Drink up, Nerds!
I am convinced that we will never see a show like 30 Rock again.
Around this time last year it ended forever. Since then, I have consistently watched re-runs. I have constantly quoted snippets from my favorite episodes both in real life and while I'm watching other shows (only Arrested Development beats this show in terms of quote appropriation). The cast had godlike chemistry, it survived eight seasons despite never being a hit ratings-wise, and more than anything, it raised the standard for what a television comedy could do. It reminded me and thousands of people why we love television in the first place; in the right hands, it can do things films can't. It can create characters that develop long-term and jokes that can ferment for years at a time.
Tina Fey has two new pilots that have been picked up, and I couldn't be happier. But I doubt they'll surpass 30 Rock, a show that stretched boundaries and started trends. However, like any successful TV sitcom, it does have a formula, and therefore makes a great drinking game.
Around this time last year it ended forever. Since then, I have consistently watched re-runs. I have constantly quoted snippets from my favorite episodes both in real life and while I'm watching other shows (only Arrested Development beats this show in terms of quote appropriation). The cast had godlike chemistry, it survived eight seasons despite never being a hit ratings-wise, and more than anything, it raised the standard for what a television comedy could do. It reminded me and thousands of people why we love television in the first place; in the right hands, it can do things films can't. It can create characters that develop long-term and jokes that can ferment for years at a time.
Tina Fey has two new pilots that have been picked up, and I couldn't be happier. But I doubt they'll surpass 30 Rock, a show that stretched boundaries and started trends. However, like any successful TV sitcom, it does have a formula, and therefore makes a great drinking game.
"40 Rock" (Get it, because...40s...yeah...): The Rules
Liz Lemon's drink of choice is Pinot Grigio, so white wine is a good bet. We also picked up some lovely Chateau Diana wine PRODUCT, so if you're especially poor or live near a Brooklyn deli, pick some of that shit up.
Blergh. I'm not quoting the show, I'm throwing up.
Easy Mode
1. Drink for Title Drops: that's whenever someone says "30 Rock" or mentions "30 Rockefeller Plaza"
2. Drink when they drink. Remember that Alec Baldwin plays an alcoholic with a great voice.
3. Drink for Daddy Issues. That encompasses 90% of the characters on this show.
4. Drink for impressions or funny voices
5. Drink for product placement or tongue-in-cheek advertisement
6. Drink when someone mentions a television show, real or fake. The exception to this rule is TGS: drink whenever you see a sketch instead.
7. Drink when a character takes a stand or takes up a cause
8. Drink when someone mentions "having it all".
Medium Mode
All the above rules apply. Also...
1. Drink for episode title drops
2. Drink for references to NBC or one of their parent companies.
3. Drink when someone tells a lie, or it's revealed someone's been lying.
4. Drink when someone bursts into song
5. Drink for startling revelations or epiphanies
Hard Mode
All the above rules apply. Also...
1. Drink for misleading sentences. Basically, when you can hear the ellipses written in the script, take a sip.
2. Drink when a joke revolves around someone's race, ethnicity or nationality.
3. Drink for nicknames.
4. Drink for homoerotic tension. It's mostly one-sided.
5. Drink when Jack and Liz's relationship is pointed at.
6. Drink when reference is made to Kenneth being immortal.
1. Drink for Title Drops: that's whenever someone says "30 Rock" or mentions "30 Rockefeller Plaza"
2. Drink when they drink. Remember that Alec Baldwin plays an alcoholic with a great voice.
3. Drink for Daddy Issues. That encompasses 90% of the characters on this show.
4. Drink for impressions or funny voices
5. Drink for product placement or tongue-in-cheek advertisement
6. Drink when someone mentions a television show, real or fake. The exception to this rule is TGS: drink whenever you see a sketch instead.
7. Drink when a character takes a stand or takes up a cause
8. Drink when someone mentions "having it all".
Medium Mode
All the above rules apply. Also...
1. Drink for episode title drops
2. Drink for references to NBC or one of their parent companies.
3. Drink when someone tells a lie, or it's revealed someone's been lying.
4. Drink when someone bursts into song
5. Drink for startling revelations or epiphanies
Hard Mode
All the above rules apply. Also...
1. Drink for misleading sentences. Basically, when you can hear the ellipses written in the script, take a sip.
2. Drink when a joke revolves around someone's race, ethnicity or nationality.
3. Drink for nicknames.
4. Drink for homoerotic tension. It's mostly one-sided.
5. Drink when Jack and Liz's relationship is pointed at.
6. Drink when reference is made to Kenneth being immortal.
Secretly running the show
The Players
Our players for this game are...
