Plot: In the sixth season premiere, Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) is acting carefree and happy, and Tracy (Tracy Morgan) is determined to find out why.  Meanwhile, Jenna (Jane Krakowski) plays a mean judge on the new hit show, America’s Kidz Got Singing.  Kenneth (Jack McBrayer) believes the rapture is coming.

If you’ve been watching 30 Rock from the beginning, you know exactly what you’re going to get with this episode.  It’s clear 30 Rock will never really challenge itself again, but there’s nothing wrong with that.  We can always rely on consistent laughs, and it’s pretty impressive they’ve managed to do this for 5+ years with so many one-note characters.

This episode pretty much rehashes elements we’ve seen before.  Liz is acting really happy, and taking on life with a positive outlook, which we can only assume won’t last.  Jack (Alec Baldwin) flirts with making big decisions with his heart, and not his business sense, which we can only assume…won’t last.  But, it’s still funny.  And Liz and Jack have always been the two characters that keep the show at least one foot grounded in reality, as everything around them is pretty much now a fantasy world of wackiness and absurdity.

This is especially apparent with the Kenneth plotline.  To be honest, I’ve never been the biggest Kenneth fan.  He and Tracy are truly the one-note characters, but Tracy still cracks me up, while I’ve been over Kenneth for three years.  Kenneth believes the rapture is coming, so Frank (Judah Friedlander) and company screw with this head.  I got a few chuckles out of this, but the end gets so nuts, that I think they were just trying too hard, and I lost all interest.

The absolute best part of the episode is Jenna’s new career as a Simon Cowell like judge on a rip-off of America’s Got Talent, appropriately titled America’s Kidz Got Singing.  Jane Krakowski has always been the funniest aspect of the show, and she is hysterical in this cheap knock off.  This is no surprise, as the best jokes from 30 Rock stem from the fake shows/skits.  The Queen of Jordan reality show was the highlight of last season, and I’m happy to say D’Fwan (Tituss Burgess) makes an appearance in this episode.

If you’ve never really been into this show, then this won’t change your mind.  If you’re a fan, get ready for more of the same.  It looks like we are in for another solid season of 30 Rock.

Rating: 7 out of 10 (Good)