30 Rock listens to Bill O'Reilly and does it live, Will Arnett remains a god

(Context for this is below.)

I have been neglecting this blog, but not by choice. School and the "real world" have completely taken over my life, sadly.

So, here's a quick update:

30 Rock took a cue from their fellow Rainbow Room tenants and performed a live show Thursday, one version for the Eastern and one for the Pacific time zone. While it was not their funniest episode, it was a nice change of pace for the show. In recent seasons, the fact that 30 Rock is about a "show within a show," TGS with Tracy Jordan, is often overlooked for Liz and company's personal issues.

This episode was a fun reminder that TGS exists, that people have to worry about Tracy's antics, and that the Robot and Bear Talk Show should have happened. Now, if only Josh Girard could still be on the show ... oh well, at least Rachel Dratch was back. Her crazy characters are always welcome, especially when they have a Fonzie fetish like this one did (God, if only Henry Winkler could have made an appearance, that would have been fantastic). Chris Parnell's Dr. Leo Spaceman serenaded the audience in only a way Dr. Spaceman could. Both of these former SNL stars are incredibly underutilized in the world of comedy.

The episode also featured guest spots from Julia Louis-Dreyfus, playing Liz Lemon in "flashback" scenes that were impossible to stage life, along with Matt Damon (and Bill Hader as his co-pilot). And then there was Jon Hamm (pictured above), who complimented his hook hand with an executed inmate's hand or a horny middle-aged Josh Groban fan's hand, depending on which coast you live on. It was silly, but it was still worth a laugh.

For what it's worth, the biggest laughs, for me, came when TGS' Fox News sketch introduced Jenna's character simply as "Blonde," and, upon speaking about her birthday party in a disjointed way, Jack asking Liz, "Why are you speaking like a Persian immigrant?" Differences between the two episodes are here, and both versions of the episode can be found on Hulu.


In other news that no one will really care about, but I will share anyway, this happened:



Will Arnett replied to me on Twitter. I realize this isn't that big of a deal, it's not like we had a deep conversation or anything. But I like seeing "arnettwill @MacysDayMar" and not the other way around. I just think it's cool that someone I adore so much even took a second to acknowledge fans, especially when that fan is me. Anyone else have similar exciting Twitter moments?

Maybe by the year 3000, we can all see Conan O'Brien

I apologize if this entry sounds whiny, because, frankly, I'm not in the best of moods. Once again, someone (in this case, formerly) associated with NBC has broken my heart. And this one really stings.

Rumors began swirling a couple of weeks ago that Conan O'Brien was going to be using his time in unemployment to go on the road for a cross-country tour. Well, that rumor was confirmed today. Tour dates for O'Brien's "Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour" were not only announced today, but, unfairly, the tickets also went on sale at the same exact time dates were announced. I woke up today, excited about the prospects of buying tickets in the near future, only to go on Ticketmaster to find that any dates I could potentially attend were sold out already. This is because the lucky people who happened to have Internet and credit card access at 10 a.m. this morning got the first and only opportunities for tickets.

So, this has been my feeling all day (image is via TinyPic, although I'm 99 percent positive someone from ONTD made it):



It is not right that those behind this tour did not give fans advanced warning about tickets going on sale, and sprung the sale upon people at the last minute, leaving people to scramble to attempt to get any tickets. Additionally, I have a problem with the dates themselves. As an Ohioan, I'm upset that the two Chicago dates are essentially representing all of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Plus, with the monumental demand for tickets, playing venues that seat less than 5,000 people (such as the Chicago Theatre) just does not allow for the massive amount of O'Brien's fans to see this tour. His main demographic has traditionally been college students, and I feel that it would have been more suitable for O'Brien to play on college campuses and sell more tickets for cheaper prices, so that more students could afford them. The cheapest tickets for the Chicago shows were $39.50, but on eBay, they are currently going for hundreds of dollars.

Reading the tag line for the shows, "A night of music, comedy, hugging, and the occasional awkward silence" just makes me all the sadder to be missing it, because that sounds like heaven. I would love to hear O'Brien perform with his guitar, and I'm very jealous of the lucky souls who will get to see him. I just hope that for the people who were not lucky enough to secure a ticket, there will be other opportunities to see the show (a DVD release would be fantastic).

Were you a lucky person who bought a ticket, or were you left feeling like Pierre Bernard in his Recliner of Rage, ranting like I am about not getting a seat? Let me know, and we can wallow in our sadness together.



Also, on a side note, I do have to say that NBC is doing one thing right. They are allowing Brian Williams to make hilarious appearances on numerous television shows. Thank you, NBC. Also, one more kudos to NBC and "Saturday Night Live" for confirming that Betty White will host the show on May 8.