(The Root) — Just before Joe Biden's slam dunk at last night's vice presidential debate, 30 Rock aired a little campaign coverage of its own. No matter where your political allegiances lie, this is funny.
30 Rock (Thursday, 8 p.m., NBC)
"Paul Ryan dropped out of the race last night … Turns out he was actually born in Kenya. Not a lot we can say about that one." —Jack
"Okeydokey-doo, America." —Bob Dunston
"It ain't getting any easier now that Obamacare has extended our life expectancy. Let me die in an emergency room with a treatable disease, like an American." —Kenneth's Mom
Highlight: Just in time for the debates, it's presidential comedy with 30 Rock! Ooh, fun. On this episode, Paul Ryan drops out of the race and is replaced by Gov. Bob Dunston, who looks "just like Tracy." Of course, everyone on the NBC team thinks this is comedic gold, but for Jack (Alec Baldwin) it's a no-go. Since he's trying to tank NBC and he's a Republican, this comedic blessing is not what he wants, but Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) puts Tracy (Morgan) on TV as Dunston anyway. Turns out, after resegregating Alabama city schools and having a long-standing sexual relationship with a statue, Dunston isn't the American people's favorite guy. The people just needed something to laugh about.
For a recap of some of the week's best in black TV, check out the previous Black TV Watch posts:
On Monday we highlighted the "random acts of modeling" that occurred on Friday night's episode of America's Next Top Model: College Edition. Plus, there were heavy, respective doses of murder and music on 666 Park Avenue and Treme. Read: Black TV Watch: Murders, Modeling and Music.
On Tuesday we broke down what happened on VH1's Monday night of reality shows. Drama reared its pretty, big head on Basketball Wives LA; T.I. and his brood of kids hit the track to get back in shape on Family Hustle; and Mama Jones introduced the world to her new perfume, Pum Kash, on Chrissy & Mr. Jones. Read: Black TV Watch: What Smells Like 'Pum Kash'?
Wednesday's recap turned to sports with 9.79*, ESPN's latest documentary from its 30 for 30 series. The film revisited the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea, where Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was disgraced for steriod use after breaking a world record in the 100-meter dash. We could actually feel for the guy in retrospect. Read: Black TV Watch: Rooting for a Cheater?
Thursday's highlights included a lively debate on affirmative action that happened the night before on T.J. Holmes' BET talk show Don't Sleep! Plus, Key and Peele proved they got jokes as the duo performed an amusing impersonation of Chris Brown and Rihanna, and Gary (Anthony Anderson) tried to check his smart-aleck son, Yoda, on NBC's Guys With Kids. Read: Black TV Watch: Debating Affirmative Action.
Celeste Little is an editorial intern at The Root.