Krissy Pappau: Wants to go to there (Easy)
Pooh Daddy: Working on getting his EGOT (Easy)
Velma Jinkies: Once ran for Mayor of Stone Mountain and lost to the horse (Medium)
Some Guy: Dumped Liz Lemon because of her weird foot thing. He regrets it. (Medium)
Big Moose: Is Cam-Eh-Ra shy (Medium)
The Fuzzy Masked Man: Knows what art is. It's pictures of horses (Hard)
Krissy Pappau: Wants to go to there (Easy)
Pooh Daddy: Working on getting his EGOT (Easy)
Velma Jinkies: Once ran for Mayor of Stone Mountain and lost to the horse (Medium)
Some Guy: Dumped Liz Lemon because of her weird foot thing. He regrets it. (Medium)
Big Moose: Is Cam-Eh-Ra shy (Medium)
The Fuzzy Masked Man: Knows what art is. It's pictures of horses (Hard)
30 Rock's Evolution: The TraJennaPro
"Oh wow," said The Fuzzy Masked Man as we began to watch our first episode, which was the second episode in the series. "It's even filmed different."
Fans of the show might have hazy memories of the first season, but it is really worth going back and watching the pilot episodes. 30 Rock had a hard time figuring out what it wanted to be. It was written with the quickness of a sketch-comedy show, but presented in a shaky, realistic style, akin to "The Office" without the documentary-style interviews. There was less music and more of an emphasis on presenting the "reality" of a highly theatrical situation.
That all changed as the show continued, and by season three it had cemented its cartoonish style and high-paced, almost absurdist brand of comedy. The characters knew who they were and how they related to each other, and the jokes came faster and faster, reaching close to 12 jokes per minute by the end of the series.
The best part of this is that the show didn't have to compromise all that much to continue its run. The concept was the same, the writing was the same, the characters weren't given drastically new personalities, and none of the main characters were replaced (save Rachel Dratch as the recurring ensemble member). The creators of the show managed to find that line between appealing to the general public and sticking to their vision, a line they danced a tango with for eight years.
What exactly did they change then, besides fixing the pacing issues? You can find the answer to this question by examining two characters: Tracy and Jenna.
Fans of the show might have hazy memories of the first season, but it is really worth going back and watching the pilot episodes. 30 Rock had a hard time figuring out what it wanted to be. It was written with the quickness of a sketch-comedy show, but presented in a shaky, realistic style, akin to "The Office" without the documentary-style interviews. There was less music and more of an emphasis on presenting the "reality" of a highly theatrical situation.
That all changed as the show continued, and by season three it had cemented its cartoonish style and high-paced, almost absurdist brand of comedy. The characters knew who they were and how they related to each other, and the jokes came faster and faster, reaching close to 12 jokes per minute by the end of the series.
The best part of this is that the show didn't have to compromise all that much to continue its run. The concept was the same, the writing was the same, the characters weren't given drastically new personalities, and none of the main characters were replaced (save Rachel Dratch as the recurring ensemble member). The creators of the show managed to find that line between appealing to the general public and sticking to their vision, a line they danced a tango with for eight years.
What exactly did they change then, besides fixing the pacing issues? You can find the answer to this question by examining two characters: Tracy and Jenna.
Also known as Dumb and Dumber.
The clowns of the show, Tracy and Jenna begin as rivals for the position of top star on TGS, but eventually become close friends. During the high points of their relationship, we marvel at the similarities between them, and most of the comedy they generate comes from how accepting they are of each other's dopiness. They're unpredictable, zany and often irrational. But the more the show progresses, the less we see their unacceptable craziness, and the more we're just TOLD they're crazy by the other characters on the show.
Let's start with Tracy. His character is introduced into the show with a clip showing him running naked down the highway. He's like Eddie Murphy at the height of his stand-up comedy career: young, crazy, and just dangerous enough to be shocking. He is a true threat to the world that Liz has built at TGS, and a real wild card.
By season six...Tracy's more like Eddie Murphy present day. He's gained weight. His antics have gone from boat-stealing to keeping exotic animals and writing an autobiography in a day. "In the early seasons," Big Moose added, "Tracey was keenly aware of racial politics, and that goes away almost entirely." Not only did the writers make Tracy less dangerous, they made him a little less intelligent. Season One Tracy freaks out on people because he enjoys keeping them on their toes, and knows he'll get attention in the process. Tracy stills wants attention in the later seasons, but goes about getting it like a spoiled child instead of a borderline psycho someone handed a microphone to.
