TVSquad

Interesting piece in The New York Times that asks the question: where the hell is 30 Rock?

The third season of the show won't bow until October 30, but you would think that the show would want to launch a week or two earlier because of all of the attention that Tina Fey is getting for her Sarah Palin impersonation on Saturday Night Live, her Emmy win, and her new mega-million dollar book deal. So how come the show hasn't premiered yet? They must have an episode or two done for the new season.

For some reason, this news pleases me.

Not because I have some hatred toward Gossip Girl. As a matter of fact, the few times I've watched it I've found it rather clever and engrossing. No, the reason why I'm glad that Blake Lively and Leighton Meester won't appear on 30 Rock is because I'm really afraid the show is going to turn into another casting stunt-filled sitcom, which will get tiresome after a while. Official word from the show is that Lively and Meester won't be on the show for logistical reasons.

The New York Post is reporting that 30 Rock star and producer Tina Fey has been offered around $6M for her first book.

Fey is the It Girl on TV right now, with Emmys and her Sarah Palin impersonation (will she make yet another appearance on the show tomorrow night?) and the upcoming third season of her show (October 30). Not sure if the $6M figure is correct. The Post says her agent isn't commenting and that the figure is from "sources." If it's true, that's a pretty hefty payday. You don't usually see a figure that high unless you're a major political figure or a bestselling, established author. But good for her if she gets it.

The paper says that the book won't be a memoir but a book of humor essays "in the style...of Nora Ephron." I kinda doubt that. I mean, maybe, but something tells me the essays will be edgier, with less personal details.

Another week, another guest star announced for NBC's 30 Rock. But this is one I'm actually looking forward to.

Actually, I'm looking forward to all of the guest stars that have been announced for 30 Rock this season (OK, maybe not so much the Gossip Girl cast), including Jennifer Aniston and Oprah Winfrey. But this one seems particularly impressive and funny. Steve Martin will appear on the Thursday night comedy.

If I didn't love this news so much, I'd be worried that 30 Rock was turning into The Love Boat or Will and Grace. After all, it seems as though there's news of a new guest star every few days. First Will Arnett signed on to reprise his role as the delightfully evil Devon Banks, then ex-Friend, Jennifer Aniston, decided to return to television in order to stalk Jack Donaghy. After that came news that Oprah was scheduled to play herself on an upcoming episode.

That's a lot of guest stars to pack into one season, but now we have news of two more. Everybody's favorite Gossip Girls, Blair and Serena, AKA Leighton Meester and Blake Lively, are coming to 30 Rock. What on earth could bring these Upper East Siders to Midtown? Are they trying to overthrow Liz Lemon as queen bee of TGS with Tracy Jordan? Are they starring in a movie with Tracy Jordan? There's more info on their storyline after the jump.

Okay, so Oprah is obviously the most powerful woman in the universe. She does control the stars and the winds and the planets, after all. She brings us rainbows when we're good and conjures up things like Dr. Phil when we're bad. So what do we call a person who can conjure up Oprah? Tina Fey.

Earlier this year, Fey publicly stated that she wanted Oprah to come on 30 Rock and play her best friend. Maybe she's been reading The Secret, because it looks like putting it out into the universe has made it happen. Oprah Winfrey is in final negotiations to guest star on 30 Rock.

This sounds like it's pretty close to a done deal, as she's already being written into the second episode of the season, airing on November 6th. But what about the big question? Will she be playing Liz Lemon's BFF? There's more info after the jump.

We all speculated as to what role Jennifer Aniston will play when she guest stars on NBC's 30 Rock later this year, and now we know what part she'll play. It's actually one of the choices we came up with.

Aniston will play an old friend of Liz Lemon who starts to stalk Jack Donaghy. The character is described as an ex-roommate of Liz's from Chicago who is a "free-spirited, Fatal Attraction-like stalker." Well, let's hope that she isn't completely like that. We don't need any gunshots to the chest or bunny-boiling on 30 Rock. The character's name is Claire Harper.

So we've had Aniston and David Schwimmer on the show. I think all of the Friends people should appear on 30 Rock at some point.

Looking in from the outside, you might think that Alec Baldwin has the tiger by the tail. He's the star of a critically acclaimed television show. He's winning awards for his work. And, while he's no longer landing those leading man roles in films, over the last few years he's added several good supporting roles to his long list of credits. Apparently, those are not the makings of a happy-go-lucky life.

There is an interesting profile of Baldwin on The New Yorker's website. In a long and thorough piece, Ian Parker talks with Baldwin about his career, his family, mistakes that were made, and things that might have been. Throughout the piece, it becomes clear that he is anything but satisfied. They talk a lot about the film business, and the decisions that shaped the direction of that part of his career. For our purposes here though, the more interesting bits are the discussions of 30 Rock. They include a quote that actually shocked me. Not so much for the sentiment, but for the fact that anyone, even Alec Baldwin, would say it in print. I'll tuck it away after the jump for those of you that have an aversion to f-bombs.

