Episode 22 - I Do Do
23 May 2010
Review
Synopsis: Liz stalls the wedding while Jack agrees to make it work with Nancy. Kenneth is offered a job in LA as head of the page programme but doesn't want to go. Tracy advises him to do a half assed job but he gets fired instead. Liz meets a pilot called Carol (Matt Damon) and realises she doesn't need to settle for Wesley.
The Good: Avery's pregnancy should drive some interesting stories for Jack next season. Plus Elizabeth Banks was the more likely choice for a recurring role and will be a good addition to the show. Paul dressing as half-Jenna and half-Cher was unexpected but it's good that he will stick around too, providing her with the self obsessed relationship she needs. Kenneth being fired won't last long but at least provides him (presumably) with a new dynamic for next season.
I did like Liz' desire not to explain who Wesley was to Carol and literally saying "I'm only here because my cousin..." and not even finishing the sentence. I also smiled at Jenna claiming Paul "had a lot of taped up balls to come here."
The Bad: Jack not having to chose between Avery and Nancy felt a bit weak after all the build up. Similarly the three weddings in one day story was such an afterthought. Weddings seem such an obvious occasion for jokes that to ignore them was typically odd writing from 30 Rock.
As usual there was some dumb stuff with Liz playing guitar to stall Floyd's wedding and no one just stopping her. Kenneth's drunken anti-goodbye speech was a perfect 30 Rock moment. Its sketch humour that doesn't work. The joke is that he is saying the exact opposite of what an angry drunk ex-employee would say. But there's nothing plausible about his tone and so the joke falls flat. Liz giving yet another rom-com speech which Carol overhears is another shrugging moment. Does Tina Fey think anyone cares about Liz Lemon at this point? The show has ridiculed its own sense of reality so much that no one is invested in her finding happiness. Particularly not with Matt Damon who clearly won't be around week to week and so won't feel like a part of the show.
I hope the writers haven't forgotten about Tracy's season long desire for a baby girl or EGOT glory.
Comic Highlight: Paul confides in Jack that he is in love with two women. Jack of course sympathises greatly and advises him to pick one. He explains that Paul will never know if he made the right choice, "You don't, you'll always be wondering what your life would have been like if you had opened the other door." Paul nods at this wise advice and adds "Like at a haunted house sex party."
The Bottom Line: A show which continues to make bizarre choices and act like a sketch show when it should be a sitcom and vice versa.
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