Silvercup Studios - 4222 22nd Street, Long Island City, Queens, New York City, New York, USA. ET, but NBC ’s affiliate stations have opted out of broadcasting the special. It played better the second way. Even worse, she called his vanity license plate inscrutable! The best material was front-loaded into the beginning: the chemistry, even over teleconferencing, of Tracy Morgan and Jane Krakowski; Jack slapping Liz through a new feature of his iPhone 40 (in a gag that tweaked Peacock for not having the rights to “Friends”); a fantastic throwaway bit in which Tracy Jordan (Morgan) reads the entire dictionary in front of a green screen so that his acting can be rendered by computer. Like much pandemic TV, this was not something the public would ever have seen in normal times. But it’s still, ultimately, only as fun as being read a list of ad-sales talking points can be. This is the fifth episode of the third season of 30 Rock and it's a really funny, though good-natured mean-spirited episode if that makes any sense. There is comedy, kind of, in watching Tracy Jordan read you a list of ad-sales talking points. Title: The big-hearted comedy of “Parks and Recreation” — an NBC sitcom of its time in a different way — adapted to the big emotions of the pandemic in its own reunion. Since so many spots were for programming that is theoretically available only in a misty future when normal-ish life returns — a sitcom with Kenan Thompson and Don Johnson, the 20[who knows?] On those networks, the One-Time Special will air on Friday, July 17 at 9 p.m. You become aware, like a peacock in gradually boiling water, that you are not just watching a skit about a corporate stunt; you are immersed in the stunt itself. The “ 30 Rock ” reunion airs this Thursday at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. (04 Dec 2008). By. It cast company talent in gently mocking cameos, as the special did with stars including Khloé Kardashian and Jimmy Fallon. Tina Fey reprised her Liz Lemon role in a “30 Rock” reunion special that doubled as an ad for NBCUniversal. The show's reunion special will feature the … 30 Rock is returning in July for an NBCUniversal Upfront event that will double as a reunion special and an event celebrating the stories and talents slated for … Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Jane Krakowski on a ‘30 Rock' Reunion and the 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' Interactive Special. We’d spent an hour watching “30 Rock” do exactly that. Not even a block of night cheese could make "30 Rock: A … One of NBC's most acclaimed comedies of the past 20 years, 30 Rock pumped its fanbase up earlier this year by announcing the remote reunion special. It made comedy out of real-life corporate mandates, as in “Greenzo,” an episode about an environmentalist mascot that came out of an actual network-wide “Green Is Universal” programming requirement. After Don Geiss wakes from his coma and tells Jack that he plans to remain as CEO, a snow-in forces Jack to go with Liz to her high school reunion--where Liz learns, much to her surprise, that she was the class bully. and CNBC, though not on Hulu. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. The upfronts often feature skits, live or recorded, in which the network talent is drafted to perform for the suits. At 8 p.m. Eastern — in those markets where affiliates had not pre-empted the special because it promoted a streaming competitor — it was … nice, for a while. 30 Rock: "Reunion" Nathan Rabin. And look, at 4 in the afternoon in a room of midlevel executives looking forward to free drinks at the after-party, all of this would have killed. We already saw an example of this when the show shelved several old episodes that featured blackface, the ’00s “edgy” comedy writer’s go-to answer to “What’s the most excruciatingly inappropriate thing we can have a character do?” (It’s telling that so many examples — in “The Office,” “Community” and “Scrubs” as well — came in marquee NBC sitcoms. It's also good to have back the ever-charming Rip Torn as Don Geiss.In this episode, "Reunion," Don Geiss finally awakens from his coma and tells Jack that he will remain as CEO for time-being. [Editor’s Note: The following review contains spoilers for the “30 Rock” reunion, “30 Rock: A One-Time Special.”]