30 Rock: Season 1

30 Rock is one of the best comedies to come around in a while. It has the kind of zany feel of Arrested Development, and a lot of great throwaway one-liners. Terrific writing and acting all-around. It also has the improvisational feel of shows like AD, the Office, and Larry Saunders.The show it reminds me of most though is NewsRadio (also heavily improvised), with Jack Donaghy as the Jimmy James wife-seeking magnate, and Liz Lemon as a hybrid of Lisa and Dave (Foley), his handler/buffer to the workplace crazies: Kenneth/Andy Dick; Jenna/Beth; Tracy/Bill McNeil (the beloved Phil Hartman); Twofer/Catherine; writers/Joe the electrician.The show is shot in widescreen, which I like, and is beautifully directed. It has some great guest appearances, esp towards the end of the season when everyone related to Jack comes out of Crazytown -- Elaine Stritch, Isabella Rosselini (ex-wife Bianca, rhymes w/"Willy Wonka"), Nathan Lane, Molly Shannon, among others.I would give the season itself 4.5 stars.The DVD set is a must for all fans, but as a DVD set, it's pretty weak on the extras, hence the 4-stars. The episode commentaries are done individually, not in groups (with the exception of Lorne Michaels and his son? nephew? it's all very confusing), which isn't a great way to do them, as a rule, because it's just one person commenting and provides no exchange of group opinions or Q&A.Also, I found a few of them rather useless (long stretches of silence, repeated info from other or even the same commentary track). Tina Fey's was pretty good, but the rest were so-so. I'm sorry, but the sense that Alec Baldwin is "watching along" with me during a long stretch of silence cut only by appreciative chuckling does not a commentary make.But I didn't buy the DVDs for the extras, and I'm guessing you won't either (at least I hope not)! I just set the episodes on "play all" and skip the extras.

30 Rock and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip begin their runs in the same season. Studio 60 lasted only one season, but I have to believe it was only because it probably cost five times as much to produce as 30 Rock. It is only on the basis of a comparison with Studio 60 that I have to give 30 Rock only 4 stars, because it simply did not have be begging to see the next episode, and staying up late to watch one more episode on DVD.It is a funny show, although it seems to take time to establish the key characters. It has three engaging characters and several nice guest stars (For the life of me, I don't know why Rachel Dratch was not listed as a regular cast member.) If it had any strengths compared to Studio 60, it was its simplicity. Just watch Tina, Tracy, and Alec, and you won't miss any of the relatively obvious jokes.From the point of view of the DVDs, I will probably watch the one season of Studio 60 once every two years or so (just like "The West Wing" and "Sports Night"), but I doubt I will watch 30 Rock more than once more. I'm still undecided if I want to buy any additional seasons on DVD. I may just wait until I get a Verizon Fire box so I can order episodes directly to TV from the internet.

Tina Fey's brilliant 30 ROCK is a hard edged, but never cruel, modern satire of corporate life and pop culture. It's fun, surprising and often fast paced.30 ROCK may seem like a farce, but in it's own humorous way it touches on real issues. For example, 'The Baby Show' episode where Liz Lemon gets overwhelmed by baby mania, or 'The C Word', where Liz faces a real world problem that confronts many middle managers, whether they should be friends or bosses for their staff.The extras for the Series are fun although I would have liked to have seen an interview with Tina Fey in there.The early episodes are a bit slow to get going, but still fun. I recommend newbies to the 30 ROCK series, start with Disk 2, and return to Disk 1 after they have built up an appreciation for the characters and storyline. Disk 1 episodes give some of the origin and background story .

The folks at Saturday Night Live are probably still kicking themselves for letting Tina Fey go, but if you liked her on SNL you'll love 30 Rock. The dynamic between Tina Fey's character and Alec Baldwin's is a kick, and Tracey Morgan and Jane Krakowski are wonderful too. I don't live in the States, so I decided to wait for the dvd release rather than download the show on iTunes (which won't be an option any longer if the rumors I hear are true). It was worth the wait, because I don't want to sit at my desktop to watch the show, but some of the extras were a tad weak. I understand that Tina Fey is busy writing AND acting AND producing, but I expected more than what was offered; Kenny, the Page's interview show is especially bad. But overall I love the show and the dvd was worth the wait. Can't wait for season 2!

OK. this was supposed to be a vey big thing. A very big thing. Tina Fey stars in a seres about a New York comedy show writer based loosely on her experiences on SNL (probably). From an european point of view the first two episodes are really a putt-off and not that god, probably because of a lack of focaus. Also there is that ultra-hip NY attitude taht is not that great. Needless to say there re few laughs in the ifrst episodes. However over the seson the whole ting improves and actually gains in depth. The storyline becomes much more clear and the characters tend to focus more. Lemon (Fey's character) actually gains in depth over the series and we notice how the whole series actulla deepens in strucure over the season. In he end we have a winner in this series and we expect it to improve and overcome some of its limitations (such as A Baldwin).

Present for my brother in law

Vorrei anche le altre stagioni in italiano !!! É una vergogna che non siano state prodotte

Honestly, hilarious. Alec Baldwin is soooo funny in this role. If you haven't seen it yet -- totally worth the watch. Received by mail in perfect condition.

Secondo me ha equilibrii perfetti: quasi surreale ma ancorata alle persone ed ai fatti con caratterizzazione psicologica credibile, gran bel ritmo ma sempre fluente. Cocktail molto azzeccato, risate garantite senza inutili volgarità o semplificazioni.

Tina Fey