Congratulations to Alec Baldwin for his Golden Globe win for his role on 30 Rock. The show has already become one of the best comedies on TV. The collection of irresistible characters caught up in a manic pace has placed the show as the heir apparent to Arrested Development.
I have noticed a disturbing trend in the critical praise the show has been getting. John Powers's piece on Fresh Air is just the latest example of someone claiming Baldwin "saves" 30 Rock. Powers claims that without him the show is "a dead duck." Baldwin is wonderful but he is not the only wonderful actor on the show. Judah Friedlander, Jack McBrayer and the show's creator Tina Fey have all crafted characters that hold their own. There is one player whose performance I look forward to every week, more so than Baldwin. Tracy Morgan's Tracy Jordan has been a joy to watch right from the beginning. All the decadence and spoils of fame has fed Jordan's worst tendencies over the years. Now he lives only in his un-reality. It's tragic but tragedy creates the best comedy. Placed in the more subdued world of comedy writers Jordan cannot help but come in conflict with people. There's no malice to it, he's just being who he is. On 30 Rock Morgan has struck that delicate balance of being annoying to the other characters on the show but a delight to watch for the audience. To bring it back to Baldwin, the main dynamic of 30 Rock is Jordan and Baldwin's Jack Donaghy, two men from very different cultural backgrounds, being equally crazy and Fey's Liz Lemon stuck in the middle. That's when the show just works.
Thankfully in this modern age you don't have to read my ramblings to understand. To wit:
This is actually from the opening to a recent Saturday Night Live hosted by Baldwin. When Fey and Morgan join him they basically act out what I love about the show.
