The Daily Star - Stay Tuned
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/30513
The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, April 29, 2011 2 coverstory Not a dealbreaker ‘30 Rock’ prepped for sixth season By Sarah Jamieson TV Media A lthough the critically acclaimed comedy “30 Rock” is coming to a close for its fifth season on Thursday, May 5, the show shows no signs of slowing down, despite ghastly rumors from a co-star. Earlier last April, Alec Bald- win announced that the show would be over once the ac- tor’s contracts expire in May 2012. “I will tell you one thing,” he said, “our show next year is our last year of the show. Our contracts are expired and Tina is gonna have a big ca- reer directing films and writ- ing. She’s going to be the next Elaine May. She’ll be great.” Although Baldwin’s high praise had good intentions, it’s doubtful that the writer and star of the show, Tina Fey, was very pleased. However, Fey joked that the fact he said he might be leav- ing is the first indication that he won’t, and dismissed the rumors as being untrue. But, obviously, she can’t tell what NBC has in store for the show. “I don’t know,” she admit- ted. “I know we’re all there through the end of Season 6, and then we’ll see. We’ll see what NBC wants. We’ll see what all the various people that I work with want to do.” Tina Fey stars in “30 Rock” After the whispering among the media was fully underway, Baldwin (among other sources close to the ac- tor) debunked the claims, and released another statement explaining that he hoped the show continues, even though his days on network TV may be numbered. There’s also talk that Bald- win recently signed on with Woody Allen’s new movie, which is apparently being shot in Rome. If that turns out to be true, he might not be able to juggle both. There have been allega- tions from fans that the com- ment was to start a publicity riot over the conclusion of the show to promote Fey’s new memoir, “Bossypants.” It’s as if Baldwin is reaching out with his alter ego personality -- it seems like a typical thing that Jack Donaghy (Baldwin) would pull on “30 Rock.” This isn’t the only publicity scheme that some fans would raise an eyebrow at for “30 Rock” stars. In a surprising twist that seems very unlike the down-to-earth former “SNL” star, she announced she was five months pregnant on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” The move seemed oddly like something a normal celebrity would do, and of which Fey would make fun. A lot of fans assumed announcing it public- ly was a joke in order to mock the people who do it. However, the claims have been verified -- Fey will have her second child this year. This might be connected to why Baldwin doubts the show’s continuation -- the last time Fey was pregnant, she put off the pilot episode of “30 Rock” to take care of her now five-year-old daughter, Alice. After it finally premiered, the show struggled the first season due to a less-than-ide- al ratings situation. Since it doesn’t take much to put a network sitcom on the chop- ping block, it had to make Fey a little nervous that she might get cut. However, one can’t make diamonds without pressure, and “30 Rock” is a great ex- ample -- it skyrocketed in rat- ings. With a number of talent- ed stars (including the hand- some and rugged Baldwin), the show flourished, becom- ing the top comedy on NBC in its time-slot. A/Auto Boutique B/The Green Giraffe 2 x 2 The premise of the comedy is an intriguing one -- a sin- gle-camera show about the inner workings of a comedy skit show. And, unless viewers are unfamiliar with Fey’s for- mer work as an actor and the first female head writer for “Saturday Night Live,” it doesn’t take much investiga- tion to realize it’s loosely based on her experiences. In fact, the feedback from fans proves it’s what attracted them to the show in the first place. From the start, Fey has used her efforts as a supernerd to launch herself into the lov- able loser character Liz Lem- on on “30 Rock.” If anyone encountered Lemon in the real world, most would label her as a mess -- keeping her hair up with chip clips, stress- eating and going through a revolving door of boyfriends, she doesn’t seem to have it together. However, she al- ways ends up being the glue that keeps the insanity of the supporting characters from falling apart, or from destroy- ing each other. Lemon runs around trying to keep her star, Tracy Jordan (played by Tracy Morgan), from making a scene or com- mitting any crimes. The actor may be the bread winner of the crew, but he’s unstable and tends to project his men- tal illness outwardly, inter- rupting dress rehearsals, or not attending them at all, and stealing the scene from pretty much anyone. Chirstopher’s Coins 2 x 2 hollywoodQ&A By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Who is the actor who plays Max on “Parenthood”? A: He, too, is Max. Perhaps afraid he wouldn’t answer when his character was called on camera, they gave the character Max Braverman on NBC’s ensemble family dramedy “Parent- hood” the same first name as the actor who plays him, Max Burkholder. In fact, his first three screen roles were all characters named Max, so either the memory problem is close to the mark, or else filmmakers are all inspired by the child star. There’s ample evidence for that theory, too, given the num- ber of roles he’s won in his mere 13 years on Earth. He started in 2003, at just six years of age, in the hit family comedy “Daddy Day Care,” starring Eddie Murphy. A few more screen roles followed, but people are more likely to recognize his voice. He’s been the voice of Chomper on the TV version of “The Land Before Time,” and voiced Roo on the popular “My Friends Tigger & Pooh” series, as well as three feature-length films. Strangely enough, he’s also been a go-to kid for the rather kid-unfriendly TV series “Family Guy,” doing a number of dif- ferent voice roles on the series since 2005, and even appearing a few times on its spinoff, “The Cleveland Show.” In front of the camera, he’s also done guest arcs on ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters” and “Private Practice” and HBO’s “In Treatment,” and a spot in 1996's “Friends With Money.” A/Crazy Tom's B/Allstar Auto Wash 2 x 3 Have a question? E-mail us at questions@tvtabloid.com.