Rock on! The season premiere of '30 Rock'

Many of us haven't ever really gotten over the cancellation of Arrested Development.

But when I watched the first two episode of the third season of 30 Rock (premiering Thursday at 9:00 p.m. on NBC), I felt that the spirit of Arrested Development alive and well -- and not just because Will Arnett is back as Jack's (Alec Baldwin) corporate rival Devon Banks. It's taken a few years but the Emmy-winning comedy has evolved into a finely honed, perfectly hilarious, totally savvy, and often downright brilliant absurdist comedy.

When the series first premiered on Oct. 11, 2006, I wrote the following: "I just didn't find the comedy that funny ... Alec Baldwin remains the only reason to watch the show --- even after watching the pilot four (yes, four) times I still found him hilarious. And newcomer Jack McBrayer as Kenneth the page does great funny work with his few lines. The rest of the show, not so great. Three stars.

I don't think I was necessarily wrong then. I think the series has benefited from having time to develop and perfect its premise. While Alec Baldwin had his Jack Donaghy down from the first second of the show, it has taken the other actors longer to truly "get" their characters. The show has also discovered the best way to leverage some of the other characters. Developing McBrayer's Kenneth as the innocent foil to Jack's corporate corruption was a great decision.

As the show's center, Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) has more and more become the straight man to the antics of the people who surround her. Like Michael on Arrested Development, Liz is often the only one who is based in reality. And Fey has blossomed as an actress. We always knew she had a smart, cutting sense of humor but she's turned Liz into a character I laugh with and at, but most importantly I feel compassion for Liz. She comes across as someone you could be friends with. In the premiere, the show balances Liz's desire to adopt a child with Megan Mullally's silly guest star stint as Liz's adoption case worker. I cackled during Mullally's interrogation of Liz's co-workers but I still felt for Liz and her desire to have a baby.

And like Arrested Development, the show jumps from joke to joke briskly and gets some of its best punchlines from playing on people's expectations. When Kenneth the Page (the always funny Jack McBrayer) learns Liz is planning on adopting, he says "Three of my nine siblings were adopted . . . and someday I'm gonna find them." And the more outrageous the show makes Tracy Morgan's Tracy Jordan, the better. Next week, he tells Jenna "White people stole jazz, rock and roll, Will Smith and heart disease." That line works because of Morgan's perfectly timed delivery and sense of indignation.

During the first season of the show I also fearlessly predicted that Jane Krakowski would be written off the show because it was clear the writers were struggling with how to fit her in. (Hey what's the point of fearless predictions if I'm not wrong sometimes). While I still feel like her character may be the weakest link on the show, she too has evolved into a source of real humor. Jenna's interactions with Tracy are particularly hilarious.

Next week Oprah stops by in a much-hyped appearance. And I have to say the way the comedy worked in Oprah was definitely not what I expected. I can't wait to see what the show does with its other big name guest stars including Jennifer Aniston, Steve Martin, and Salma Hayek

Fey's inspired impersonations of Sarah Palin have propelled her into the limelight and truly showcased the depths of her talent. I can only hope more people tune into 30 Rock because they've loved her this season on Saturday Night Live. I promise you that you won't be disappointed when you do. Four and a half stars.

If you want to watch the premiere online, click here. What do you think of 30 Rock? Talk about it below.

Mad Men

Mad Men delivered another doozy of a season finale last night. With the Cuban Missile Crisis in the background, all the characters faced crises of their own. Among them, Betty's (January Jones) unexpected pregnancy, Pete's even more unexpected declaration of love for Peggy, Don's power play with Duck, and Don's efforts to return home. My favorite scene was the final scene between Peggy and Pete which was a year in the making. Part of me always thought Pete knew that Peggy had his child. And maybe he did but buried the truth in his own subconscious. Peggy's evolution from a shy, scared young woman to confident copywriter has been one of the series' most rewarding story lines.

