30 Rock aired its second season finale yesterday, and the story was typically finale-like. There were “big questions” facing our protagonists, ranging from “How do I get fired from my government job?” to “Am I pregnant?” to “How best do you record the dialogue for a pornographic video game?” The meatiest part of the finale involved Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy and his foray into government work. At the end of last week’s episode we learned that Jack had been appointed by the President to serve in the Department of Homeland Security. What followed was a wonderful skewering of the Bush presidency, but more importantly, might tell us something about Alec Baldwin’s future life plans.
Matthew Broderick guest-starred as Donaghy’s’ new government co-worker, who was nicknamed Cooterburger by George W. He is the living embodiment of the administration’s ineptitude. His powers of denial are incredible (“There’s no leak”) and leaves Jack wondering why the hell he agreed to the job in the first place. He immediately wants out, and digs up information about a failed government experiment – the gay bomb – to try and force his firing. You see, everyone’s been leaving the administration lately, so resignations are now being denied.
Meanwhile, Liz Lemon thinks she’s pregnant. It’s Dennis Duffy’s baby. That’s terrible news for obvious reasons, but even so, Liz gets very excited about it. However, at the end of the episode she learns from her doctor that she actually isn’t pregnant – the bull semen in her favorite foreign potato chips messed with the take-home pregnancy tests. After that whole ordeal, she tells Jack that given how she excited she was about being pregnant she now really wants a baby. She’s going to adopt. In other stories, Tracy keeps chugging along on his porno video game and Kenneth rushes to finish his application to work for NBC at the Olympics this summer in Beijing.
It was a funny episode, worth of a 30 Rock finale. The government stuff slayed me, and Matthew Broderick was great as Cooter. Tina Fey, with this episode and Baby Mama, seems to be really obsessed with the whole baby thing, but the ups and downs of the story played nicely. Overall, it was a nice way to end the seasons and sets up for season 3 well.
Jack’s story neatly ties into an interview Alec Baldwin gave to 60 Minutes which is set to air on Sunday. Baldwin, a liberal, says that he is considering running for office in the future. He won’t say when exactly, or for what office, but just that it’s something he’s considering. I don’t know what kind of politician he’d be, but there is a long history of actors making the transition into politics and I do know that Baldwin would be capable of giving some awesome speeches.
-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of NBC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
