For this reason, “30 Rock” should be a show on more women’s radars. Sure, there’s no fist-pumping guidos, snarky vampires or musically gifted high school students, and the actors are neither young nor Hollywood-beautiful. Yet in its four years on the air the comedy has accumulated a stack of awards and high-profile guest stars that would make your head spin, so the cast must be doing something right.
It was partly my urge to solve this mystery appeal that got me to watch “30 Rock.” But the major reason I tuned in was because I was told the main character was exactly like me in 15 years. Naturally I was excited to follow the life of a beautiful, successful blonde with sparkling wit and charm.
My ego met quite a blow, however, as did my post-grad ideal. Instead of a bombshell, “30 Rock” features a frizzy- haired, collared shirt- and cardigan-wearing Liz Lemon (played by Tina Fey), head writer of a fictional NBC program similar to SNL. Liz works tirelessly to keep her writers and actors from running the show into the ground, while managing her own life as a late thirty-something, unmarried woman in New York City. Her job is thankless and her love life a wreck, but Liz has a spark that drives her to do better and try harder, and I respect that. So although her life isn’t perfect, and mine won’t be either, it’s nice to see it’s not all bad.
I did, however, purchase a hair straightener before Netflix finished buffering episode two.
Sharing the spotlight with Fey is Alec Baldwin, who I always thought of as the creepiest of the Baldwin brothers, until I saw him in the role of Jack Donaghy. His wit is as dry as it is cynical, and his delivery is flawless, providing a perfect foil for Liz’s own brand of laughably awkward comedy. The two first meet in the pilot, and after an initial clash of personalities, begin to develop a relationship that’s based in the work environment, though it becomes much more personal over time. For awhile, the show seemed to toy with the idea of Liz and Jack as a potential romance, but the addition of various other love interests for each (like Carol, the airline pilot, who reveals Matt Damon to be a closet comedic genius) prove much more entertaining.
Good thing too, as neither Lack nor Jiz is much of a couple nickname. It seems Jack and Liz will never be more than freakishly codependent friends, but that’s okay, because too much relationship drama and we wind up with “Grey’s Anatomy.” The world only needs one of those. Or better yet, none at all.
By the time Thursday night rolls around, I’m pretty burnt out. We all know that nasty Thursday evening feeling, and just about everyone could use a good laugh before tackling Friday classes. So girls, turn away from your “Sex and the City” box set for a second and set your sights on a more realistic funny-lady to distract you from midterms. Samantha may be getting laid more, but Liz Lemon can take Alec Baldwin down, and that is way cooler.
