episode: 30 rock, "the one with the cast of night court"

"The One with the Cast of Night Court" was funny enough but still only a mediocre episode of 30 Rock. I definitely preferred guest star Harry Anderson to Jennifer Aniston, mainly because I have a difficult time disassociating her from her celebrity persona (but perhaps that's just me?). I think this episode suffered from an overdose of Jennifer Aniston -- as opposed to Oprah last week who only appeared in a few minutes of the whole episode -- and, more importantly, less Alec Baldwin. He's absolutely the best reason to watch this show, and this episode did not showcase his hilarity properly. Baldwin shines best against Tina Fey, either as an insulting ultra-conservative boss or as a puppy who seems to have lost its way. In this episode, we saw bits of the latter with Baldwin acting as a sex junkie and Fey acting as his addiction coach.

But don't get me wrong. This episode still had a lot to offer: Kenneth folding his old page uniform like the American flag and then saluting it; Liz's awkwardness when talking about sex ("he gave me... 'the business'"); Jenna's casual mention that she had hand reduction surgery (what could that possibly entail?); and the ending provided a wonderful homage to the style of Night Court episodes. I just think the storylines were recycled material (from, umm, every TV sitcom ever?) so there were forced jokes where there shouldn't be jokes (like Kenneth's freeze frame scene).

Some highlights from this episode:

Liz Lemon: (about her old roommate) She's like a human Macarena -- something everyone did at parties in 1996.

Tracy Jordan: I hate to see you like this, Ken doll. It's like an owl without a graduation cap -- heartbreaking.

Tracy: (regarding the name of the show Night Court) Court? At night? I'm already laughing! Tell me more.

Kenneth: I haven't been blindfolded since I played piano for that weird masquerade party...

Liz: Hey, did you see our shout out in Variety? They called us a comedy show!

Tracy: My boy Ken has written a masterpiece. I should know; I use that word a lot.

Tracy: Ken's going through some tough times. He's being forced to wear a coat that's different from his other coat.