30 Rock: Season 6 Premiere

So 30 Rock is back for its sixth season and the two most pressing questions on everyone's mind are how the writers have chosen to address the death of Avery's captor, Kim Jong Il, and what's got Liz Lemon in such high spirits?  In regards to the former, aside from a hilarious Christmas card from Kim Jong Un and Avery – "Death to Imperialist Wolves and Happy Hanukkah" – they really didn't and in regards to the latter, well, we'll get to that.

"Dance Like Nobody's Watching" begins with the TGS crew returning after the holidays to the quintessential insanity to which we've gotten so accustomed over the past 5 years: Jenna has assumed the Simon Cowell role ("That was very good.  You were trying to get me to commit suicide, right?") on a reality competition show called "America's Kidz Got Singing;" Kenneth is all smiles because he believes the next day he'll be raptured ("In black people hell, there's a jukebox!") despite Pete's insistence otherwise; Jack is torn over the massive Nielsen ratings of "America's Kidz" and the fact that Jenna is publicly eviscerating children not much older than Liddy; Tracy is jealous of all the attention being drawn away from his shenanigans while everyone is wondering why Liz so joyously refuses to placate the crazies around her. 

Like pretty much all of Season 5, "Dance LIke Nobody's Watching" has its ups and its downs.  Luckily, the downs almost all congregate in the first half of the episode allowing for the ups to kick in just in time for the episode to finish up strongly.  After 5 seasons, fans of 30 Rock know exactly what they'll like and what they'll dislike about the motley cast of characters and for the most part, this season premiere falls exactly in line with those expectations: Jenna acts like an entitled bitch, Tracy displays the mental capacity of a 5-year old and Kenneth happily welcomes being the butt of everyone's jokes.  Don't get me wrong – I don't say that accusingly, but affectionately, as I am one of the many who has come to both love and expect such behavior.  It also helps that this consistency spawns some truly hilarious moments such as a pantsless Tracy ranting about Liz not keeping an eye on him or Jenna calling a child "you opposite of a turd with eyes."

On the flip side, there are, of course, some jokes that fall flat.  While we eventually get a point where Tracy complains sans pants, we first have to wade through some tired gags about his stupidity – "I took a real age test and it said I'm dead."  Similarly, though Jenna has some great zingers for some adorable child singers, the whole "America's Kidz Got Singing" subplot seems to be an elaborate excuse for a scene where Jack has a lost in translation conversation with his 1-year old child – a gag, I'm sure, that looked a lot funnier on paper.

Still, all can often be forgiven if an episode ends well and "Dance Like Nobody's Watching" provided a satisfactory conclusion in spades.  It was not only touching to see Pete, Frank, Toofer and Lutz sharing a beachside sunset with Kenneth, who had never even seen the ocean, but to see them all standing side by side in their rapture costumes – Lutz as Satan, Toofer as Black Jesus and Frank as Santa with an AK-47 – added a tinge of delightful insanity to the warmth. 

Highlighting the ending though, was the revelation of the root of Liz's cheerful spirits.  Though Jack assumes that after 6 years he knows Lemon better than she knows herself, his deduction that it's a spot on the New York Liberty senior (as in geriatric) cheer squad which has Liz so happy proves to be only half correct.  The shock on his face when he sees her meeting and kissing an unknown male combined with the soundtrack of a young girl's cover of "Camptown Races" is not only eerily melancholy, but it also perhaps signal to us as an audience that after 6 years, two of our most beloved characters may be experiencing life-altering changes: for Liz, a satisfying relationship; for Jack, the recognition that he's no longer the man he used to be.  It's the closest a hysterical show like 30 Rock will get to approaching drama, and if it's any indication of how the rest of the season will play out, is something to look forward to.