By Curt Schleier

In what I perceive is the height of irony, about 250 fans of 30 ROCK did not gather in front of their TV sets on the evening of Thursday, December 6, where they could have done some good increasing the show’s anemic ratings.  No, instead they chose to do their hero worshipping live, at a special event sponsored by the Television Academy honoring 30 ROCK and its stars.  (The Television Academy is the organization that hands out the Emmys every September.)  

The event was held at the historic Puck Building.  For those unfamiliar with New York City, the edifice, a National Landmark, is located in the ever so chic SOHO section of Manhattan.  (SOHO stands for south of Houston, a street that crosses from one end of lower Manhattan to the other.  And for the record, it’s pronounced How-ston, not Hue-ston.)  

By now, you’ve probably seen clips of the event on Entertainment Tonight.  There was this whole red carpet deal, with the actors moving from one TV interview to the next.  Except for Tracy Morgan, who called in sick, they all were there:  Tina Fey, Jane Krakowski, Judah Friedlander.  So there I am standing, waiting for Alec Baldwin.  

You may recall that I had a list of those of you who ignored me and decided not to watch 30 ROCK, even though it is by far the best sitcom on TV.   I was going to give that list to Baldwin and let him deal with you.  But though he showed up, he did not walk the line.  So, non-watchers, you have a reprieve.  You will not be hearing from Alec Baldwin in the near future.  Lucky you.

Meanwhile, the panel discussion that followed a very chi-chi cocktail party (Gray Goose vodka, which sponsored the evening, was served) was moderated by NBC New anchor Brian Williams.  The gist of the conversation is that Tina Fey makes 30 ROCK a great place to work and what pulls it all together is the crisp writing. Of course, you knew all that.  And since I didn’t see you at the Puck Building, I assume you were home watching another great episode.  

Liz Lemon (Fey) discovers her boss, Jack Donaghy (Baldwin) in a passionate embrace with Celeste Cunningham (guest star Edie Falco).   This is an unconscionable work place situation.  What the heck was Donaghy thinking?  C.C. is a Democrat.  Worse still, she’s a congresswoman from Vermont spearheading a lawsuit against the Steinhardt Wig Co., NBC’s owner (and another division of GE).  Apparently something Steinhardt does in its manufacturing process turns children who live near its plant orange.

But Lemon has bigger fish to fry.  Jenna Maroney (Krakowski) wins an award sending Tracy Jordan (Morgan) into a tailspin.  Because he feels under-appreciated, he decides not to go to rehearsals.  Lemon has to jump through hops to placate this prima don, including setting up a fake award, a Pacific Rim Emmy, and fake presentation ceremony.

This sets Maroney ablaze.  She now hires an entourage and refuses to come to rehearsals until Lemon jumps through hoops for her.  

And there’s trouble in the writers’ room as well.  Harvard-educated Toofer (Keith Powell) takes offense when slovenly Frank Rossitano (Friedlander) comes in wearing Harvard gear.  So Toofer starts dressing grunge and the two have a clothes-off.  The problem isn’t their feud, but that they don’t see any way to end it.  So they agree to keep it going until they cab jointly pick on someone else to divert attention from themselves.

But the real theme of this episode is love.  In order to allow their relationship to come out of the closet, C.C. settles the law suit, giving each affected child $5 million.  She believes Donaghy will be happy, but he’s not.  “$5 million,” he protests.  “That’s NBA sexual assault money.”

He accuses her of using the law suit to feed her own ambition.  She tells him she won’t apologize for her ambition.  And he realizes that’s part of what makes her so attractive to him.  “I like a woman who has ambition.  It’s like seeing a dog wearing clothes.”

Threatened at the thought of losing her, Donaghy takes C.C. to the GE executive dining room, stands up in front of his peers and admits she is his lover.  “That’s right.  She’s my liberal, hippy-dippy mama.”

The power of love is so great that it moves other GE execs.  One stands up and admits “I give to NPR.”  Another says “I send my children to public schools.  A third says “I’m gay.”  Finally, an African-American exec stands up and admits, “I’m black.”

Ain’t love grand?