30 Rock Season 5
Critics have been unanimous in their praise
for Tina’s Fey’s comedic brainchild 30 Rock since its inception
in 2007, and with good reason: it’s the funniest show on television, and
one rightly heralded as a comedic masterpiece by everyone from Newsday
to The New Yorker to, well, everyone in between.
And with good reason. A smart, savvy and
achingly self-aware parody of 21st century pop culture mores
and the corporate powers that control them, 30 Rock is an
endlessly seductive blend of arch self-reflexivity and hyperreal
absurdity, which somehow manages to blend in sufficient substance to
ensure you actually care about the characters which inhabit this strange
world of 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
Based loosely on Fey’s experiences as a
head writer for Saturday Night Live, the show revolves around the
frequently chaotic production of the fictional NBC variety program
The Girly Show, and writer-creator Liz Lemon’s for love, meaning and
the perfect egg salad sandwich. Fey is simply superb as the lovelorn
Lemon, and is ably backed by a uniformly brilliant supporting cast which
includes Alec Baldwin as her glib, silver-tongued boss Jack Donoghy,
Ally McBeal’s Jane Krakowski as TGS ‘s self-professed ‘star’
Jenna Maroney, Tracey Morgan as its actual star and Forgetting Sarah
Marshall‘s Jack MacBrayer as the world’s most cheerful, obedient NBC
page.
In addition to its typically strong
performances, several of which have become career defining, Season 5 of
30 Rock features some of the best writing and episodes since
Season 1, and many of the most enjoyable guest performances. Guests
this time around include SNL stalwart Will Forte as Jenna’s
boyfriend Paul (who coincidentally is a Jenna Maroney impersonator),
Robert De Niro, Matt Damon as Liz’s improbably well-adjusted pilot beau,
Mad Men’s Jon Hamm, Will Arnett and many more. It all adds to
the fun and excitement of the best show on television. 30 Rock
is not to be missed, and if you haven’t yet seen it, you have but a
couple of weeks to familiarise yourself with Seasons 1-4 before the
fifth is released locally. Don’t delay!
Special Features
- Audio Commentary by Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Jack MacBrayer, Jon Hamm,
Val Kilmer and others
- Deleted Scenes
- Behind-the-Scenes of the "Live Show"
- West Coast Version of the "Live Show"
- Jack Donaghy, Executive Superhero Animated Shorts
- Jenna's Obituary Song
