Final 30 rock post

Alright so this is the final 30 rock post for the class. Sadly there was no new episode to watch. Thankfully I have all of the episodes so I was able to watch some from the 3rd season. The one I just watched is an episode where Tracy Jordan goes on the Larry King show. This is a really good episode because there are 3 separate plot lines going on simultaneously. Tracy Jordan is predicting doomsday events and causing chaos on Larry King, Lemon is hunting down her cellphone that has been held for ransom with an "adult" picture of herself on it, and Jack is working out problems of his own trying to balance his sexy girlfriend Selma Hayek with a current economic downfall that GE is facing. This episode is very fast paced and frantic, and I really like how there are separate story lines going on. Some of the best parts of the episode were,

• Tracy Jordan telling the entire Teen Wolf plot on Larry King and then giving financial crisis advice to the viewing audience and Peter Frampton
• Lemon's phone has been taken hostage and contains an "adult" oriented picture of her on it
• Selma Hayek is a decent guest appearance that has been in a few episodes now
• Lemon has had more sex than Jack in 2009
• Kenneth and Lemon go on a quest to find the phone and Kenneth gets tagged with graffiti
  
• Lemon sings 99 red balloons for Kenneth telling him it is a German lullaby her grandmother sang
• At the very end Johnathan, Jacks secretary, is caught on camera dancing around topless while playing the flute

There were also a few references to new years in this episode so I think it may have been aired right after they had come back from holiday hiatus. Really funny episode and I have really been enjoying going through and watching all of the episodes of the previous seasons. It has kept me very entertained during winter break. Sadly the quarter is about to begin and I once again have to find a new show to start watching. Cant wait for Trueblood season 3 in June! :)

30 Rock segment and tech codes

Alright, I had little trouble with this one, getting into the mind set of viewing the show technically instead of narratively. The actual segmentation of the show seemed pretty basic as far as a digressive comedy goes. There were often multiple segments in the seen, and sometimes a digression or tangent within the segment. The whole show is also segmented into character relative plots. For example, the episode I watched was called "Cooters" hehe, amusing. It was the finale for season 2 and guest starred Mathew Broderick. The main plot was essentially divided into several underlying plots. Lemon's is pregnant, Jack is no longer working at GE, Kenneth is battling with the head page for a trip to china, Tracy is creating a porn video game with Frank...and there are a few other smaller ones. For this show they divided the episode into sub-plots, that could then be further segmented complete with amusing references and a few digressive flash backs to Pete being an almost-olympic archer.

As far as technical codes go the show didnt seem to be pushing the envelope. The editing style really brings things together flawlessly, and nothing is really overintrusive or noticeable. I also watch ripped versions from online, so there are no commercial interruptions to decimate my undivided attention. I noticed that with the lighting, the techniques and contrasts they use are very subtle but there is a specific light intensity for almost every scene. The staff writing room is really bright and cleanly lit. The stage and production are rather dim and have more of a warm glow, the same for the dressing room areas. Lemon's appartment and office also have their own lighting that is relatively bright, but very soft so as to not bring out to much detail so we can focus on Tina Fey's face. This particular episode also had Jack working at a budget cut disaster relief type place where the employees dont own pens and the lamps are actually long candles with shades over them. Here obviously the lighting is way down and very gloomy. The camera frames and angles that the show used also seemed pretty basic, and werent too noticeable. Definitely a single camera production, which I love. This leads to very clean editing that flows seamlessly and doesnt disorient the viewer.

The end of this episode actually did have a pretty good display of both segmentation and technical codes. It is a quick run through of all of the plot lines, and what the people are doing with it 3 months later. It divides the story lines and sets up establishing shots to set the scenario. All in all it was a fun episode both from a narrative and technical standpoint.

TwoP

Alright fellow bloggers, so it turns out there is this cool internet resource online (who woulda guessed right) called televisionwithoutpity, or as I like to say twop (said as an actual word not an acronym). TwoP has a lot of really valuable and fun features for anyone who watches television...and also has a computer and goes online to the TwoP website. The site has up to date info, clips, review etc. from the daily sitcoms that we love.
Some great features of the website (ones that I use anyways) :

• Video Section - alright this one is the coolest feature in my opinion. Since it is a website devoted entirely to television shows, why not show all the latest episodes on the website? Oh, yes, they do. This allows the user to watch full or condensed episodes and clips while also reading TwoP reviews right on the TwoP website. The site gets its video hosting via hulu which is partly owned by NBC.
  
• Various Blogs - some of the blogs that can be found on the website are really funny. My favorite that I have found is the TwoP 10 lists. These are kind of like a top 10 list only with a twist. "TwoP 10 : Best Stars Of The Fall, TwoP 10 : Shows that Oprah Should Join, TwoP 10: Tv Sex Changes We Would Like to See." A lot of these are really funny and creative, and I like reading through the lists and seeing what I agree/disagree with.
  
