30 Rock: Where Do You Think You're Going?

Poor Alec Baldwin. I know he's going through a rough time right now. He left his agency, someone leaked a damaging voicemail, and he's not going to win any Father of the Year awards (but if it's any consolation for him, he's still better than that guy who ran out on his son when he needed a kidney). But leaving 30 Rock? He made the show; this would break it.

I respect that Baldwin wants to spend more time figuring out whatever it is he's got going on, and to work on his relationship with his daughter (and, I'd hope, with his ex-wife, for the sake of his daughter). And I appreciate that, if Baldwin really has the acting fatigue that he says he does, he's not going to be invested in the show and won't give his all. But, as a fan of 30 Rock, I'm happy that NBC has shut him down. Without him, 30 Rock wouldn't have much to offer. Just good writing, Kenneth the Page, and the occasional laugh from Tracy Morgan. I believe that Baldwin was most of the reason why NBC renewed it, why it's gotten such good critical reviews, and he's going to be the draw for new viewers, either because they've heard how good he is as Jack Donaghy or because of everything that's going down with him personally. He's easily the funniest person on the show, and he has a rapport with Tina Fey that is both sweet and absurd. 30 Rock without him would be an empty husk of its former self, like The X-Files after David Duchovny left or NewsRadio after Phil Hartman died or ER now. So I hope that Baldwin can use the summer hiatus to deal with as much as he possibly can, and come back to the 30 Rock set refreshed and ready to work again, because a cranky Baldwin is not going to be good for anyone on that set or at home.

Anyway, watch the 30 Rock season finale tonight!