30 Rock: Season 1 DVD Review by Christopher Smith

(Published Aug. 30, 2007)

From Tina Fey, longtime writer and cast member of “Saturday Night Live,” comes this Emmy-nominated series about a sketch comedy show in which pretty much everything goes wrong.

The first season of “30 Rock” underscores Fey’s ear for dialogue, which she showcased to great effect in her popular movie “Mean Girls," and which now has been honed to an even deadlier point.

Beyond the writing, what makes the series work as well as it does, is the obvious insight Fey brings to each script she either co-writes or oversees--this woman knows network television.

In each episode, you can smell the authenticity in the behind-the-scene dramas, even if they are heightened beyond reason.

Here, Fey is Liz Lemon, head-writer of “The Girlie Show,” who is startled when her new boss Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin, excellent) brings in the borderline insane Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) to beef up the show’s male demographic.

Disaster ensues, as do the laughs.

Grade: B+