was definitely a bit of a naive dreamer, it was in an endearing way. I thought that was actually pretty clever, and I think Liz deserved someone who wasn't necessarily self-serving in any way, as unfortunately all of her friends were. :)

Overall, I liked the show, though I didn't watch all of the episodes in the end. It was pretty hit or miss for me, honestly, and it kind of ended up being something I watched before bed or while having dinner. In older NBC terms, it's kind of my Seinfeild - something I would watch with my grandmother while we snacked together. :)  (Cheetos and my grandmother's Mad Men-era television will forever be my association with Seinfeld.)

The only thing I'd say is that I do wish we'd had a bit more character development, but in the end I think 30 Rock was kind of like Seinfeld in that we were supposed to just accept that a lot of these characters were pretty selfish. Parks and Recreation, meanwhile, was a bit more like FRIENDS in the sense that the characters develop, they grow with and from each other, etc. There's a bit of that in 30 Rock (and maybe Seinfeld too), the series finale has a really sweet moment between Jack and Liz (and Liz and Tracy!), but it's not to the same degree. And that's okay. The world needs a healthy dose of both. :)

And those are my thoughts! I'd be interested to hear from those of you who watched the show from the beginning. Also, in honor of the immortant Kenneth Parcell, I must ask: If you watch NBC now, or used to back then, which was your favorite show?

Comments

[ragnarok-08.livejournal.com]

Yeah, 30 Rock is sort of a hit and miss for me too.

[jaydestarlight.livejournal.com]

I agree: although the characters were quirky and fun, I often wished that they had received more character development. I feel like it got more hit and miss near the end, because I felt like the show went on a season or two too long.

[chocolatepot.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you overall liked it. :)