'30 Rock' Season 6, Episode 20 Recap - 'Queen of Jordan 2: The Mystery of the Phantom Pooper'

Last week's revisiting of the "30 Rock" live show was justified. The first one was a lot of fun, and while the second one didn't quite reach those levels, it was still pretty great.

Less justified is a revisiting of "Queen of Jordan." Sure, it was kinda interesting the first time around, when you realized that "30 Rock" was putting up a reality show within the show to present their latest storylines in a new way. And yes, we got some characters out of it that were funny for that one episode.

But here we are, a year later, and I barely remember who any of these people are. Futhermore, with the strangeness that inevitably comes with the "30 Rock" live show, it's just too much weird all at once to follow that up with a sequel to "Queen of Jordan."

The camera crews catch new drama this time around: Liz meets Tracy's baby girl, but doesn't connect with her, making her doubt the motherhood thing all over again. Angie is putting on a fashion show, and hopes that Tracy will surprise her with something big. He does: he starts a big argument with her with the cameras rolling and declares a fake divorce, all but ensuring that Angie's show has plenty of fodder for next season.

Meanwhile, Jack learns that Avery will be coming back. That's great news, but it turns stressful when Avery's mother Diane lets slip in front of the cameras that they shouldn't "tell her about us." That leads Jack and Diane on a mission to cover things up, which involves inventing a business partner named Gus and opening a Russian restaurant in one day.

The format just doesn't serve this show. The documentary/reality show style works for shows like "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation" because their comedy is quiet, subtle and not always verbal. "30 Rock" is a show of words, well-constructed jokes and zingers. It's as if there's too much intelligence in the dialogue and themes to be believable through the lens of a terrible reality show like "Queen of Jordan."

I know there are a lot of fans of the fake reality show out there. I'm just not one of them. That said, the captions for characters were again pretty funny:

Kenneth: "Not worth describing"

Diane: "Avery's mother, keeping it tight"

Liz: "Lisa Lampanelli?"

Frank's Hats of the Week: "Hookie Mentor"