30 Rock: Season 5

30 Rock has long since strayed from its original premise of detailing the chaotic personal and professional lives of a female head-writer for an NBC sketch-comedy show; now it's much more animated with flash-cut gags and over-the-top characters. But the loony plotlines, brilliant wordplay, and peerless ensemble cast remain strong. This season sees KableTown taking over NBC; neurotic star Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) vying for, and then trying to shed, his newfound respectability; network exec and master of the universe Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) becoming a husband and father, and trying to find his place in the new corporate hierarchy (coming up against a most unlikely nemesis); Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) attempting to navigate her long-distance relationship with a pilot (Matt Damon); and narcissistic diva Jenna (Jane Krakowski) trying to help Kenneth (Jack McBrayer) get back into the NBC page program. This is also the season with the brilliantly executed live episode (with both East Coast and West Coast versions). Every chapter is crammed with off-center verbal and visual pranks, and the guest-star wattage is particularly high, with appearances by Kelsey Grammer, Paul Giamatti, Ken Howard, Alan Alda, and Robert De Niro. Compiling all 22 episodes from the 2010–11 fifth season, DVD extras include audio commentaries (some bizarre, such as the pairing of MacGruber costars Will Forte and Val Kilmer, who have nothing to do with the particular episode they're commenting on), behind-the-scenes featurettes, and deleted scenes. Highly recommended. (D. Liebenson)