PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: INSIDE MEDIA: HEY DUMMIES: AN EVENING WITH THE 30 ROCK WRITERS {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media's Inside Media events. Held at the Paley Center in New York, this evening celebrates the writers of "30 Rock," the comedy series about the cast and production team of a sketch comedy television show. Host David Bushman (curator, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and introduces a clip package of scenes from the show's seven seasons in chronological order. After the clips, Emily Nussbaum (television critic, The New Yorker) moderates the following panelists: supervising producers and writers Dylan Morgan and Josh Siegal; producer and writer Colleen McGuinness; executive producer and writer Robert Carlock; and executive producer, creator, writer and star Tina Fey.
The panelists touch on such topics as: their previous Paley Center panel during the show's first season; the early episodes' "manic, front-loaded" writing style, due to their fear of being canceled quickly; the focus on relevant race and gender issues right away; the show's "joke density" and failed attempts to slow things down in later seasons; their favorite jokes and lines, including bawdy comments and insults; the pros and cons of the restrictions of network television versus cable; Fey's character of Liz Lemon and her position as a believably flawed role model; the benefits of being able to "course-correct" while writing and filming simultaneously; the fans' disinterest in Jack's (Alec Baldwin) love interests; their firm decision to tease, but never officially go through with, a romance between co-workers Liz and Jack; the plan for Liz to "acquire" children and a dropped storyline involving a comical adoption gone wrong; a discarded idea for an affair between Jenna (Jane Krakowski) and Pete (Scott Adsit); their favorite characters to write for; the meanings within the story arc in which Tracy (Tracy Morgan) decides to become a serious actor and win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony; Jenna's shift over the years from Liz's best friend to a more "absurd" comic figure; an unused story idea in which Jenna portrays the boring Kathy Geiss (Marceline Hugot) in a film, inspired by Claire Danes in "Temple Grandin"; the balance of rational and over-the-top stories; Liz's uncomfortable feelings about dating and romance, unlike those of most other lead female TV characters; their favorite other TV comedies and dramas, including "Enlightened" (now canceled); early unfavorable comparisons with the drama "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," which also premiered in 2006 and focused on a "Saturday Night Live"-like sketch show; the show's cancellation after one season and creator Aaron Sorkin's funny cameo on "30 Rock"; their perusal of fan feedback and comments on Twitter and other websites; their "affectionate" view of television in general despite the show's satirical, mocking tone; and Fey's belief that the currently-floundering NBC is not "unfixable".
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics among others: advice for female comedians and writers; the "gettable" nature of the show despite its many inside jokes and references to NBC; their failed attempts to secure cameos from famed subway-ad Dr. Jonathan Zizmor and from "Homeland" star Mandy Patinkin; the influence on other comedies of the show's distinct tone and style; the very occasional use of improvisation from the actors; the show's unique language and funny made-up words, including Liz's exclamation of "blerg!"; Jack's intimidating mother Colleen Donaghy (Elaine Stritch) and her "very specific Irish way" of loving her son; the characters' various families and inspiration from Fey's own affectionate parents; Fey's composer husband Jeff Richmond's work on the show's score; and the writers' respectful relationships with one another, unlike the "lazy idiot animals" writer characters on the show.
Clips from other episode of "30 Rock" are interspersed throughout the program, including scenes from "Apollo Apollo," "St. Patrick's Day" and "The Tuxedo Begins."
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: February 27, 2013 6:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:28:56
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 109710
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- David Bushman … Host
- Emily Nussbaum … Moderator
- Dylan Morgan … Panelist
- Josh Siegal … Panelist
- Colleen McGuinness … Panelist
- Robert Carlock … Panelist
- Tina Fey … Panelist
- Scott Adsit
- Alec Baldwin
- Claire Danes
- Marceline Hugot
- Jane Krakowski
- Tracy Morgan
- Mandy Patinkin
- Jeff Richmond
- Aaron Sorkin
- Elaine Stritch
- Jonathan Zizmor