A Pack of Dogs Took Over and Successfully Ran A Wendy's

So, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think 30 Rock might actually be on a bit of an upswing. I still think there are massive characterization and direction problems, but I think the show is returning to one of the writers' comedic strengths: lists. This might seem like a weird thing to single out, but the show is uniquely genius at lists, whether it's marketing categories ("They love him in every demographic: colored people, broads, fairies, commies. Gosh, we gotta update these forms.") or monologues and dialogues, where the show has always excelled at lists. One of the first notable such lists was Jack's second-season confession of love for C.C., which is both an internal and hilarious group list:

Jack: [about C.C.] She is my lover. That's right. She's my liberal, hippy-dippy mama; my groovy chick; my old lady. She was our chief adversary during the Sheinhardt Wig hearings. She wants to tax us all to death and make it legal for a man to marry his own dog. But I think what we have is special, and I'm proud of her. And I'm not going to hide it any longer. I'm Jack Donaghy, damn it! And this is my woman.

[Others begin confessing their secrets.]

Man #1: I gave to NPR last year.

Woman: My children go to public school.

Man #2: I'm gay.

Man #3: I'm black.

C.C.: Jack, thank you so much. And I just wanted you to know that in 1984 I voted for Ronald Reagan.

Man #1: I murdered my wife.

The genius really comes from the fact that the joke goes full circle with C.C.'s confession—and then keeps going.


Later, there was Jack's Catholic confession:

I'm divorced. I take the Lord's name in vain often and with great relish. I hit my mother with a car, possibly by accident. [jump cut] ...I almost let him choke to death right there on the football field. I looked the other way when my wig-based parent company turned a bunch of children orange. I once claimed "I am God" during a deposition. [jump cut] and... I may have sodomized our former Vice President while under the influence of some weapons-grade narcotics. [sighs] It feels good to say that out loud actually. That one was weighing on me.

And then Tracy's brilliant recitation of his traumatic childhood:





I do think Jack's lessons to his future child may have been even better than this, though. The arc ran longer, was harder to sustain, and ended in a sweet and sour nod to Jack's relationship with Liz. That's the core thing the show needs to figure out and improve, and that it won't be great again until it resolves. But in the interim, and even if it never does, juxtaposition humor is hard. It's an accomplishment for 30 Rock to consistently nail it.