30 Rock Season 4 [DVD]

So here we are, 30 Rock is now 4 years old and it is still the freshest most loveable program currently gracing our television screens. To be honest not a whole lot has changed since the first episode aired way back in 2006. Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) is still juggling her desperate look for 'mr right' with her drastic attempts to keep the TGS staff on their toes, Jack (Alec Baldwin) is still the suave & self-assured boss he's always been, Tracy & Jenna (Tracy Moran & Jane Krakowski) are still the pampered stars of the show (although they are now joined by new cast member Danny) and the wonderfully colourful writing team consisting of Frank (Judah Friedlander), Toofer (Keith Powell) and Lutz (John Lutz) are still creating havoc wherever they roam. It has been a winning formula over the course of 3 seasons and this template has not differed a whole lot for this 4th run.

30 Rock's main attraction has always been in it's sharp writing. The show possesess a depth with is sadly missing from most comedy (or otherwise) television currently being developed. Each script seems to cram as many gags within it's 20 minutes as physically possible, and this fourth run does'nt ever let the quality slip. One thing I've noticed is that the use of old fashioned visual gags (think Police Squad) has become ever more prevelant throughout it's 4 years, I especially liked the moment in the episode 'Future Hisband' when Liz asks her dentist (a wonderfully dead-pan performance by James Rebhorn) when she can begin eating hard cheeses again, at which point he exasperatedly hands her a leaflet entitled 'Hard Cheeses & You, Liz' (or something to that effect). Its little sweet moments like this that make 30 Rock such as enjoyable show to watch. Another great story thread involves the Welsh actor Michael Sheen (of 'Frost/Nixon' & 'The Damned United' fame) playing said 'future husband' Wesley Snipes. Sheen is fantastic in the role. Anyone who has seen him play the confident David Frost will be amazed to see him playing the awkward & dispassionate Snipes, the 'date' scene between him and Liz is excrutiating and quickly becomes a 'situation' ('You use that word way too much'), with all their future encounters being equally awkward. I would hope to see more of Sheen in this role in the future.

Jack's main story thread involves his love triangle with CNBC host Avery Jessup (Elizabeth Banks) and Boston-ite Nancy Donovan (played by one of my personal favourite actresses, Julianne Moore). Seeing Jack juggle between the two women shows us another side to his character. We get to see him look a little dishevelled & lost and acting in ways which we'd never usually associate with him (apart from the time he was hiding from Jerry Seinfeld). In the episode 'Klaus And Greta' Jack inadvertadly leaves a romantic new year's message on (the married) Nancy's answering machine, at which point he decides to break into her home with the aid of NBC page Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer) to steal the discriminating tape. Obviously their plot goes drastically wrong and the sight of Jack fumbling around and losing control of the situation is fascinating to see.

But this show has more going for it than just (the admittadly wonderful) performances of Fey & Baldwin. The supporting cast are given some of their strongest storylines to date. Tracy's desperate attempt to acheive the 'EGOT' (to whit, he must win an Emmy award, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award) brings many highlights. His attempt at a one-man show on Broadway is quickly ruined when he discovers he must act out the same show at least eight times in order to be nominated for a Tony (unfortunatly Tracy is unable to do anything twice) is hilarious, his visit to the home of Whoppi Goldberg is excrutiating and when in 'Don Geiss, America & Hope' he discovers that his nanny is to publish a tell-all book where she will disclose that he has never cheated on his wife (to Tracy's mind this will ruin his career) he goes out of his way to prove his bad boy image. Jenna also benefits from some superb plots, like when she discovers that her long-time stalker has lost interest in her (Jenna to stalker: 'I always thought this would end with me in the boot of a rent-a-car') or her publicity stunt romance with actor James Franco in order to hide his love affair with a Japanes body pillow are never less than side-splitting. Throughout her storylines Jane Krakowski plays Jenna with the same deep & layered performace we've come to expect. Her fragile ego is always conflicting with her need to be loved & respected and she never lets an oppurtunity to upstage the rest of the cast slip her by.

Other notable support comes courtesy of the reliably excellent Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer) who seems to get more naive by the day, the under appreciated Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit) and the wonderful duo of DotCom & Grizz (Kevin Brown & Grizz Chapman). Also, the many cameos all add to the overall feel of the show rather than overpowering it (as was the case with Will & Grace) with Al Gore, James Franco, Michael Sheen, James Rebhorn and one very special guest at the end of the season (I won't reveal who for the people yet to see it) all putting in great, restrained performances which never threaten to over-shadow the original cast members or the sharp writing of any given script.

30 Rock is still consistently fresh, witty and heartfelt. It has never let the quality of the writing dip during it's 4 seasons and it could be argued that this is the strongest season since the first. I'm constantly amazed at it's relativly low ratings figures (it gets an average of about 6 million viewers in the US, which is shockingly low for a program of this calibre) and am equally amazed by it's ability to give a feeling of the love, attention to detail and hard work that must go into the making of every episode. NBC have commissioned a fifth season to be shown in 2011 (which is a credit to them for keeping this show running despite it's low ratings) and their is no sign yet of any slip-up in it's overall quality. This show will one day be acknowledged besides other american touchstones like Seinfeld, Cheers, Frasier and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Until then, all us fans can do is continue to champion the show's cause to other less informed members of the general public and hope it gains the viewing figures it so obviously deserves.

Rather than compete with the other excellent review - kudos to you, sir - I will merely say I thought that 30 Rock: Season 4 was one of the most enjoyable seasons of anything that I have watched (and like most people, I`ve wasted a lot of time over the years watching things that didn`t deserve a second of my life!). I thought the concluding shows were exceptional, with moment after moment of either great comedy, or occasionally something a little deeper, but it`s all wonderfully portrayed. It is consistently excellent, touchingly lovely at times, and is absolute comedy brilliance, with fantastic performances from a perfect cast - Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey particularly, but Tracy Morgan has some of the greatest lines. Mondays on Comedy Central are nothing like as much fun without new 30 Rock, but the DVDs are plenty to keep me going. Annoyingly long wait though for this release, I`m glad they`re still all on my Sky+ planner. Funny how some shows take such a long time to make it from TV to a box set...but on a more positive note, not only is Season 5 likely to be shown soon, 30 Rock has been recommissioned for a sixth season too! Fabulous news for any lovers of this almost perfect show. If you haven`t seen it yet, give it at least one chance!

Was always reluctant to start watching this show, simply because I'd not heard an awful lot about it. After a couple of episodes it became a must see highlight and soon probably my favourite show. Always looked forward to the next episode and all too easy to `just watch another' with the box sets.

Series 4 maintains the same standard that has maintained it so far with plenty of exceptional moments. The characters are still all hugely dysfunctional but written with enormous affection and comic effect. The situations beautifully constructed.

If you liked series 1-3 series 4 will delight. If you haven't yet seen any yet buy this now and then buy the rest. One of the best comedies on TV for a long time, I only hope the writers find continue finding the inspiration to continue while finding new angles to explore. Shows absolutely no signs of slowing down yet. Brilliant.

Some great reviews - agree with all of them. Hard to add too much else.