Jordan's Review: 30 Rock, Season 4, Episode 11: Winter Madness

Over the course of this season so far, 30 Rock has proven that this is a show that should not be taken on the road. The show is at its best in New York City, with all of the cynicism and wackiness that implies, but when it leaves there, everything tends to fall a little flat. That fact isn't helped by Jack's non-starter of a storyline with Julianne Moore's Nancy, whose only joke is that she has a Boston accent. But in general, I want this show to stay close to its home.

The trip this time takes the whole show to Boston after Liz and Pete's scheme to get a paid vacation to Miami as a morale booster backfires when Jack changes plans and forces them to go to Boston instead. There was theoretical fun to be had when the entire cast turned on each other, but for the most part, their anger felt forced rather than hilarious. Further, the show squandered its plotline with potential in favor of a much duller subplot where Jack is further frusterated romantically and nothing is resolved. Last season we were annoyed by Selma Hayek, and Julianne Moore has pretty solidly proven that the interest in Jack's romantic escapades only goes so far as their presence adds something comedic to the show.

Emblematic of this episodes mediocrity is the fact that there is not much to say about it. I thin kthe A-plot had potential it never realized, and the B-plot was always doomed to be boring and so should have been minimized. There were excellent jokes at some points, but this is 30 Rock and that is to be expected. Overall though, I hope this episode rid us of Nancy Donovan for a long time coming, and that TGS stays off the road for the foreseeable future.

Grade: B-

Notes:

-"You can do some serious subway flirting before you realize the guy is homeless."

-"That stupid Irish piece of... oh boy, Boston is not going to go well."

-"They are all named Shawn, they are mean, and I hate it here."

-The spot the differences in Jack's office gag was nice.

-"Trying to have it all...its wicked hard."

-"Purrfect, like a cat birthday!"

-"We didn't land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on Mars." A Cole Porter joke. Even when its pretty meh, this show is still one of the smartest on TV.

-Tracy's "Impeach George W. Ashington" shirt was awesome.

-"My wife and I have disparate levels of attractiveness because I'm an accomplished inventor."

-"Run, Crispus! He's onto us!"