30 Rock is in danger of going adrift

"30 Rock" is kinda fun, I mean, who doesn't like Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin as smarmy studio exec has found the perfect role for him. Some of the secondary characters are amusing, too, in a sitcom fashion - meaning that they're all characteristics, not characters in an true sense - in other words, they are not like any human beings you will ever meet outside of a sitcom. There are always a few good laughs in each episode. However, does anyone else notice that the series has drifted too far away from its initial premise, and charm, in that its less about the actual making of an SNL-like TV show and more or a forum for the actors to display their eccentricities. The show within the show has drifted toward the background, it's become just the excuse to get these characters into the same room, or plot, and ultimately, at its worst, the show just seems like a bunch of lunatics misbehaving. It needs to be grounded more firmly in its reality - we have to know what these guys do, that despite their craziness, or because of it, they are successful at their unusual work: much like Mad Men, for that matter, and MM may suffer from the same draft, as it has gradually become more of a domestic soap and less of a workplace drama. This is less of an issue for a comedy like 30 Rock, in that we don't turn to it to learn about the craft of TV. But think of that other great sitcom based on a TV show, The Dick Van Dyke Show - which always worked because we saw the show as the glue that kept these characters together and accommodated their craziness. 30 Rock is in danger of gooing adrift.