Blerg. There is never any easy way to say goodbye, whether it is to a friend or loved one, a beloved goldfish named Nemo taken too soon by cancer, to the entire Hostess snack cake establishment or to the wittiest, silliest, most self-referential-est TV show in the history of all humankind ever. So when 30 Rock’s series finale aired last Thursday night, I watched with a tear in my eye, a hole in my heart and a mouthful of BBQ chips and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, just like any Liz Lemon fan would do.
I’ve thought about what I want to say about the end of Tina Fey’s brainchild sitcom, and nothing I come up with seems good enough. How do I say goodbye to a TV show, to something that’s not living or breathing or able to hug me back? How do I say goodbye to such a long chapter of my life? To my Thursday night ritual? To all of the puns and songs and Mickey Rourke jokes? To the “Blerg”s and “What the what”s and the countless other Lizbianisms that I would tattoo all over my body if I weren’t afraid of needles?
Good God, Lemon, it is impossible to do this show justice in a mere 600 words. I think I’ve repressed every funny line or moment in an attempt to pretend that it’s not over, and that it will be back next Thursday in its usual time slot. 30 Rock has been praised for its wit, its satire, its ability to be self-referential and meta, its incorporation of contemporary politics and pop culture; even the most minute, obscure Internet references got a Liz Lemon shout out at one point or another. There are things I wish I could un-hear, but it’s okay because for every disgusting thing Tina Fey has referenced, she has made up for with her awkwardly “sessual” dance moves and beyond gluttonous approach to food. If she could marry a meat lover’s pizza, she would. But wouldn’t we all?
While watching the finale with a good friend who is equally obsessed, dressed in our tuxedoes (because we aren’t farmers), we both recognized how bittersweet that moment was. The finale was hysterical — probably one of the best, most spot-on episodes in its seven year run. It was even better than if every week was Shark Week. I won’t give details away for those of you who haven’t watched it yet, but the episode is one giant spoof about the show ending, and we finally learn how old Kenneth really is. (Hint: the Hill People have some secret magic aging juice that we all need to get a hold of.) At the same time, we had to say goodbye to the characters we had grown to know and love, to mock and quote, to judge and identify with.
As funny as it is, 30 Rock also has a heart, and this episode reminded us that change isn’t always a bad thing. It’s scary, sure, but sometimes good things come out of stressful situations, and sometimes saying goodbye is more like saying, “see you later.” But still, the end of TGS did not mean the end of the world, just as I am trying to remind myself that the end of 30 Rock is not actually the end of “fun times forever,” as Fey joked on Jimmy Fallon’s late night show. Sure, it’s upsetting that it’s over, but after I consult some pizza and remind myself of all the good times we’ve had together, I think everything will be okay. It wouldn’t hurt if every day for the next few weeks NBC aired a commercial of Liz Lemon saying, “There, there. Don’t be cry.” But we can’t all be that lucky.
