TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT, HAZEL. I DO MY SURPRISE CAMEO, IT GOES VIRAL…I TAKE MEDICINE FOR IT. NEXT STOP HOLLYWOOD…FLORIDA TO GET THE CAR FROM MY MOM, NEXT STOP CALIFORNIA…PIZZA KITCHEN TO TELL MY OLD BOSS NADINE TO SUCK IT. NEXT STOP TINSELTOWN…BECAUSE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS ARE REALLY CHEAP THIS TIME OF YEAR: I don't ask for 30 Rock to contain character development or narrative arcs. I just want it to be funny, I want the gags to work. And last night's live episode worked (EDT/PDT differences here), and since all I want to do is list my favorite gags in lieu of a fuller recap, let's just do that in the comments. Okay, one: Nazi Doctor Spaceman. ("I know it's live! I want them to know.")
updated: WaPo has EDT v PDT clips.
Exactly--they realized that trying to a more traditional episode of the show live didn't really work (despite a pretty good effort the first time), so came up with this. I found the Amos and Andy pastiche more uncomfortable than funny, though Jon Hamm in particular certainly threw himself into it, but the other bits landed pretty darn well. That said, did they use different cameras than they normally do? The image seemed a little glossier, though that may just be because it was unprocessed (I think they use a "film-look" type process when they edit the show, which is shot digitally).
ReplyDeleteWe get both east coast and west coast feeds of the US networks, so I had the chance to watch both versions, which of course I did. And the THR analysis is dead on. Paul McCartney > (Kim Kardashian + Brian Williams). There are few celebrities for whom Paul McCartney > (Kim Kardashian + ____) is not a true statement.
ReplyDeleteAs for Jon Hamm, I thought he was brilliant. It's almost wrong, how talented and handsome that man is.
I was thinking earlier this week, while watching the Nerdist vs. Mad Men Celebrity Bowling that John Hamm could have George Clooney's career - why is he doing podcasts and supporting roles in romantic comedies? I love that he does that stuff, and he's great at it, but I feel sometimes like he's squandering his talent.
ReplyDeleteFavorite moment last night was Fred Armisen during the Telethon.
Donald Glover as young Tracy - hysterical!!!! A great impression while still a wonderful showcase of Glover's talent in general. (And a wonderful job on Community's Law & order for him also.)
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, your analysis remains true if you fill in the blank with "Paul McCartney".
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, your analysis remains true if you fill in the blank with "Paul McCartney".
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, your analysis remains true if you fill in the blank with "Paul McCartney".
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, your analysis remains true if you fill in the blank with "Paul McCartney".
ReplyDeleteThe only thing the Community episode was missing was the grouchy Senior DA. And apparently, Leslie Hendrix's agents said "no" and they got in touch with her directly and she said "absolutely." I haven't watched last night's Office yet, but the other 90 minutes of last night's comedy block were firing on all cylinders.
ReplyDeleteI did wish they'd gotten the actual Law and Order narration guy for the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI did like this comment, but only the second time. The first one was a bit rushed and I felt you were getting too Billy Crystal with the repetition the third and fourth times.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt that Serpaul > Kardashian (though there was a little bit of mileage out of the fact that the audience reaction made it clear that, outside camera range, Kardashian couldn't figure out how to open Jack's secret bathroom door), but I thought it was balanced out by the fact that Williams was better than Hamm in that particular part. Don't get me wrong, I love Hamm, but Williams underplayed it beautifully. So it was kind of an even trade.
ReplyDeleteOne thing the comparisons didn't pick up: Cheyanne Wilson doing the theme on the West Coast (instead of Jane Krakowski) and singing the latest NFL draft news to prove it was live (San Francisco, AJ Jenkins).
Thing is, I already deleted 9 such comments. I'm going to leave these up just to avoid ruining the joke.
ReplyDeleteOh JFC: I will never trust a "failed to post" web message again. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteOh JFC: I will never trust a "failed to post" web message again. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteOh JFC: I will never trust a "failed to post" web message again. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteAw, lookit: Danny Pudi came to the live show 'cause he and Glover are besties: https://twitter.com/#!/dannypudi/status/195704402043092996/photo/1
ReplyDeleteIn every interview or other media piece I've seen, the Community cast (with one notable exception, but let's not get into that) seems to genuinely like and respect one another off-screen as well.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know why these live 30 Rocks look so different than SNL episodes? I am woefully un-versed in film vs. tape, digital vs. film, etc., but would think that harsh "tape (?) look wouldn't be necessary here when it's not for SNL. Why does SNL look good and this look like my town's high school AV feed?
ReplyDelete?
