30 Rock, NBC, Thursdays 9:30pm
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First of all, the title refers to 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Which is where a late-night sketch comedy show, called "The Girlie Show" (TGS) is made. The head writer of this fictional sketch show is Liz Lemon, played by Tina Fey (who we quite like), who is also the creator and writer of 30 Rock itself. I dunno if Lemon is also supposed to be like a producer or what, but she does seem to be in charge of TGS. There's also a producer named Pete Hornberger, and various writers, including a guy named Frank and someone called "Toofer." The star of TGS is Jenna Maroney (who we like), though she's kind of... I dunno, maybe a bit ditzy, sort of. And gullible. An aging ingenue... And there's also an actor named Josh, who mostly does impressions. But anyway, at the start of the 30 Rock series, a movie actor named Tracy Jordan is added to the cast of TGS. He's kind of crazy, and improvisational, a wild card, a loose cannon... whatever. And then there's an NBC executive named Jack Donaghy, played by Alec Baldwin. He interferes with TGS and generally causes stress for Lemon. And so does Tracy. And everyone, really. Oh yeah, and there's also an NBC page named Kenneth who seems rather naive and is very eager to please everyone. He's absolutely hilarious. And Liz has an assistant named Cerie (who we like), who doesn't actually do much except look hot and be kind of dumb.

Well... anyway, I like the show. I suppose I could put it in the comedy section, but as funny as it is, I just think it fits better under "quirky." It's also kind of wacky, but in a generally sort of understated, almost natural way. Except that it's all pretty unbelievable. The production seems rather rough and unpolished, to me, and I expect that's intentional. Yep, I dunno how else to describe it except that it feels kinda like real life, which oddly enough feels unnatural, when watching a TV show. I guess. Well, maybe a couple of other odd phrases come to mind, like "absurdist realism" and "over-the-top minimalism." Anyway, it can be pretty funny. And it definitely gets better the more you watch it. And I can't think what else to say right now....