The Morning Round-Up: '30 Rock' & 'Up All Night'
Jack's mother comes to town, while Chris wants to re-propose to Reagan
Will Arnett and Christina Applegate in the "Up All Night" season finale.
It's morning round-up time, with brief reviews of last night's "30 Rock" and the "Up All Night" season finale, coming up just as soon as I put on my galoshes and go eat some fruit, like a Frenchman...
When it comes to Elaine Stritch episodes of "30 Rock," I'm definitely at odds with Tina Fey and the Emmy voters, and I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority among the show's audience. My heart sinks whenever I hear that Colleen is back in town, even though she tends to get off a few good zingers each appearance, and even though I occasionally wind up enjoying Colleen episodes, less because of her than because everything around her works so well. (Case in point: last season's Christmas episode, where the presence of Alan Alda and Elizabeth Banks counteracted my dislike of Colleen.) "Meet the Woggels!" was another example of that, where I mostly checked my watch during Jack and Colleen sniping at each other, but enjoyed the subplots, and the way that all the stories climaxed with Liz for once giving the perfect advice to everyone. Jack and Colleen's tearful confessions of love mattered much less than Liz selfishly reveling in her role in making it happen.
As the father of one kid who went through a Wiggles phase and another on the verge of starting it, I was amused by The Woggels, even though most of those scenes were pretty elementary parody. (The white supremacy angle, and then the surreal song in the tag, were the only times where it felt like some deep thought was put into it.) And the Tracy/George Foreman story was worth it if only for the glimpse of Liz deciding to go along with them making it rain on her, doing a goofy dance and stuffing the cash down her blouse.
One question, though: why does "30 Rock" hate Dean Cain so much?
As for "Up All Night," I have to admit that I missed the last six episodes leading up to the finale. I watched the one with Amy's first birthday, and then the ensuing episodes would sit around on my DVR, unwatched, until my hard drive started to get crowded and they would become easy casualties. It wasn't that I had disliked the show, but that it had never given me a compelling reason to tune in. It was pleasant, filled with actors I liked, and that was about it. I've heard from some friends that there was genuine improvement in this last handful — and I was amused by Chris Diamantopoulos in the finale, when he hadn't appeared before I stopped watching — so maybe I'll go back at some point if NBC winds up renewing it.
The finale felt mostly like more of the same, but I really did like Chris' proposal. Sometimes, sitcoms will force big emotional moments, but this felt earned, both from what had previously been set up in the episode and just from what we knew of these two over the course of the season. If "Up All Night" accomplished nothing but reminding both us and Will Arnett that he can convincingly, sympathetically play a human being with self-awareness and real emotions, then the show was still a success, because both he and Christina Applegate were terrific in that scene.
What did everybody else think? Are you more Team Colleen than I am? Did you stick it out with "Up All Night" all the way through the season?
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupJeff
April 13, 2012 at 10:06AM EST Reply to Commentit's ok alan, I too find the colleen storylines lacking... You're not alone...
LJA
April 13, 2012 at 10:23AM EST Reply to CommentWell, I love Colleen and Jack together, and I loved the "Boston Catholic Guilt Hospital" line. I hope this isn't the last we've seen of Will Forte's Paul.
Dezbot I also love Colleen and Jack. I especially loved Colleen's staredown with Liddy, and the "Boston Catholic Guilt Hospital," which was so throwaway that I nearly missed it.
April 13, 2012 at 1:00PM ESTM.A.Peel Don't forget the doctor finding Jack's name on a list of disappointments Colleen had in her shoe.
April 13, 2012 at 2:33PM ESTGreg
April 13, 2012 at 10:23AM EST Reply to CommentYeah, I almost never like the Elaine Stritch episodes. I think the only one I really liked was the Christmas episode from season 2, but that's probably because the show was at its best back then.
Greg I actually meant to say the only episode I liked HER.
April 13, 2012 at 10:25AM ESTI WANT IT NOWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 13, 2012 at 10:29AM EST Reply to CommentNo Awake review this week as well?? Am I to assume then that this show will not rise from the dead at NBC ala Chuck and Community??
VBarkley
April 13, 2012 at 10:35AM EST Reply to CommentNot a fan of 30 Rock.
I like Up All Night, especially Maya Rudolph as Ava/Faux-prah. Chris and Regan are a believably cute, in-love couple, but not cloyingly so. Love Missy as Ava's goofy assistant.
You need to watch last week's episode, with a so perfectly awkward placement of Olivia Newton-John's "I Honestly Love You," I almost peed my pants.
chuchundra
April 13, 2012 at 11:53AM EST Reply to CommentUp All Night seems like a show that's written just for me and my wife. Smart, forty-something couple with a new baby trying to adjust and deal with the craziness of life? Heck, I even do the SAHD thing two or three days a week.
Still, as much as I love the chemistry between Arnett and Applegate, not to mention some of the wacky side-characters, it very much seems like a show that doesn't really know where it wants to go. There were several changes of direction this season, none of them really working.
