30 Rock is more than home to Saturday Night Live, NBC News, and Tina Fey's television show. High atop the 65th floor of the Rockefeller Center building is the Rainbow Room, the storied restaurant-bar-ballroom that it's always worth telling NYC's visitors to stop by instead of the Empire State Building. And now, it is closing. CONTINUED »
No longer are we alone in our crusade to get Ben Silverman of NBC knocked down a peg or two. Jeff Bercovici, from Portfolio's blog, also realizes that now that NBC bumped up Leno and Silverman has five less hours to program in a day, his role should be diminished accordingly.
But at a time when the conglomerate is laying off hundreds, even from its divisions that are thriving, there's no justification for keeping someone like Silverman — an expensive reminder of the network's shriveled ambitions — on the books.
Then again:
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A child actor was almost killed on the set of NBC's 30 Rock when a taxi hurled down the street and collided with another vehicle during filming. The 9-year old quickly lept out of the way, and other crew sustained only "minor grazing" from the accident. Terrifying? Sure. But also, boo-yah, worker's comp!
Last week's 30 Rock was the best, mainly because of all the Night Court references, but also Jennifer Aniston's cameo as Liz's "Crazy Putty" friend that falls for Alec Baldwin's Jack. You know, I often find myself going on first dates and ending up making some guy a white pizza and a pot roast because I just like them so much.
Anyway, Daily Intel cornered Alec Baldwin at Tisch yesterday and asked him what it was like to kiss Jennifer.
It was painful," Baldwin sighed. "I mean, every man who's had to make out with her in TV and movies — I don't know how they do it."
Huh. It's hard to tell when Alec is being sarcastic or not. He is a crazy guy, but apparently that doesn't necessarily translate into awesome, low-self-esteem fueled sex like it does for women.
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A promotion for 30 Rock involves some Baldwin-brother toilet paper, which is delightful for those among us who always wanted Alec to kiss their ass.
Side note: Jennifer Aniston on this week's episode? Framazing.
Now that the election is over and both Tina Fey and Sarah Palin have ended their runs playing the potential future Vice President, what's in the cards for the two women? Both are hilarious — one intentionally, one unintentionally — and both are beautiful and (arguably) talented. So who will stand a better chance for success in life after the presidential election?
The Office's Ryan Howard isn't the only NBC character tribute to Ben Silverman, the young "Paris Hilton" exec of programming at the station. Tina Fey also based a 30 Rock character off of the young wunderkind: the closeted slimeball Devin Banks, portrayed with a deep throaty rasp by Will Arnett.
"There are probably four," she quickly replied (even though the show actually went on the air a season before Silverman started at NBC). The nearest, she reckoned, is the devious executive Devin Banks, played by Will Arnett, who is trying to outmaneuver Fey's onscreen boss, Alec Baldwin, for the top job at GE.
One day on the set, Fey recalled, Arnett was waiting to shoot a scene and, noting that he was wearing a silver-hued suit, was goofing around: "Look, I'm a silver man — get it?"
With two of NBC's best comedies already taking potshots at the golden calf, can we predict Ben's future by looking at what happened to his alter-egos? CONTINUED »
Can you believe that Survivor has already been on for 16 seasons? Jeff Probst can't, especially since it's taken him nearly that long to win an Emmy for his work as host. But if the ratings year's award ceremonies featuring the reality-television stars are any indication, viewer interest in watching contestants eat bugs and create alliances is waning.
Though Survivor is still #1 in its time slot on CBS Thursdays, viewership has decreased over 50%, and with the economy being what it is, there is little chance that advertisers will be willing to invest the big money they used to.
"After eight years, you’ve got to wonder what’s left to come up with,” said David C. Joyce, a media equity analyst at Miller Tabak & Company who follows CBS."
Is the decline in Survivor interest a sign of the upcoming hard times ahead? Will the new Depression really be heralded in by the dearth of reality television as the ubiquitous canary in a coalmine?
The pop culture end of days is upon us! Repent, and check out three other recent examples of penny-pinching in pop, after the jump:
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Okay Alec Baldwin, you're depressed, and none of the shiny Emmys in the world can convince you that life is worth living when you insist on ruining every interview with some long rant about how horrible people are. But still, it might not be the wisest move to turn around and start raging against your fan base: CONTINUED »
'Gossip Girl frenemies Leighton Meester and Blake Lively have closed a deal to guest-star in a November sweeps episode of NBC's increasingly stunt-happy 30 Rock, sources confirm to me exclusively. The dynamic duo will play — prepare to laugh 'till you piddle — former high school classmates of Liz Lemon's in a flashback sequence that reveals a shocking and deeply ironic truth about Tina Fey's morally superior alter ego: She was a Mean Girl!' [EW]
Ostensibly the news about updated uniforms for the NBC pages is uplifting; those suckers haven't been modified in ten years, and no one wants to go to work looking like Kenneth from 30 Rock (j/k Jack McBrayer, love you!!). Um, but? All these famous people started out as pages, like Regis Philbin, Ted Koppel, and Captain Kangaroo. The implication that NBC has some sort of pay-your-dues period before just anyone is allowed to become Captain Kangaroo or Regis is just soooo depressing. After the jump, the original page uniforms from the 60s and the newer versions.
