Season 4 is here! The cast and crew are back together to start working, and Jack, Liz, Tracy, and Jenna are at an upscale restaurant, getting ready to dig into some "cheesy blasters" (a cheese and pizza-wrapped hot dog). Jack feels that they have lost touch with their "roots", and lost their appeal with middle America. Jenna offers to "go country" for the show... and Jack pulls Liz aside after the restaurant and tells her he wants her to hire a new actor, much to her dismay.
Liz tells Pete about this endeavor, and he is just as enthusiastic about it as she is (read: not at all), so the two decide to sneak out to comedy bars to audition without any of the crew- and especially the actors- knowing. Shenanigans ensue.
Kenneth feels that the no-overtime policy for pages isn't right and refuses to lie on his time card, so he talks to Jack. Jack insists that he makes sacrifices, due to the current economic turmoil, and Kenneth complies. But, he accidentally sees Jack's bonus paycheck, and wants Jack to sign a piece of paper saying, "I'm a big ol' liar". Jack, of course, refuses, and Kenneth decides to go on strike with the other pages. The strike grows to include mall santas and bucket drummers.
Tracy wants to reconnect with his roots, and after unsuccessfully doing so with a janitor, he decides to go out into the real world. He finally escapes the building, and after approaching many strangers, he is yet friendless. That is, until he hears the bucket drummers from Kenneth's strike. Previously a subway bucket drummer, Tracy joins the strike.
Liz and Pete continue to keep their actor auditions a secret, until Frank calls them out. They cover and say that they are having an affair, just as Pete's wife walks in. After some extremely awkward sexual admissions are made, Liz tells the truth, and all the writers are mad. Actor-writer Josh has had enough, and leaves the show.
Jenna is working on her image as a country girl by recording an NBC Tennis country promo music video. Liz ends up telling her that she's been told to hire another cast member; Jenna freaks out, and goes to join Kenneth's strike.
Jack plans on nipping Kenneth's strike in the bud, so he goes to his house to speak with him. After asking for "the bar" and Kenneth pointing toward the bathroom, Jack pours himself a shot of cold medicine and tells Kenneth to call off the strike or the page program will be shut down. Kenneth, however, outsmarts him, when the next day the strike is still on, and he explains that without pages, Jack will have to hire regular employees, pay them more, and give them benefits. Jack concedes, and signs the "I'm a big ol' liar" statement for Kenneth.
Again, I find this episode not nearly as entertaining as the last I saw- the christmas episode. There were many chuckle-worthy moments, such as Tracy attempting to make friends on the streets of NYC, Liz singing the Cheesy Blaster jingle, and Pete's wife's sexual deviance, but nothing truly laugh-out-loud funny. Dammit NBC! You mislead me again!
Alas, I shall continue watching, in the hopes that I shall find the holy grail of 30 Rock episodes!
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I didn't get to catch this episode but I get a real feel for it, and the very 30-rockiness of it. Great writing!
ReplyDeleteYes, the "chuckle-worthy moments" are not quite enough for devoted fandom, are they? On the other hand, they keep you watching. You know, the TWoP forum writers were grumbling about the meh-ness of Season 4 and were quite relieved that the episode before the Christmas one was so hilarious. You might want to take a look at what they were disenchanted with. Good writing!
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