I like Tina Fey. She has the boldness of a much younger woman. Okay, I borrowed that line from the preview of her promising new NBC series, 30 Rock, but it’s somewhat apropos considering Fey’s latest career move: jumping ship from the safe confines of Saturday Night Live (and her Weekend Update anchor chair) so she can give full attention to her sitcom. (Fey announced her plans on Friday’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno, joking she’d wanted to leave SNL anyway, so she could spend more time with Star Jones.)
True, Fey’s exit will be a loss for SNL, but I’ve got to give her credit for not hedging her bets. I mean, considering the chances of success for a freshman series are about as predictable as a Joan Rivers red-carpet quip, Fey could easily be unemployed by year’s end, and to me, that makes her show of faith in 30 Rock all the more refreshing. How about you? Do you think Fey made the right move? Will you miss her special brand of SNL snark? And are you planning to watch 30 Rock when it premieres Oct. 11?
Comments (1-30) of 38 Add your comment
Fey was the best news person on SNL next to Norm MacDonald, and Dennis Miller. I cannot imagine the show without her but I hope that there will be a replacement with the same intelligence as her. Pohler while funny, does not seem to fit in as the anchor but more as the sidekick. Anyway, I hope that 30 Rock is a hit because NBC needs more intelligent comedies.
Who wouldn’t want to get off the crash that is SNL? Besides, it’s not like they wouldn’t take her back, what with Lorne Michaels exec producing 30 Rock…
Fey was able to turn Mean Girls into a movie worth watching. And if you consider that Lindsay Lohan was the star of that vehicle, it says something about what Fey can do.
It’s now clear that Jimmy Fallon was NOT the reason the Tina Fey/Fallon team up turned the weekend update around from its Colin Quinn Doldrums (that unfunny idiot made the same joke about an Irish cop who died from a Poptart about ohh, a hundred times on Remote Control, Half Hour comedy hour, that stupid show where he whines about the news AND SNL.).
And yeah, a lot of folks have left relative safety of an established series for a failed pilot before (recently, Kevin Sorbo left his five season long stint on Andromeda for a LOUSY pilot) , but Tina’s got the sort of moxie to make the show worth watching. So yeah, I’ll give 30 rock a shot, she deserves at least a look.
I’d follow her anywhere. She’s extremely talented.
As much as I positively ADORE Tina Fey, SNL Weekend Update has been a painful endeavor for quite a while. Talk about not even TRYING to step up your game when The Daily Show raises the bar of comedy news several times a week. That being said, I am rooting for her with this next show, granted it fits into my already-full TV schedule.
I’ll definitely be watching 30 Rock – anything Fey does is awesome. But now that she’s gone from SNL, there’s no reason for me to watch the show anymore.
I don’t blame her – SNL has been bad (sometimes painfully bad) since Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon, and Cheri Oteri left. I got the opportunity to see the 30 Rock pilot, and while it isn’t consistently funny throughout, it sure is promising.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise that Tina Fey didn’t want to be star and head writer on a sitcom and a live 90 minute sketch comedy show. SNL was very uneven last year. I do think it was the chemistry between Jimmy Fallon and Tina that made Update so good. The writing isn’t as good and Tina and Amy Poeler try a little too hard to mug to get laughs.
i am definitely gonna watch “30 rock”-it looks really funny and i think it will be a success. i just wish tina fey didnt have to leave snl, because she really is such a great talent-and her departure is a loss for an already falling show.
I thought she was going to stay on and keep doing Weekend Update? DAMN! No more reason to watch SNL. Oh well…
Tina Fey is a MAJOR talent; the best news person on SNL since the Chevy Chase/Dan Akroyd glory days of the 70’s. I’ll certainly watch her new show. Go Tina!
“30 Rock” is the only must-see new comedy of the fall (“The Knights of Prosperity” could be decent but too early to tell on that one). “SNL” will really have to step their game up to keep me interested with Fey gone though
There goes my entire reason to watch SNL. Maybe I’ll stick around for the Amy Poehler stuff, but without Fey that show seems finished. I am pumped about 30 Rock and Sunset Strip.
Wow I’m going to miss Fey on SNL but you can’t stay in one spot forever or you just lose your creative side. I’m sure she’s bored regardless of if she is a success outside of SNL.
