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As with any TV show lasting longer than two seasons or so, "30 Rock" has seen its fair share of grumblers who say that the show's glory days are long over (just Google "30 Rock" and "jump the shark").
In my opinion, the glory days of "30 Rock" were Seasons 1 and 2. Despite having them nearly committed to memory, I consistently rewatch them both, something I can't say for the rest of the seasons. Seasons 3 onwards (and especially parts of Season 6) never had the same luster to them. Of course every show is going to ebb and flow, but "30 Rock"'s shift hasn't always been to my taste. There isn't much that measures up to "The Source Awards" ("Jay...go get my nose back."), "Hard Ball" ("Fight the worm!"), and "Greenzo" ("You just released enough hydrofluorocarbons to kill a penguin...this penguin.").
There were still some really excellent episodes mixed in over the years (I'm on board with any storyline involving Wesley Snipes or Colleen Donaghy), and "30 Rock" in an off season still beats approximately 90 percent of TV's other offerings in my mind. But I can't be alone in this. For instance, the Tracy Jordan of Seasons 1 and 2 was generally fantastic, but over the years, he's become increasingly tiresome (and sometimes rather awkward in his delivery). So many of his lines now (for example: "I'll make coffee. Then you make coffee. And after the coffee contest, we can start.") just make me groan. Josh's random disappearance, the odd Danny storyline that just sort of evaporated, the dwindling use of the writers and Pete as anything other than brief one-liners, most of Matt Damon's guest role ... blerg.
"30 Rock" has continued to have some of the best one-liners and quotable moments of all the shows out there throughout its going-on seven seasons, but a good show isn't made up of the sum of its isolated funny parts.
What about you all? Do you think "30 Rock" lost its mojo over the years? Or is it simply a consequence of TV show shelf life -- eventually the novelty wears off and can never be reclaimed? Have you felt a discernible shift in the writing, plot points or character development? Or am I completely full of it?
Talk it over with some food, vote in the poll, then tell me what you think in the comments below.