NBC Promises No Musty TV This Fall
NEW YORK, May 15
Explosive!
  "SNL" vet Tracy Morgan and head writer Tina Fey in the new series "30 Rock," about a head writer for an "SNL"-type show. (By Eric Liebowitz) Television Blog |
Banner year!
We hit the gold mine!
No shuck and jive!
Not the same old, same old!
Heavy lifting at 9 o'clock!
That's NBC entertainment chief Kevin Reilly describing to reporters his new fall prime-time lineup -- a drama-laden roster that includes two new series, airing on consecutive nights, both of which riff on NBC's own "Saturday Night Live."
Sometimes there comes along a concept "so unique NBC only has two of them," Alec Baldwin cracked onstage Monday at Radio City Music Hall during NBC's afternoon dog-and-pony show for advertisers.
Baldwin plays the new, arrogant head of television and microwave programming at NBC/GE/Universal/Kmart in Tina Fey's homage to Tina Fey, "30 Rock." (That's also NBC's address in Manhattan, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, FYI.)
It's a new Wednesday sitcom about the female head writer of a show that bears an uncanny resemblance to "SNL" (on which Tina Fey is head writer). In "30 Rock," the Tina Fey character is played by -- who else? -- Tina Fey.
Turns out, it's hard to play yourself on TV, even when you write your own lines. In the clips shown to advertisers, she's a little stiff, but Baldwin and Tracy Morgan killed in clips shown to advertisers, and in person onstage.
