u/EfficientMagician416

1 or 2 episodes with call backs is fine but it feels like every single episode has some kind of call back. I understand they're going back to Fox and they want to connect with all the seasons of AD, including it's TBS years but its getting a little exhausting.

I'm watching episode 10 of the new season and within the first few minutes, there's a call back to Cry Baby and Between a Ring and a Hardass. The episodes themselves are great but I think it's just happening to frequently for my liking. It might be a personal thing but I just wish that Fox would stop pushing these call backs and let the writers continue writing these great episodes without having to ham-fist easter eggs every couple of minutes.

It definitely could've been made today, I never agree when people say that some comedies couldn't be made today because there's always an audience for something. I love 2 broke girls and I rewatch is frequently and I'm happy it existed in the microcosm that was the 2010s.

It definitely had a more progressive lense even though some of their jokes and characters were not so progressive. I think if it was made today, those punching down jokes would've been hammed up to a 1000 because we've all seen too much, the 2010s was childs play compared to today. It probably would've had a pretty right-wing audience even if the show still leaned progressive. For example, I'm thinking about the right wing audience of American Dad, the Boys, American psycho etc, all are making fun of right wingers but they love the show because they take it at face value (even if the messaging is smacking them in the face).

The 2010s had an optimism about it where shows didn't need to go too dark to be popular. I think in this climate, people would be a bit too exhausted to engage with it lightly in the same way we would before. For me, bills, politics, wars, recessions are all making me less open to light little comedies like this unless I used to watch them. I don't think this would be a show I would watch if it came out today but because it was something I watched when I was younger, happier and more optimistic, it feels nice to watch and reminisce. I'm more forgiving because it was made back then and not right now.

All this to say that I'm enjoying the rewatch! I honestly wished Andy and Caroline would've ended up together, they were perfect for eachother.

In the beginning, everyone had a pretty unhealthy relationship with Rick, they relied on him for everything, they craved his approval and they revered him. The constant fear of Rick leaving again made it difficult for anyone in the family to say what they truly felt about him. As seasons went on and the more Rick stayed, the less the family feared and they truly began to open up to not just Rick but to eachother. I think their relationship has gotten much stronger and they now see Rick as just part of the family and vis versa. They're more comfortable challenging him and he goes out of his way to show that he cares about them deeply (even Jerry!).

His drinking took a back seat in those seasons but now, in season 9, Rick's drinking isn't being played for laughs like before. The family all look deeply concerned about him everytime he drinks and he also drinks to the point of unconsciousness or losing bodily control. He's done this before but they've always been jokes. It seems now, with this season, they want us to know that it's not funny. This man is so deeply unhappy with his life and drinking seems to be his only escape. The family can see this and while they're frustrated with his drinking, you can tell that they're also scared and concerned for him. They seem to have accepted that this is who he is. Rick no longer has motivation to keep going. His whole thing was revenge for his wife and he did that, he also had Evil Morty to keep him distracted but that's gone now too.

All he thinks he has is his alcohol. His family know there's nothing they can say to stop him from drinking so they don't. They just watch him destroy himself with drink because they know that it's either that or he'll probably kill himself. At least they'll have more time with him as he is, even though he's constantly drunk.

It's kind of depressing to watch the signs but I do hope the season ends with Rick finding motivation to keep going, I hope he sees his family is there for him and there's more to life than drinking and wallowing in his own self pity.

He's got one shtick and that's it. I think his character improves greatly in the later because Stewie starts to show how he cares for the people around him. His relationship with Brian being something that brings a lot of life into both of their characters.

A baby that is looking for world domination sounds really interesting on paper and when I was younger watching this, I thought his personality was funny but I think, as I age, I just really appreciate his relationships with the people around him. The newest episode with him and Lois was just great, an engaging look into both characters through a very long conversation, I loved it. I'm glad they decided to evolve his character and I think, personally, I would take the newer seasons of Stewie over the first seasons of him.

It would've been so easy to make Jack a cold executive who's constantly at odds with Liz but I love how that wasn't the case at all. He's done his research so he knows everyone, it was so funny seeing how much he wanted Liz to like him in the beginning, it wasn't desperate but it felt quite real.

He got embarrassed and sad that she kicked him out of the writers room and kinda avoided her for a bit. Then to make up for that he got her tickets to a show that he thought she might like. He was excited to be in her sketch in the next episode, like everything about him just seems like he wants a good and healthy workplace with employees that are happy with their job.

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I know the dynamic evolves in the later seasons but I'm just really enjoying first season Jack! Everyone is quite animated but so down to Earth, this is like my third rewatch so I know what they become, it's just weird seeing then be so different but ultimately the same.

I like her character because while she was a bit of a villian, I thought it was funny how much she liked Liz and how willing she was to tred over everyone for the sake of getting on the stage. I think where people would've felt justified in their hate for her is probably because of her relationship with Kenneth. She's the only person he ever dates in the whole series and she's basically taking advantage of him to get a leg up. I found their relationship boring to be honest, I think if you removed it completely, her character would be exactly the same and I think she'd actually have a lot more fans than she does now.

