30 Rock Watch: Subway Series
NBC
Spoilers for last night's 30 Rock coming up after the jump:
So far season 4 of 30 Rock has been fixed on the issue of real vs. fake America, which in meta terms of the show's own concerns, means: are the same things entertaining in Middle America as on the coasts?
The plot of "Audition Day" wasn't explicitly concerned with this, but in a way the episode was itself a test of this. Because while I thought it was an amusing episode overall, some of the funniest parts—to me, anyway—were so New York-centric that I don't know if they could have been as funny to someone who hasn't spent time here.
Specifically, I mean the subplot of Jack and his bedbugs. (They are, in fact, a big problem in New York City, though I know the city didn't invent the critters. So are street robots.) When Jack's leper status drives him to roam the subways seeking human connection, I'm sure it made fans laugh outside NYC. But if you've done a lot of subway riding, you know what exactly the writers accomplished here: Jack's spiel is a note-perfect, almost word-for-word re-creation of a standard subway-panhandler's patter: ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry to bother you, I need to get my medication, if you could find it in your hearts to, etc. Likewise, there are in fact roving a capella group who have made "This Little Light of Mine" the unofficial national anthem of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. I'm sure the scene was a kick regardless, but having seen the reference adds another layer to the joke, which is probably one of many reasons we Fake Americans here see 30 Rock as the home team.
Beyond that, the Jenna and Tracy subplot had them hitting the same notes they have so far with the new-cast-member arc, though I loved Jenna's "You don't think I've been brought in on a million auditions just to make Kim Cattrall seem grounded and human?" Mainly, though, I was glad this episode gave the underused Pete something to do. Floodgate wheels are horizontal!
But you tell me. Did it play in Peoria?
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1
Not sure about Peoria, but the subway scenes/street robots played just fine here in Chicago as a regular rider on the El trains....
Personally, I was more interested in your take on the show's product placement jokes...I was a huge fan of the Cisco bit, which was hysterical and pretty organic to the bedbug story....
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1.1
I liked the Cisco jokes fine, but it does seem like the show has gone to that well so often.
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1.2
The Cisco jokes are maybe the fifth time they've done the "Look how hilariously obvious we are being about product placement." It's not funny anymore. I'll say it again, it was first and best done in friggin' Waynes World forever ago. Now it's just a commercial in the middle of an episode.
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1.3
The Cisco thing might have been a little more organic if there hadn't been an [actual] Cisco ad in the commercial break just before the second act started. It was, to paraphrase Tracy's MJ comment, "too soon." The ad was even demoing the same conference system, which makes the whole endeavor too cute by a half.
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2
Any chance we get a post about how FlashForward destroyed their whole premise last night?
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3
It sounds like you were as amused as I was by "Audition Day," and unless the bedbugs were uproarious to you, then it played well all over.
I do like in-jokes even if I'm not in on them: Venture Bros., which is not my favorite show, has been worth watching for a couple years almost solely for the Bill Bruford line in "Perchance To Dean," last Sunday's new episode. Because I am a drummer and he is one of my favorites, VB has won my attention for the rest of the season from that single line. So while I am not in NY, enjoying your bedbugs, I like hearing that 30 Rock has catered to a smaller segment of the population; while lowest common denominator humor feels insulting to me, and smarter jokes win my favor, these demographic-specific jokes can make one feel truly singled out and that will keep me coming back.
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4
New York features prominently in enough movies/tv/etc. that while I've never experienced it, I "got" it. It was funny, though I'm sure it would have been funnier if I was "in" on the regional humor.
My favorite part though, was something that has 30 rock has never done for me before -- I want to know what happens next! So many of the episodes can be taken alone, or wrap up neatly, but this one left me wanting to know where the plot was going. Who is going to be under all that silver make-up?? I feel a "horrible mistake gone terribly right" coming on.
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5
Even up here in Canada the jokes translated. Great episode and educational. Everyone should know that floodgate wheels are horizontal.
I'm a big Pete fan, so I was glad he's be utilized.
And I think we can all agree that what 30 Rock was missing was a street robot.As far as Flash Forward goes, it's just getting worse.
I especially liked when Mark threw the dental floss across the bathroom. Not as dramatic as glass, but a great option for the clean-up conscious character.
But I don't know what to think about the agent committing suicide when he had had a vision. It messes with the "script is already written" thing, but I can't help but think that it was done because this makes writing the actual script a little easier. Maybe I'm just cynical. -
6
I'm in Los Angeles. We've heard that billions of dollars (mostly federal) have been buried in a subway system. I've never met anyone who has actually been down there. So, no, Jack's bit on the subway meant nothing to me, and I didn't think it was funny on any level.
Yes, the Cisco bit was funny with the first line, then the second. By the third, it had degenerated to tedious.
"30 Rock" has rarely met my expectations. "The Office" and, now, "Parks & Recreation" almost always do. I don't think "Community" ever will.
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7
I think perhaps you think New York is more mysterious than it is.
New York culture sets the tone for American Culture in a lot of way, that's why one our papers of record is the New York Times.
While a comparatively small number of Americans have lived in New York, a large number of Americans have visited New York. Which means you're in on the bed bug and subway joke. (Also, that happens on every subway or el.)
- poniewozik @peteramescarlin That what I thought too, but I assume Kurtz knew the circumstances at his paper. Dunno more than that. - 5 hours ago
- poniewozik WaPo's TV ace Lisa DeMoraes offered reassignment under LA bureau closing. http://bit.ly/5fn6D2 (via @mathewi) - 6 hours ago
- poniewozik @TeresaKopec Love kielbasa. Last year I BBQed a turkey, so also threw some lamb ribs on the BBQ b/c I had room. Beat hell out of turkey. - 6 hours ago
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