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The changes prior to the debut did not help the show's early ratings. The [[Pilot (30 Rock episode)|show's pilot episode]] attracted 8.13 million viewers, third in its time slot and 58th for the week.<ref>http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-tvratingstext18oct18,0,4771545.htmlstory?coll=cl-tv-features</ref> The ratings for "[[The Aftermath (30 Rock episode)|The Aftermath]]" (the second episode) were down 21 percent.<ref name="medialife">http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_8013.asp</ref>
The changes prior to the debut did not help the show's early ratings. The [[Pilot (30 Rock episode)|show's pilot episode]] attracted 8.13 million viewers, third in its time slot and 58th for the week.<ref>http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-tvratingstext18oct18,0,4771545.htmlstory?coll=cl-tv-features</ref> The ratings for "[[The Aftermath (30 Rock episode)|The Aftermath]]" (the second episode) were down 21 percent.<ref name="medialife">http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_8013.asp</ref>


Although the second episode's ratings were revealed on the same day that NBC announced plans to replace expensive scripted shows in the 8–9pm time slot with reality series and game shows,<ref>http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=adnD7teOTjhg</ref> the network demonstrated an apparent confidence in the series a week later, announcing a new time slot for the show (Thursdays at 9:30pm ET) beginning in mid-November.<ref name="futoncritic1025" /> The move helped reestablish a two-hour block of comedies on an evening nbc once promoted as [[Must See TV]].
Although the second episode's ratings were revealed on the same day that NBC announced plans to replace expensive scripted shows in the 8–9pm time slot with reality series and game shows,<ref>http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=adnD7teOTjhg</ref> the network demonstrated an apparent confidence in the series a week later, announcing a new time slot for the show (Thursdays at 9:30pm ET) beginning in mid-November.<ref name="futoncritic1025" /> The move helped reestablish a two-hour block of comedies on an evening NBC once promoted as [[Must See TV]].


The [[Blind Date (30 Rock episode)|third episode]] attracted 6.01 million viewers, making it 73rd in Nielsen's prime-time television in the U.S.<ref>http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/cl-et-tvratingstext1nov01,0,1153653.htmlstory</ref> As [[November sweeps]] began, the show's [[Jack the Writer|fourth episode]] attracted 4.61 million viewers in its fourth week, making it 85th in Nielsen's prime-time television rankings.<ref>http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-tvratingstext8nov08,0,364549.story</ref>
The [[Blind Date (30 Rock episode)|third episode]] attracted 6.01 million viewers, making it 73rd in Nielsen's prime-time television in the U.S.<ref>http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/cl-et-tvratingstext1nov01,0,1153653.htmlstory</ref> As [[November sweeps]] began, the show's [[Jack the Writer|fourth episode]] attracted 4.61 million viewers in its fourth week, making it 85th in Nielsen's prime-time television rankings.<ref>http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-tvratingstext8nov08,0,364549.story</ref>

Revision as of 01:13, 5 March 2007

30 Rock
File:30rocklogo.jpg
Created byTina Fey
StarringTina Fey
Tracy Morgan
Jane Krakowski
Jack McBrayer
Scott Adsit
Judah Friedlander
Alec Baldwin
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes16 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersLorne Michaels
Tina Fey
Joann Alfano
Marci Klein
David Miner
Camera setupSingle-camera setup
Running time30 minutes (with commercials)
Original release
NetworkFile:Large NBC logo.pngNBC
ReleaseOctober 11, 2006 –
present

30 Rock is an American situation comedy that debuted on October 11, 2006. It airs Thursdays at 9:30pm ET on NBC in the United States, Sundays at 8:30pm ET on CTV in Canada, and Wednesdays at various times on Sony Entertainment Television in a half-dozen Latin American countries.[1]

The show was created by former Saturday Night Live (SNL) performer and head writer Tina Fey, who also stars in the show.

The show is a workplace comedy set in New York City's 30 Rockefeller Plaza ("30 Rock" being a casual nickname for the building); it follows the cast and crew of an SNL-like show-within-a-show called TGS.

Overview

Fey portrays Liz Lemon, the head writer of NBC's TGS and the show's protagonist. Alec Baldwin plays Jack Donaghy, who as the series begins is an executive from NBC parent General Electric who is the new Vice President in charge of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming; he "interferes with her show, and bullies Lemon into convincing Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), a wild and unpredictable movie star, to join the cast."[2] Jane Krakowski plays Jenna Maroney, previously the star of The Girlie Show, but now overshadowed on the renamed TGS with Tracy Jordan. Also in the cast are Jack McBrayer, Scott Adsit, and Judah Friedlander.

