“30 Rock” (Wednesdays, NBC): This is the other new series set backstage at a live sketch comedy show, written by and starring Tina Fey, who until May was the head writer at “Saturday Night Live.” Unlike “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” “30 Rock” is a half-hour comedy (not dramedy), and the pilot got quite a few laughs from me. Fey plays the head writer at “The Girlie Show,” and a new executive (Alec Baldwin) has convinced her to hire insane movie star Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) as a cast member. Alec Baldwin is perfect for this role, and I’ve always liked Fey and Morgan. This one’s a keeper. TiVo verdict: Season Pass.
“Twenty Good Years” (Wednesdays, NBC): Wow. Of all the derivative, unfunny, insulting, dim-witted sitcoms I’ve ever seen, this one’s right up there. Jeffrey Tambor and John Lithgow — both funny in other series — play two old friends who, at age 60, decide to start living every day to the fullest. The jokes in the pilot JUST. WEREN’T. FUNNY. As in, not a single laugh the entire episode (though that didn’t stop the editors from inserting rampant amounts of grating canned laughter). Tambor went from “Arrested Development” to this. It makes me sad to think how embarrassed he must feel. TiVo verdict: It isn’t just one of the worst TV shows I’ve ever seen. It’s one of the worst THINGS I’ve ever seen.
