Third-episode verdict time for 30 Rock. A big thumbs up from me now, after having had a few reservations about its first episode. Tina Fey and co have looked at the pilot, asked themselves what their weaknesses were (drama) and what their strengths are (comedy, Alec Baldwin) and rejigged everything accordingly.
So there’s a far higher density of cracking comedy per minute than drama and Alec Baldwin is getting the well deserved spotlight. His character is an inadvertently evil executive who has developed demographics to such a fine art that he can sum up anyone by their demographic group with just a glance, a talent that reaches a climax in a dead-on Hannibal Lecter-esque analysis of one character in the third episode.
Despite its low-ratings, I’m hoping this will continue (and get picked up by a network in the UK). It doesn’t quite have that must-see quality that will keep you coming back, but if you do, you’ll be glad you did.
