TV: 30 Rock

 "I want to go to there."

Liz Lemon (Fey) is the creator and head writer on the sketch comedy show "The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan" (TGS).  The show stars unpredictable comedian Tracy Jordan (Morgan) and attention-seeking Jenna Maroney (Krakowski), who is Liz's best friend, who each believe they are the #1 star on the show.  Helping to control the crazy is the show's producer, Pete Hornberger (Adsit), is the only "sane" person working on the show.  The writing staff look for any excuse to slack off / drink on the job.  And at every turn she has to answer to Jack Donaghy (Baldwin), who serves as her boss and mentor.  The show has a naive, hillbilly Page Kenneth (McBrayer), and Liz's assistant is Cerie (Bowden) who doesn't do any work and wears skimpy clothing.

Liz tries to balance TGS with her personal life.  She is unlucky in love and misunderstood by her peers.  Can Liz really have it all?

In 2006 when the show premiered, no one expected it to succeed.  At the same time, Aaron Sorkin's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, premiered.  It had critical acclaim and was projected to be a success.  But at the end of the day, Studio 60 crashed and was cancelled after 1 season... but 30 Rock survived 6 seasons and won numerous awards.  It had a small, but passionate audience and the kudos of critics.

The show is loosely based on Tina Fey's experience as the head writer on SNL.  Like SNL, the show featured numerous celebrity cameos along with political figures and athletes.  Sometimes the characters played versions of themselves and sometimes they played random characters.  The show had the ability to integrate a large and revolving cast of characters.  The regular cast was phenomenal and deserved the accolades they received.

The writing managed to tow the line between funny, absurd and self-mocking.  It was a show about Hollywood, with insider jokes and mimic the style of other TV shows.  In addition, they did 2 live shows (which were very funny).

The series finale, aired on January 31, 2013, and successfully wrapped up the story lines and provided closure to the characters... it was moving, emotional, and funny.  Thank you 30 Rock and Tina Fey for 6 great seasons... even the "bad" seasons were incredible television.  I wish the cast and crew the best in the future, and can't wait to see what Fey will do next!

30 Rock (2006-2013)
Creator: Tina Fey
Starring: Tina Fey as Liz Lemon
Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy
Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan
Jane Krakowski as Jenna Maroney
Jack McBrayer as Kenneth Parcell
Scott Adsit as Pete Hornberger
Judah Friedlander as Frank Rossitano
Keith Powell as Toofer
Katrina Bowden as Cerie
Kevin Brown as Dot Com
Grizz Chapman as Grizz
John Lutz as J.D. Lutz
Maulik Pancholy as Jonathan