Last night, for the second time, the 30 Rock crew shuffled a few floors over to the SNL set to do an entirely live episode. Like the first time, they did two versions; one for East Coast audiences and one for West Coast audiences, each with a couple of slight differences. And, while the West Coast audience got absolutely screwed in one case (They seriously replaced a Paul McCartney cameo with a…Kim Kardashian cameo?! Yikes! Sorry, LA), they did get one small bonus.

It’s no secret that a number of us here at Mediaite have professed our love for NBC’s thursday night comedy block (which is currently suffering from a lack of Community), so naturally, the video below is chock-full of so many awesome people, places, and things, there are lit’rally (read in Rob Lowe‘s voice) no words to describe it.

It’s a fact of life that NBC has the best sitcoms currently airing on network TV (If you disagree with that fact, you might as well stop reading this post now. Here are some wacky Two and a Half Men bloopers to watch instead). Unfortunately, those sitcoms are stuck on the absolute ratings sink hole that is NBC. So, unfortunately, brilliant shows like Community get taken off the air and 30 Rock is stuck hitting an all time rating low. Fortunately, we don’t cover sitcom ratings here at Mediaite so I can pretend to live in a fantasy world where people on the street walk around with Parks and Recreation merchandise instead of the sad world I live in where I literally see people everywhere wearing…sigh…“Bazinga” shirts. So, to continue to fuel my fantasy, I’m going to pretend that there are people out there who are really excited to watch this hilarious 30 Rock webisode!

Hooray, delusion!

Piers Morgan got a shot at talking extensively with Alec Baldwin tonight about a little bit of everything– his acting career, his relationship with flight attendants, and yes, his politics. That latter point resulted in some of the most compelling parts of the interview, in which Morgan asked Baldwin what he thought of a potential mayoral run in New York City, and how much he had considered a serious career in politics.

We here in America were really broken up when Kim Jong-il died. In fact, we were so upset that we spent a bunch of time worrying how it was going to affect the storyline of a silly sitcom with average ratings. Yes, clearly we all had a special place in our hearts for the Dear Leader. Anyway, a producer from 30 Rock was nice enough to speak to Us Weekly to explain how the death will affect all of the actors.

No, not those actors. I’m talking about Tina Fey and such.

Despite Kim Jon-il being a ruthless dictator who’s made the lives of millions absolutely miserable for decades, it’s still important that we have enough compassion and empathy to recognize that he is still a human being who has passed away. And that’s why my first thought upon hearing this shocking news last night was, “Huh, I wonder if this will mess up 30 Rock this year?” Yes, clearly I was deeply saddened by his loss.

Anyway, for those of you that don’t know, the NBC series ended its last season with the news that Jack’s (Alec Baldwin) wife, Avery Jessup (Elizabeth Banks), had been kidnapped by the North Korean dictator and it the story was supposed to be a major plotline for this year. With the new season’s premiere only weeks away and much of it already filmed, we can imagine that yesterday’s news is throwing a mighty big wrench in the works.

More information is being made available about the man who gave New York City a collective heart attack yesterday afternoon when he threatened to jump from the 70-story high observation deck of Rockefeller Center’s General Electric building. The man, Jorge Ruiz, was visiting New York from Las Vegas, and was apparently distraught that a book he’d written was not going to be published.

Employees within the building, watching the scene unfold from the observation deck’s surveillance cameras, and tourists down in the plaza alike were snapping photos and Tweeting up a storm, many urging the man not to jump.

Thanks to Twitter, we have news that a man sitting on the roof down at 30 Rockefeller Center is causing some concern among employees. This picture, uploaded by NBC’s @Durrellojello from the building’s rooftop camera, shows a man on the roof with what appears to be an officer.

Does the idea of 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin possibly running for mayor of New York City sound like a joke to the guy who’s currently got that job? Not at all. The New York Daily News reports Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Friday “if he wants to run, great” on the mayor’s weekly radio show. Daily News City Hall reporter Jonathan Lemire notes that Bloomberg’s met Baldwin a few times, and is aware of one issue that would have to be addressed before a campaign could begin: “He’s got time to run, but he’s got to move into the city,” said Bloomberg. “He’s not a city resident.”

In an exclusive report in The Daily, Richard Johnson reports 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin–long an activist in Democratic politics and someone who’s toyed with a run for office–is now seriously considering a run for mayor of New York, now that Rep. Anthony Weiner “appears to have sexted himself out of the 2013 race,” writes Johnson.

Alec Baldwin’s character on 30 Rock, Jack Donaghy, is an uber-conservative with the history with the Bush administration. He even briefly worked as the “Homeland Security Director for Crisis and Weather Management” before becoming disillusioned and trying to get fired by approving a “gay bomb” (Totally true. See for yourself. It’s on Netflix) However, it turns out he also has a romantic history with one of the key figures; Condoleezza Rice. During last night’s episode, Rice cameoed as herself in a hilarious scene in which Donaghy apologizes for breaking up with her via text message.

