30 Rock

New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley

Like the best TV comedies - from "Seinfeld" to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," and all the way back to "The Jack Benny Program" - "30 Rock" sparkles not just because its central star gets to shine, but because everyone does.

People WeeklyTom Gliatto

It's the best new sitcom of the fall. [16 Oct 2006, p.39]

Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman

I don't want to spoil the great lines, delivered with perfect comic acting. To me, it's bliss.

LA WeeklyRobert Abele

A weirdly appropriate and hilarious symbol of our times.

Wall Street JournalDorothy Rabinowitz

The standard caution is relevant -- debut episodes tend to be highly polished. All the more reason to enjoy the hilarious scenes and fine ensemble cast here.

Baltimore SunDavid Zurawik

One of the zaniest - and most savvy - workplace comedies in years.

Los Angeles TimesRobert Lloyd

It's smart without either condescending to or patronizing the viewer.

Miami HeraldGlenn Garvin

30 Rock... is pretty darn funny, a bitterly merry comic jihad against corporate stupidity and mendaciousness.

NewsdayVerne Gay

A rare and almost totally unexpected triumph.

New York PostLinda Stasi

OK, so I admit it, the premiere isn't all that funny, but the second episode is hilarious.

Slant MagazineBrian Holcomb

The cast is perfectly matched to this material.

Entertainment WeeklyKen Tucker

Baldwin's sharklike momentum pulls you through a sitcom that otherwise makes little sense.

Detroit Free PressMike Duffy

Fey's humor possesses a sly, literate snap. And like NBC's recent cool comedies, "The Office" and "My Name Is Earl," her rollicking "30 Rock" has a surplus of nutty imagination.

USA TodayRobert Bianco

Yet for all its laughs, 30 Rock does call to mind a kind of sketch show version of The Mary Tyler Moore Show — one in which everyone's playing Ted. That can be fun for a while, but eventually sitcom viewers tend to want to root for someone.

Kansas City StarAaron Barnhart

A good, potentially great, show.

Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm

There's plenty of charisma to go around on 30 Rock, and Fey will go just about anywhere for a laugh. Her absurd, yet almost believable, showbiz send-up is full of them.

Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert

There's a lot to enjoy... But "30 Rock" is more sitcommy than most of the single-camera sitcoms on the air now, and it has none of the sharp bite of "The Larry Sanders Show."

Orlando SentinelHal Boedeker

There's reason to hope, especially for Baldwin's bold performance and the cutting dialogue.

Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron

Arguably the best comedy this fall.

TimeJames Poniewozik

For all the show's cartooniness, its gender-conscious take on the TV business is actually more sophisticated [than Studio 60's].

Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen

Where "Studio 60" takes a scathing and indignant tone toward television, "30 Rock" offers a more sarcastic, less hackles-raised critique. It's also funnier and goofier.

Seattle Post-IntelligencerMelanie McFarland

The jokes that hit their target almost make up for the wide misses.

Newark Star-LedgerAlan Sepinwall

"Write what you know" is a cardinal rule of writing, and Fey certainly knows this world better than Sorkin -- even if "The Girlie Show" is lame, I believe it exists in a way I don't with "Studio 60" -- but the history of failed behind-the-scenes sitcoms and dramas is so long and ugly that she would have been better served using a different setting altogether.

The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley

Nothing very funny happens on “30 Rock” until Alec Baldwin enters the room, and suddenly this new NBC sitcom comes alive.

Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen Gray

I want to like "30 Rock" more than I do so far, because I've always liked Fey. Yet it could be Fey - the actress, not the writer - I'm having trouble warming to.

Washington PostTom Shales

For all the rewriting and reworking, the show needs a better premise and funnier dialogue and, most of all, a more commanding performer in the starring role.

San Jose Mercury NewsCharlie McCollum

When he gets a lot of air time and his worst excesses are not reined in, Morgan is the human equivalent of fingernails on a blackboard.... As a result, what could have been a rather savory dish ends up with a rather unpleasant aftertaste.

Arizona RepublicBill Goodykoontz

Too often it feels like a missed opportunity, though there's always hope for improvement, more realistic in this case than most.

Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan

Nobody does a deadpan line reading like Baldwin, and he alone is reason to check out this work in progress and hope that Fey gets the time she’ll need to make this hodge-podge live up to its potential.

San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman

To its credit, next week's second episode is better than tonight's revamped pilot: tighter, funnier and more expansive to other cast members.

VarietyBrian Lowry

If "30 Rock's" going to survive, Baldwin's comedic chops will be tugging the lifeline.