Freelancette

Last Friday, I was flipping through channels in a hotel room in Albany when I spotted the comedically brilliant 30 Rock-er Alec Baldwin on FOX News. I paused, curious and a little nervous. Baldwin is an outspoken Democratic supporter and Huffington Poster, so something told me that FOX wasn’t running a story about how awesome he was on the previous night’s show (although that would have been accurate). He must have done something incriminating or embarrassing.

As the world knows by now, a voicemail message of Baldwin berating his 11-year old daughter, Ireland, and calling her a “rude, thoughtless little pig” had been leaked to the press. The FOX commentators could barely contain their glee at catching Baldwin in full-on bad-parent mode. “Can you imagine what hearing something like that would do to a young girl?!” they asked, hanging their heads in mock-horror to hide their contemptuous smirks.

Actually, I can.

Continue reading "When fathers attack" »

Posted by Corrie at 6:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I feel like deep-sixing Studio 60 from my Don't Miss List. Ever since the show took that wacky double-episode detour to Nevada, I just haven't been interested. I don't care about the characters nearly as much as they care about themselves, and the subplots are lame. Then we had this week's episode, with Cal hunting for the coyote hunting for the ferret hunting for the snake under the stage, the maddening Harriet-Matt love triangle (even though there are only two people involved, this relationship is triangular in its complexity), and the feeble Jordan-Danny match. No wonder these guys can't produce a funny skit: they're too busy chasing foxes and coyotes! The only relationship I find at all compelling is the one between the two black writers.

Jordan's smart, independent exec is still a great role model, and Nate Corddry is funny and cute. But they're not enough to carry the show, especially when they're being dragged down by stalker-ish wannabe girlfriends (Kim) and boyfriends (Danny). I can think of better ways to spend my Monday nights (post-How I Met Your Mother) -- like catching up on Season Two of Battlestar Galactica!

Posted by Corrie at 5:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

And she stole the show. TIna Fey was great on "30 Rock" tonight -- I've missed that show! The only reason I'm happy that Christmas is over is that my shows can finally return to TV. Kerry had me watching "Battlestar Galactica" during the network holiday hiatus. Out of the 5 million people that have recommended that show to me, I find it shocking that not a single one has bothered to mention how heart-wrenchingly, soul-searchingly sad it is. The end of the world (or worlds) as we know it is heavy stuff. At the end of every episode, I kind of just want to hurl myself off a spaceship, into the vast, nonjudgmental, unsympathetic nothingness of space...

But now that "30 Rock" has returned, I can smile again. I was so in need of a laugh, I watched tonight's episode twice.

At the beginning of the show, I was a little worried that we were going to digress once more into self-deprecating "poor Liz land." But this time she takes it to the next level. I get bored with the whiny "where have all the good men gone?" talk, but I can never get enough of the family-versus-career debate, especially when it's handled in a funny way. Instead of going on about how she doesn't have anyone to save her if she chokes, tonight Liz pondered the sacrifices she's made for her television writing career -- and wondered if "work and... working" was worth it. As the newly-engaged secretary Cerie put it, "You can always have a career," but there's only a short window of time "when you can be a hot mom." Cerie and her boyfriend (of one month and one week) want to have kids "while it's still hot." She's already got baby names picked out: "If it's a girl: Bookcase. Or Sandstorm. Or maybe Hat, but that's more of a boy's name."

Cerie is right. The biological clock is (sadly) not a myth. Until science figures out a way to stall the aging of women's bodies so that we can birth children into our sixties, there is only a narrow window of when we can become natural mothers, hot or otherwise. And it's also only a matter of time before appropriating random household objects as names for your child will be in vogue; next thing you know, everyone will be calling their kids "Albin" and "Fred."

(Don't you dare laugh. Albin was my grandfather's name.)

So Liz is jonesing for a baby -- so much so that she accidentally walks home with the make-up artist's cherubic daughter! "It was like highway hypnosis," Liz explains once the baby is returned, where you find yourself in your driveway but don't remember how you got there. "Or why there's another person's baby in your car," jokes her colleague.

But I can totally see how this could happen! One minute, you're staring into a baby's sweet little face, trying desperately to keep the darling from crying, making faces and googling in funny voices, jiggling it up and down, patting it on the back, trying to decide if she looks more like an Isabelle, or a Nancy, or a Bookcase... sorry, I lost my train of thought there. There should be a word for the effect that OPB's (Other People's Babies) have on women. Maybe "baby black-out"? Or perhaps it's our "baby blind spot"?

Regardless...the end of the episode shows Liz taking the rest of the day off to figure out the baby/career conundrum. "If anyone can figure this out, I can," she says, before before realizing she stepped into the wrong elevator. Let's hope she finds a good (and funny) solution, and shares it with the rest of us on a future episode.

