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The relationship between Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy is the most interesting and complicated relationship on TV. (No doi!) As funny as it is when Tracy Jordan utters one of his idiot savant one-liners or Kenneth gives us more insight into his strange childhood by reciting a squirrel recipe or something, all that “back at the office” stuff is really just filling the time between Liz and Jack’s scenes. That 30 Rock‘s “filler” could be the second best show on TV (and maybe will one day in spinoff form) is just more evidence that this show is the best. This episode was similar to the high school reunion episode in that once again Jack and Liz went off by themselves to have their friendship tested and prove their loyalty. And once again, the loyalty-proving part involved a microphone and a stage.
Liz accompanies Jack to the Six Sigma conference for GE’s best and brightest (which is a real thing), where she joins his team at L.U.N.C.H. (Lego Utilization for Negating Crisis Hierarchies), using legos to assemble an object that only Jack can see. This is notable for two reasons: a Glengarry Glen Ross reference, and Robot Penis:
Liz and Jack’s friendship falls on hard times, and Judy Blume gets referenced in prime time:
When Jack leaves his mic on while giving himself a pep talk backstage, Liz distracts the audience the only way she knows how (Liz Lemon the character’s obsession with showing her boobs is so weird and funny):
(Other highlights: Frank and Jenna hook up and Jenna says “Now Dog The Bounty Hunter is the second grossest guy I’ve been with.” And Tracy Morgan refuses to eat vegetables by saying “N.O.E.: No! E!”)
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I think my favorite part was the two seconds we saw of Liz’s pump up speech to herself…what’s sad is that I could easily see myself doing that.
I also liked the reveal of Jenna as the Hill Witch.
i really hope they don’t make this jenna and frank thing last more than an episode. it was fine, confined, but i’m not sure if i could take an arc of it.
Tracy: Can I get wheels for my foot like Rosie from The Jetsons?
Dr Spacemen: You can but then you’d have to register yourself as a motor vehicle.
What was the meaning behind C.L.A.S.S.?
Consuming
Lunch
And
Simple
Socializing
Dr.Spaceman: “Mr.Jordan, I don’t know quite how to say this… dee-uh-bay-teez.”
Tracy: “Kenneth, theres no link between diabetes and diet. That’s a white myth, like Larry Bird and Colorado.”
Liz: “Sorry, I dropped this thing when I was pretending it was my penis.”
The Six Sigmas: Teamwork, Handshakefulness, Brutality, Insight, Play Hard, and Male Enhancement.
Apparently, according to Toopher, diabetes is caused by sleeping on your back.
God, I love this show
Can someone explain Jack’s Bush Administration scene?
Last season’s finale ended with Jack working in the Bush Administration (with Matthew Broderick) and the accidental explosion of a gay bomb – a sort of gas that makes everyone gay – that they were planning to use to distract enemy combatants in Iraq.
As someone who is laughing my way through a Six Sigma training in an effort to keep my job safe through rough seas, I was way too amused at the acronyms and the pitch perfect satire of Six Sigma (as a stand-in for all of the corporate tool certifications, programs, and courses). It really is that ridiculous.
“First of all, never badmouth synergy!” Classic!
I kept rewinding and watching the improv flashback where Jenna says, “No, you don’t … Oprah.” I was all by myself and laughing totally out loud.
I’m going to yell “Like a waitress!” at my mom during holiday dinners.
Did anyone notice who directed last night’s ep?
STEVE BUSCEMI.
Yeah, you guys. Yeah.
NO WAY! THAT JUST MAKES EVERYTHING 10 TIMES BETTER
What’s the Glengarry Glen Ross reference? Haircut?
“Always be talking” is a take-off of “Always be closing.”
Ah doi!
First of all, I feel like this episode was a great save after a string of sub-par eps. And finally – the writing staff! How I’ve missed them so.
But all season long I’ve been asking myself, “Where the heck is Jonathan?!”
And then I took a look at Maulik Pancholy’s IMDB page and saw that in 2008-9 he’s already got 1 completed film (“See You In September”) and 4 (FOUR!) others in post-production. Somebody’s been a busy, shit son.
I wonder if, as you suggest, the Lemon/Jack dynamic is the driving force behind the show, if that’s why we hate the Selma Hayek arc so much. And also why we didn’t mind the Floyd arc, because Jack was deeply entrenched in that storyline. But then again, I really liked Edie Falco, so who knows?
It’s because we got the best line ever out of the Edie/Jack relationship –
“I thought you made love like an ugly girl: so present, so grateful.”
*slapping then kissing*
I don’t know if I agree about the fact that the other character’s are necessarily filler in the show. Although I agree about what you said about their relationship being interesting and complicated and that it inhabits the emotional core of the show, (that and Liz’s loneliness). I don’t believe it is as entertaining or memorable as the humor of the show. I mean if Liz and Jack’s friendship was driving the show, it would have to drive it somewhere, and I don’t know where that would be. Romance? probably not. Shut it down.
Definitely my favorite episode out of the past few. Liz/Jack is the driving factor in the show (though I *love* everyone else – this whole show is basically amazing) and the past few weeks, with more of a focus on Jack and the ridiculous Salma Hayek, have really missed out on the relationship.
Also, when I saw the picture’s caption, it made me think of Gob at the Christmas party in “Afternoon Delight” on Arrested Development (of course). “Everybody dance… NAOW.”
Did anyone else notice that Josh was on the episode? But only in picture form, in Tracy’s “office” on an old ad for the show. Weird. I miss that guy and I don’t like the fact that they’re fazing out good secondary cast members. Baaaaaad.
Now, I have a question.
What means the word ?N.O.E? ?
I can?t understand how can you guys laughs at this scene.
Before laugh at me, PLZ let me know.
Thanks to my sucking English skill, I can?t laugh the scene
Tracy says ? Like larry bird or Colorado?.
What is the man doing? What happens in Colorado?
if you got to ask, you ain’t never gonna get to know