Hey, if David Schwimmer can do it, why not Jennifer Aniston?

The rumors floating around have turned out to be true: the ex-Friends star is going to make a guest appearance on NBC's 30 Rock this season. In fact, she's filming the episode as I type this. Well, maybe not that sentence, but even as I type ... this.

Now comes the endless speculation on what part she'll play. Could she be a new girlfriend for Jack Donaghy? Or maybe a new cast member brought on TGS with Tracy Jordan that becomes a rival to Jenna? How about an old friend of Tina Fey's that moves to New York and causes trouble for her in some way? I think the biggest twist would be if Aniston actually became a regular on the show, but I don't see that happening.

Of course, why not just have her be Rachel Green (sorry, it must be Rachel Geller by now)? She could be brought on TGS as a fashion/make-up person.

I'm pretty sure I know how Will Arnett has spent his summer: doing leg presses. Arnett is slipping back into his short robe to reprise his role on 30 Rock. His character, Jack Donaghy's nemesis Devon Banks, may have already screwed Jack out of the CEO job at the end of last season, but he's coming back for more.

Arnett is scheduled to load up on the self-tanner and appear on 30 Rock's season premiere, airing October 30. He scored a well-deserved Emmy nomination for his stint on the show last season, so his reappearance is no big surprise. Arnett is reportedly already on the 30 Rock set shooting scenes with Baldwin for the inevitable Banks/Donaghy showdown.

Although this is the only episode in which he is confirmed to be appearing, I wouldn't be shocked if he popped up again later in the season. I'm just hoping that the season premiere takes place a little while after the finale, so Kenneth can get back from Beijing in time to be harassed into Banks' arms, because that's the love story I want to see.

After many years, NBC has finally updated the suits that their pages wear to guide visitors around the NBC studios. But you know what? I like the old ones.

Take a look at the new suits on the right. Sure, they're Brook Brothers and they're sophisticated, but they just look like regular suits. There's nothing that stands out about them. It's as if people put on regular nice suits and then added some pins and badges to them. Doesn't look right, in the same way you sometimes see guys wearing three piece suits with a baseball cap.

Now after the jump, take a look at the one Kenneth wears on 30 Rock.

Somebody needs to give 30 Rock's Alec Baldwin a shoulder to cry on. Seriously. In this recent interview the Emmy nominee not only mourned his lost youth -- he's just turned 50 (in April) and realizes that he'll never play professional baseball or dance in the ballet (really, Al, you think that was ever likely?) -- but he talked about quitting acting entirely. Hard to believe it, but here are his words:

"There's other things to do. ...So I'm trying to decide what to do when I quit this business. ...Yeah, I do have to find another career. I don't want to do this. I don't."

It's hard to figure out exactly what's behind Baldwin's words, unless we take it on face value and believe that he just doesn't want to act anymore.

It's coming. The table is set, the players are on the field, the sails are raised, and the pretty maids are all in a row. Of course, I speak of the 2008-09 television schedule. In just a few short weeks viewers will be able to dine on a number of favorite and new dishes that are being served by the networks as well as the increasing number of cable channels who are delving into original programming.

While other fall seasons have come and gone with nary a whimper, this season may be different. Due to the prolonged Writers Strike many shows ended their seasons quite early. Programs like Life, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, and Heroes haven't aired original episodes since the end of 2007. Heck, there hasn't been a new episode of The Shield since June of last year! So, the beginning of the 2008-09 season will be a second chance for some of these shows, particularly the ones that premiered last season, to show their worth to fans and the networks.

With seven separate nominations in the Guest Actor and Actress categories, it's hard to believe that any 30 Rock guest stars were left off this year's list. The men nearly swept the nominees list for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, earning four of the five available spots. The ladies made up half of the Guest Actress category; not bad!

Still, a few brilliant and hilarious performances were left out. You can't argue with nominations for Will Arnett and Elaine Stritch, but I'd swap one or two of the nominees with a few of my own favorites. Check out my list of overlooked 30 Rock guest stars after the jump. And yes, I left out Jerry Seinfeld. Emmy got that one right.

Tonight, the members of the Television Critics Association (including me) gathered at the Beverly Hilton to give out its annual awards. The membership voted on the awards in the month leading up to the press tour; we were given a number of candidates to choose from in various categories. The membership was also asked to choose recipients for an individual Career Achievement award and the Heritage Award, which recognizes a past show that had a big impact artistically and on the industry.

The members didn't reach back too far for the Heritage Award: it was given to The Wire. As for current shows, the members gave Mad Men a bushel of awards: Program of the Year, Outstanding New Program, and Outstanding Achievement in Drama. 30 Rock won for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy, and Tina Fey won the Individual Achievement in Comedy award for her performance. John Adams won the mini-series award; its star, Paul Giamatti, won the Individual Achievement in Drama award. Lorne Michaels of Saturday Night Live received the Career Achievement award.

A complete list of winners is after the jump.