I have a dream. In it, Brian Williams and Jon Hamm both finally admit that they just want to be doing comedy full time. They then quit their day jobs and go on the road together as a hilarious two man comedy team. After cultivating their comedic personas and on-stage chemistry, the two embark on a successful series of buddy comedies beginning with my unproduced spec script, Brian and Jon on the Road to Marrakesh. Until this happens though, we’ll have to settle for both men continuously doing tiny, comedic side projects like this one in which a cartoon Williams fights a cartoon Alec Baldwin for frozen yogurt.

Her debt to America paid, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is having a bit of fun in the post-Bush era, having just finished filming a cameo appearance for the NBC comedy 30 Rock. Rice, who had been repeatedly referred to on the program as the Alec Baldwin character Jack Doneghy’s ex-girlfriend, will be arriving in his office soon, though no word on what her role there will be.

Tina Fey’s new memoir Bossypants is out this week and, despite a truly terrifying cover image, is clearly going to be a huge hit. After all, Fey has arguably been the First Lady of Comedy for the past decade (by the way, “First Lady of Comedy” is the exact kind of vaguely sexist comment that would lead to her choosing that terrifying cover image).

Senator Jack Donaghy? Perhaps, as 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin tells CNN’s Eliot Spitzer he’s “very interested” in running for office.”

The trick, Baldwin says in an exclusive interview that airs tonight on Parker Spitzer, is that running would mean the “extremely painful” decision to leave acting, where he’s at the top of his game.

With 24/7 cable news channels providing endless intellectual stimulation and enjoyment, who has time to squeeze in any non-news shows? To ring in the new year, check out a recommended list of the ten best entertainment programs of 2010 that are definitely worth your attention in 2011.

On Friday MSNBC had booked regular contributor Touré on The Dylan Ratigan Show to deliver a “rant” on NBC’s 30 Rock and their use of blackface as a comedic device. Alas, he was bumped by Bill Clinton‘s improvised filibuster of a Presidential press conference and his commentary never made air. Fortunately he has graciously agreed to allow Mediaite to republish his thoughts here, which follow below:

It is nearly impossible to set-up the following clip from 30 Rock for the unitiated, but long story short, the NBC single-camera comedy show ended with the strangest Christmas montage of all time, with Oh Holy Night being sung by a cross-dressed Will Forte appearing as Natalie Portman from the movie Black Swan, and Jane Krakowski dressed as NFL Football legend Lynn Swann — complete with black face (!) Yes, two cross-dressing “black swans!”

NBC Kabletown executive Jack Donaghy is the kind of guy who does his holiday shopping at Christie’s. But Alec Baldwin isn’t a Jack Donaghy, he just plays one on TV. So he’s not above doing a pair of low-budget commercials for regional supermarket chain Wegmans. The somewhat disorienting ads have the 30 Rock star trying cakes (“Let’s have one of each!”), discussing family, and harping about the price of coffee in New York.

Bill O’Reilly’s “Did You See That” segment is fast resembling a humorous conversation between a tech-savvy kid trying to explain to their great-grandfather how to use e-mail and other newfangled contraptions. In discussing the results of a survey regarding the favorite television shows of Democrats and Republicans, correspondent Juliet Huddy was shocked to learn O’Reilly hardly knew anything about the most popular shows. She patiently informed him that Dexter is a serial killer, Mad Men star Jon Hamm is good looking and The Amazing Race is a feel-good show.

NBC News Anchor Brian Williams has appeared as himself on 30 Rock so often, the word “cameo” is no longer an apt description; he’s more of a minor character. Last night he popped back up on the NBC single camera comedy set at the NBC New York studios to tease Tina Fey‘s character Liz Lemon about rumors of an affair. But the funniest bit came when he threw to NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell, who walked on camera just in time to call Lemon “slut.” Funny clip.

It’s safe to say that this morning’s weather report on the Today show was unlike any other before it. Filling in for Al Roker, The Weather Channel’s Stephanie Abrams found herself stuck in an elevator en route to the NBC Studio where she was set to join hosts Matt Lauer and Ann Curry. But a quick-thinking production staff reached Abrams on her cell phone and she was able to both explain her elevator plight AND deliver the weather. What moxie!

On Wednesday night, the ABC breakout hit Modern Family featured a storyline where geeky dad Phil Dunphy wants nothing more for his birthday than an Apple iPad. The entire episode featured the rest of the family trying to get it for him, with scenes set in Apple Store lines and numerous characters waxing rhapsodic about the new product. Fans were furious at the shameless product placement. All the angry viewers, however, will be shocked to read this LA Times article, and learn that there was not product placement. The storyline was completely created by the writers of the show and Apple paid them nothing.

30 Rock is a fictional comedy whose writers consistently have Escher-esque fun with real-life influences and characters. But one has to wonder if the disparaging depiction of the fictional cable provider “Kabletown,” and its revenue dependence on pay-per-view pornography isn’t reflective of Comcasts’ business model, and perhaps a concern in the halls of NBC HQ? Video after the jump.

30 Rock is well known for using both real-life news events and personalities to drive their plot, but last night’s episode featured a storyline ripped from the Mediaite headlines: NBC’s takeover by a Philadelphia cable provider, affectionately referred to as “Kabletown.” It also featured a cameo by Nightly News anchor Brian Williams (also known as “the funny one” amongst the NBC News talent lineup. Video after the jump.