. But jokingly. I really loved the reveal that Liz used to be a bully and in a sense kind of still is. Reunion Daniel Kreps Daniel … Tonight 30 Rock returns for an all-new reunion special tackling the recent COVID-19 pandemic with its trademark acerbic wit. NBC's '30 Rock' reunion special is a forgettable, mostly unfunny infomercial. But global health crisis or no, it’s hard to imagine how the razor-edged cynicism of “30 Rock” — which spoofed media synergy and amorality as ridiculous but inept — would fit into a moment when the actual president is a crossover character from an NBC reality show. Use the HTML below. It is one of the iron laws of reality in 2020, and it was awkwardly proved by the weird, recursively ironic reunion “30 Rock: A One-Time Special” Thursday night, in which a sitcom that spent years spoofing corporate TV’s desperate salesmanship took part in the big shill seriously. ), The special seemed to allude to this when Jenna Maroney (Krakowski, who was in some of the blackface instances) halfheartedly apologized to the “This Is Us” star Mandy Moore after being “canceled” for a scatological offense, saying, “The late 2010s was a very different time.”. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. But as the plot kicks in — the sketch show “TGS” is being rebooted at the behest of the NBC-page-turned-boss Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer, also playing his own lovelorn assistant) — the gags become weaker and the plugs denser. The original cast … While the reunion spent a majority of the hour promoting NBC's content, it also gave a glimpse into what the 30 Rock characters have been up to seven years after the series finale aired. Tracy Morgan and the rest of the cast were filmed remotely. ‘30 Rock’ Reunion Review: A Few Laughs, a Lot of Blergh. I rate this episode 9/10. Here are some well-known faces from Sundance over the years, as they brought their early movies to the festival. It seems to be the most relatable episode so far, especially in the flashback scenes involving Liz. But seriously. From 2006 to 2013, it bit the hand that feeds as lustily as Liz chomps into a block of night cheese. See Tina Fey Chastise Non-Mask Wearers in ’30 Rock’ Reunion Teaser 30 Rock: A One-Time Special premieres July 16th. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. 30 Rock: A One Time Special airs Thursday, July 16 on NBC, and will be available to stream the next day, July 17, on Peacock. The TV-biz satire spent a joking-not-joking night selling NBCUniversal TV, winking so hard that it injured itself. With Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer. She gushed all over Alec Baldwin, deservedly, but otherwise dismissed the rest of the show and called Tracy Morgan irritating and hard to watch. The 12 … Shut it down!). USA TODAY. (Dealbreaker! The 30 Rock reunion special was a joyless Peacock ad: Review. First, it was Parks and Rec.This time, it’s 30 Rock, as NBC announced Tina Fey and the gang would be reprising their roles for a special reunion episode in July. Episode cast overview, first billed only. Share Share Tweet Email Comment. Was this review helpful to you? Directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller. Guest stars in this episode include Susan Barrett, Marceline Hugot, Robyn Lively, Janel Moloney, Diane Neal, Rip Torn, and Steve Witting. This FAQ is empty. When the show moves from biting to gently nibbling the hand that feeds, you lose a certain energy. But we already knew it was possible to wink so hard you injure yourself. ... Incidentally did anyone else read Nancy Franklin's sorta-pan of 30 Rock in The New Yorker. "Reunion" is the fifth episode of the third season of American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 41st episode of the series overall. Add the first question. What is the 30 Rock Reunion Special? The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) network in the United States on December 4, 2008. Beyond that, the special showed that, however gut-busting “30 Rock” remains in reruns, its arch, lighten-up-Francis comedy is a product of a very specific era that does not time-travel well. 30 Rock ran from 2006 to 2013 and was created by and starred Tina Fey. (Twitter/30Rock) NBC is going back to the well and reviving another beloved comedy for a special reunion episode. View production, box office, & company info. The bits are loaded with ad-business references, and the cringes generally outnumber the yuks, but there’s at least a feeling of exclusivity: You, the ambassador of corporate America, are being feted like the king who pays for the jesters’ bells. Yesterday’s satire is today’s news. Yesterday’s satire is today’s news. 2 of 2 people found this review helpful. In theory, “30 Rock” was the perfect brand for the job. However, because this 30 Rock reunion is ostensibly an advertisement, about half of NBC’s local affiliates have refused to air it for viewers tonight. 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