Back when 30 Rock launched in the carefree fall of 2006 (the Dow Jones was at nearly 12,000 then!), it looked as if the show might catapult one Lonny Ross into becoming a household name. Not only did he have a few prominent scenes in the pilot as the Jimmy Fallon–esque character on The Girlie Show, but he remained a consistent presence throughout the entire first season. And although he continued to sporadically appear on the show throughout the second season, the only time viewers had seen him pop up during this breakout third season of the show was, as Videogum memorably pointed out, in a Comcast commercial that just so happened to air during the show. Until last night, that is!
Yes, that’s right, Lonny’s long-lost character of Josh Girard made his triumphant return during last night’s “Goodbye, My Friend” episode of 30 Rock. Well, triumphant may not be an entirely accurate description, considering he didn’t exactly get any meaty scenes to chew, but in our books, a return is a return is a return! We can’t help but think that this move was timed by Tina Fey to complement the return of the real Jimmy Fallon to NBC late nights this week; hopefully Lonny has already messengered a bottle of Fallon’s favorite Scotch over to 30 Rockefeller Plaza as a thank-you. Welcome back, Lonny!
30 Rock [Hulu]