Let's start with Tracy. His character is introduced into the show with a clip showing him running naked down the highway. He's like Eddie Murphy at the height of his stand-up comedy career: young, crazy, and just dangerous enough to be shocking. He is a true threat to the world that Liz has built at TGS, and a real wild card.
By season six...Tracy's more like Eddie Murphy present day. He's gained weight. His antics have gone from boat-stealing to keeping exotic animals and writing an autobiography in a day. "In the early seasons," Big Moose added, "Tracey was keenly aware of racial politics, and that goes away almost entirely." Not only did the writers make Tracy less dangerous, they made him a little less intelligent. Season One Tracy freaks out on people because he enjoys keeping them on their toes, and knows he'll get attention in the process. Tracy stills wants attention in the later seasons, but goes about getting it like a spoiled child instead of a borderline psycho someone handed a microphone to.
Words to live by
Jenna, in the meantime, seems to soak up Tracy's excess crazy as the series goes on. "She's more of a real person in the beginning," Some Guy sums up. Jenna's plight in the early episodes of the show is understandable; a show has been built around her and the characters she creates, and now a movie star has come in out of nowhere to take any fame she had away. She's a bit of a narcissist, and she's pretty high maintenance, but most actors are. In later seasons, she stages emotional breakdowns, brawls in the street, dates a drag queen who dresses as her, and fakes her own death to earn her movie some extra acclaim (then botches it by showing up at her funeral to sing). She's a whacko sociopath who will do anything to get some attention, and do it with a smile.
More words to live by?
Apart from Tracy and Jenna, no other characters went through this subtle shift. It took me a bit to identify exactly what was done with these characters, and exactly what the issue with the pilot episodes is. But I figured it out: the show was too realistic. The stakes were too high. In comedy, especially network television comedy, things work best when the stakes are relatively low but TREATED as if they were raised as high as possible. So when recalibrating their formula, the creators made the humor broader, but toned the content down. Crazy-Like-A-Fox Tracy and Fragile Jenna became Dumb Tracy and Crazy Jenna. And it absolutely works.
Let's make this clear: the tweaks to Jenna and Tracy's character are negligible, and NOT a bad thing at all. If anything, nailing down what makes these two tick saved the show. The situations in this show are very stressful, and if they mirror real life too closely, all it does is stress the audience out. That may account for negative feedback for the first couple seasons; people found it hard to watch. By making things strange (oh my God, this show is Brechtian, pinch me), 30 Rock allows us to look at the events objectively while still identifying with the characters and more importantly with what the characters represent. At heart, this show is about subverting and appealing to stereotype. It's difficult to do, and 30 Rock pulls it off with aplomb.
Let's make this clear: the tweaks to Jenna and Tracy's character are negligible, and NOT a bad thing at all. If anything, nailing down what makes these two tick saved the show. The situations in this show are very stressful, and if they mirror real life too closely, all it does is stress the audience out. That may account for negative feedback for the first couple seasons; people found it hard to watch. By making things strange (oh my God, this show is Brechtian, pinch me), 30 Rock allows us to look at the events objectively while still identifying with the characters and more importantly with what the characters represent. At heart, this show is about subverting and appealing to stereotype. It's difficult to do, and 30 Rock pulls it off with aplomb.
Shine on, you magnificent bastard.
Rules are Fun
That's all I got for analysis on this show, y'all. I have the feeling that if I try to plumb 30 Rock's depths too deeply, I'll ruin the surprises it gives me every time I watch it. Here are some of my favorite moments from our test night.
First, I realized that because of my "nickname" rule on Hard Mode, everyone needs to drink every time someone says "Toofer."
First, I realized that because of my "nickname" rule on Hard Mode, everyone needs to drink every time someone says "Toofer."
James Spurlock. A name designed to make you want to punch him in the face.
The Fuzzy Masked Man pointed out that every once in a while, they'll slip in a joke about "Lemon Parties" (Don't google that.)
We realized joyfully that the title of the fourth episode we watched was "Floyd". So we had to drink every time someone said "Floyd" in an episode about Floyd.
We realized joyfully that the title of the fourth episode we watched was "Floyd". So we had to drink every time someone said "Floyd" in an episode about Floyd.