I was pretty annoyed when they unceremoniously dumped Jason Lee a few episodes back. I really thought his character added some balance to the Chris-Regan-Ava triad, plus I really like Jason Lee. I was very happy to see him back in the finale and I hope they add him as a regular if the show gets picked up for season 2.
The thing about UAN is that it's much more of a "hang out" show than a real laugh out loud sitcom. More knowign chuckles than real guffaws. Plus a lot of the humor is very specific. That's fine for me, since the specific humor is very specific to me, but the twenty-something reviewers over at AV Club seem to miss quite a bit of it.
I'd really like to see this show picked up, if for no other reason because it has one of the few decent portayals of a stay-at-home dad anywhere.
Asta77 I waited for Up All Night to find it's voice and I'm still waiting. They either need to commit to being a show about first time parents struggling to balance family, work and friends or a workplace comedy in which one of the characters is struggling to balance work and family responsibilities.
April 13, 2012 at 12:17PM ESTThe Jason Lee/Kevin departure was the most confusing (and poorly written) element of the season. I'm assuming Jason Lee needed to leave to work on another project, but having Kevin and Ava contemplating their future together in one episode and having Kevin having moved to Idaho in the next made me go to IMBD to see if I had missed an episode. I was, however, thrilled to see him back for the finale. Jason needs to be locked in as at least a reoccurring character if there is a Season 2.
chuchundra The show's main problem is that it's pulled in two directions. If it focuses on the Chris/Regan home life (the best part, IMHO), Maya Rudolph gets left out. If it shifts more to the workplace stuff, Will Arnett is left hanging.
April 13, 2012 at 2:16PM ESTIt's a nearly fatal flaw in the show's setup and I don't know how solvable it is without some major, structural changes.
It would probably have been a better idea to make Maya Rudolph the wacky/lonely neighbor/friend and kept the show mainly focused on their home life.
Col Bat Guano I really want to like Up All Night, but nothing about it has grabbed this whole season. It's filled with likable actors and the jokes aren't horrible sitcom staples, but it just seems lacking. I'm not sure there is a solution.
April 13, 2012 at 3:58PM ESTRyvyan I like CHUCHUNDRA's idea, and to add on: Kevin's old house is opposite Chris/Reagan. It would be really cool/crazy if Ava had bought it secretly and then the crazy neighbour/boss thing comes into play.
April 15, 2012 at 11:51PM ESTbitchstolemyremote
April 13, 2012 at 12:26PM EST Reply to CommentInteresting development with Jenna on 30 Rock (Our take: http://wp.me/p1VQBq-L5)
Initially it seemed like the obvious "Jenna does something selfish" subplot, but then when she realizes she really missed Paul, it was like she was having a genuine human emotion. Hopefully we'll see Paul (and Forte) again.
Brian J
April 13, 2012 at 1:06PM EST Reply to CommentI've only seen a few episodes of "Up All Night," so while I can't speak for the quality of the entire series so far, I can say I enjoyed what I did see. That, by itself, is something, because a lot of shows today are just boring (to me, at least).
But unless NBC has REALLY strong comedy development for next season, it's not going anywhere. I'd say that if it were owned by another network and were not affiliated with Lorne Michaels, but since it is own by NBC and has his fingerprints attached, it's on even firmer ground.
But more importantly, it's not a bad show. It might not be a very good show, let alone a great one, but it's not terrible. From what I have seen, it certainly seems possible for it to develop into a great show. It's only been on for one season, as opposed to six or seven for other NBC comedies, so it has a lot of life left in it.
My prediction? NBC benches "The Office" and "30 Rock" until next season and totally revamps Thursdays. The night will be led off with the new Matthew Perry comedy, followed by "Parks & Rec," followed by "Friday Night Dinner" with Allison Janney and Tony Shaloub," followed by "Up All Night." (What goes at 10:00 is an open question, but I suspect either the untitled JJ Abrams show or Bryan Fuller's "Mockingbird Lane" are the most likely candidates.) If for some reason Perry's show isn't picked up, I'd guess Roseanne's new show would take its spot. And perhaps NBC will give Greg Daniels the entire hour from 9-10:00 PM and put "FND" and "PR" back-to-back. But in some form, I expect the show to be back, and to be on Thursday nights.
Andrew Who knows what NBC will do? I wouldn't be shocked to see them completely drop Thursday as a comedy night, especially if CBS expands their comedy block to two hours.
April 13, 2012 at 6:06PM ESTNBC also has a ton of new pilots in development, so it's not clear how they'll fit all those in unless they only pick up one or two.
Re: UAN is very much on the bubble. The show looked like a guaranteed renewal last fall when it was regularly getting low 2s at 8pm Wednesday. But moving it to the 9:30 Thursday slot - which was intended to boost the show - unexpectedly caused its ratings to tank.
OTOH, the show has some pretty big name stars, and Lorne Michaels as Executive Producer. So it's very tough to say.
