“Mad Men” star “John Hamm” has joined the cast of “30 Rock” for AT LEAST 3 episodes this season. “I just finished a couple of episodes, and I’ll go back in the new year and do another one of those, and then we’ll see what happens,” Hamm said Tuesday at a benefit for the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television according to the wire service.

Hamm is playing a love interest for series star Tina Fey, and after his spectacular performance on SNL earlier this year, I can’t wait to see how he fits into the insanity that is “30 Rock”.

Oprah may be lending a helping hand to Tina Fey’s “30 Rock”. Earlier this year Fey publicly stated that she’d like Oprah to come onto the show and play her best friend.

Well – we’re not really sure if she’s going to be playing that role, but Oprah is in final negotiations to appear on the show. Negotiations are so close to final that she’s already being written into the second episode of the season.

Oprah will be playing herself, and all her scenes will be with Tina Fey – so its possible that Tina is getting her wish. I love “30 Rock” and the show has had trouble in the ratings – so I’d love to see it get a boost from the blinding star that is Oprah.

Jack Donaghy’s nemesis Devon Banks, played by comedy genius Will Arnett, will be appearing on the first season premiere of “30 Rock”, which is filming now.

Arnett has been given an Emmy nomination for his appearances on the show last season, and I can certainly see why. Arnett’s character was a highlight of the show, and when you see him – you know that insanity is on its way.

I’d really like to see Devon Banks become a full cast member – of for Arnett to get his own series. The man is one of the funniest people to come out of Hollywood in the last few years, and I can’t wait to see what he does next.

Starting on the first day of September, all the way through to the 30th of October we have new shows debuting on all the major networks. Below you’ll find a complete list of all the new and returning shows and their premiere dates!

Be sure and check back here at TV Jab for reviews of these new programs as they premiere…we’ll be covering almost all of them this year!
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Season 2, Episode 15 – Season Finale

100 Word Review: SO – that was the season finale, huh? That Writer’s Strike was a real pain, wasn’t it? I mean, for this to be season finale…huh. I just don’t know quite what to say. Liz has a pregnancy scare, Jack has trouble getting fired from the Bush Administration. Matthew Broderick guest stars. Tracey continues to try to make his porn video game, and Kennith feuds with a rival page for a spot paging the Olympics. It’s filled with a bunch of absurd stuff and everything goes back to the way it was before by the end of the episode. Big whoop.

Season 2, Episode 14 Sandwich Day

100 Word Review: Jason Sedakus stops back by “30 Rock” this week, as Floyd flies in from Cleveland and gets stuck in New York for a few days due to Global Warming. Meanwhile, Jack’s days at GE appear to be numbered as he is forced to move down to the 12th floor by the new Marky Mark loving CEO. Liz does her best to make Floyd want her while he’s back in town, and crashing at her place, but ultimately goes psycho over him because of a phone call from 8 months ago. There was a also subplot involving Teamsters and sandwiches. Really.

100 word review: Jack is getting the top job at GE, and Liz is going to replace him…at least until Don Guice died. ouch. Now it looks like Will Arnett will have more important role on the show going forward, which is a good thing.

All in all, this was another good episode. Much better than Milf Island. The sub-plot with Tracy and the porn-game didn’t do much for me, but there were a few gags in there that were worth a laugh.

This show continues to channel Arrested Development each week…and I mean that in a good way.

NBC is making a shift to its Thursday night line-up this week, moving “30 Rock” to the post-Office 9:30 (EST) time slot. The slot is considered an upgrade for the show, since it should benefit from the large audience attracted to the goings-on of Dunder Mifflin – Scranton, each and every week.

“30 Rock” is already renewed for next season, while “Scrubs” will soon be moving to ABC, and will air its last NBC broadcast episode in a few weeks – so it only makes sense that the network would want to put “30 Rock” back in the 9:30 slot.

Season 2, Episode 7 – “Cougars”

30 Rock continues to be one of my favorite shows on television. In this episode 37 year old Liz dates 20 year old coffee boy, Jamie. Of course, he says he’s 25, and she says she’s 29 – so if you go by their made-up ages, it’s not that bad.

The two subplots of the episode were as bizarre as they’ve ever been in this episode, with Jack taking over a underprivileged baseball team from Tracy in an obvious (and hilarious) series of jabs at the Iraq war. Which come to a head with Jack standing over a new baseball field dressed as a General, while he stares at a very familiar looking banner that reads “Fun Accomplished.”

The second subplot of the night revolved around Frank being gay for coffee boy Jamie. Not completely gay, just gay for this one guy. It was funny, awkward, and slightly uncomfortable at times as Frank did his best to put the moves on Jamie – who just wasn’t interested.

The end of Liz and Jamie’s relationship was also pretty darn funny, with Liz meeting his mother, and finding out that they look exactly the same.

There were so many other funny bits in this episode, from Kenneth’s “homeade country gum” to Jenna’s 14-year old boyfriend, that it’s hard to recap it all. This episode is 30 Rock at its best, and well worth checking out.

Grade: A

Season 2 Episode 4

30 Rock is working hard to be the funniest show on television – and they’re getting there. This episode had me laughing so hard I didn’t know what to do with myself.

The show opens with Jack (Alec Baldwin) bringing Liz (Tina Fey) an award for “follower of the year”, which makes her feel bad about herself (although she gladly accepts the $10k prize that goes along with it). Later she’s at a book signing by the comedy writer who inspired her, Rosemary (Carrie Fisher), and invites her to be a guest writer on the show.

Meanwhile, Kenneth is forced into a Page-off, and Tracey has decided to start dog fights because Jack has told him its the one thing he’s not allowed to do.

The stuff between Jack and Tracey where Jack is doing his impression of Red Fox may be one of the funniest moments in the history of television. It must be seen to be believed. Really, really good stuff.

The show wraps up with Liz learning a valuable lesson – selling out is the right thing to do.

I love this show.

Grade: A+