Posted by Corrie at 11:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My apologies. I haven't Strip-Rocked in a while because I've been recovering from the debilitating laugh-attack brought on by last week's "30 Rock." Oh man, the "Jack-tor" episode was funny stuff. I haven't cackled like that since watching season one of "The Office" (the British version). You know, I thought Tracy Morgan/Jordan was the comedy powderkeg of that show. He still is, but last week, he was joined by Alec Baldwin's Jack Donaghy and Jane Krakowski's Jenna Maroney, who totally blew things up.

The highlights:
Tracy's chronic tardiness, lack of commitment and refusal to study his lines leads Liz to fear that he can't read. Her suspicion is bolstered by a hilarious "clip" from one of Tracy's hit movies, in which he delivers several lines of pure gibberish (which sounded as meangingless on the fourth listen as they did on the first) with hilarious earnestness. But after days of Tracy using his newly-discovered "learning disability" to leave work early, Liz tricks him into revealing that he's not illiterate -- he's just lazy. Take that, you silly white lady!

Speaking of silly white ladies...Jenna, feeling overshadowed by Tracy, is whipped into career paranoia by the other writers. She becomes convinced that Jack is about to fire her. In an effort to save her skin, she resorts to her tried-and-true-weapon, her "sexuality." She tries to seduce a man she believes to be Jack's boss with sultry come-ons and a heaping teaspoon of... non-dairy creamer! It's priceless.

Back in the writer's room, Jack has asked Liz and the rest of the crew to start incorporating product placement into their skits through positive mentions, or "pos-mens." After winking their way through the obvious yet still funny follow-up (gratuitous Snapple name-dropping), they come up with an idea to write a semi-satirical sketch about product placement, starring Jack Donaghy as himself. Here's where things go off the rails. Despite his cool-as-a-cucumber demeanor and his seemingly successful debut in a company film, Donaghy is hopeless. In an effort to save his boss's ego, Donaghy's assistant shows Liz the secret outtakes from the company film. Stiff and suited, utterly serious, Donaghy trips, he stumbles (literally as well as figuratively), he mangles his lines (I think at one point he actually called for "racial segregation"), he even has trouble walking naturally on camera. It takes over 100 takes to get a few minutes of usable film, and I tell you, I could have watched every last one of them. Baldwin's Donaghy is cringe-worthy and hilarious. He's his own straight man, and he appears to be as surprised as we are at how bad of an actor he is. But he persists in trying again and again. And again. And...

Like "Studio 60," this week's "30 Rock" took on big social issues like bigotry, white/leftist guilt, the power of female sexuality, and the uneasy symbiosis of art and commerce, but it did it with a light touch. Instead of hitting us over the head with a lesson in political correctness (like "Studio 60" did that Monday), it knocked us out of chairs with great skits, brilliant comedic acting and sly puns. And isn't that exactly what both of these shows are about: using television to hilariously spoof contemporary American culture?

Posted by Corrie at 9:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I just had a chance to watch the November 1 episode of 30 Rock ("Jack the Writer"), in which The Girlie Show crew is thwarted by both Liz's boss, Jack Donnaghy (who insists on sitting in on the brainstorming meetings, distracting the writers), and Liz's assistant, Cerie (who insists on wearing ridiculously slutty clothes to the brainstorming meetings, distracting the writers). It was really funny! And smart! Liz finally cracks and begs Jack not to attend the meetings and Cerie not to waltz around the office without a bra. Both discussions backfire. The episode was full of Fey's trademark quick, hilarious lines (Jack: "Sorry I'm late -- I was at a luncheon for Ann Coulter's 60th birthday." Cerie: "I don't want to be taken seriously. I want to marry rich and start a handbag line."), and there was even a subtle jab at Studio 60 towards the end, when Liz and Pete catch themselves in a Sorkinesque "walk and talk" around the studio. Maybe it's just because "that other show" wasn't on this week, but 30 Rock was really great.

But you know...while we're focusing on 30 Rock...it could be even better if they would drop the lame jokes about Liz's age, looks and weight. I liked how Liz confronted her own insecurity when she confronted Cerie about her clothing choices, but did Cerie have to make the crack about how she figured Liz "must be" married with several children, because she always has food stains on her shirt? Did Frank have to say that he just threw up in his mouth (!!) after Liz showed up wearing the clingy dress (as a joke)? And did the episode have to end with Jack telling Liz to "go easy on the pizza"? I mean, come on. Liz is an attractive woman with a fantastic figure. And she's what -- 35? 36? Not old! At least, not in New York, where Liz lives and works. These sexist/self-deprecating comments aren't only annoying, they're not even true. The show needs to move beyond them.

Posted by Corrie at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oh no! Rumor has it that Studio 60 is not long for this world: "'Studio 60’ Cancellation Imminent" screams FOX News. "Lights Dim Hope For Studio" threatens the NY Post. Ratings are lower than expected, and "Friday Night Lights" performed slightly better when it was sneakily slipped into Studio's time slot this past Monday. NBC has reportedly ordered three more episodes, but the speculation is that this is a "contractual" move, and not all three will actually make it to the screen. The show's web site promises at least one more episode next week. Aren't the NBC execs reading my blog?! I think the show just keeps getting better.

