Interview

"Hello everyone, I'm so happy to see all of you and to welcome you to Season 4." So begins the fourth season of 30 Rock, with Alec Baldwin's Jack Donaghy staring directly into the camera and seeming to break that old fourth wall. It turns out to be a gag–Jack is speaking to his creative team, and welcoming them to an Asian-fusion restaurant called Season 4–but it puts us on alert for the shenanigans to come. 30 Rock, always a show about a show, is burrowing even deeper inside itself. (PHOTO: STEVE BUSCEMI ON 30 ROCK)

Thus, the season premiere's plot lines include a ridiculous strike at NBC, the need for budget cuts at NBC (Jack: "I'm in the middle of a raging period... of economic turmoil!"), the need to recruit new cast members for a show that is losing its edge, and the need for Tracy Morgan's Tracy Jordan to regain the edge he has lost as a result of having too much money. When introduced to a janitor from Brooklyn, Tracy's idea of common-man banter is this classic conversation starter: "My friend Mooby just opened a delightful tea shop in Park Slope–does he know you?" Like its New York forefather Seinfeld, 30 Rock is determined to bring inside the neighborhood jokes to the masses, whether they understand them or not.

Yeah, it seems like Tina Fey should get out more (Cleveland perhaps?) but it's all still very funny. The lack of a distracting guest star (besides Steve Buscemi, who is always welcome) could portend good things for this season. The presence of Oprah, David Schwimmer, et al. tends to take the teeth out of the nasty meta-jokes. The last lines of the episode get Jay Leno right between the eyes and I, for one, was glad that he wasn't on screen being a good sport. Seriously, he's awful. I hope this 10'clock thing crashes and burns. Wink wink.