30 Rock: How Do I Love Thee?

Ever since my favorite television comedy ever, Arrested Development, went off the air, I've been content with Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, and, of course, The Simpsons. There just aren't any other decent comedies on TV. But I've added 30 Rock to my rotation, and damn am I glad that I did.

While the first few episodes were only OK, Alec Baldwin was, well, a Baldwin from the get-go. The writing and performances have steadily improved, and I even find Tracey Morgan funny. I caught all of the episodes from last season, save one. Thanks to the TV and music industry's terror at Apple and the success of the iTunes Store as the primary, legal delivery mechanism for digital entertainment content (and I speak in numbers here, not specifically about movies, which Microsoft owns via HD downloads on the Xbox), you can catch at lot of TV shows on their broadcast network's Web site. NBC is no exception and unlike some of their competitors, there are no commercials in the playback.

So I finally caught that one last episode, with the genius of Will Arnet as Jack's rival, Liz's faking of being an alcoholic and hilarious tell-all monologue at the end, and cowboy hat-shaped fireworks. Why I love the show was crystalized in two moments: Kenneth's peacock dance and Baldwin as Thomas Jefferson on the Maury Povich show. Wicked. Fun. And a lot like Arrested Development.