• Forum Section - this is by far the most informative section on the website. The forum section features forum discussions about almost every show currently on television. If your watching it, its probably got a forum on TwoP. Even though this is fan based, the majority of the information is accurate and relevant...after all people with a passion do lots of research. Some of the fans are probably a little too crazy about their shows, but I find that the info in the forums is both entertaining and enlightening.
  

Alright these are the features that I find most valuable, and use with the most frequency...but as you all know because you also use the website this is only a very small fraction of what is contained within TwoP.com

Another 30 Rock Christmas Special

Alright so no episode of 30 Rock this week, but that is okay because I am watching through the first seasons. As it so happens, my current episode was the christmas special for the 2nd season titled Ludachristmas. Based on the title I was really hoping for Ludacris to make an appearance ( I mean they did get LL Cool J) but sadly that was just a misleading reference. It actually was the writers annual christmas party where they all get drunk and ludicrous, not a party where they get drunk with Ludacris. This was a pretty funny episode, but very different from the christmas episode we watched last week. Again the episode is nothing like a conventional festive christmas special, but something about this episode was even more raucous.

• Andy Richter as Lemon's brother
• Lemon's strange and not-so-perfect family
• Jack's mother and their relationship
• Photo scanner/paper shredder
  
• Christmas mob brought on by Kenneth

I like how they weren't in your face about christmas in this episode also. I really like how 30 Rock handles their christmas specials...its very realistic for a fictional show. One thing I really liked about this episode in particular was that it showed the whole cast and their dysfunctionality. They didnt try to glamorize christmas or praise it for bringing people and families together, instead they put a bizarre twist on it.

Its A Very Sunny Christmas Special

Alright, this is unrelated to 30 Rock's christmas special but I feel that the It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia christmas special deserves a quick post of its own. I dont know if you are familiar with the show or not, but the Christmas Special was released several weeks ago online and on dvd in correlation with the 5th season of the show. This is by far not your conventional christmas special and definitely could not get away with being released on cable tv...(especially during the christmas season.)

Jam Packed With :

• A twist on the "Christmas Carol"
• Full frontal nudity
• Demented christmas traditions
• Holiday Claymation

Check it out, its only 40 mins and its absolutely hilarious. It is really easy to find online, and probably easier to find on dvd for your loved ones today!

30 Rock Christmas Episode

Saturday morning again and another new episode of 30 Rock. This is the christmas special for the show, and though it wasn't as fast paced as last weeks episode I really liked it. I have been watching the show almost daily now and have just finished the first season....really enjoying it.
I thought this was a well done christmas special, some shows go overboard with the holiday spirit. I really liked that the musical score wasn't overly intrusive, it was very subtle. I liked the music they used, some smooth jazz instead of overplayed christmas classics.

Some of my favorite parts from the show

• Jack and his youface experience. Especially his "phollo" photo hello.
• When Kenneth came into the room and they did a Godzilla scenario.
• The Verdukian religion.
  
• I really liked Julian Moore in this episode, even though her accent was a bit odd.
• What was with the Canadians and Jewish sarcasm?
• Jenna's jealous rage stroke due to the new guys amazing singing.

Overall this was a pretty amusing episode with some funny guest appearances. I liked that they portrayed christmas as being frantic and somewhat difficult, because it really is like that. Figuring out what gifts to give can be challenging. I am with Lemon on this, people should tell each other exactly what they want that way everyone has a good christmas. I was a little thrown off by Tracy Jordan being all about christmas though. I figured he would be one to have an even crazier christmas tradition, but he was actually all about christmas in a strict standard sense.
I am glad that Kenneth got his christmas miracle in the end, he is probably my favorite character in the show.

30 Rock

Alright, new episode of 30 Rock. It's saturday, late morning, Ive just finished a bold Sumatran roast and the latest episode of 30 rock. I am a newbie to this show so Ive only seen maybe 2 episodes prior to this, but without a doubt this show is absolutely hilarious. The amount of talented actors in this show does a lot of credit to the story. The show definitely is heavily influenced by SNL. Everything from the cast, the producers and writers are all from SNL. I was actually quite impressed that Lorne Michaels was executive producer and can tell that he is making the show as successful as he did with SNL.
Best parts of the show:

• Everyone telling Lemon her hair is.....fine
• That writer turning into Lemon
  
• Chris Parnell and Lasig surgery scene
  
• High Def. camera appearances
  
• Lemon crying out of her mouth
• Lemon talking to herself in the mirror like Gollum
  
• Will Arnett conversation "moron says what"
• Liz in front of the green screen & the high def

This show is full of very intelligent jokes and subtle humor, almost reminiscent of Arrested Development. I think 30 Rock is going to be my new show to watch.