The show's title comes from a nickname for 30 Rockefeller Plaza, also known as the GE Building. It is used as the headquarters of NBC's New York City studios, including Studio 8H, home to Saturday Night Live.

30 Rock is filmed primarily at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, Queens, New York,[3] It is one of two shows on the 2006–07 NBC lineup that revolves around the off-camera happenings on a sketch comedy series, the other being Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.[4]

Cast

Main characters

File:30 Rock season 1 episode 1.png
Head writer of The Girlie Show, Liz Lemon (Tina Fey).
File:30 Rock season 1 episode 3.png
Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) is the Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming.
File:30 Rock season 1 episode 2.png
Tracy Jordan.
  • Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) — The protagonist of the show. Liz is the head writer of The Girlie Show. Writing for a comedy show is her dream, but she finds her dream interrupted when Jack Donaghy is made to be the new network vice president.
  • Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) — The new Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming at the network. Arrogant and sometimes foolish, he frequently tells Liz that he does not find her attractive and often gets into conflicts with her. He convinces Liz to hire Tracy as the new star of the show.
  • Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) — An unpredictable African American film actor who is hired to be the star of The Girlie Show. Tracy is hired after Jack Donaghy convinces Liz to hire him. Tracy is foul-mouthed and tries to maintain a crazy image in the public eye. His character also makes frequent references to Star Wars characters. Since he was hired to the show, the show was renamed (much to Liz's chagrin) TGS with Tracy Jordan.
  • Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) — The female lead of The Girlie Show. She is conceited and frequently lies about her age. One of her characters on the show is "Pam, the Overly-Confident Morbidly Obese Woman," for which she must wear a fat suit.
  • Kenneth Potsdown (Jack McBrayer) — A young, Southern, dense page at the studio where the show is filmed who is very enthusiastic about his job.
  • Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit) - Liz's trusted producer whom Jack Donaghy fired when he became president of the network. However, Liz convinced Jack to hire him back.
  • Frank Rossitano (Judah Friedlander) - A sarcastic and quick-witted writer for the show. He always wears a trucker hat with a short saying on the front in big capital letters.

Minor characters

  • James "Toofer" Spurlock (Keith Powell) — An African American writer with an aversion to the stereotypical aspects of black culture embodied by Tracy. According to Liz, Toofer is "afraid of black people." According to Jack, his nickname is "Toofer" because "with him you get a two-for-one; he's a black guy and a Harvard guy."
  • Josh Girard (Lonny Ross) - The final one of the three main actors on TGS (along with Tracy and Jenna). He performs impressions on the show. His parents apparently raised him as a girl for ten years.
  • Cerie (Katrina Bowden) — Liz's young and attractive assistant. She seems dim-witted at first, but shows relatively frequent flares of wisdom . . . and naivety, and she dresses inappropriately at times.
  • Dennis Duffy (Dean Winters) - Liz's on-again-off-again boyfriend who is the last remaining beeper salesman in New York City. Although Liz does not enjoy dating him, she cannot seem to break up with him despite Jack's encouragement to do so. Liz would finally dump Dennis upon learning that he is a sexual predator after she saw him on Dateline NBC being caught on camera trying to meet a teenage girl he chatted with online in one of the show's hidden camera investigations.
  • Dr. Leo Spaceman (pronounced "spa-cheh-man") (Chris Parnell) - Tracy's incompetent and unethical doctor who treats him with wildly experimental methods. He also dabbles in dentistry and specializes in fertility, meth addiction, and child psychology.
  • Rachel Dratch, also a former SNL alum, portrays various roles according to the scripts' needs. So far, Dratch has played a cat wrangler for sketches that needed animals; Elizabeth Taylor; a group therapist working as a counselor for professional relations; an imaginary blue man; a Latina maid; a prostitute; a nearly unintelligible Barbara Walters; and a Religious Right activist.

Crew

30 Rock's executive producers are Tina Fey, Joann Alfano, Marci Klein, David Miner, and Lorne Michaels. The show's co-executive producers are Robert Carlock, Brett Baer, Dave Finkel, Jack Burditt, and John Riggi. The supervising producer is Adam Bernstein. Jeff Richmond and Jerry Kupfer are the show's producers. Irene Burns, Matt Hubbard, and Margo Myers serve as co-producers.

The writing staff for the first season consists of Brett Baer, Jack Burditt, Kay Cannon, Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Dave Finkel, Daisy Gardner, Donald Glover, Matt Hubbard, and John Riggi.