Dear Diary: Jason Sudeikis is the dreamiest.
The first time the phrase "It's tough having it all," was uttered, it wasn't said by Liz, but by Grizz.
These two are actually the characters that grew the most.
We remembered that 30 Rock premiered around the same time as "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip", and briefly thought about the strange future in which THAT became the successful show.
Aaron Sorkin has another show now. Matthew Perry, however, does not.
We reveled in Elaine Stritch's presence as Jack's horrible mother, and drank every time her character said...basically anything.
Oh my god I found this photo of them on set they are ADORABLE.
We watched Jack and Liz share a kiss in "Queen of Jordan 2: Mystery of the Phantom Pooper", and I once again delighted in their mutual disgust and distinct knowledge that they wanted no part of each other sexually.
Look at that face. That's a "Please shoot me now" face.
Kristen Schaal appeared. Pooh Daddy had never seen her character before. Hazel might be considered a "Hail Mary" near the end of the show's run, but Schaal is a fantastic comedienne and got great exposure with this part.
NEVER
As usual, the games that are the most fun to play and the shows that are most fun to watch are the ones that are most difficult for me to talk about. What else can I say except, Tina Fey, you're a funny lady and you and your friends created something really great. Please do it again.
The Results
"I'm already drunk!" crowed Velma Jinkies about forty minutes into our game.
"No, you're not," scoffed Some Guy. We looked over at our three bottles of wine. We'd only made our way through one and a bit, FAR below the "Godfather" standard of wine drinking.
I'm willing to blame the episodes we watched for our poor showing during this game, because I think my rules are fantastic. They work much better for the latter half of the show, though, so I DO suppose they could use some tweaking...
Drink for Connecting Jokes
Borrowed from the Arrested Development game, this rule means you should drink every time a reference is made in one episode that is ALSO made in another one you watch, or if events in another episode are referenced. For example, Jenna's obsession with Mickey Rorke, or basically anything having to do with Devin Banks' storyline.
Drink when a character embarks on a new project.
They might all work for TGS, but these characters all have their own lives. And they gotta pay bills somehow. Whether it's Jenna starring in yet ANOTHER student film, or Jack funneling his energy into coaching a youth baseball team, the cast of 30 Rock knows how to fill their days.
Take a BIG drink whenever someone uses the phrase "Shut it down".
It doesn't happen quite often enough to make it a regular rule. But it's still one of the most well-remembered quotes from the series.
"No, you're not," scoffed Some Guy. We looked over at our three bottles of wine. We'd only made our way through one and a bit, FAR below the "Godfather" standard of wine drinking.
I'm willing to blame the episodes we watched for our poor showing during this game, because I think my rules are fantastic. They work much better for the latter half of the show, though, so I DO suppose they could use some tweaking...
Drink for Connecting Jokes
Borrowed from the Arrested Development game, this rule means you should drink every time a reference is made in one episode that is ALSO made in another one you watch, or if events in another episode are referenced. For example, Jenna's obsession with Mickey Rorke, or basically anything having to do with Devin Banks' storyline.
Drink when a character embarks on a new project.
They might all work for TGS, but these characters all have their own lives. And they gotta pay bills somehow. Whether it's Jenna starring in yet ANOTHER student film, or Jack funneling his energy into coaching a youth baseball team, the cast of 30 Rock knows how to fill their days.
Take a BIG drink whenever someone uses the phrase "Shut it down".
It doesn't happen quite often enough to make it a regular rule. But it's still one of the most well-remembered quotes from the series.
Personally, my favorite "Shut it down" comes from Dinklage
Well, everyone, that's our first game of 2014! Go out and watch 30 Rock if you never have, and maybe drink a bit, too! Can we top the 30 Rock game with our next effort?
Yes, no, maybe...I don't know...
Like what you see? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, at For Your Inebriation and @KrissyPappau respectively. You'll get weekly updates, behind the scenes drunk talk, and other chatter!
For Your Inebriation is written by Krissy Pappau (Hollis Beck). Video footage is taken by Pooh Daddy (Vincent Graham) and edited by Seb (Amy Yourd). All "30 Rock" images are owned by NBC.
For Your Inebriation is written by Krissy Pappau (Hollis Beck). Video footage is taken by Pooh Daddy (Vincent Graham) and edited by Seb (Amy Yourd). All "30 Rock" images are owned by NBC.
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