’30 Rock’ and the Celebrity Cameo That Got Away

Has any half-hour comedy in recent years had a better track record securing celebrity cameos than “30 Rock”

Before it ended its seven-year run last month, the superbly produced show featured appearances by, among others, Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Seinfeld, Condoleezza Rice, James Franco and Jim Carrey. Yet at a panel with a group of writers from the show at the Paley Center for Media last night, Tina Fey, its creator and star, revealed that there was one that got away: Dr. Zizmor, the dermatologist whose ads are famously plastered all over the New York subway system. “Zizmor turned us down,” Ms. Fey said urgently, before offeing up her her imitation of his wife’s imagined (and taken aback) reaction to the suggestion. “[She] was like, ‘He’s a doctor.’”

Ms. Fey â€" who reflected on the beloved show with Robert Carlock, who helped launch “30 Rock,” Colleen McGuinness, Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan â€" answered questions about the show cheerfully but without much sentiment. She took pride in the writers’ accomplishments and generally downplayed any talk of grand visions, explaining that the manic energy of the show might have come from anxiety that it was going to be cancelled. When asked by the moderator, Emily Nussbaum, the television critic for The New Yorker, if there was any benefit that came from being on a broadcast network rather than on cable, she said that not being able to curse was a helpful constraint.

Some of the most interesting avenues of discussion were about what didn’t receive positive response. Ms. Fey said the audience didn’t like it when they introduced love interests fo! r Jack Donaghy, played by Alec Baldwin. And a plot line involving an affair between Pete (played by Scott Adsit) and Jenna (Jane Krakowski) was dropped after a table read. “It tanked,” she said. “People were creeped out by it.”

After an hour or so, the audience was invited to ask questions. One young female comedian asked for advice. Ms. Fey said stage time in front of an audience is key, then added, ”Always wear a bra, even if you think you don’t need it.”