What I think made 30 Rock work in contrast is that Tina Fey, being a former head writer, didn't romanticize shows like SNL. She even acknowledged how lackluster and stupid it could get. Dressing up Tracy for the Gaybraham Lincoln sketch about summed everything up.

FOR GOD'S SAKE I DON'T SPEAK JAPANESE.

The Travolta episode has the sketch of Farley and Meadows as two office-workers trapped in a cramped space and they're at each other's throats the entire sketch…until they get a bigger office and start fighting all over again. Somehow Farley and Meadows just screaming at each other for 10 minutes is funnier than it…

It was over George Segal misunderstanding how the old vacuum document system worked in the office. He even went at length talking about how a vacuum works, just blowing his cover even more.

"Donnie want kiss like on Showtime!"

My favorite bit was his crush on Tyra Banks. "I LOVE HER SO MUCH IT HUUUUURTS."

I was kind of sad they didn't do more with his character. He knocked it out of the part in his one episode.

David Cross WAS killer in "Just Shoot Me." And he had the best ending line ever: "Ah crap. Now i'm gonna have to get a job."

And then Michael McKean walks in as a lisping Wolfman borrowing a toothbrush. And then Renfield turns into a bat and tries to molest Dracula, and somehow this is hilarious.

Yea Norm is rather committed to the premise in that one. He actually acts like a 50's hoodlum in-between the songs, but it makes it funnier.

"The only surprise is that he got killed by some fruity fish and not a croc. All the crocodiles are like 'Who got Irwin? Was it Kenny?' and they go 'Nah you don't wanna know man.'"

I think the issue at hand is why there are so many racist Asian sketches on the show at all.

And then David and the puppet start arguing, making it even weirder.

Eh looks like it was taken down. Probably for the best. They also had a parody of the "Leave Britney Alone" video, but with Sasquatch.

Shoot-out with the bad guys actually, but either way it's during an action scene.

I imagine Gibson and Glover being like "Dick I don't know what this scene's about." And Donner being like "I DON'T EITHER. JUST SHOOT THE THING. WE'VE GOTTA WRAP IN THIRTY DAYS."

Mediocre as Lethal Weapon 4 is, it does have my favorite gag.

Then there's the sketch where Matt Foley teaches the spinning class and Farley is clearly ACTUALLY exhausted riding on the bike. Even as a kid I was like "Good God, that man is at death's door."

I surprisingly enjoyed Brooks' episodes. He's a decent comedic actor. Who knew?

The one with Jim Carrey guesting was funny though. But acting hyper and babbling stupid stuff is Carrey's bread and butter, so he was made for that sketch. Then it goes into his Dexatrim addiction and it becomes amazing.