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Given a bit more time with her character, she probably would've fit right in with the wacky crew and it might've been fun to see her actually develop feelings for Kenneth. It was a little bit of a missed opportunity to have her get fired so quickly because I think her redemption arc would've been super interesting. BUT I know that if I was watching the show as the episodes came out, I definitely would not have liked her character. I can be a bit more objective now because I'm able to watch the whole series at once.

Now this is a completey personal opinion but as much as I love a good romance, I find it sort of exhausting when you see ever main lead woman and man get together on every show.

They might start out not liking eachother, then they become friends and then really good friends before they end up dating.

That part when they're really good friends is always the sweet spot, you enjoy the storyline because the characters trust eachother and are willing to constantly go to bat for eachother. It's always so lovely to watch.

But when they get together romantically, I feel like their friendship sort of fades and is replaced with something less interesting. And I always think "were you kind to her only because you liked her romantically? If you didn't find her attractive, would you still have treated her like a friend in the beginning?". I feel like it voids the friendship and it might just be the writing of these shows but they also become super boring and less interesting versions of themselves (example, Bones, The Mentalist, Lucifer... there are more but my memory fails me)

Now obviously this isn't all shows but its definitely something I've seen with long running shows. Which is why I absolutely adore the friendship between Liz and Jack. The care they show for eachother just makes me feel happy everytime I watch. They never get into jealous situations with their partners about their friendship, people just sort of accept that they're very close friends.

I think it was one of the smartest decisions in the show because it was never a will they, won't they, it was always Liz and Jack being Liz and Jack.

Jack doesn't care for Liz because he find her attractive, he loves her for her personality, her smarts, her tenacity. To the point where he found it impossible to replace her as a mentee. He's always looking out for Liz; a particular example is in the 100th episode of season 5 where he chooses to save Liz from Dennis over a potential future where he is head of GE. His friendship with her was more important than his ultimate life goal. He encourages her to reach for more, he praises her even when she's messed things up and he's always there for her.

All of this to say that I wish more long standing shows would keep their women and men lead characters as very good friends because it makes them much more interesting to watch.

Edited to fix formatting.

Lois focused episodes show Lois being selfish, mean and insecure and it's pretty refreshing. Early season Lois was all about being a good mother and wife and while she did bad things sometimes (shoplifting, political corruption etc), she always stopped for the sake of the family.

New season of Lois emphasises her terrible character but you're always kind of rooting for because she's so raw and has a personality outside of her family. Should she be thinking about her family when she tries to give someone a really bad allergic reaction just to be customer of the week? Sure, I guess. Is it much more interesting and entertaining seeing her dig an even bigger hole for herself without a mention of her family? Absolutely!

It's nice seeing Lois as Lois and not just a mom or a wife. She's completely unhinged, insecure and overall terrible but she's grown to be one of my favourite characters.

Terrible person, great character!

I've watched this episode so many times and this totally flew over my head. It's season 16 episode 1 called "Emmy Winning Episode", the episode is them trying to win an Emmy sinc they've never won one. It came out in 2017 and 30 Rock was receiving tons of Emmy nominations from 2007 to 2014 so this joke is quite old in context (which tracks for Family Guy because they love making a joke years after its relevant). Apparently 30 Rock recieved 114 nominations which incredible!!

So this is my first time watching the show, it recently came on Netflix and I devoured 7 seasons in just a couple of weeks. My life has just been 30 Rock and I honestly can't remember the time a show has engaged me this deeply. The writing on this show is wonderous and its still so relevant even though it was created 2 DECADES ago!!!!

The relationship between Jack and Liz has to be my favourite part. The way they truly care for eachother was so beautiful to see and you could see how much their relationship developed every season. I thought it was so sweet that Jack knew everything Liz was going to before she did it, he valued her as a person and was constantly pushing her to want more. He couldn't replace her and vis versa. Their characters, while hilarious, were so human and I deeply appreciate that they idea of a romantic relationship between them didn't exist because a lot of shows with a woman and a man as leads always ends up in them getting together and I sometimes feels like that weakens the relationship. Like these were just friends for the love of the game and they were always there for eachother.

I loved that both their romantic partners just automatically understood that those two weirdos were platonic so they had no reason to be jealous, that was never a major plot point because I find misunderstandings like that SO lazy.

HOW DO YOU DO FELLOW KIDS being from the show threw me bad because I grew up seeing that meme and when I saw it on the show I was flabbergasted. It was such a cultural phenomenon and I'm so happy it's available on Netflix now so that more people can appreciate it. The show approached every difficult topic with a level of kindness that was hard to find back then and especially now.

I've go to wake up early tomorrow but I don't think I could've fallen asleep without watching that last episode. It was so bittersweet but honestly, after 7 seasons, I don't think there was a better way to end it.

Tina Fey deserves some real props, what a brilliant mind. And she followed this up with Unbreakable Kimmy Schmit?? Lorne needs to give her the reigns for SNL already, it's her time!!

I feel like after the first 2 seasons, they really started to bring out their personalities. They weren't just silently following behind Tracy and in lots of scenes, you can see how much Tracy cares about them and vis versa. It would've been so easy to make them hate the fact that they're practically babysitting Tracy but them being into it makes it so much funnier.

No spoilers because I'm currently on season 5 but this show has aged incredibly well.