30 Rock

30 Rock

30 Rock is an American satirical television sitcom created by Tina Fey that ran on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live, takes place behind the scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy show depicted as airing on NBC. The series's name refers to 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, the address of the Comcast Building, where the NBC Studios are located and where Saturday Night Live is written, produced, and performed. This series is produced by Broadway Video and Little Stranger, Inc., in association with NBCUniversal. 30 Rock episodes were produced in a single-camera setup (with the exception of the two live episodes that were taped in the multiple-camera setup), and were filmed in New York. The pilot episode premiered on October 11, 2006, and seven seasons followed. The series stars Fey with a supporting cast that includes Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, Scott Adsit, Judah Friedlander, Katrina Bowden, Keith Powell, Lonny Ross, John Lutz, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, and Maulik Pancholy. Tonally, 30 Rock uses surreal humor to parody the complex corporate structure of NBC and its then parent company General Electric. Television critic Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club once remarked that it "usually adopts the manic pacing of a live-action cartoon." The show was influential in its extensive use of cutaways: sudden, short cuts to unrelated scenes showing something the characters are briefly discussing. 30 Rock also became known for its dedication to making sets extremely elaborate, once showing a set that took three days to build for only six seconds of video. 30 Rock won several major awards (including Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2007, 2008, and 2009 and nominations for every other year it ran), and appeared on many critics' year-end "best of" 2006–2013 lists. On July 14, 2009, the series was nominated for 22 Primetime Emmy Awards, the most in a single year for a comedy series. Over the course of the series, it was nominated for 103 Primetime Emmy Awards and won 16, in addition to numerous other nominations and wins from other awards shows. Despite the high praise, the series struggled in the ratings throughout its run, something of which Fey herself has made light. In 2009, Comedy Central and WGN America bought the syndication rights to the show, which began airing on both networks on September 19, 2011; the series also entered into local broadcast syndication on the same day. Today, 30 Rock is regarded as a landmark series. Its series finale in particular has been named as one of the greatest in television history by several publications. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America West named 30 Rock the 21st best-written television series of all time.

Genre: Comedy
Year:
2006
13,587 Views

Kenneth Parcell:
NBC had the first two black characters on TV... sort of. For "Alfie & Abner," NBC hired one African-American and one Caucasian because they thought two black people on the same show would make the audience nervous; a rule NBC still uses today!

Tracy Jordan:
[Scene changes to a black & white 1950s TV show, Alfie & Abner. Tracy Morgan enters dressed in fine clothes as Alfie] Abner, I'm home from work! Where are you, my brother?

Abner:
[Entering in ragged overalls with dirt on his face and an afro wig: a blackface character:] Here I is, Alfie!

Tracy Jordan:
[Offended:] Aw hell no, I'm not doing this!

Kenneth Parcell:
[Scene changes back to Kenneth and the TGS crew] NBC received a lot of complaints... that the show wasn't on often enough. So they forced Theodore Freeman to honor his contract.

Abner:
[Walks in carrying a large catfish] I's done stole'd dis catfish!

Tracy Jordan:
Sir, I'm asking you as a human being to please stop talking like that!

Abner:
I's gon' eat it until I'm belly-full!

Tracy Jordan:
This is debasing to the both of us. I was a Tuskegee Airman!

Abner:
Zip-a-dee-doo-doo!

Tracy Jordan:
You may anger me, but I believe non-violence is the path to change.

Abner:
I believe you can catch a rainbow in yo hat!

Tracy Jordan:
I'll kill you, you ignorant cracker!

[Breaks a chair over Abner's head, knocking him out]

Kenneth Parcell:
[Cuts back to the TGS crew, Kenneth still telling the story:] Believe it or not, they did not stop doing the show. which made for tense but thrilling live TV!

[Cuts back to "Alfie & Abner," where Alfie and Abner sit across from each other in awkward silence. Abner is obviously scared to death. Alfie is waiting for Abner to say something, giving him a death glare. Abner looks at Alfie, not sure what to say. Finally, after a long, awkward silence:
]

Abner:
BANJO!

