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May 22, 2013

30 Rock: The Natural Order

by Bob Sassone, posted May 1st 2009 1:05AM
30 Rock (S03E20) "It's the biggest regret of my life, Lemon. And I once made love to Kathy Hilton." - Jack, about not confronting his dad

Oh, come on. There's no way that Liz Lemon would be that incompetent when it comes to replacing a water bottle. It was like she was a mixture of Steve Urkel and Barney Fife, dropping the bottle, getting herself soaked. I mean, she could have at least known that you take the empty jug off before you attempt to put the new one on. That whole scene was odd. It went on a lot longer and was more slapstick-oriented than most 30 Rock gags.

The other revelation tonight? You think I'm going to say the twist ("twist!") ending where we find out that Jack's dad isn't really his dead (Jack figures it out with the help of Liz and a Some Like It Hot DVD), right? OK, that was pretty good. But no, I'm talking about the revelation that all of the writers on TGS get town cars sent to their homes in the morning to drive them to work! I wasn't surprised that Tracy gets a duck tour boat, but I don't remember town cars for everyone else being mentioned before. Somehow I think Liz would have mentioned that before, coming to work with her cup of coffee. She should have cut those when she was having all of those budget problems earlier this season.

Wasn't thrilled with Jenna's plot this week. Sure, all kinds of monkeys and gibbons and orangutans are undeniably cute, but it was kinda ridiculous (and unfunny, which is the worse sin). I did like Liz's line about the monkey having sex with Jenna's face and then changing the subject quickly, but boy, what a forgettable C plot this was this week. I would have liked to have seen more Elaine Stritch. Still, Liz and Tracy battling and Jack and his mom battling are plots that are always good for some laughs.

Some quotes:

"I took my son to his cello recital this morning at what turned out to be midnight yesterday!" - Tracy

"You treat me like a child! No, worse than that. Like one of those pageant girls with the clip-on teeth." - Tracy

"Don't accept it!" - Pete, to Liz, about Tracy giving her a "race card"

"I don't mind taking her out. There's a restaurant hostess in midtown I'd like to see cry." - Liz, about Jack's mom

"What is this, the Italian parliament. No, thank you?" - Jack, to Liz, who asked if he wanted a hug

"Evidently the concierge at the Plaza has a beard, and she'd rather not get raped." - Jonathan, on why Jack's mom wanted to change hotels

"Oh my God! Like we really have time to have you walk down the stairs that slowly!" - Liz, to Tracy

"Don't patronize me with your Celtic slang, Liz Lemon." - Tracy, about Liz using the word "shenanigans"

"Paul lives in Florida. He paints landscapes and makes his own soda." - Jack's mom

"Oh, I didn't know anyone was here. That wasn't me screaming in the bathroom." - Jenna

"Have you ever been to Florida? It's basically a criminal population. It's America's Australia." - Jack

"You know this food area is always the first place I go to look for you." - Cerie, to Liz

"Everyone has something to hide. For instance, I'm wearing a child's Halloween costume under this." - Len

"She went crazy. She bit off my nutsack, that I kept tied around my belt to feed the squirrels." - Kenneth, about raising pigs

"Our farts, for one thing." - Pete, on what the guys have been holding back from Liz

"Well, I pay you a little less." - Jack, on how he treats Liz differently

"That's the Quantum Leap intro." - Liz, to Jack, who said he said he had "a chance to go back to the past to put things right that once went wrong"

"Simon Cowell." - Liz, after Jack asked who today's Nikita Khrushchev would be

"Now you're standing on the very spot where Grace Allen took Jack Parr's virginity." - Kenneth, leading a tour

"I know. My credit card company called to confirm my purchase of the book "Intercourse After Hip Surgery." - Jack, on how he knows his mom was out shopping

"A guy like Paul, who can drive at night? You just don't say say no to that!" - Jack's mom

30 Rock' Show & Cast Photos

    Actress Tina Fey arrives at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Nokia Theatre on September 21, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.

    Dan MacMedan/WireImage.com

    Actor Alec Baldwin attends HBO

    FilmMagic Inc/FilmMagic.com

    Actors Alec Baldwin and Jane Krakowski attend HBO

    Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com

    Actors Alec Baldwin and Jane Krakowski attend HBO

    Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com

    Actresses Tina Fey(L) and Amy Poehler attend the Governors Ball for the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on September 21, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.

    Mathew Imaging/WireImage.com

    Writer-actress Tina Fey leaves HBO

    Mark Sullivan/WireImage.com

    Actress Tina Fey and TV Host Stephen Colbert attend the Governors Ball for the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on September 21, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.

    Mathew Imaging/WireImage.com

    Actor Alec Baldwin attends the Governors Ball for the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on September 21, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.

    Mathew Imaging/WireImage.com

    Actress Tina Fey arrives at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards Governor

    Jason Merritt/FilmMagic.com

    Actresses Tina Fey and Amy Poehler arrives at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards Governor

    Jason Merritt/FilmMagic.com

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9 Comments

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Andrew

The entire tone of this episode seemed a little different but I still found it hilarious, the water jug thing was like something out of Family Guy. Also, I don't remember them saying that all the writers got town cars.

May 01 2009 at 11:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dave

Yeah, the writers don't get town cars, the actors do. Which is pretty standard practice.

May 01 2009 at 11:31 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ned

I first time I watched this episode, during the Tracy-walks-slow moment, I thought, "Oh, that's weird that he was walking slow, then appeared next to Tina..."

After a rewatch on Hulu, Tina says "Time jump!" Oh Ms. Fey, you get me every time.

May 01 2009 at 10:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Yesenia

I thought it implied it was the actors on TGS, not the writers, who got town cars.

May 01 2009 at 11:20 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Cuuuk

I believe that would be Jack Paar. :-)

I'd like to think that Liz's Quantum Leap mention might have been an obscure shout out to save NBC's "Chuck," where Scott Bakula guest starred on the last 3 episodes.

But maybe I've had too much coffe already this morning....

May 01 2009 at 10:51 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Grover

I dont know why, but I found that "Florida is America's Australia" line hilarious. The endless one-liners and other zany lines/actions of the characters mixed with this subtle humor allow 30 Rock to appeal to a wide audience which makes it one of the best comedies on tv.

May 01 2009 at 10:32 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Zachary

The water bottle scenes looked like something out of an infomercial. All it needed was a voice-over saying "does this happen to you?" Pretty lame.

Will people complain about the reference to Quantum Leap like they did last week for Battlestar Galactica? OMG, they mentioned another NBC show!

May 01 2009 at 10:15 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Courtney

The first time I saw Jonathan back, and as soon as he appeared, 30 Rock on twitter mentioned his appearance, so it was his return. I was as surprised as you!

By the way, in Liz's defense, I'm a rather petite person who attempted to put one of those water bottles on, and they're really heavy. Water can go everywhere.

May 01 2009 at 10:08 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Martin

No comment about the return of Johnathan?! this is his first episode back right since the cutbacks? Or was he on last week and I just stroked out and forgot??

May 01 2009 at 8:40 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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