It seems that every time I review a season of The Office or 30 Rock, I end up making some comment in regards their comparison. I always say in this little bit that The Office is the better sitcom but that 30 Rock is the funnier show, as the former has more structure and the latter is just constantly looking for the next joke. After a rather disappointing season for 30 Rock (season 4) I started watching this and was glad to find that it continued on the trend laid out in the fifth season where the plots are wider than the office and the work day, but that the office and the characters provide plenty of laughs as a strong foundation.
This season sees Pan and Jim have a baby, a new office romance awkwardly stalling its way into existence, a new owner for the company amongst other things and mostly the plots work as threads. Some of them don't quite work as well, mainly because they are threads that have been done already (such as Dwight and Angela) or threads that seem forced for the sake of it (I thought too much was made of Andy and Erin's "relationship"). Mostly though the show flows pretty well and there isn't anything that drags or falls flat for any length of time – certainly it doesn't feel like a show that has run out of ideas or steam, although it does feel like that perhaps they should not run it for too much longer.
I have read other people criticising the show for not being funny in this season, but I'm not sure where they are coming from as the show to me has always been the sitcom that 30 Rock is not. This means that the dialogue is not 100% jokes and barbed zingers as it can often be in that show. This is not to say that it isn't funny though and the documentary approach continues to allow for great asides in interviews and little reaction shots to be captured as well – it is a technique it has used for 6 seasons now and it still produces lots of laughs for me. The cast certainly deliver on this. There are those that are used to great effect for laughs only (Creed being my favourite) but on the other hand it is hard not to appreciate the work that Carell, Wilson, Krasinski and Fischer in particular do in regards the laughs and the narratives. As before the ensemble cast are all great – although my reservations about his threads caused me to not like Helms as much this time round.
Season 6 may have had its detractors and perhaps the show is close to coming to an end but for me this was still a very funny and enjoyable season that continues the minor tweaks made in season 5.