NBC’s “30 Rock” is back tomorrow night after being absent from the airwaves since May. Producer, writer and star Tina Fey has been everywhere the past few months; she has starred in the big screen hit, “Baby Mama,” in September, she won three Emmys for “30 Rock” (the show won seven total) and has famously portrayed Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin throughout election season on “Saturday Night Live.” So, why did it take so long to bring “30 Rock” back to the Thursday Comedy-Done-Right comedy block?
Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, said to the New York Times, “If we knew then what we know today about how hot Tina was going to be, would we do it differently? Maybe.” Silverman is keen on his decision to have held off on premiering “30 Rock” in order to build the show into the hit it deserves to be.
The third season premiere, “Do-Over,” is written by Tina Fey and picks up where the show left off last season. A multitude of stories are covered including Liz (Tina Fey) wanting a child and Jack’s (Alec Baldwin) return from Washington D.C. to get his job at GE back from Devon Banks (guest star Will Arnett).
Will Arnett reprises his Emmy-nominated turn as Devon, who has maintained control over GE since the end of last season when Don Geiss (Rip Torn) fell into a coma and his daughter, Kathy (Marceline Hugot) was left to run the company. Devon had previously struck a fake relationship with Kathy in order to have the ability to fire his nemesis Jack, following the unfortunate incident with Don. Even though Devon obtained power, he is visibly struggling with the job that Jack was so skillful at.
“It’s just ‘G’ now, Jack. I sold the ‘E’ to Samsung,” Devon expresses to Jack after an apparent tryst with two other men in a wooded area.
Megan Mullally guests in the premiere as Bev, an adoption specialist, who examines Liz’s home and work life to see if she is suitable to have a child.
“I got rid of all my Colin Firth movies in case they consider them erotica,” Liz confides to Jack as she prepares for her evaluation.
The dynamic between Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin continues to impress as the two have perfect sexual chemistry that is thankfully unrealized. Jane Krakowski also shows just how valuable she is to the ensemble (she was missing from a few too many episodes last season).
While the show remains one of the best on television, the show’s humor still straddles the line between intentionally bizarre and fun, and sophomoric and forced.
The series usually takes a few episodes to get in the groove of things, so it is expected that they will continue to produce those quality episodes responsible for the acclaim the show has earned over the past two years.
In addition to Will Arnett and Megan Mullally, upcoming guest stars include Oprah Winfrey (Nov. 6), Jennifer Aniston (Nov. 13) and Steve Martin (Nov. 20). Salma Hayek is also expected to appear for a multi-episode arc as a possible love interest for Jack.
