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Television

The 10 Best Sitcom Finales in TV History

By Jason Bailey on

Last night, NBC brought down the curtain on The Office in rather a lovely fashion, with a series finale that was warm, nostalgic, and plenty funny. Bringing a long-running sitcom to a close is a tricky bit of business (how ya doin’, Roseanne), but The Office joins a handful of shows that have done it very, very well. Here are some other examples. … Read More

Pop Culture

Awesome Illustrations of Pop Culture’s Best Female Characters as Saints

By Jason Bailey on

As we’ve discussed recently, the dearth of strong female characters in mass entertainment continues to be a source of depression, but here’s a little cheer-up: artist Spencer Salberg, who posts his work on his heymonster Tumblr, has created a series of Strong Female Character portraits, which cast the likes of Buffy Summers, Liz Lemon, Leslie Knope, and Zoe Washburn as saints. Check them out after the jump, and buy (very reasonably priced!) prints of each here.  … Read More

Television

7 Great Songs Written for TV Shows

By Alison Herman on

Last week’s installment of Game of Thrones capped off its cliffhanger ending with a rollicking Hold Steady cover of “The Bear and the Maiden Fair,” the medieval drinking song debuted earlier in the episode. The track, along with its Season 2 predecessor “The Rains of Castamere,” was a reminder that while film traditionally gets the lion’s share of… Read More

Film

Celebrate Alec Baldwin’s 55th Birthday With His 10 Best Scenes

By Jason Bailey on

The great Alec Baldwin turns 55 years old today, and in attempting to cook up a proper tribute to him, we realized that his is a body of work less about hours than moments, less about films or shows than particular scenes. His career trajectory has been an unusual one: though he was initially pegged as a marquee leading man, he never quite found success as one. The good stuff came later, when he reinvented himself as a character actor, the kind of gunslinger who could parachute in for a supporting role, crush it in a couple of scenes, and slip out the back door. So to mark his 55 years, we’ve rounded up our ten favorite Alec Baldwin scenes, from film and television, for your consideration. … Read More

Television

The Wisdom of ’30 Rock’ vs. The Wisdom of ‘Sex and the City’

By Jason Bailey on

We already had our doubts about Vulture’s “Sitcom Showdown,” their attempt to select, bracket-style, the best TV sitcom of the modern era, but at exactly 12:15 today, the feature lost any remaining credibility. Why? Writer Starlee Kine (who seems, judging by her This American Life appearances, to be a generally level-headed and thoughtful type) was given the task of selecting 30 Rock or Sex and the City — and she chose Sex and the City. THIS IS A THING THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. She typed the words “Winner: Sex and the City,” and then she hit send. Yes, Liz Lemon and company’s rapid-fire comedy classic was given the shaft for the “shock humor” and Hallmark bullshit of Carrie and the girls. It is the biggest show-biz travesty since Crash won Best Picture. Don’t believe us? We’ve stacked up the wit and wisdom of each show, on ten important topics. We’ll let the results speak for themselves. … Read More

Television

What's Next for the Cast of '30 Rock'?

By Alison Herman on

In the penultimate episode of 30 Rock, crazy co-stars Jenna Maroney and Tracy Jordan co-opt an interview meant to promote TGS into an opportunity to promote their next project, where they intend play a president and a Santa Claus who happen to be conjoined twins in love with the same woman. The scene’s as ridiculous as it is hilarious, but it does raise a valid question: what’s next for the stars of the dearly departed sitcom? Here’s what we know so far about what Liz Lemon Tina Fey and her supporting cast have planned. … Read More

Television

Meta to the End: Saying Goodbye to '30 Rock,' The Show That Got to Say Goodbye to Itself

By Jane Hu on

30 Rock aired its finale last night in the fashion all television could only hope to do. The beloved show and its viewers knew it was coming, and both sides could anticipate and plan, in their own ways, for the end. The critical flurry surrounding 30 Rock this past week only goes to exemplify how much The End still means to us as television viewers – a formal farewell seemed only right to a story arc so formally conclusive as 30 Rock. Such closure was nearly Austenian (Pride and Prejudice was itself celebrated in classic form this month), and that there would be a release of tears no one could doubt. Viewers, of course we cried. … Read More

Television

The Best Critical Writing on the End of '30 Rock'

By Chloe Pantazi on

As we brace ourselves for the finale of 30 Rock tonight, we’ve scoured the internet for the best critical takes on the show. From astute discussions of gender and race to thoughts on New York and what makes the ultimate comedy, here’s a roundup of the best we found. … Read More

Television

100 of the Best Quotes from ‘30 Rock'

By Caroline Stanley on

If 30 Rock has been a bit uneven in recent seasons, the one thing that remained a constant was the hilarious, quotable lines that the show’s talented writing team would sprinkle into each episode. We spent the past few weeks culling through our favorites to come up 100 of the very best.… Read More

Television

The Feminism of Liz Lemon: A History in Screen-caps

By Jane Hu on

[Ed. note: In celebration of the series finale of one of our all-time favorite TV comedies on Thursday night, we're going to be celebrating 30 Rock all week long on Flavorwire. Look for a new feature each day, and be sure to check out all of our previous coverage of the show here.] In the pilot of 30 Rock, Liz Lemon is sent by her new boss Jack Donaghy to find Tracy Jordan and convince him to join their NBC sketch comedy, The Girlie Show. While chasing the manic Tracy from diner to strip club, Liz learns that Jack has fired her primary writing partner – an alarming realization that sends her back to the office. “I want to tell Donaghy to his face that I quit,” she tells Tracy outside a strip joint, “and I want to do it in front of the whole crew so that they know he didn’t fired me.” Tracy Jordan’s response: “I wanna see that.” And so did I. … Read More