I decided I needed to make a 30 Rock post. But honestly, I'm not really sure where to begin. I mean, obviously this show means a lot to me, considering I cried like a total lame-ass at it tonight and it's probably the first time I cried in like 3 years. Obviously it means a lot to me, because it led me to realizing that TV and comedy were the two things I wanted to at least attempt to dedicate my life to. Obviously it means a lot to me because I sprinted home from my last class in the freezing cold while on the phone with my mom telling her to make sure she turned on the TV so that if I was late for the series finale, I could just rewind it and pretend I wasn't.
And honestly, part of me feels like this isn't exactly the end. I mean, it is, but this show's impact is never going to disappear from my life. I'm still going to watch every single episode over and over and over again. I'm still going to watch it in syndication every night, even if I'm just basking in the sound of its jokes as background noise. And I know that pretty much every single piece of comedy I watch - or every single piece of comedy I write - was partly inspired by my love for 30 Rock.
I've told the story of how I got into 30 Rock like a million times, so I'm not going to tell it again, but basically, I can safely say I grew up with the show. It started when I was an awkward, acne-clad, jew-fro rocking 8th grader (note: only the jew-fro has gone away, although prescription acne medication is certainly helping!) who really didn't know who the hell I was or what I was doing. I mean, my favorite shows were Mad TV and American Idol, guys. Shit was dire. But I decided to try out 30 Rock because my friend Ashlee would kill me if I didn't, and I remember loving it pretty instantly. I was only 13 and I'm pretty sure I barely understood half of the jokes - but there was something about it that was so unique, that was unlike anything I had ever seen in a TV show before. They were just so unafraid to be totally, unbelievably weird. I mean, I watched Pee Wee Herman dress up as a deformed Austrian prince and kill himself with a glass of wine. That kind of stuff has a lasting effect on kids.
Honestly, it didn't instantly click for me that the reason I was so drawn into 30 Rock was because it felt like parts of my own, weird brain were being televised right before my eyes. And there were times early on when my lack of identity got in the way of my enjoyment of 30 Rock, as I tried to get into other dumb interests, like...music or something. Blerg. But as I got older, I started to realize just how happy the show made me, and I tried to figure out why. And then it clicked. This was me. This bizarre, ridiculous show was the thing that brought me joy and the thing that I was most passionate about. It was around then that I realized nothing made me happier than sitting down and watching 30 Rock and experiencing some of the most daring, original, creative, balls-to-the-wall comedy I had ever seen in my life. And then I kind of never looked back. I started watching other comedy shows, I started writing my own comedy. I had found my identity. I was still kind of the awkward kid from the 8th grade, but I was the awkward kid from the 8th grade with a purpose, and that purpose was to spread my weirdness to everyone else, like 30 Rock had done.
So since then, there's been dozens of comedy shows I've also grown to love - at times, seemingly even more than 30 Rock itself. But these last few weeks of 30 Rock have really brought home the realization that nothing will ever top 30 Rock for me, because 30 Rock is what started it all. Every single show that I love, I love because I was a nerdy teenager who looked forward to nothing more than spending 22 minutes with Liz Lemon, Jack Donaghy, Jenna Maroney, Kenneth Parcell, Tracy Jordan, Pete Hornberger...even Lutz, guys, even Lutz. So while 30 Rock may not be making new episodes anymore, it's never going to be "over" for me. It's going to continue through everything I do in comedy, whether it be watching it or writing it or wishing I was writing it - whatever it may be, it'll all be because of 30 Rock.
Anyway this has had far too many feelings than I'm comfortable with. So I'll leave you all with this:
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