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How to score a plug in Page Six? Mention the column on your show. [P6]
Last night, the cast of 30 Rock followed in Saturday Night Live's footsteps with a live show at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade, toeing the WGA picket line. Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Tracey Morgan, and, yes, Jack McBrayer staged their pre-announced performance in front of a small audience. "It wasn't as funny as it will be on TV," says one attendee of the already-taped episode they performed live, "but Baldwin was ridiculous as ever." Cookie jar collecting ridiculous, even.
Is it possible to interweave race-related humor without offending the delicate sensibilities of the Politically Correct patrol? Apparently, it is!
The Gray Lady congratulates Curb Your Enthusiasm and 30 Rock for effectively straddling the line between funny and racially insensitive, while impressively steering clear of any/all comparisons to Don Imus, The Dog and Sarah Silverman. [Stereohyped]
You know all those crazy hijinks, zany mid-afternoon pranks and hilariously awkward elevator small-talk that's always happening on 30 Rock? Well, it turns out, working at NBC isn't nearly so crazy and action-packed in real life. Unless, of course, you're one of the 1,000 expendable NBC employees being forcibly relocated to New Jersey.
Reports the New York Post:
Almost all of the network's digital employees, from online units such as iVillage and NBC Weather Plus, as well as the stations group operations division are being relocated from Midtown to a new digital campus at a corporate park in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, just blocks from the George Washington Bridge. NBC will transport everyone in and out of Manhattan with a fleet of 18 buses.
What fun! The move should give NBC corporate execs an opportunity to expand their offices (and clear out all the congestion around the 30 Rock cafeteria!) without costing a bundle, while offering lowly underlings "an incredible opportunity" to hit on hot Bauer chicks (and Houlihan's waitresses) at those (mandatory) after-work drink things.
• Only Conrad Black would call Conrad Black's fraud trial "bullshit."
• Jon Friedman is first last to recognize Charlie Gibson/ABC's success.
• World rebels against business mags. Portfolio, however, is safe.
• Turns out Time Warner shareholders are more concerned with profits than with former HBO prez's indiscretions.
• San Francisco Chronicle to get 25% worse.
• AdAge: "The print-media industry is not only filled with f–k-ups, it coddles them." Case in point, AMI's David Pecker.
• PRWeek is not a fan of the RTCA Dinner. Possibly because they failed to properly appreciate MC Rove. Probably because they think it's a conflict of interest for journalists and politicians sing, dance and jump in bed together.
• Is the Today show squandering its once massive lead over Good Morning America? 'Yes!" says Page Six. 'No!" says last week's ratings.
• CNN's American Morning will continue to be a "no glitz, no glamour" (and, presumably, "no viewer) operation.
• Meanwhile, Miles O'Brien looks forward to life outside "an air-conditioned studio" while his replacement, John Roberts insists, "I don't think [AM] has to be hard news like you're taking Robitussin."
• NBC renews 30 Rock for another season, gives Tracy Morgan something to do in between binge-drinking and hitting the strip joints.
• A Sopranos spinoff? Fuhgeddaboudit.
• Conrad Black is accused of lifting cash from a company in Chicago. So how come he's never even heard of Abe Froman?
• Who will replace Paul Steiger as WSJ's managing editor? We smell a reality show!
• 30 Rock continues to be that show you DVR, but never actually watch.
• Is Vicom's $1 billion suit against Google shortsighted? Experts say, "hello! Have you been to the Googleplex?"
• Time Warner could spin off AOL this year, despite what Time Warner spokesman Ed Adler has to say.
• Carol Burnett sues Family Guy for parodying her parody show.
Remember yesterday when we reported that John Mayer "dissed" Ryan Seacrest by smugly breaking into badly-accented Japanese and addressing him as "the Anderson Cooper of E?"
Well, now comes word that Tina Fey has employed similar discretion (albeit more wit) on the subject of her nemesis, Studio 60 creator Aaron Sorkin.
Tina Fey dissed archfoe Aaron Sorkin Sunday night at the Writers Guild Awards. The "30 Rock" star competes with Sorkin's "Studio 60": Both take place behind the scenes at a show like "Saturday Night Live," where Fey was head writer. Wiggling around the Hudson Theatre stage in a party frock with plunging decolletage, Fey told the crowd, "I hear Aaron Sorkin is in Los Angeles wearing the same dress - but longer, and not funny."
Unfortunately for Fey, we heard her "frock" was derivative, overrated and only funny when Alec Baldwin's around.
When we heard New York magazine was launching a new blog, we were hoping that somewhere along the way we would get a little peak into the secret life of staffers. (Mostly we want a full report on the number of Julianne Moore photos in Adam Moss' office.)
We're not quite there yet … but what we do have is a fun little IM chat between "pop culture gurus" Emily Nussbaum and Adam Sternbergh. The topic at hand? None other than the new New York-based comedy 30 Rock. When Nussbaum decides she likes the show, and Sternbergh decides this makes her a moron, things get hotter than when the interns bring David Amsden his mail.
Nussbaum: What else did you hate, Mr. I Miss Arrested Development?
Nussbaum: I think I liked this show better than you for the same reason I like Scrubs and you don't like it.
Sternbergh: Because you like things that are awful?
Sternbergh: Like Scrubs?
Nussbaum: You hate Wacky.
Sternbergh: I just found the comedy's not that sharp. I laughed out loud only once, during Tracy Morgan's bit about the government injecting AIDS into our chicken nuggets.
This is what happens when your masthead changes once every seven years. People just get a little too comfortable with each other.
‘30 Rock’: One Thumb Up [Fresh Intel]
