In the decades to come, long after the conclusion of what will hopefully be a fruitful run, fans and TV critics alike will offer up their final analysis of NBC's 30 Rock. As viewers sit back to wax nostalgic about the show, they may come to agree that 30 Rock's true comedic voice emerged in episodes four, five and six of Season Two. Where they'll disagree is whether this increasingly topical voice was too much the zeitgeist to allow for 30 Rock to be as significant and funny in 2057 as it was in 2007. Will Tina Fey and her gangs' skewering of misguided liberal do-gooderism coupled with their parody of right-winged corporate avarice and a sprinkling of zany humor still be resonant in the distant future? Will 30 Rock be the show of its times or an all-time show?

Although I'm excited about the possibility of the world of tomorrow where I'll be able to travel in my flying car powered by garbage placed in my "Mr. Fusion," the prospect of living in a future where people actually feel the need to debate whether 30 Rock is funny or not, is enough to make me embrace the present. It's in the present where we get to fully enjoy the last three offerings from the show that is establishing itself as head-and-shoulders above its fellow sitcoms, without worry or care about its timelessness.

At the beginning of Season 2, we could see the seeds being sewn for 30 Rock to infuse more social commentary into the plotlines. Early on Liz, Jenna and Jack wrestled over the weight problems of Jenna and thusly were debating social norms for female body image. Although that episode provided a dose of social commentary, "Rosemary's Baby" was the first episode to use an exaggerated stereotype of Hollywood liberalism as a comedic foil. The approach produced the best episode of the season to that point as Liz struggled with her feminist idol who she finds has beliefs not exactly rooted in today's reality. In the following episode, "Greenzo," a failed actor becomes a holier-than-thou embodiment of environmentalism while Donaghy represents a corporate America which disingenuously "cares" in order to profit from people's increasing desire to seem "eco-friendly."

Well, if once is an occurrence, twice is a coincidence and three times is a pattern, then the third episode of the aforementioned trio is where 30 Rock confirms the emergence of its political, snarky, subversive tone which has transformed it into a hilarious and non-preachy social satire. In the episodes "Rosemary's Baby" and "Greenzo" 30 Rock sought to strike a balance between showing Liz Lemon's struggle to reconcile her lefty ideals with the real world and Jack Donaghy's indulgence of his capitalistic, chauvinist tendencies. "Someone to Love" finds that perfect balance of Lemon and Donaghy and keenly adds the exploits of Tracy Jordan, Kenneth, Jenna, Pete, the writers and a couple celebrity cameos for an expert mix of political satire, social commentary, pop culture references and quirky weirdness.

"Someone to Love," finds Lemon suspicious of her new Middle-Eastern neighbor Raheem, played by SNL's Fred Armisen, who appears militant and stand-offish with the two first meet. Pete does little to sway Liz from her mistrust of Raheem, as he explains to her that, "he's a really nice guy—he's always helping. He rewired the toaster oven and showed me a back way to the airport!"

Lemon is left torn between her liberal beliefs that she shouldn't judge people and her gut instinct which makes her exclaim "I think that little pita pocket over there may be a terrorist!"

Meanwhile Jack Donaghy is attending a party in honor of Robert Novak being thrown by Republican stalwarts John McCain and Jack Bauer. While there he happens upon C.C., played by Edie Falco, and the chemistry between the two is immediately evident. After a night of passion Jack learns this promising new lady-friend is--in his eyes--the worst type of person: a Democratic Congresswoman who fights against the very things Donaghy holds dear. We later learn that C.C. took up the mantle of fighting corporations because she was shot in the face by her neighbor's dog. Her incident was made famous in a made for Lifetime movie: A Dog Took My Face and Gave Me a Better Face to Change the World: The Celeste Cunningham Story.

Liz, after seeing Raheem with another Arab man doing what looks like paramilitary exercises in the park, gives-in to her suspicions and with the prompting of Jack, turns her neighbor in as a terrorist. Then in a move that echoes 1950s McCarthyism, she threatens Pete when he stands-up for Raheem, telling him he could just as easily lumped-in with the terrorists if he didn't get off her back. Unfortunately, after Raheem is detained and tortured, Lemon learns the truth: all of his seemingly suspicious behavior was in pursuit of entering the Amazing Race.

               Just as Lemon's guilt over turning-in Raheem eats away at her, Jack and C.C.'s mutual attraction gnaws at them as the political gulf between them keeps them as divided as blue and red states, as diametrically opposed as "Capulets and Romulans." But Donaghy cannot resist his new lady friend and in Tracy Jordan Jack finds counsel to help navigate the chasm that separates him from C.C. After all, Tracy is no stranger to forbidden love, intimating to Jack his similar attempts to find love despite one's differences, "I'm black, she's white. I'm black, she's light skinned black. I'm black, she's 17." With Tracy's help Jack meets C.C. in Harlem where they agree to ignore their differences and stay together while the sex is still good.

               With a sly, engaging wit 30 Rock has positioned itself as more than merely a show about making TGS with Tracy Jordan, it has found its voice and morphed a hilarious social and political satire. "Someone to Love" deftly skewered the timeliest of issues—our political polarization, racial profiling, and the fear of terrorism. Hell, they even found time to take a jab at product placements and crappy made for Lifetime movies. Whether these issues will still be resonant in the future, I'm not sure, so who knows if future generations will find 30 Rock funny. But for now, episodes like "Someone to Love" are so entertaining, I'm perfectly happy with 30 Rock creating a timely voice, even if it may mean the show won't be timeless.