review: 30 ROCK (SEASON 1)

Universal  //  Buy from Amazon.com Liz Lemon (Tina Fey), head writer of live variety show, has enough on her hands without having to deal with brash network honcho Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) in this witty look behind the scenes of a live sketch comedy series. Donaghy, the new Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming, turns the show upside down when he insists that Liz add mentally unbalanced movie star Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) to the cast of "The Girlie Show" to attract more male viewers. Jordan's outrageous antics and Donaghy's clueless contributions to the show leave Liz little time for her already disastrous personal life. Jane Krakowski adds to the show's humor as blonde bombshell Jenna Maroney. I remember back to last summer and getting confused about the 2 "SNL-like" shows that were going to be debuting in the fall: "30 Rock" and "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" - I kept wondering why NBC would debut 2 similiar sounding shows, both with similiar-sounding premises (premi?) Well, fast-forward a season and while I did enjoy "Studio 60," it's now gone the way of the dodo bird, and "30 Rock" got past a bit of a tepid start to end up being one of the truly funniest shows on TV. Tina Fey is clearly a comedic genius, as during her tenure as head writer on SNL, the show shone like bygone eras from the mid-90s and maybe even late-70s. Alec Baldwin has proven himself time & time again as one of the funniest hosts SNL has ever had, and Tracy Morgan is just plain friggin' hilarious. Throw all 3 together and you have a beautiful melting pot of comedy, wit and laughs. I'm all in. What makes this show so fantastic is the writing, absolutely - with spot-on delivery by the actors, the script and razor-sharp (a term I keep using, but SO appropriate for this show) wit slice & dice their way through each character's flaws, charms and foils... usually leaving me in tears at the end from laughing so hard. Love this show, can't wait for season 2! Video All episodes are presented in a 16x9 anamorphic widescreen transfer, and while I was surprised at the softness of the first few episodes, the majority of the season was razor-sharp and looked as good as I remembered seeing it on HD TV. Audio Dolby 5.1 surround mix does a fine job of this nearly-entirely dialogue-driven sitcom. Extras 5 audio commentaries deleted scenes "bloopers "Evening with Kenneth" segments several behind the scenes featurettes "Makin' It Happen" mini-episodes Closing Thoughts Debut season of this razor-sharp, witty sitcom + quite a few amusing extras = excellent viewing, and hopefully a tease of what's in store for season 2!