EP Sato, I love the word “moxie.” Perfect. I hope Tina Fey is a huge success. Now maybe I can watch her, since I seem to have suddenly become an old person who can’t stay up late enough for her weekend updates. Maybe that’s why I like the word moxie. And shenanigans.
Is it me, or are “30 rock” and “Sunset Strip” the same show?
I will miss Tina Fey’s deadpan jokes and hatred of Bill O’Reilly (We will NEVER let you forget, Bill!!). Seth Meyers should def get her spot on Update- I love that guy.
I’m with the good Rev. O.J. Flow…LOVE Tina Fey…HATED SNL the past couple of years.
Fey is smart and funny and adorable…maybe that’s the reason she’s gotten a pass regarding SNL’s complete awfulness for the past couple of years. I mean, as “Head Writer”, isn’t she pretty responsible for a lot of the crappy material that’s presented every week?? Am I the only who thinks SNL might get BETTER now? How much worse can it get, when most people seem to agree that there were only one or two funny moments (Lazy Sunday, Natalie Raps) in an entire season of a COMEDY SHOW??
Still, “30 Rock” looks funny, has a good cast (Alec Baldwin will OWN!) so i’ll be checking it out.
Rachel Dratch is leaving too. That’s a major hole. Consider the first half of SNL this year, when both Fey and Maya Rudolph were out. It never recovered. (And it’s not because it sucks any more or less than it ever did, “maverick” 70s years included. Ninety minutes is too long for anything except So You Think You Can Dance?.)
But Ms. Fey is bomb and she deserves much success.
I hope they let Amy do Update alone. A woman never has.
I can’t wait for this show to premier, I’m going to be a watcher.
If she tanks, I’m sure she has it in the contract that she can return; either that or give her something on HBO. Something Sex and the Cityish to write.
I love the “snark” link. I will miss the snark. I hope audiences will embrace both 30 Rock and Studio 60. I hope NBC is in a deep enough of a hole that they will give both shows a chance. If I remember right, Jane Curtin did Update by herself for part of a season.
I’ll be watching her new show – what I’ve seen of it looks like a lot of fun. I think she has a great sense of sarcasm and is one of the main reasons I watch SNL. I wonder what SNL will be like next season – I will probably tune in at first and give it a shot.
“30 Rock” is the only new show I plan on watching this season. I love Tina Fey. SNL is going to suffer without her but it was so bad last season (besides the addition of the hilarious Kristin Wiig) that she is not taking all that much of a risk leaving.
I find it interesting that everyone seems to feel the same way about Tina Fey and SNL. Most people like Tina but agree that the current incarnation of SNL is dreadful. Interesting, because she is the head writer. And, as head writer, she should bear the brunt of the criticism for how lame the show is. However, she always seems to dodge this bullet. Interesting.
Tina Fey is a marvel. She is surely a stroke of hell upon me.
I love Tina Fey, but couldn’t they find a better pic of her? She locks like Eric Stoltz in Mask.
TO CMJ -
My understanding is that there are a number of writers on SNL – including the actors that regularly appear on the show. I am sure with all of the egos involved that he title of “head writer” doesn’t necessarily mean that she personally writes everything for the show – it probably has more to do with having a title and seniority than anything else. I personally enjoy what she writes for herself in the Weekend Update skit and I thought “Mean Girls” was a lot of fun.
For me it has more to do with her personality than anything else – I just like her.
30 Rock a roll of the dice? The collective clout hedging their bets on this one makes me think otherwise. I’d be floored if it doesn’t go big.
Oh, NOOOOO! What will we do without Tina at the WU desk?! I loved that Tina/Amy pairing…it was as good as Tina/Jimmy. I hope to god they don’t have Horatio replace Tina, though. He was horrendous last year when she was on pregnancy leave.
From what I’ve seen, I’d like to watch the new show, but we’ll see what else is on at the same time.
RE: SNL sucking.
I thought the last season or two were great. For instance, the Vincent Price “specials” had me howling on the floor. I also love the “2 A-holes” sketches. “Whaddaya think, babe? You hungry?” “You look like a duck.” Hee hee…sigh. Anyway, just wanted to stick up for SNL…it and the Simpsons seem to get a bad rap these days.