The show operates largely as a parody of NBC, and the first episode wasted no time in poking extreme fun at the large crop of singing-themed reality television shows currently on the airwaves. Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski), star of the fictional sketch comedy program "The Girly Show," has risen to B-level fame as a malicious judge for the show "America's Kidz Got Singing!" where she perpetually makes children cry in a Simon Cowell-like fashion. Maroney tells a small girl to seal herself "in a barrel, then fall off of a waterfall" and even to crawl back up her mother.
While Maroney is her same intense self in the first episode of this season, the tables have turned for Liz Lemon, with a now happy-go-lucky persona, and Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), who has become an emotional sap. Luckily, this shift in personalities does not last long as the subsequent episodes have certainly seen the normal Lemon saying normal Lemon things: "Now I'm heading home for a nooner, which is what I call having pancakes for lunch."
During the offseason of "30 Rock," the show was involved in a real-life controversy. One of its actors Morgan, who got himself into trouble with both fans and the network for making a homophobic joke during one of his stand-up routines, issued a public apology after the incident. In an episode of this season's "30 Rock," Morgan's real-life controversy is parralled by his fictional counterpart Jordan, a star of TGS, who makes a similar set of remarks that offend the gay community.
While at first calling attention to the scandal seems like a bold move, "30 Rock" takes it one step further as Jordan starts a protest of Lemon's written apology for his remarks, in which she said Jordan is "not a homophobe, he's an idiot." Jordan organizes a whole picket line of self-proclaimed idiots, including guest star Denise Richards, who rally together with the chant, "We're here! We're loud! I came up with this rhyme!" Lemon must find a solution to the crisis as Donaghy points out that these idiots, ranging from frat boys to scuba divers, make up the core of TGS's audience, excluding the core viewer group of pets whose owners have died.
Assuaging concerns left by last season's cliff hangers, the first few episodes are quick to ensure fans that Donaghy's wife (Elizabeth Banks) is still alive, yet remains in the hands of Kim Jong-un now that his father has passed away. Although Banks has yet to return alongside the familiar cast of characters, the sixth season is marked by the inclusion of several returning cast members as well as new characters. Returning as Donaghy's arch nemesis is Devon Banks (Will Arnett), who is just as fierce and intense as Donaghy himself. The rivals' quick, back-and-forth banter is terrific and a nice break from Donaghy's usual one-sided arguments with Lemon.
Lemon also has new boyfriend, Criss (James Marsden) yes, two S's and no H who takes the stage as an organic hotdog truck vendor, and Donaghy is quick to reject his suitability for Lemon. Marsden effectively plays the part of a man-boy, though it is unclear how long he will remain a part of the cast. His charm, however, certainly complements Lemon's bizarreness in a way that has not really been seen in any of her boyfriends.
We are also briefly introduced to another NBC page, Hazel Whatshername, played by the under-the-radar but outrageously hilarious Kristen Schaal. Schaal is most famous for playing super-fan Mel in HBO's "Flight of the Conchords," but her facetime on "30 Rock" certainly will increase her fan base as her accentuated oddities are too ridiculous not to elicit laughs. The fate of Whatshername is unknown at the current moment, but I hope Schaal remains a staple in the series.
One of the most interesting cameos this season has been Kelsey Grammar channeling James Bond and the Saturday Night Live MacGyver spoof "MacGruber" as a secret agent who comes to help Jenna and Kenneth out of a troubling situation. He even pretends to shoot a woman who looks strikingly similar to his ex-wife Camille Grammar of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" fame.
Some of the funniest moments so far in the season have been Maroney and Jordan's impressions of robots as they provide the entertainment for a Bar Mitzvah and Lemon's quest to find a new best friend, during which she confronts four women in a bar, who are meant to be Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha of "Sex and the City."
The new season of "30 Rock" coincides with NBC's release of "Sht Liz Lemon Says." These clips are the network's contribution to the popular internet meme, "Sht That Girls Say," which has prompted the explosion of similar videos. Liz Lemon's continued success as a gem of the comedy world is ensured in this season of "30 Rock."
