How I Met Your Mother, you now have competition in the Canadian-humor department! That’s the first promising sign that came from “The Problem Solvers.” The second is Liz’s new career arc. It makes sense that, being a Tina Fey surrogate, Liz Lemon would eventually have a shot at moving to the peforrming side of the business, which could provide a new and interesting set of stories for 30 Rock for a while. (Loved her former-dog-agent representation, with his “Humans for Meetings” list.) The caveat, of course, is whether the show actually sticks with it or grows bored of it and drops it for no easily-explained reason. (Remember how Liz wants to adopt a baby? Apparently, neither does she!) Meanwhile in subplot-land, Tracy and Jenna seem this season to essentially have fused into one character, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing: it concentrates the crazy in one location, which in this episode worked pretty well (and in the service of the two other plots). Not a great 30 Rock, but it shows some promising signs for the season. Meanwhile, speaking of career changes: good to see Padma willing to make fun of herself, but when it comes to comic performance, she’s better off packing her sandwich bag and going.
