Blu-ray Movie Reviews

All of the extras appear on the third disc. The Wrap Party is a decent bloopers reel disguised as a "Fake Hollywood Story." An Evening with Kenneth is a series of short interviews with cast members conducted by Kenneth the Page that originally appeared on nbc.com. (HBO, take note: NBC has a habit of front-loading DVDs with extras content already aired elsewhere.) Behind-the-Scenes finds a few cast members - McBrayer, Judah Friedlander (grubby slogan-hat-wearing writer Frank Rossitano), and Lonny Ross (sad-sack impressionist Josh Girard) - deadpanning with handheld cameras and conducting interviews with nonglamorous staffers on a few of the sets.

The five commentaries are a mixed bag. Morgan gamely tackles "Tracy Does Conan" and offers good tidbits about how he got involved with the show, but then he runs out of steam and starts repeating himself. A co-commentator or someone supplying him with leading questions may have helped here. It's fairly obvious Fey has a cold as she comments on "Black Tie," and while there are a few pause points, she shares eerie location anecdotes about a "haunted" banquet hall. Executive producer Lorne Michaels and his son Henry show how NOT to do a commentary on "Hard Ball," as loads of time ticks by without either of them saying a thing. On the few occasions when they do chime in, they add nothing of substance. Michaels pere could have spoken about how he discovered Fey for SNL, how he helped shepherd 30 Rock through the development process, how he was involved with casting decisions - anything! McBrayer does a dry turn on "Fireworks," playfully insulting both himself and fellow cast members (as well as coming up with different brothers' names whenever he faux-ID's Baldwin). Finally, Baldwin tackles "Hiatus" with zeal - his hyena laugh is infectious - but he does have a point when he observes, "It's hard to comment on a show as fast-paced as this." (That still doesn't excuse the Michaels clan, however.)

During his commentary, Morgan nails the essence of 30 Rock: "It's like an HBO show but on network television." Couldn't have said it better myself. (And that's no fungdark.) [NR] English, Dolby Digital 5.1; English and Spanish, Dolby Digital stereo; letterboxed (1.78:1) and anamorphic widescreen; three dual-layer discs.

more Entertainment reviews Back to Homepage What's New on S&V