(S04E07) "It still counts!" - Whoopi Goldberg, on her Daytime Emmy

I wonder how 30 Rock will handle today's deal with Comcast. I'm sure Tina Fey and the rest of the writers are already working on an episode or two about the takeover. They've already had a plot this season about budget cuts and other network moves, and I think this could be one of those weird times where a real-life event is closely tied into a fictional TV show and can actually re-energize the show in some way. That's going to be an interesting plot to watch.

Of course, the real question is, how will all of this affect the Sheinhardt Wig Company?

Can we discuss a little bit why this show insists that Liz Lemon isn't attractive? Maybe it's Fey being self-deprecating, but I believe in the time-traveling on Lost more than I believe that in real life anyone could think that she's not attractive. Come on, Lemon/Fey is beautiful. But now we see that in an HD close-up, she looks like a witch about to be pushed into a cauldron of boiling water. But even that wasn't the most disturbing image of Liz this episode. That would go to Frank, who was put in charge while Liz was doing the Dealbreakers show and started to talk like her and dress like her, right down to her hair style. But Frank/Liz looked like ...Penn Jillette.

Speaking of Dealbreakers, does this mean that plot is now over, that Liz won't be the host of such a talk show? So Banks gets his way, even if the opening credits will be seen in the background of all Sheinhardt Wig/Universal soap operas (nice cameo from Bo and Hope from Days of Our Lives). It makes sense. I guess you don't want Liz taking on a whole new career. That would ruin the whole Liz/Jack/TGS dynamic. It could be funny to see Liz turn into another Jenna, but they handled that pretty thoroughly in this episode, from Liz saying words oddly to Jenna helping Jack with Liz's changes to Liz locking herself in her dressing room, so it's probably good that the Dealbreakers success stops with the book. Get Liz back full-time in the writer's room.

As for the subplot, I liked the goal Tracy has with winning awards, but I thought they were going to give us an actual song that NBC would put on their web site and we could quote endlessly, but nothing came of that. That was disappointing.

More thoughts:

- So Dr. Spaceman does LASIK too? I think Liz is too smart to go to this guy (but as a Dr. Spaceman fan, I'm glad she does).

- When Tracy and his wife were doing the whole "did" thing, I thought to myself, wow, that's rather blunt and controversial. And then Tracy said "racist!" and that was a great way to end the bit.

- Yes, that was a Kenneth muppet we saw go by the HDTV for a second. Nice callback to an earlier episode. And did you notice young, dashing, thin Jack on the screen?

- We finally have a face for astronaut Mike Dexter!

- Rubik's Pube? Did I hear that sketch idea correctly? That's one of those jokes that's better just as a throwaway line. I certainly don't want to see that on camer-ah.

- Are you mad Liz gave away the ending to The Negotiator?

Quotes:

"There's a lot of history in Studio 4C: To Catch A Predator, the XFL halftime show, storage for broken copiers." - Jack

"I'll do the Christmas shopping this year and prove to you that I can be reliable and that I can finish everything I..." - Tracy

"Somebody bring me some ham!" - lyrics to Liz's fantasy song

"You're like a swarthy, big-hipped Kelly Ripa." - Jack, to Liz

"Recently I realized I have a hole in my heart. And not the one I got from eating batteries." - Tracy

"Maybe we can undid these handcuffs." - Liz
"Racist!" - Tracy

"Writers who never talk: you want a new job?" - Liz

"Our health costs are down because we started putting something in the coffee to stop the woman from getting pregnant." - Jack

"If this fails I'm going to flog you like ... well, like me at the Provincetown Flogging Festival." - Banks

"I get it. Elegance. That's why people come to Yakov's Nubian Bling Explosion." - salesman

"EGOT" - stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony
"That's a great goal for a crazy person." - Tracy

"I can't wear contacts because the doctors says my eyeballs are too pointy." - Liz

"OK, I'll be in touch. You still use your Hotmail account?" - Tracy, to his wife

"OK, don't try to move the body yourself." - Jenna, to Jack, who said he had an "actress problem"

"I get it, treat her like the New York Times treats its readers!" - Jack, on handling actresses differently

"OK, smile ... with your mouth ... wave ... like a human being!" - Pete, to Liz

"FEMA paid for these flowers because this show is going to be a disaster." - Banks' card to Liz

"How could five of the world's most popular musical styles played at the same time sound so bad?" - Tracy

"If this show doesn't work, I might as well let Banks do one of his gay home-invasion fantasies on me." - Jack

"Kenneth's been out there for an hour telling cleaned-up Garrison Keillor stories." - Jack

"I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I've always wondered why you guys just don't take the door off its hinges." - Jenna, about Liz's locked door

"This is how I cry now since you made me get that off-brand eye surgery!" - Liz, to Jack, with tears pouring out of her mouth

"I know. We're lucky people laugh when I stay stuff." - Tracy, after his wife called him an idiot