Notable guest stars

and "The Fighting Irish."

Early changes and ratings

The show underwent several changes during the months leading up to and following its debut.

A May 2006 press release mentioned that sketches from The Girlie Show would be made available in their entirety on NBC's broadband website, DotComedy.com.[5] This aspect of the series was abandoned prior to its debut.

File:30rock.tvseries.jpg
The original cast of 30 Rock (L to R) Tracy Morgan, Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Jack McBrayer, Alec Baldwin.

Originally, Rachel Dratch, Fey's longtime comedy partner and fellow SNL alumna, was to portray Jenna, whose surname was DeCarlo at that time. Dratch played the role in the show's original pilot, but in August 2006, Krakowski was announced as Dratch's replacement, with Dratch said to remain involved in the show, playing various characters.[6] Fey attributed the need for the change to the role itself, one Fey called a "straight-ahead acting part" better suited for Krakowski; Fey said she and Dratch "were both very excited about this new direction. [Dratch is] so delightful when she's deep in character and she's going to be playing a range of different characters."[7] "I think it's something that'll help the show be unique. And I think it brings a little sketch sensibility into a show where you're not going to see sketches."[8] An interview with Dratch revealed that she'll appear in at least six episodes, and confirmed the reason for the change:

I think the big thing was—at least what they told me—that at first they wanted to have more comedy sketches in the show. Then they decided they weren’t going to focus on the sketches, so they needed more of a sitcom actress, as opposed to a character actress....That’s the party line, at least—it’s what I can tell my parents![9]

The changes prior to the debut did not help the show's early ratings. The show's pilot episode attracted 8.13 million viewers, third in its time slot and 58th for the week.[10] The ratings for "The Aftermath" (the second episode) were down 21 percent.[11]

Although the second episode's ratings were revealed on the same day that NBC announced plans to replace expensive scripted shows in the 8–9pm time slot with reality series and game shows,[12] the network demonstrated an apparent confidence in the series a week later, announcing a new time slot for the show (Thursdays at 9:30pm ET) beginning in mid-November.[2] The move helped reestablish a two-hour block of comedies on an evening NBC once promoted as Must See TV.

The third episode attracted 6.01 million viewers, making it 73rd in Nielsen's prime-time television in the U.S.[13] As November sweeps began, the show's fourth episode attracted 4.61 million viewers in its fourth week, making it 85th in Nielsen's prime-time television rankings.[14]

CTV, which had broadcast the first four or five episodes in Canada,[15] dropped the show effective November 30 after a brief run during which it never entered the BBM Nielsen top 30.[16] CTV has since re-added the show to its lineup on Sundays at 8:30pm ET.

NBC waited until December 1 to commit to a full season of the show, announcing the commitment the day after the show followed Scrubs for the first time. The 30 November episode drew 6.6 million viewers, nearly a million more than the previously televised episode and only 1.5 million fewer viewers that the show's pilot.[17] The increase in viewership occurred in spite of the show's new time slot, opposite the second halves of Grey's Anatomy and a repeat of CSI, two of the three most highly-rated scripted series of the November 2006 sweeps.[18] The December 7 episode continued its rise, drawing 6.8 million viewers and attracting its highest 18–49 demographic, 3.2.

On January 17 NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly announced that he expected 30 Rock "to return next season";[19] the next day's episode, competing against new episodes of CSI ("Sweet Jane") and Grey's Anatomy ("Six Days, Part 2"), attracted 5.04 million viewers, the fewest since the beginning of the November 2006 sweeps, and 80th in Nielsen rankings.[20]

On 2 February NBC announced that 30 Rock will take a six-week break after the March 8 episode so the network can test out Andy Barker P.I.. New episodes will resume on April 26.[21]

Critical reception

In its fall 2006 preview of new shows, TV Guide named 30 Rock the best new comedy.[citation needed] After five episodes, Tom Shales of The Washington Post wrote that the series has "consistently and considerably improved since its premiere" and called it "refreshingly bright, sweet and, lest one forget, funny." He described Baldwin's performance as "rare and rich" and a "crazy joy to watch" and declared McBrayer "the show's brightest discovery,"[22] quoting executive producer Lorne Michaels: "We're very high on [McBrayer]. He's obviously the breakout performer on the series. We like him, the network likes him, viewers like him, everybody likes him."

On December 22 the The Wall Street Journal cited 30 Rock as the one comedy that, along with two dramas, was evidence that "this year's lineup yields the strongest signs yet that some sort of life force is returning to network television after years of absence." It added that "the show grows sharper weekly, more hilariously assured in its wild satiric reach," calling it a "wildly funny enterprise."

