“30” Rocks Out Ahead of Schedule

Network leaks season premiere a week before air

No doubt trying to capitalize on the popularity of Tina Fey's recent turns as Gov. Sarah Palin, NBC has "leaked" the season premiere of "30 Rock" on Hulu a week before it's set to air.

The episode, entitled "Do-Over," finds Liz Lemon (Fey) preparing for a day -- or two -- with an evaluator from the adoption agency. Megan Mullally guest stars as Bev, the tightly wound, judgmental woman who holds Lemon's fate in her hands.

Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) is back from a brief stint working for the government down in D.C. and he's intent on taking control of General Electric. It soon becomes clear that the quickest path to the top resides in a pair of "Dora the Explorer panties that were clearly made for an obese child."

Meanwhile, Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan -- who appears to have enjoyed a newfound passion for food during hiatus) kicks off resentment among his co-workers by waving around his royalty check for Dong Slayer -- the world's first pornographic video game -- which has sold "61 million copies at $60 each."

As is the show's custom, all the plot lines find themselves entwined on a collision course. But there's something missing -- a joyful sense of cruelty? -- from this year's first show.

The show has won buckets of awards and attracted a dedicated, if small, following because like "Seinfeld" and it's other ancestors, its inhabited by people free from moral baggage.

Nobody tunes into "30 Rock" for the kind of wistful moment that closes the premiere. Stuffed unicorns used as a sex toy? Yes. An aw-shucks ending? No.

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