Revivals of any kind are often a death knell come much too late, but this particular special was something even more disappointing and sinister: an unfunny, unnecessary advertisement. But that should be the expectation: according to Deadline, the episode was conceived to be a replacement for NBCUniversal’s Upfronts presentation. In the original 30 Rock series, Fey’s cast and crew frequently poked fun at product placements—they would joke about needing that money for their show (in this case, TGS, the television show within the television show) while reading the ad copy, and more often than not, breaking the fourth wall by staring directly into the camera and giving viewers a devious wink. They took the money while snickering at it, allowing fans to find entertainment in the absurdity of it all.
In the episode “Someone to Love,” for example, from 30 Rock’s second season in 2007, Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) jokes about accidentally grabbing a colleague’s Verizon phone. Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) responds, “Well, sure, because that Verizon Wireless service is just unbeatable. I mean, if I saw a phone like that on TV, I would be like, ‘Where is my nearest retailer?’ so I can get one.” Then she stares into the camera: “Can we have our money now?”
The 30 Rock special takes a different approach. The episode is meant only to showcase what programs exist on NBC’s Peacock app, the network’s late-in-life attempt to enter the streaming game, and little else. The original TGS crew appears remotely via a pseudo-Zoom app rigged with ring lights as they tease the idea of getting the gang back together. Countless celebrity cameos are shoehorned in, including a particularly joyless Khloe Kardashian. Fey returns to fan-favorite jokes without updating them, like the declaration of “Boom! Another successful interaction with a man!” and “Working on my night cheese,” though the latter is cut short. The only moment I let out a brief chuckle is when Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) admits to learning how to Zoom bomb in order to give fake graduation speeches, and the camera cuts to her doing exactly that—“To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson,” she begins, “If we all donate $3, we could keep Wikipedia thriving for years to come.”
If it’s nostalgia you want, watch the old stuff.
