Elain-ee

I'm rewatching the series in 2020 after having discovered it in a library almost a decade ago and WOW! Has it aged well! Or maybe it's just that the world has aged badly in intervening years.

Step into 30 Rock and inhabit a world where female wit is a force to be reckoned with; where every actor gets their 2.5 minutes of fame per episode, and every character brilliantly subverts their own stereotypes in a way that's deep but not at all serious. From the mid life crisis man in Adsit, to the self sabotaging female boss in Fey, to the rags to riches star in Morgan, the aging fame addicted starlet in Krakowski... you never get tired of seeing the layers fall away from these people. It's light, but still riveting. And it is all tied together by plot arcs that are as insane as the best SNL skits (and funnier, in many cases).

By far, though, the best thing about watching this after several years is that it is so packed with one liners and sharp, snide social commentary that you can watch it again and again and still see new angles and perspectives. There's almost too much to take in in one single viewing in any of these episodes - and that's a great thing if you're a fan of the series, which I am.

I have a feeling you will be, too.

For those of you who like getting your information about mad rumours - such as MK Ultra and the men who stare at goats - straight from a reliable source, this documentary is a must. A rare attempt to find solid proof that supernatural abilities were studied and deployed by the US military, this investigation manages to dig up some fascinating dirt and bona fide evidence of the uncanny; for instance, the psychic Prudence, accurately predicts that London will be the target of a major attack in the next 18 months (the series was released at the end of 2004, less than 18 months before the 7/7 suicide attacks). She impressively details the last moments of life of a man who was "suicided" by the CIA, too. Watch it for yourself and feel some scepticism slip away.

While it's a good study of this phenomenon, it suffers for its poor editing. Numerous, long television segments are included that are watching-paint-dry dull and add nothing to the story; these are seemingly only included to stretch out the story, or add some sort of nostalgic or cinematic element to an otherwise sober investigation. I found these segments only made the piece seem more dumbed down and wondered what they were thinking. At other times, interviews go on for too long or include irrelevant facts. These points could have been fixed by someone with a sharp eye. But, there's some gold here for seekers after paranormal truths.