I loved Night Court back in the day, and I love 30 Rock in this day. So why didn’t I love Thursday’s retro-crossover as much as some people? Well, I took a few days and thought about it.

First off, it was jarring and kind of depressing to see how Harry Anderson, Markie Post and that guy who played Mac have aged. It’s been a few years, so it’s not surprising. But in my mind, they hadn’t aged a day. Harry looked older than Mel Torme.

And they seemed kind of uncomfortable and out of place, like they hadn’t been on a set in a while.

Then there was Jennifer Aniston. I was a Friends fan, even if it’s not hip to admit that. I was a Jennifer Aniston fan and thought she was a very talented actress, even if every movie she was ever in besides The Good Girl proved otherwise.

But as soon as she stepped out of that elevator, I was taken out of the show. And I just didn’t see what she added to the episode that a lesser known actress couldn’t have.

So what could have been an epic episode, one that paid homage to the past while continuing to break comedy ground—did Tracy say he wants to pee on someone?—ended up a mixed bag of funny jokes and too many TV cliches.

Rewatch the full episode after the jump…

There’s a saying that twice is a coincidence and three times is a trend. Well this third season is off to a disappointing three-episode start. All things are relative, and this show set a high bar for funny TV. In fact, that it’s funnier than anything else on remains a given. That the storylines could pull you and make you care about a bunch of kooks is a surprise that always makse you want to see more.

But this season has been lacking on both counts for me so far. I’ve laughed less and cared lesser.

Credit where it’s due, though, Tracy Morgan can’t speak without unleashing torrents of yuks.

“I hate to see you like this Ken Doll,” he said, noticing Kenneth’s wife eyes. “It’s like an owl without a graduation cap: heartbreaking.”

And Jenna as the were-lawyer from Season 9 of Night Court was some spooky scary jurisprudence right there.

But Aniston’s turn as Claire, Liz’s and Jenna’s wacky friend from Chicago was bad idea jeans from the start. First off, the kooky friend you never heard from before who swings into town for a few days and raises havoc before jetting off never to be heard from again felt like a retread plot. Did they pick that up at Sitcom Scripts ‘R Us?

I did like Liz describing Claire as being staunchly in favor of Cocoa Puffs, though, and the euphemism “Taking the F Train” is indeed a linguistic keeper, as is “grab-a-cop’s-gun crazy.”

But the Marilyn Monroe-esque Happy Birthday scene felt dragged out as soon as it started (and never had the potential of “sexy mannequin that comes to life”). Jack’s obsession with Claire for her psychotic, hypersexual self-loathing felt old, too.

Then there was the brief but unwanted tension when Claire mentioned a three-way with Jack and Liz. I don’t want the possibility of romantic entanglements between Liz and Jack ever to be mentioned again. Ever. Ugh.

The stuntcasting continues this week with Steve Martin, so any hope that this season’s slow start might just be blip on the radar is growing dimmer. I don’t know where the fine line falls between guests who work—Paul Reubens—and those who don’t—Jerry Seinfeld—but this show is landing on the wrong side of it more and more.

That said, here are some of the funnier moments I haven’t yet mentioned…

• Liz: “Hey, I just got a call from security.” Jenna: “That’s ridiculous. Why would I steal a file from personnel?”


• Liz: “We’re waiting for our old roomate. She’s like a human macarena, something everyone did at parties in 1996.”


• Liz: “Hey did you see our shout-out in Variety? They called us a comedy show!”


• Me Ow: “Jack, introduce me to this charming young woman.” Claire: “I am his life coach, Esmerelda Fitzmonster.”


• Tracy: “Ken has written a masterpiece. And trust me, I use that word a lot.” Kenneth: “I just want to thank y’all for making this dream come true, finally giving America what it wants, a reunion of Friends…from Night Court.”


• Jenna: “That idiot werewolf paid for my hand reduction surgery….Very well, I can take a hint. But you haven’t seen the last of Sparky Monroe!”


• Tracy: “I went upstairs and told them if you don’t bring back the old page uniforms, I refuse to play the role of Mac in Universal’s upcoming Night Court movie.” Mac: “What’s that now?”

The Office and 30 Rock hit season lows, but to in fairness, 30 Rock is performing much better than anyone (including NBC) could’ve hoped for, and The Office is hurt by two things: massive DVR viewing, and having Kath & Kim as its lead in.

Then flip-flop My Name is Earl and Kath & Kim —assuming you can’t dump it and buy Scrubs back from ABC—so The Office would have a stronger lead-in. Voila…an easy 10 million viewers apiece.