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By Dave Lake
MSN TV
To borrow a phrase from VH1, Tina Fey is having the best week ever -- or maybe best weeks ever is more precise. In September, her show "30 Rock" won five Emmys, including one for Best Comedy and a pair for Fey's acting and writing. As if that wasn't enough, her Sarah Palin impression, which she brought to the airwaves of former employer "Saturday Night Live," has been a viral video sensation, logging more than 60 million online streams, helping propel "SNL" ratings to their best in 14 years. But will all this buzz finally translate into high ratings for the new season of her beloved "30 Rock," which premieres Oct. 30 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on NBC?
Though the show has won the Emmy for Best Comedy series two years running, the accolades haven't translated into ratings. For those who haven't seen the series -- and there are plenty who haven't -- the show follows Liz Lemon (Fey) and her oddball group of staffers behind the scenes at a "Saturday Night Live"-type sketch comedy show. Last season, the show averaged 6.5 million viewers, the lowest of all of NBC's Thursday-night comedies. To put that number in perspective, the night's highest-rated series, "CSI," attracted 18 million viewers weekly. There have been plenty of critically lauded series that haven't found an audience, most recently "Arrested Development," which lasted three seasons before FOX finally pulled the plug. With the third season of "30 Rock" approaching, it's possible the same fate might befall NBC's prestigious yet underwatched comedy before season's end.
The series, which boasts a terrific cast including Alec Baldwin (who took home the Emmy for his role as network boss Jack Donaghy), Jane Krakowski and Tracy Morgan, is perhaps equally well known for its varied list of guest stars ranging from Carrie Fisher to LL Cool J. This season the series ups the ante by offering up appearances from Jennifer Aniston, Steve Martin, Salma Hayek and some woman named Oprah.
In the Season 3 premiere, Jack Donaghy surprises Liz by returning to 30 Rock to reclaim the job he lost to his rival Devin Banks (Will Arnett) at the end of last season. After groveling his way to a position in the mailroom, he tells Liz he plans to work his way back up. "The last time, it took me 22 years," he says. "But this time I think I can do it in 9." Meanwhile Liz is busy trying to adopt a child and must impress Bev, the adoption agency's tough-as-nails representative, played by Megan Mullally ("Will & Grace"), a doppelganger for Fey the way Fey is for Palin. But when Bev decides to pay Liz a visit at her workplace, keeping her co-workers at bay becomes a difficult task. One of the funniest exchanges in the episode, however, is a face-off between Jack and Devin, who Jack discovers intends to drive the company into the ground. "Think about the jobs," Jack pleads. "The economy -- this is G.E.!"
"It's just G now Jack," Devin fires back. "I sold the E. to Samsung. They're Samesung now."
The premiere's other story line involves a feud between Jenna (Krakowski) and Tracy (Morgan) over his nonpayment of residuals for the voice-over work she did on his best-selling pornographic video game ("61 million copies at $60 each!" Tracy boasts). The feud carries over into Episode 2, where, after each decides the other has it harder in America, they engage in a social experiment: Tracy dresses as a white woman (think the Wayans brothers in "White Chicks") and Jenna dons black face (think Gene Wilder in "Silver Streak"), which culminates in a hilarious hallway confrontation. Oh (or should I say O), and let's not forget Oprah, who parodies herself in Episode 2 as Liz's seat mate on a flight back from Chicago.
If ever there was a time for "30 Rock" to grab a larger share of the audience, this is it. During the past few weeks, it's been hard to avoid hearing someone talking about Fey either on one of the many 24-hour cable news channels, on blogs or at the office water cooler. And in this season's first two episodes, "30 Rock" feels like it always has -- uneven at times, but with its rapid-fire dialogue, razor-sharp wit and top-notch performances intact, which help to elevate it to one of the funniest shows on television. The only thing going against the premiere is that the second episode is stronger than the first. Oh, and the fact that Fey isn't dressed up as Sarah Palin in the episode (though we do see her in Princess Leia garb in Episode 2).
No matter what happens with the series, it isn't likely to slow Fey down. Aside from starring in and writing her series, she's also a movie star, a mom, an American Express spokesperson and a soon-to-be author (she reportedly pocketed a $6 million advance for a collection of essays). However, if the show can't muster more substantial ratings, NBC will have no choice but to cancel its most prestigious series. Awards are nice, but ratings are better. On another network, one not bound to advertising dollars -- say HBO or Showtime -- a critically acclaimed show with modest viewership could thrive (I'm looking at you "The Wire"), but Fey and "30 Rock" don't have that luxury, at least at the moment. Then again the stars of "The Wire" never took home a $6 million book deal either.
Preview the premiere here, or tune in to NBC at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on
Thursday.
