Salon.com > Jane Krakowski

“30 Rock’s” great finale: “These were the best days of my flerm”

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 03:51:00 +0000

“30 Rock” infamously began the same autumn as another NBC series set behind the scenes of a sketch comedy show: Aaron Sorkin’s much-trumpeted, totally pretentious “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.” “Studio 60” blew a lot of hot air about television, about how it was a glorious medium with a storied history that had been degraded by partisanship and celebrity and evangelicals and could really only be rescued by a dedicated band of writers and comedians who knew what good was. It was cancelled after one season.

“30 Rock,” in its own way, agreed that TV was an occasionally glorious and largely degraded medium. But instead of pontificating about it, its dedicated band of writers and comedians spent seven years mocking, skewering, filleting, and satirizing TV and the TV business, cleverly laying open its stupidity and venality in thousands upon thousands of brilliant jokes from “MILF Island” to NBC’s just recently revealed policy of giving its employees flush buddies to save water. “30 Rock” was honest — or over-the-top surreal and ridiculous, if you prefer — about TV’s dark side, but by its very existence it endlessly refuted, just like Kenneth the Page, that crap was all there could be.

How should “30 Rock” end?

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 22:24:00 +0000

For the past four months, we've grappled with our grief as "30 Rock's" series finale was drawing closer and closer, by reaching out to kindred spirits, and asking — teary-eyed, in earnest — "How does it all end?"

And now that dreaded night has arrived: The last episode airs tonight, and before it does, we'd like to share the hilarious fantasies of how our favorite TV sitcom wraps up:

Patton Oswalt, stand-up comedian, actor and author of "Zombie Spaceship Wasteland."

What happens in the last episode of "30 Rock"? Easy. Jack and Liz get together. That’s what it says here in the script they sent me. I play the minister who marries them in the final scene. Wait, am I not supposed to be revealing this?

Rachel Shukert, author of the forthcoming novel "Starstruck":

My fantasy is that Tina Fey will break the fourth wall during the "30 Rock" series finale and tell us that the last year has been a total fake-out and the show isn’t ending at all. But this seems unlikely. Still, it feels only appropriate for a show so unabashedly about the glories (and failures) of television itself to take inspiration from the great series finales of the past. So here goes.

Lizzing to keep from crying: Reflecting on “30 Rock’s” best episodes

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Heartbreakingly, “30 Rock” will air its very last episode on Thursday. Rather than cry about it, here are 10 episodes to make you laugh — and remind you just how zany and hilarious “30 Rock” has been. It’s been so great, in fact, that it’s hard to pick just 10 episodes: Regrettably absent from this list are Jackie Jormp-Jormp, Liz’s Princess Leia impersonation, Jon Hamm and many, many other utterly delightful absurdities. But for now, dig into Dennis Duffy, Joan of Snark, Kim Jong-il — and Lizzing!!!

BONUS: Relive the magic of this, the perfect scene from the perfect "30 Rock" episode.

Is “30 Rock” just “The Muppet Show” with humans?

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Over the summer, while on vacation, my partner, Dustin, and I decided to watch the first season of “The Muppet Show.” We marveled at the guest stars — Juliet Prowse, Ruth Buzzi, Joel Grey. And then we marveled at the way Kermit was troubleshooting an issue with Scooter, whose new dog demanded his own dressing room. And in a later episode, he was ego-massaging Miss Piggy. I realized … I was watching Liz Lemon.

"Liz Lemon is Kermit," I said to Dustin. "The Muppet Show" is "30 Rock"!

I tested my theory on a Facebook thread: Jenna is Miss Piggy. Kenneth is Scooter. Tracy is … possibly Gonzo? That was a tougher one to cast. On the thread, a friend led me to a blog post by comic-book writer Brian Lynch, from 2009. It turns out I was not the first person to have this revelation. Brian had some tough words for "30 Rock" — perhaps in jest (tone on the Internet can be hard to parse). He wrote, “Tina Fey's ‘30 Rock’ is currently the most acclaimed comedy series on television. It's won numerous Emmys and Golden Globes and I think Pulitzers. Critics and audiences alike love the show and its lovable zany characters, and consider it one of the most original comedies in years. And I guess it is original … if you've never seen ‘The Muppet Show.’ Because, my ‘friends’ (in quotes because I don't know or trust you, please don't be offended), Tina Fey's ‘30 Rock’ is quite obviously ripping off Jim Henson's beloved TV show.”