30 Rock Pilot Update

Posted by Kyle June 15th, 2008 at 02:10pm In 30 Rock

So, way back in March of 2006, I went to what I thought would be the taping of a portion of a television show starring and written by Tina Fey. It turned out I was playing an audience member of The Girlie Show for the pilot of 30 Rock, and I didn’t really get to see much of the show being filmed. I did see Tracy Morgan say he was here to inspect our chicken nuggets, but none of the other actors were anywhere to be seen. When I saw the pilot on my old TV, I didn’t catch a glimpse of my face in the audience, but once I got an HDTV and the DVD, I was able to find myself in this shot.

But only because I knew were I was sitting. Nobody else could have picked me out of that crowd. The people you can actually see—who are not way up in the balcony—are paid extras.

I thought that was the end of my brush with 30 Rock, but I recently obtained a copy of the unaired pilot which featured Rachel Dratch instead of Jane Krakowski and had another actor in the role of Cerie. It’s not as good as the one that aired, and Jane Krakowski is clearly better for the role than Rachel Dratch. But what it does have is more me!

I call this one Guy Sitting Down

“Oh my God! He said ‘Honky Grandma be trippn’ just like he did that time in that movie.”

So what this means to me is that Tina Fey has totally seen me a bunch of times. I’d like to think she fought to keep me in the show along with Rachel Dratch, but the network forced her to edit us out.