In its 2006 yearend issue, Entertainment Weekly listed 30 Rock fourth on a list of ten best "Series of the Year."[23] The show also appeared on similar yearend "best of" 2006 lists in the New York Daily News [24], LA Weekly,[25] and the New York Times.[26] The Associated Press wrote that NBC's "Thursday night comedy block—made up of My Name Is Earl, The Office, Scrubs, and 30 Rock—is consistently the best night of prime time viewing for any network."[27]

On Feb 14, 2007, Entertainment Weekly published an updated review of '30 Rock, giving the show an "A".[28]

On Feb 28, 2007, Tim Goodman in the San Francisco Examiner called: ""30 Rock," the funniest sitcom of the new season and a show that has made a startling creative growth from its pilot to where it is now," adding ""30 Rock" is not to be missed ... this could be the beginning of the next great sitcom." [29]

Episodes and U.S. ratings

In the following summary, "Rating" is the estimated percentage of all televisions tuned to the show, and "Share" is the percentage of all televisions in use that are tuned in.

Unless otherwise cited, the overnight rating and share information comes from Zap2It[30] The following week, the numbers are updated with the final Nielsen numbers from TVWeek.com.[31] Additional ratings information, including the 18–49 rating, comes from BroadcastingCable.[32] Viewer numbers and rank numbers come from Google Groups.[33]

Episode # Title Air Date Rating Share 18–49 Viewers Rank
1 "Pilot" October 11 2006 5.4 9 2.9 8.13 #58
2 "The Aftermath" October 18 2006 3.9 6 2.3 5.71 #66
3 "Blind Date" October 25 2006 3.9 6 2.2 6.01 #73
4 "Jack the Writer" November 1 2006 3.2 5 1.7 4.61 #85
5 "Jack-tor" November 16 2006 3.2 5 2.3 5.19 #75
6 "Jack Meets Dennis" November 30 2006 3.7 6 2.7 5.96 #72
7 "Tracy Does Conan" December 7 2006 4.2 6 3.2 6.84 #57
8 "The Break Up" December 14 2006 4.0 6 2.8 5.94 #64
9 "The Baby Show" January 4 2007 3.9 6 3.0 5.82 #76
10 "The Rural Juror" January 11 2007 3.8 6 2.9 6.10 #65
11 "The Head and the Hair" January 18 2007 3.4 5 2.4 5.04 #80
12 "Black Tie" February 1 2007 3.6 5 2.9 5.71 #69
13 "Up All Night" February 8 2007 3.5 5 2.5 5.17 #85
14 "The C Word" February 15 2007 3.3 5 2.4 5.01 #86
15 "Hard Ball" February 22 2007 3.1 5 n/a 4.61 #84
16 "The Source Awards" March 1 2007 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
17 "The Fighting Irish" March 8 2007 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
18 "Fireworks" April 19 2007 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

DVR ratings

On December 29 2006, Nielsen Media Research reported the results of having, for the first time, monitored viewers who use a digital video recorder to pre-record shows for later viewing. According to the Nielsen numbers, 30 Rock had the fifth-largest increase (viewers who use a DVR to record the show and then watch it within a week of its initial airing). According to Nielsen, 30 Rock adds nearly 7.5% to its total audience every week as a result of these "live plus seven" viewers.[34]

International broadcasters

30 Rock is broadcast on the following stations around the world.

Country TV Network(s) Series Premiere Weekly Schedule
Canada Canada CTV October 10,2006 Sundays 5:30pm ET
(originally Tuesdays at 7:30pm, moved to weekend daytime hours due to primetime schedule congestion)
United States United States NBC October 11 2006 Thursdays 9:30pm ET
(first four episodes aired Wednesdays at 8:00pm)[35]
Australia Australia Channel Seven 2007[36]
Israel Israel yes stars 3 March 7, 2007 Wednesdays 10:30pm
Argentina Argentina Sony
Entertainment
Television
November 15
2006
Wednesdays 9:30pm[37]
Brazil Brazil Wednesdays 8:30pm[37]
Chile Chile Wednesdays 9:30pm[37]
Colombia Colombia Wednesdays 7:30pm[37]
Mexico Mexico Wednesdays 8:30pm [37]
Peru Peru Wednesdays 7:30pm[37]
Venezuela Venezuela Wednesdays 8:30pm[37]

