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Gore, Schwimmer Ham It Up On 'Rock' As NBC Goes Green With Earthy Messages

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By WALT BELCHER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 8, 2007

There are only two more nights of NBC's "Green Week." Are you ready to hug a tree yet?

The network, owned by General Electric, a company that has done a lot for the consumption of energy and global warming, asked producers of prime time series to create environmentally friendly programs for this week.

The best one airs tonight on a very special episode of "30 Rock" that features a guest appearance by former vice president and recent Nobel Prize winner Al Gore.

But the beauty of this episode is that it makes fun of the whole NBC going-green thing.

Fictional NBC executive Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) jumps on the green bandwagon. But his goal is to impress his corporate bosses, who want to cash in on the environmentalism trend so they can continue to drain the Earth of its remaining natural resources.

Donaghy comes up with a caped superhero called Greenzo, played by David Schwimmer in only his second sitcom appearance since "Friends."

Greenzo's mission is "saving the Earth while maintaining profitability." Donaghy calls him the first nonjudgmental, business-friendly environmental advocate.

Greenzo, who is a pathetic unemployed actor, gleefully dances on the "Today" show to demonstrate how a "free market will solve global warming, if it really exists."

He urges kids to get their parents to buy new GE front-loading washers to save water. But Greenzo goes wacko when he starts taking the role way too seriously.

When Gore shows up, he lectures Donaghy:

"If your network really wants to demonstrate a commitment to the environment, why don't you start leading by example, having an entire week with nothing but environmental themes on all your programs?"

Well, that is what NBC did: The "Today" show has traveled to the ends of the Earth to show how global warming is melting the polar ice caps, changing the climate of Greenland and affecting the rain forests.

On "Chuck" Monday night, the geeky spy had an adventure at a Green Festival at Stanford University. The eclipse seen during the opening of "Heroes" was green instead of its usual golden hue.

On "The Singing Bee" on Tuesday night, contestants had to recall lyrics to songs about the environment. On Tuesday's "The Biggest Loser" installment, contestants exercised without electricity and practiced recycling.

And a solar farm was part of the script on "Life" Wednesday night.

On "My Name Is Earl" tonight, Earl is asked to add green-friendly messages to speeches he gives kids to scare them away from a life of crime.

The green theme on "The Office" tonight finds Michael Scott (Steve Carell) excluded from an official corporate wilderness retreat and having to survive on his own in the wild.

On "Scrubs" tonight, Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" inspires the hospital's janitor to become an oppressive environmental enforcer at Sacred Heart.

Then, on "ER," County General tries to conserve energy to avoid rolling blackouts, and that sends nursing home patients to the facility.

The theme continues on Friday, when the very green Kermit the Frog makes an appearance on "Deal or No Deal" and the models wear dresses recycled from parachutes.

On "Friday Night Lights," the Taylor family is encouraged to live a green lifestyle in Dillon, where the school could save electricity if the team played day games.

On "Las Vegas," an environmental conference is held at the Montecito, inspiring Delinda to get the casino to go for a green that isn't just cash.

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