I’m watching 30 Rock for the first time and am currently in season 5. Jonathan’s character arc to me is odd - he initially started out as super competent, but it seems now he’s just listing over Jack like Smithers to Mr. Burns.
A quick search on this thread shows people really love him, but I find him annoying. Without spoilers, does that change, or is it just me and I’m missing something?
Jonathan’s relationship with Jack is one of the funniest aspects of the show. It fuels his hatred of Liz which is also gold. He doesn’t get overused which is nice. It’s the perfect amount.
I’ve used “face looks like someone kicked a hole in a bag of flower” more often than I should just WAITING for someone to call out where it came from but most of the time people just laugh and assume it’s my joke. A few months ago I used it in the bravo real housewives group and the 30 Rock people showed themselves! 🤪 it was like a warm hug
He’s such an important character because he’s the dark mirror of Kenneth. They’re both relentlessly obsequious and resourceful and intelligent in their own ways, but their motivations are very different.
I love this show, I love every bit and actor, and this relationship plus the time Pete gets his hand stuck in the vending machine, do indeed feel very Simpsons
There is a Simpsons episode where Homer’s hand gets stuck in the veding machine: Marge on the Lam (the Thelma and Louise episode), it’s my favourite The Simpsons episode, very funny!
first time i watched the show, he was slightly irritating to me also. felt like a cartoon of a gay man. but then every character on the show is a cartoon version of something… just keep watching it over and over a few hundred times and you’ll arrive at a deep appreciation.
Same here. It used to annoy me just cause it IS so Smithers to Burns and tropey. But the more I watch the more I appreciate Jonathan and his comedic screams.
That describes most characters on the show. If you stop a season 5 episode and then go back to a random early season 1 episode, it's like a little culture shock. Jenna and Tracy especially but most of the characters go from fairly normal to completely ridiculous over the top, and most of the time it's hilarious.
Jack’s disdain for him is so funny in some scenes: “Jonathan, why don’t you put on more of that cologne.”
For what it’s worth, I never used to find Kenneth funny. His character was fine, just not funny. Now some of his lines and line reads do make me laugh.
isn't he shown to be super protective of Jack in one of the first episodes ("Jack-tor") when he shows Liz the tape of Jack taking a full week to record a 30 second ad? he does get a bit more Smithersy as time goes on but it doesn't seem like a huge shift.
I agree the pivot is there and unnecessary. Given some other scenes that are not race sensitive--unnecessarily and unhumorously-- especially for Toofer (two for), I wonder if Fey/writers downgraded him to token. Those were my thoughts!
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u/DLWOIM 3d ago
Jonathan’s relationship with Jack is one of the funniest aspects of the show. It fuels his hatred of Liz which is also gold. He doesn’t get overused which is nice. It’s the perfect amount.