Brian J ANDREW,
April 14, 2012 at 12:28AM ESTThe thing is, what else does NBC have? It doesn't have that many shows in development, although all of the networks seem to be going lighter on the pilots this season. In particular, it seems light on the drama, although to its credit, its list of shows is definitely the most interesting. CBS seems to be determined to squeeze every last bit of juice from the cop show genre, while ABC is heavy on the soapier stuff. (As it happens, ABC has ordered a lot of pilots, and there are a few I think NBC should go after if ABC doesn't pick them up.)
As you say, who knows what NBC might do? I suspect it won't go with two dramas on Thursdays, unless of course one absolutely explodes and it can breathe new life into the night rather quickly. It needs to have at least one other night of comedy, and if it can get one to work on Thursdays, it can build the night around that, hopefully getting a second and third and then shipping one off to another night.
To continue with what I said above, it probably really does need to overhaul Thursday night. Regardless of what shows and what order of the shows it chooses, it needs to throw down a lot of money, use its vast arsenal of cable space, and the summer Olympics to promote the living hell out of its new night. Who knows if it's possible to get a regular audience that is as big as we used to see (i.e. 20 million viewers or more), but NBC should definitely try, to the point where everyone who can see and hear should be aware of its new night of comedy. And it should start the season a week or two or even three weeks early, just to give it some momentum. As a point of comparison, if it spent $25 million promoting "Smash," it should probably spend at least $100 million promoting the new shows, of which there would be at least two, perhaps even three or four, including the new drama at 10:00. That's a serious sum of money, but if the network can right itself on Thursday nights, it'll be the start of rebuilding the entire network.
As far as "Up All Night" goes, figure that while it might be that good, it isn't bad. That's a start. It also has NBC's blood running through it, and it's only a year old, so all that considered, it can and should return. I blame the ratings declines more on the fact that all shows are down and NBC in particular is struggling right now, particularly on Thursdays.
parksandrock
April 13, 2012 at 1:32PM EST Reply to CommentI had tears streaming down my face during the proposal on Up All Night...what can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic?
nath
April 13, 2012 at 2:55PM EST Reply to CommentI generally like Colleen just fine but I thought this was one of the weakest 30 Rocks of the season.
mrbilliam
April 13, 2012 at 3:36PM EST Reply to CommentI actually thought the last few episodes of Up All Night had been fairly flat, rather than improved. I think the New Year's episode is the best one they've ever done.
Jeff
April 13, 2012 at 3:49PM EST Reply to CommentAlan, no comment on finding out Paul's last name (L'Astname')? Or did I miss it getting covered in a previous episode?
sepinwall We've known that for a while.
April 13, 2012 at 4:23PM ESTchairthrower
April 13, 2012 at 4:34PM EST Reply to CommentI've enjoyed "Up All Night" while simultaneously feeling it's rather formulaic. Just when I'm getting complacent they do something--either in the writing or just some brilliant acting on the leads' part--that pulls me back in. Last night's proposal story being a good example. We had predicted that would happen mid-episode, but the way the proposal played out took it to a higher level.
John Thomas
April 14, 2012 at 3:28AM EST Reply to CommentI love the up all night episode most of all because of the Total Eclipse of the Heart usage (which makes wonderfully no sense as a proposal song) - Also, "Moon" - "You turn me into a wolf"
Spikes of Fury
April 14, 2012 at 7:50AM EST Reply to CommentI've been watching Up All Night all the way through, but mostly for the cast. I find much of the humour to be uncreative and predictable, and they've had several funny guest stars come on the show and then not do anything funny, but Chris Diamantopolous' last couple of appearances have been the funniest part of the show for me.
KobraCola
April 15, 2012 at 7:05AM EST Reply to Comment"Case in point: last week's Christmas episode, where the presence of Alan Alda and Elizabeth Banks counteracted my dislike of Colleen."
I'm guessing you meant last season's episode? Unless I'm missing something, I don't think Elizabeth Banks (or Alan Alda for that matter) have been on the show recently. I found the 30 Rock episode to be fine. I don't dislike Colleen episodes as much as it seems you do, but I'm certainly not partial to them in any way. Up All Night has been a mild disappointment for me this season, I have to disagree with your friends. If anything, as I expected the show to start coming into its own, it got more and more bland and the jokes starting flying with less zing. I mean, it's hard to remember this is the same show where Reagan and Chris were swearing at their baby in 1 of the early episodes. I will not be sticking with UAN most likely unless the episodes get semi-significantly funnier. Towards the end of this first season, I started to feel like I was wasting my time with the show.
pamelajaye
April 17, 2012 at 11:34PM EST Reply to CommentI watched 30 Rock last week but didn't get thru Up All Night till just now. Being a big fan of Total Eclipse of the Heart (original and illustrated video version) I really, really loved it.
Meanwhile, i'm at least 3 weeks behind on Awake. Thursday is just too much.