I loved Don's cool return to the firm as if it were no problem at all that he had been gone. I loved Pete hedging his bets by professing loyalty to both Don and Duck. And the boardroom showdown between Don and Duck was pretty fantastic.

The most shocking scene was Betty's anonymous bar tryst (with none other than Captain Awesome from Chuck) but it's one the show has been building towards for awhile -- from this season's premiere with her broken down car to her flirtation with the man at the horse stables.

I've heard from a couple of you who were upset that we didn't have any scenes of Joan (Christina Hendricks) dealing the repercussions of her rape. But my sense is that this is very in keeping with the era and that the producers will certainly address what happened to Joan next season. I'm hoping Joan will evolve next season much like Peggy did this season.

What did you think of the second season finale of Mad Men? Talk about it below.

Life on Mars

I've been invited to participate in an audio podcast with Andre Nemec, the executive producer of Life on Mars. So I would love to hear any questions about the show that you have for Nemec. Write me at amytvgal@zap2it.com and let me know. The podcast will be available later this week. I'll include the link in an upcoming column.

Highlights of the Week Ahead

All times listed are Eastern Time for October 27- November 2

Tom's wife is suspicious of all his "business trips" on My Own Worst Enemy (Monday, NBC, 10 p.m.). In order to promote the show, NBC has created webisodes that accompany the show. Check them out here.

I love that the show decided to have Eli Stone (Jonny Lee Miller) chose to have the brain aneurysm and to be a prophet. After having him struggle with his fate in the show's first season, it's great to now have a hero that not only accepts his fate but sought it out. I'm a little less certain about the decision to have Jordan (Victor Garber) decide to have a firm that only does pro-bono work and to have to defend himself against charges of insanity. That happens this week on Eli Stone (Tuesday, ABC, 10 p.m.) so we'll have to wait and see how it plays out.

I must know how you are feeling about the new and improved Private Practice (Wednesday, ABC, 9 p.m.). To me it still feels a lot like the old and not improved Private Practice.

In case you haven't heard, Eric Kripke, the creator and executive producer of Supernatural, has a message for fans. Many of you were upset by what happened at the end of last week's episode and here's what Kripke had to say "Dean is not a dick. None of the writers, or anyone on the creative team of Supernatural, think Dean's ever been a dick, past, present, or future. He's a hero. Dean did NOT contract the ghost sickness because he's a dick. Victims contract the illness because they use "fear as a weapon." Dean asks Lilith at the episode's end, "Why did I get infected?" And she cryptically responds, "You know why. Listen to your heart." We, as the writers, probably should have emphasized this mystery more, I take responsibility for that omission. But the point is: the reason he was infected is because of a SECRET he's keeping. A dark secret that will be revealed in Episode 10. And not at all because of any dickishness, implied or otherwise." So we should find out Dean's secret on November 20 and this week on Supernatural pays homage to Halloween in an episode entitled "It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester." What do you think about what's happening on Supernatural? Talk about it below.

We're about a month into the official fall season so let the scheduling shenanigans begin! Lipstick Jungle and Life trade places this week. That means you can find Lipstick Jungle on Fridays at 10 p.m. beginning this week. Next Wednesday (November 5), Life moves into its new time slot at 9 p.m. and the new season of Law & Order begins at 10 p.m.

Even though it appears the CW has abandoned Everybody Hates Chris on Friday night (8 p.m. on the CW), I'm still watching the show and you should be too --- if you're not, you missed the show's enjoyable skewering of The Cosby Show. I still hold myself responsible for not talking about Aliens in America enough last season. I won't let that happen with Everybody Hates Chris.

That's all for today. I'm back on Wednesday with this week's familiar faces and to talk about what's happening on Dirty Sexy Money, Gossip Girl, Fringe and more. Have a question? Seen a familiar face? Want to nominate a quote of the week? Write me at amytvgal@zap2it.com.

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