The Funniest Show That You're Not Watching

Gentle readers… I have but one question for you: why aren't you watching 30 Rock ?

For those of you in the know, 30 Rock is television's best comedy series. Hands down, without a doubt. For those of you not in the know, however, then please allow me to introduce you to 30 Rock. 30 Rock is a behind-the-scenes look at a network comedy/variety series, not unlike the venerable Saturday Night Live. Coincidentally enough two of 30 Rock's principals have blood-like ties to SNL: executive producer Lorne Michaels is, of course, the man who created (and to this day continues to run) Saturday Night Live, and star Tina Fey is a former cast member and head writer of that aforementioned late-night comedy franchise. Not a bad pedigree for a prime-time comedy, eh?

Now… with that introduction out of the way, allow me to return to my original question: why aren't you watching 30 Rock? Really. Please tell me. I need to know why this addictively-hilarious half-hour of prime-time television is barely registering on the Nielsen ratings scale. In its Thursday night time slot, NBC's 30 Rock often finishes in fourth place among programming offered by the five broadcast networks. It even gets beaten by the inane Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? Oh, the pain.

So what is it going to take to entice you to tune in? Well, I could tell you that NBC will pay you to watch, but… you and I both know that I'm just making that up. However… have I mentioned to you that in September of this year 30 Rock was awarded the coveted Emmy for best comedy series? Oh, and did I also mention that Tiny Fey was nominated for best actress in a comedy series, and that her co-star Alec Baldwin was nominated for best actor in a comedy series? Wait – here's one for you: the show is populated with former SNL veterans, including co-star Tracy Morgan, and recurring guest stars Rachel Dratch and Chris Parnell. Now am I starting to pique your interest?

Awards, nominations, and pedigree aside, the bottom line as to why you should be tuning in is this: 30 Rock is so consistently… funny. It's clever and it's quirky, and it's one of the few shows left in all of prime time that makes its viewers laugh out loud. And these days, laughter in prime time is a rare commodity indeed.

Season two of 30 Rock can be seen Thursday nights at 8:30 on NBC, and season one is now available on DVD.