At the end of last semester, I made a discovery that changed the way I spent my study breaks for finals: NBC's brilliant comedy 30 Rock. Let's just say that I flew through the first season. Although free-streaming website Hulu.com's installation of "Hulu Prime" has cut my access to past seasons, I've managed to catch nearly half of the current fifth season on NBC. Unfortunately, season number five leads me to ask if the three-time Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy winner is taking a turn for the worse.
For those who have not yet become disciples of 30 Rock, here is the basic premise: Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) leads a hilariously lazy and incompetent writing staff for the fictional NBC television show TGS with Tracy Jordan. TGS, whose studio is located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, stars competing divas Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) and - guess who - Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan). Alec Baldwin stars as Jack Donghy, Liz's insanely competitive and manipulative boss. Jack takes it upon himself to be Liz's mentor and usually ends up dragging her into some mess in his personal life. Together the TGS cast and crew go through the highs and lows of showbiz.
I loved the first season of the show, but season five seems to be entering a downward spiral. Don't get me wrong: I still enjoy the show. It still has those moments that make you want to die laughing - for instance, check out the episode "Double-Edged Sword," in which Liz and her boyfriend Carol (guest star Matt Damon) go on a romantic getaway and break up during a delayed flight. But recently, the humor, which always has been a strong blend of politically incorrect jokes, slightly inappropriate gags and rib-crackingly funny dialogue, seems a little too over-the-top and is veering toward the distasteful. For example, the latest episode, "Queen of Jordan," made me cringe. The episode featured a sex offender coming back to see the former student she had relations with before she was sent to prison. Really? What happened to the good old, refined 30 Rock humor? And what about Liz Lemon? Yes, I get that she's single, but is it really necessary to push the depressed-middle-aged-single-woman comedy button week after week?
One of the reasons I liked the show so much in the first place was because of its ability to portray characters that frequently are over-the-top yet sometimes are shockingly lifelike. But this is a delicate balance that is difficult to strike. If the producers push too much unsavory and off-color humor into the episodes, then the show is just going to be too ridiculous to relate to; viewers will lose their empathy for the characters and, subsequently, their love for the show. But don't lose hope yet. At its best, 30 Rock still has the crazy-but-not-too-crazy scenarios and characters that originally endeared the show to viewers. Just hope that the producers don't try so hard to keep the show "fresh" that they lose all the good material that hooked viewers from the outset.
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