Awards and nominations

Year Result Award Category Recipient
2007 Nominated; ceremony to be held March 26, April 14, April 28, May 10 GLAAD Media Awards Outstanding Individual Episode (in a series without a regular gay character) for "Blind Date"
2007 Nominated Writers Guild of America Awards Outstanding Comedy Series Brett Baer, Jack Burditt, Kay Cannon, Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Dave Finkel, Daisy Gardner, Donald Glover, Matt Hubbard, John Riggi
2007 Nominated Writers Guild of America Awards Outstanding New Series Brett Baer, Jack Burditt, Kay Cannon, Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Dave Finkel, Daisy Gardner, Donald Glover, Matt Hubbard, John Riggi
2007 Nominated Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directorial Achievment in Comedy Series Adam Bernstein, for the Pilot
2007 Won Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Alec Baldwin
2007 Won Golden Globe Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical Alec Baldwin
2007 Nominated People's Choice Awards Favorite New TV Comedy

Trivia

  • A longstanding part of GE's corporate culture is a philosophy of moving executives to new divisions every few years. Thus, NBC routinely receives new executives with little or no previous experience with the television industry. For example, Bob Wright—the network's longtime CEO—came to NBC in 1986 with GE's acquisition of RCA after a lengthy career with various GE divisions.
  • Jeff Richmond, Fey's husband, composes all of the show's music and also serves as a producer on the show. He also appears in some episodes as the show-within-the-show's piano player.
  • The show's name is similar to "3rd Rock," the commonly used short title for 3rd Rock from the Sun, another NBC sitcom created by and starring Saturday Night Live alumni. At the 64th Golden Globe Awards, Tim Allen mispronounced the show's name as "3rd Rock" when mentioning Alec Baldwin had been nominated for the Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical Award.[38]
  • Thus far, Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, and Judah Friedlander are the only actors to appear in every one of the show's episodes.
  • In "Black Tie," Liz states that she is 12 years younger than Jack, which is also true with Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin themselves.

References and footnotes

  1. ^ In Australia, the show will be coming to Channel Seven during 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Breaking News". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
  3. ^ "New York-Based Television Programs". Retrieved 2007-01-19.
  4. ^ Some 30 Rock episodes have referenced Studio 60.
  5. ^ "Breaking News". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
  6. ^ http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-janekrakowskijoins30rock,0,1779072.story
  7. ^ http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/2006/10/08/1978793-cp.html
  8. ^ http://www.avclub.com/content/node/54729
  9. ^ http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/22836/
  10. ^ http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-tvratingstext18oct18,0,4771545.htmlstory?coll=cl-tv-features
  11. ^ http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_8013.asp
  12. ^ http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=adnD7teOTjhg
  13. ^ http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/cl-et-tvratingstext1nov01,0,1153653.htmlstory
  14. ^ http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-tvratingstext8nov08,0,364549.story
  15. ^ http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/show/CTVShows/20061026/30Rock-episodes/
  16. ^ http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/artslife/story.html?id=719b0999-5265-4342-bace-c83a7d26ef2a&k=87589
  17. ^ http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-nbcpicksup30rockforfullseason,0,1068703.story
  18. ^ http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-sweeps1dec01,0,1664447.story
  19. ^ http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6407954.html?display=Search+Results&text=%2230+rock%22
  20. ^ http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-tvratingstext24jan24,0,184006.htmlstory
  21. ^ Zap2it.com (02-02-07)
  22. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/15/AR2006111501577.html
  23. ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1572282_3_0_,00.html
  24. ^ http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/483614p-407120c.html
  25. ^ http://www.laweekly.com/film+tv/screen/sit-up-and-watch/15291/
  26. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/arts/television/24stan.html
  27. ^ http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/526251.html
  28. ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20011875,00.html
  29. ^ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/28/DDGDEOBS0H17.DTL
  30. ^ "TV Ratings ... on Zap2it".
  31. ^ "TVWeek.com".
  32. ^ "TV Ratings ... on BroadcastingCable".
  33. ^ "Week of December 11th-17th/2006 complete ratings".
  34. ^ http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-studio60mosttimeshiftedshow,0,4559331.story?coll=zap-tv-mainheadline
  35. ^ http://www.nbcumv.com/broadcast/release_detail.nbc/entertainment-20060831000000-nbcswapswednesday.html
  36. ^ "Seven's Number 1 Tuesday". ebroadcast. Retrieved 17 January. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  37. ^ a b c d e f g http://www.canalsony.com/canalsony/SPEMasterControllerServlet?pageId=ChannelSeries&channelSeriesId=562
  38. ^ http://www.variety.com/awardcentral_article/VR1117957465.html?nav=globes