Posted by Corrie at 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Shows about television writers seem to be like Pringles: I can’t have just one. I’ve been tuning in to both "Studio 60" and "30 Rock" for three weeks now, and I can’t seem to break the habit. But in the same way that not all flavors of Pringles are equally crisp-a-licious, different episodes of these two SNL spoofs vary in their tastiness. So, I’ve decided to judge them side-by-side each week, and select my favorite. This way, if the DVR ever breaks down, I’ll be able to choose which one to watch.

Week of October 22, 2006
60: The Wrap Party vs. 30: Blind Date

In "Studio 60", we got to see a new side of Jordan (Amanda Peet), Tom (the other Corddry brother) and Cal (the guy from "thirtysomething"). Jordan, buzzed with the success of beating out HBO for a smart new series, gets drunk and tries to make friends with Harriet and the other funny girls (Her goofy pick-up line--“I don’t have any friends”– confirms that it’s lonely at the top). Tom gives his clueless Midwestern parents a tour of the studio, during which his mother asks him how they come up with the “skits” and his dad tried to make Tom feel guilty that he isn’t with his brother in Afghanistan, fighting for American world-domination – er, democracy (But nice Tom doesn’t get mad – he gets them a record for their turntable). Matt and Danny, usually the focus of the show (and my favorite characters), were overshadowed by a touching subplot involving a former television writer who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era.

In "30 Rock", we got to see more of the same from Jack Donaghy (Baldwin), Liz Lemon (Fey), and the rest of The Girlie Show writers. Jack, so superbly slimy in the first episode, took things a little too far in a mean-spirited poker game, and Fey’s self-deprecating me-so-single-ness feels tired (in this episode, her character has two slapsticky scenes where she almost dies from loneliness – literally). Jack fixes Liz up with a blind date, Thomas, who turns out to be a hot, sexy, funny, smart –wait for it-- lesbian named Gretchen Thomas. (Have I seen this episode before, or does it just feel like I have?) Tracy Jordan hardly got any face time, which is too bad, since I think he's becoming my favorite character on the show (who would've thunk it?!).

Verdict: Jordan’s lack of friends was funnier (and more interesting) than Liz’s lack of boyfriends. "60" proved that not every episode needs to be about Matt and Danny; I think "30" really needs Tracy Jordan. "60" took a risk and went for the heartstrings; "30 Rock" stuck with the tried-and-true and didn’t get much out of me. I chortled (at Jordan) and nearly cried (at the blacklisted old writer) during "Studio 60"; I barely giggled during "30 Rock." 60 wins!

Posted by Corrie at 7:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two new SNL-type parodies, both on NBC, both with numerals in their name. Do I really have room in my life (and on my recordable DVD's) for both of them? Well, until tonight, the answer was no. Over the last few weeks, I've grown quite fond of Studio 60: Fantastic cast (especially that Matthew Perry! Could there be a better post-Friends comeback role for him?), snappy dialogue, exciting hour-long stories. I'm not yet convinced that Sarah Paulson is funny, but I think her character(a passionately religious comedian) could be interesting. So in my mind, 30 Rock, with Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin and Tracy Jordan, was over before it even aired. I love Tina's writing, but I'd rather see another actor perform her stuff. As an actor, she has the potential to irk me. More than that, I felt like 30 Rock would make Wednesdays feel like a lame sequel to Mondays. And I hate sequels.

But then I got home from work early tonight, and I needed something to do with myself before LOST came on at 9pm. I decided to give 30 Rock a chance. And you know what? Tina wasn't half bad! She held her own alongside both Baldwin's delightfully oily TV/oven exec and Jordan's hilariously nutty, say-anything comedian. She did some of her usual self-deprecating shtick, but she was also feisty and fun in an appealing Mary Tyler Moore-ish way. And the half-hour length, instead of feeling abrupt, made the laughs all the more precious, and left me wanting more (take note, Ugly Betty).

Of course, television shows follow trends, just like anything else. We've seen the legal trend (Ally McBeal, The Practice, Boston Legal), the crime trend (the CSI franchise, the Law & Order franchise), the scary catastrophe trend (Invasion, Surface, Jericho), the I-see-dead-people trend (Medium, The Ghost Whisperer), among others. Not all of those shows felt like retreads; there was a time when I was a simultaneous fan of both Ally and The Practice.

I'm still skeptical of whether Studio 60 (dramatic SNL spoof) and 30 Rock (funny SNL spoof) can co-exist on TV in general, and on my TV in particular. But until my recordable DVD's fill up, I think I'll keep watching them both.

Posted by Corrie at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)