Good news is rare in these worrisome times, but here among the rubble is a little ray of sunshine (mixed metaphors!) Critically-beloved 30 Rock is finally performing healthily in the ratings.

Variety puts its comforting hand on our shoulder and reports that, there there, nothing is so bad after all. The Tina Fey tour de force is earning about 7.7 million viewers a week, up about 21% from last season. It's also hitting demo sweet spots, as most of its viewers are between 18-49, with nice growth in the lower (and more valuable) end of the spectrum.

The crazy thing about these sitcom-starved times is that those numbers, which would never really be considered high, make it the seventh most popular comedy on television right now. In the heady days of the power Tuesday and Must See TV Thursday sitcom blocks, an average of 7.7 million viewers would put a series significantly lower on the laffs totem pole. Lower even, for 1995-1996, than something called Can't Hurry Love, which starred Scott Baio.

Ah well. Now isn't the time for negativity. 30 Rock is a success, and has managed to still be consistently funny, so at least, if nothing else, we have that.