Tina Fey's Palin impersonation has led Andrew to check out 30 Rock. Same here: and I agree with him that the first series takes a while to get going. Initially, I was disappointed that the show failed to live up to its glowing reviews. 'Best TV comedy since Friends'? Hardly. One of the things I admire about the best US comedy shows is the way they present sympathetic characters in believable story-lines - unlike many of their British equivalents, with their tired cardboard stereotypes - as well as making you laugh. In fact, the comic impact is often enhanced because you believe in, and empathise with, the characters. By contrast, the characters in 30 Rock often come across as two-dimensional, and the situations in which they find themselves merely wacky set-ups for clever one-liners.
The good news is, it gets better. When we were in the US last week, we bought the second season on DVD, and it's much funnier. The characters have greater depth and the political in-jokes are sharper, as is the use of cameo celebrity appearances.
As for Andrew's comment about Tina Fey's effect on left-wing heterosexual males: I couldn't agree more.
1 comment:
Yeah, I wasn't too impressed by the first few episodes - it seemed ok, but I couldn't understand all the fuss. Definitely improved, though, and it's good to hear S2 is better.
I find myself hoping Ms. Palin will stay in the public eye, just so there'll be more Tina Fey SNL sketches. My priorities are perhaps a bit miscalibrated.
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