First Impressions: 60 Rock

Of the two backstage at a Saturday Night Live type skit show, 30 Rock was the one that got the less press even though it is the only one that touted actual talent from SNL, and I use the word talent lightly because Tracy Morgan is one of them. The other though is Tina Fey whose Weekend Update was one of the bright spots of the show in recent years. But then again she was the head writer of the show during an era of the show was at its least funny.

Fey also handles the responsibly for the writing for 30 Rock as well as being the producer of the fake The Girlie Show. No seriously, that’s what the fake show is called. I’m not sure if that’s a step up or down from the previously considered Friday Night Bites. The star of The Girlie Show is Jane Krakowski who recently bumped Rachel Dratch from the role because, well she looks like Jane Krakowski and Rachel Dratch looks like Rachel Dratch. But feel too bad for Dratch as she didn’t get completely dropped from the show because she shows up the cat lady in the first episode.

Much like Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, 30 Rock starts with a shake up in upper management. Here, Alec Baldwin has been brought in save an already successful show and plans to be hands on during the process and hopes to sell some oven in the process. First on his agenda, recruit loose cannon Morgan for the fake show. Oddly it was never brought up that he was recruited to star in a show called The Girlie Show. Seeing Morgan here reminds me of someone who recently said, “SNL hasn’t had a funny black man in years yet the fake one was able to find one.” The other actor on the fake show is Lonny Ross who is obviously playing Jimmy Fallon in that he is ambiguously gay and not at all funny.

Backstage there is the hugging guy from Dave Matthews Band’s video Stay as, um, well, I’m not entirely sure what he does but I’ll guess a writer. Another presumed writer in the black nerd played by Keith Powell, basically Carlton all grown up. And to fill in the token hot chick quota is lazy secretary Katie Bowden who actually has “mean girl” in a Fall Out Boy video on her résumé. So you have the dude from the Dave Matthews Band video and the chick from the Fall Out Video; really, what more can you ask for. Well maybe some laughs, but I’m just nitpicking here.

Verdict: There were some funny moments throughout the first episode, but nothing laugh out load funny. What’s sad is that the Tracy Morgan led show may actually last longer than Studio 60. 30 Rock airs tonight at 8:00 on NBC.