[Alfie tackles Abner, and the screen cuts to a "Technical Difficulties" message]

Aaron Sorkin:
[Liz is in a reception area waiting to meet with Nick Lachey about a writing job] You here for the "Sing-Off" gig?

Liz Lemon:
Yeah. Do I know you?

Aaron Sorkin:
You know my work. Walk with me.

[Sorkin stands up and Liz follows]

Aaron Sorkin:
I'm Aaron Sorkin. "The West Wing," A Few Good Men, The Social Network.

Liz Lemon:
"Studio 60"?

Aaron Sorkin:
Shut up.

Aaron Sorkin:
Do you know Nick Lachey? I hear he doesn't even let you sit in the meeting; he just screams at you to see how you react.

Liz Lemon:
Wait, you're not really applying for this job, are you?

Aaron Sorkin:
'Course I am. You've got to take work where you find it, especially now. Our craft is dying while people are playing "Angry Birds" and poking each other on Facebook. What is poking anyway? Why won't anybody do it to me? I'm cool.

Liz Lemon:
So it's really that bad out there. I mean, you're Aaron Sorkin. Speaking of "Angry Birds," do you know how to beat 11-4? It's just a red guy and a green guy.

Aaron Sorkin:
The key is do not use the green guy as a boomerang.

Liz Lemon:
Did we just go in a circle?

Aaron Sorkin:
Listen, lady - a gender I write extremely well if the story calls for it - this is serious. We make horse buggies. The first Model T just rolled into town.

Liz Lemon:
We're dinosaurs.

Aaron Sorkin:
We don't need two metaphors. That's bad writing. Not that it matters.

Assistant:
Mr. Sorkin? Mr. Lachey will see you now.

Aaron Sorkin:
[Sorkin walks into the office] Mr. Lachey. Huge fan! Huge fan. I have all your albums.

Liz Lemon:
Jack was right, people don't want an idea bomb dropped on them.

Tracy Jordan:
Don't give up! That is not the Lisa Loeb that I know!

Liz Lemon:
How do I even vote? New York is going to go for Obama anyways. Maybe if I lived in Ohio I could make a difference.

Tracy Jordan:
Actually no, Ohio is going to go for Romney.

Liz Lemon:
You don't know which way Ohio is going.

Tracy Jordan:
But I do know! Liz Lemon, I've done standup in every state in this country. I know the people of America! I know how they think! [holds up a US map puzzle] I can tell you exactly how this election is gonna play out.

Jack Donaghy:
Everyone knows that Romney has a vacation home in New Hampshire, but they don't know that he hunts people on that property. Therefore, New Hampshire goes to Obama.

Tracy Jordan:
North Carolina goes to Romney. I know, I did shows there this summer, and they are not on board with a black man lecturing them. I don't care if it's Obama talking about health care, or me talking about white butts. They are different than black butts!

Jack Donaghy:
Pennsylvania is Obama's. The voting machines there have become sentient, and are strongly in favor of gay marriage.

Tracy Jordan:
We're not gonna win Wisconsin, I don't know why.

Jack Donaghy:
Ever since Tracy set fire to Lambeau Field, Wisconsinites are strongly coming around in favor of the death penalty. That just leaves...

Tracy Jordan:
Florida, the penis of America!

Jack Donaghy:
Florida, the penis of America.

Tracy Jordan:
Now just like any penis, Florida is very complicated. The Cubans in the South - very conservative. I had a lot of expensive cigars put out on me in Miami comedy clubs.

Jack Donaghy:
But central Florida is dominated by retirees, serial killers, and secretly gay Disney princes, all of whom love Obama. Meanwhile, Northern Florida... huh.

Tracy Jordan:
The only crowds I could never figure out were in Northern Florida. One minute they're laughing at me, the next they're laughing at me.

Jack Donaghy:
According to this, the electorate there is impossible to predict. It's a combination of elderly shut ins, beach bums, bus passengers...

Tracy Jordan:
Bus passengers that ran out of money, swamp people, and pirates! These people don't like being told what to do, they just want to sit on the beach and drink. Their motto is "Unwindulax".

Liz Lemon:
Oh my god! One person can make a difference, and that person is Jenna!

Jack Donaghy:
The next president of the United States will be chosen by Jenna Maroney!


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