The belated 30 Rock recap: Mamma Mia
-
- May
- 11
Mamma mia, at what point exactly did 30 Rock become a tedious soap opera with a ton of funny one-liners?
Does anyone care about Jack’s mommy issues anymore, his take on Irish families or, now, his search for his dad? Did anyone ever care? Why am I asking so many questions?
Spending half an episode on this stuff, well, that’s a deal breaker ladies! Maybe I would have liked this one better if I’d ever seen Mamma Mia. Still, I laughed a lot, so I’d have to give the show points for consistency this season if not for great storytelling. The thing is, it was always a better show when they didn’t try so much to tell a story.
That said, Tracy’s long lost son was funny and had a great Twist. I mean, sure, he knew all along the kid was actually older than him—only Liz and Pete couldn’t tell that. Like a dog in a motorcycle sidecar, things didn’t work out like you’d expect.
Still, the Tracy Jordan institute for Black Karate must be a sight. I’m thinking Lutz should swing by and pick up a few moves, because his front kick is less than impressive.
I’d never heard of white people being unable to tell the ages of black people, but the episode did convince me Tracy could be 60.
He can’t rap, he has diabetes, a lot of his friends are dead, he falls asleep in chairs, he doesn’t know how to use the computer, he’s always mad the TV and his favorite show is NCIS. That’s damning evidence right there.
(I’m not sure Grizz is 18, though.)
You know who can rap? Liz and Pete were channeling Rob Base. Kenneth too. And I would know since I’m right around the same age.
The whole plotline was worth it to hear Tracy enter the writers room and introduce his bastard to those bastards
Jenna, meanwhile, had me rolling with her latest star-making catchphrase. OK, not the catchphrase itself but her reaction to how it took off.
And you know who else loves “Deal Breaker?” Brett Michaels. We have the same publicist and she said he’d love to come here, dress in the same outfit and do it with me. And also he wants to be on the show.
You just can’t help but root for this to be her defining moment and not that hit-and-run.
It was nice to acknowledge the way stars get the glory while the writers toil in anonymity. Jenna and Liz wrote that catchprase together, meaning Jenna texted her gay friends while Liz stayed up until 4 a.m. eating fistfuls of Raisin Bran to stay awake.
Which by the way is how I’m able to ride the fart train to work every day.
I don’t know what that means, but I felt it deserved to be quoted.
So Alan Alda guest starred. I always liked Hawkeye, but I didn’t get much from his appearance here. Far funnier was the other possible-dad, who had a German grenade explode his genitals in the war. Looks like a bowl of Spaghetti-O’s down there.
At least next week’s Kidney Now! finale episode title makes a little more sense. In fact, I like where that plotline is going. Seeking out your long-lost father is annoying. Finding him and having him demand one of your kidneys is just good comic television. I want the season to end with a panicked Jack being wheeled in to surgery.
A few other things I liked…
- Not Steve Buscemi.
- Kenneth saying he likes S&M magazines. ‘S&M is my abbreviation for Super and Magical.’
- Pete: No you can’t get someone else’s birth certificate. I know because I’ve been trying to steal my dead neighbor’s identity because sometimes it feels like too much and maybe daddy just needs to get in a car and drive.
- Time Out New York going with birthing the chicken on the toilet. Also, the photographer telling Liz to act like the chicken farted.
By the way, apparently Mamma Mia wasn’t the latest McFlurry, meaning that wasn’t product placement for the Universal movie. (Universal also owns NBC.) At least, that’s what TV Decoder has concluded.
This entry was posted
on Monday, May 11th, 2009 at 11:53 am by Brian Howard.
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