Although the situation is getting better (mainly to fight piracy), the UK is regularly quite some time behind the US in regards TV shows. As it is we have just finished season 2 of 30 Rock even though the US is nearly at the end of season 3. The timing for this is fine for me though because I am coming into the whole 30 Rock thing late, having not given it a chance when it first came out over here. I loved season 1 and happily season 2 continues in more or less the same vein as before, with lots of laughs and solid plots holding them in a frame so that it is not a sketch show.
The immediate thing one notices about season 2 is the presence of big names guests such as Al Gore, Jerry Seinfeld and others. This is usually the indication of a dying sitcom, one that is struggling with ratings and is wheeling in the big names to try and get publicity and encourage viewers to tune in. It rarely works and you can see it fail in things like My Name is Earl (Paris Hilton I'm looking at you). Here though it doesn't seem to be the case because rather the stars seem more than happy to be involved and it is clear that 30 Rock is in no need of them to be funny or an attraction. It does make great use of them though the Seinfeld episode being particularly funny and it shows that 30 Rock is able to get these names because of the quality of the comedy.
Although the season is far too short due to the writer's strike, it is still very funny and the plots do more or less work. OK none of it is narrative driven but the laughs keep coming and thus, to me, the plots do their job. The cast continue to be roundly excellent. Fey's geeky single woman is great fun (favourite line "a dog took it, came out of nowhere") but yet she doesn't dominate the show in the way she easily could as it creator. Instead we get lots of good material for the others, all of whom turn in funny turns. My favourites continue to be Morgan and McBrayer with their fun oddness delivered really well but Krakowski, Adsit, Friedlander and others all do well. Baldwin yet again impresses with his comedy chops and his gruff delivery is perfect for his sharp lines.
Season 2 continues the strengths of season 1, with the added benefit of big name guests cancelling out the tragically short run of the season. Very fresh, very funny and well worth seeing if, like me, you originally missed the boat on this. Cannot wait for season 3.