With Shrek out of the way this week, 30 Rock returned to the NBC Thursday line up. Also returning this week were a couple recurring characters: Buck Henry was back as Dick Lemon, Liz’s dad, and Elizabeth Banks returned as Jack’s baby mama Avery Jessup (though she still doesn’t look pregnant at all).
What I really took away from this episode was that the relationship between Jack and Liz has always been, and remains the heart and soul of this show. With Avery jealous of the bizarre symbiotic relationship between her beau and Liz, Jack and Lemon found themselves taking a break from their mentor/mentee situation. Watching them both suffer without each other only reinforced that this show would really suck without both of them. Luckily, the exile was not long lasting, and Liz and Jack were soon back to their old selves.
Liz’s chaotic problem of the week involved her father, who was also taking a break from his normal relationship. At 80 years old, he inexplicably decided to start playing the field. The whole story felt a tad forced, and wasn’t given enough time to actually develop. Mostly, it seemed like a waste of a guest spot from Henry.
Elsewhere, Jenna and Tracy acted as insane as ever, obsessing over NBC’s prerecorded obituaries. Jenna was furious that she didn’t make the cut, and Tracy was devastated to realize just how crazy he actually is. Both of the plot lines were pretty “par for the course.” Neither blew me away, but they each were good for a few laughs. I did like the little hint that Tracy’s ongoing quest for the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) may be advancing.
Overall, I thought it was an okay episode. How did you feel about it?
Here were my favorite quotes:
“Drive, Intelligence, Humility, Chaos, or the acronym DIHC. I’m looking for DIHC Avery, and I’m going to take it wherever I can find it.” – Jack, describing what he looks for in a person to mentor
“I was gonna take this class called ‘Cooking for One,’ but the teacher killed himself.” – Liz
“Shoulders back, Lemon. You’re not welcoming people to castle Frankenstein.” – Jack
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Nov 04, 2010 @ 21:39 EST5EDT