Not sure I can capture all of it, and I'm sure I'm going to get a bunch of this completely wrong, but let me try. First, the lighting is different. In the taped 30 Rock, which is single-camera, they light each shot separately. So take the opening scene -- the standard conversation between Liz and Jack in Jack's office, for example. In the live show it's shot with two cameras, one basically over Jack's shoulder and one over Liz's. Usually, they'd put one camera on Liz's shoulder, light Jack individually (essentially with soft lighting), and shoot all his lines. Then they'd move the camera to Jack's shoulder, light Liz individually, and shoot all of her lines. In the live show, they had to light it for both characters, which basically means they need to use harsh, bright lighting that covers the whole set -- no shadows anywhere. It makes everything looked washed out.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I'm not positive about this, but I think the sets were different, since they had to build them in the SNL space, which has audience bleachers. They might have just disassembled and reassembled, but I thought the sets looked flimsier.
Third, no post-production. I assume that, just like in the movies, the show uses a colorist to adjust color saturation, true up the whites, etc. before finalizing (again, not sure if they do this in TV, but I would guess so). They also have a sound editor to mix everything to optimal levels, insert appropriate background noise, etc. You're not supposed to notice these things, but when you switch from having them to not having them, it makes a big difference. I think this accounts for the difference between a live show and a multi-camera taped show (like Friends). Even though it wasn't single-camera, it had pretty rich colors and warm sound. 30 Rock last night looked and sounded pretty cold and sharp to me.
Fourth, for whatever reason, when they do a live show with a studio audience, everybody shouts all of their lines, instead of just Tracy Morgan shouting all of his lines. Maybe they're performing to the audience, maybe they're afraid that they won't get picked up on the boom mics, or maybe it's just the same phenomenon as when people start shouting into speaker phones or cell phones.
As I said, I'm sure I'm wrong about some of this stuff.
I'm finding The Office is the stopper for me lately. Community and 30 Rock have been on fire (with each with their own odd genius, which for both changes week to week.).
ReplyDeleteThen The Office comes on and I want to like it, but it crashes for me within 10 minutes, so off goes the TV and I move on to something else. And I wind up catching up on Parks & Rec later. I'd much rather an NBC Thursday of Community, 30 Rock, Parks and Rec and 'whatever', because then I could just resign myself to the fact that my makeup will be ruined from laughing/crying so much that I wouldn't care.
I'm hoping in the fall NBC decides on this Thursday night schedule: Community, 30 Rock, Parks & Rec, The Office*, Parenthood. That would work for me since the first 3 often get me laughing so much I'm crying and occasionally get me tearing up too (well, esp Community & Parks & Rec), and Parenthood almost always makes me teary, so I'd get all my smudged makeup out of the way in one night. Plus, as far as quality of writing, production, acting, those four shows are the showpieces of NBC (and possibly all of network television) for me, so having them all on one night would be a return to NBC's flagship Thursday night lineup.
*buffering The Office between Parks & Rec and Parenthood would make me more likely to stay tuned in to it, somehow, over the draw of 30 minutes of Parks & Rec and whatever follows it. I guess it's that it seems easier to catch up on a 30 minute show instead of an hour show, so now if I find an Office episode lagging, which they usually are lately, I figure I can just catch up with Parks & Rec online, and skip whatever follows (lately Awake) Whereas, Parenthood is appointment television for me, as is Community, so having them bookending the night, and having the strong trifecta of Community, Parks & Rec and the current 30 Rock leading things off would lock me on to NBC for the night.
Good analysis Isaac. It makes sense to me.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I wondered: the first scene (EDT version), shot in Jack's office on an open sound stage: it seemed exactly like the set of Jack's office in the episode earlier this season for the Billy Baldwin episode (where they were filming the Avery movie) rather than the Jack's office set used in normal 30 Rock episodes. I wonder if they were one and the same.
Given that Thursday is likely to be even nastier than it was this year next year:
ReplyDeleteFox: X Factor (unless they shift to a Tuesday/Wednesday structure for it, which seems unlikely, given that Fox allegedly wants to launch a two hour live action comedy block, and Tuesday is the logical night to try that).
CBS: Two hour comedy block anchored by Big Bang and Two Broke Girls into Person of Interest
ABC: Grey's isn't the ratings powerhouse it used to be, but still a substantial factor, and Scandal has picked up ratings-wise.
CW: Vampire Diaries regularly pulls ratings comparable to NBC's, at least in the demo.
It may make sense for NBC to effectively concede the night to everyone else, and use it to be filled with lowish-rated cult stuff, and move the Office elsewhere to try and launch a new comedy block.
I also saw the Nerdist bowling and yes, Hamm is amazing. I don't think he's wasting his talent- I think he likes having a NYC life and if he goes Clooney, he loses it.
ReplyDeleteI also saw the Nerdist bowling and yes, Hamm is amazing. I don't think he's wasting his talent- I think he likes having a NYC life and if he goes Clooney, he loses it.
ReplyDeleteI also saw the Nerdist bowling and yes, Hamm is amazing. I don't think he's wasting his talent- I think he likes having a NYC life and if he goes Clooney, he loses it.
ReplyDeleteSpacewoman points out that I completely blew it and misread your question as "why so different from 30 Rock episodes" instead of "why so different from SNL episodes." My fault; sorry. Though I think part of the difference is that SNL is shot on those huge stationary cameras and 30 Rock used smaller hand-helds.
ReplyDelete