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Seinfeld Helps Ruffle Peacock's Feathers On 'Must See' Season Debut Of '30 Rock'

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 4, 2007

On the season debut of '30 Rock' at 8:30 tonight, clueless programming executive Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) has an idea to boost ratings.

He calls it 'Seinfeld Vision.'

This involves inserting a computer-manipulated image of Jerry Seinfeld into every NBC series for a month.

Jack's sample of clips has Seinfeld getting grilled by Mariska Hargitay on 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.'

Seinfeld also is inserted next to Howie Mandel on 'Deal or No Deal,' and he shows up on 'Heroes.'

Word of this scheme gets back to Seinfeld, so he heads down to 30 Rockefeller Plaza to squash the plan.

'What is wrong with you people?' he asks in typical Seinfeld fashion. 'What has happened to this network?'

'What NBC shows do you want to be digitally inserted into?' asks Donaghy, offering a compromise.

'I like 'Lost,'' Seinfeld replies. 'Is that you guys?'

'30 Rock' doesn't shy away from tweaking NBC's nose.

By guest starring on '30 Rock,' Seinfeld returns to the night he once owned when NBC had the 'must see' lineup. Sadly, '30 Rock,' which is as good as 'Seinfeld' was during its peak, doesn't own much of anything. NBC has the smartest comedies on broadcast television, but the ratings aren't there.

'30 Rock' creator, producer and star Tina Fey hopes the recent Emmy win for best comedy and the Seinfeld stunt will bring more people to the show.

'We could not be more excited to have Jerry Seinfeld on the show because, hopefully, then regular America might actually find out that we have a show and watch it maybe at least that one time,' she said during a recent interview 'And also, he's super funny. So that fell in our lap. He sort of volunteered to come on, and that's all going to be great.'

Other guest stars this season include Edie Falco ('The Sopranos') and Rip Torn ('The Larry Sanders Show').

Seinfeld gets something in exchange. During the '30 Rock' episode, there are blatant and funny (because they are so blatant) plugs for Seinfeld's upcoming animated comedy, 'Bee Movie,' which opens in theaters Nov. 2.

Fey, a former 'Saturday Night Live' regular, said the first season of '30 Rock' was a learning experience.

'I think we learned a lot about the tone of the show throughout the year and whether we want the characters to be believable enough that you still care about them but still be able to do crazy jokes with them,' she says. 'This year, we are going to try to maybe do a little less because the shows were so dense that sometimes we worried that it was almost going by too quickly for the audience.'

Tonight's episode has the cast and crew of the fictional 'The Girlie Show' returning from summer hiatus. Producer Liz Lemon (Fey) has broken up with her boyfriend Floyd (Jason Sudeikis) and cringes when she is asked to be a bridesmaid at a wedding.

When she finally agrees to be in the wedding, the bride-to-be says, 'Now I've got something old.' Ouch!

Meanwhile, the co-star of 'TGS,' comedian Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), has separated from his wife. He moves into an office at 30 Rock, where he bonds with his new 'office wife,' NBC page Kenneth (Jack McBrayer).

'TGS' co-star Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) has a weight gain resulting from a pizza addiction. It started when she landed a role in the Broadway production of 'Mystic Pizza: The Musical.'

This little jab at the state of Broadway - where 'Legally Blonde: The Musical' is a hit - is one of those jokes that might fly by some viewers. It's also what makes '30 Rock' a treat for those who get it.

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