Jack-tor (30 Rock episode)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“Jack-tor”
30 Rock episode
Cerie promotes Snapple.
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 5
Written by	Robert Carlock
Directed by	Don Scardino
Production no.	107
Original airdate	November 16, 2006
Episode chronology
← Previous	Next →
"Jack the Writer"	"Jack Meets Dennis"
Episode chronology

"Jack-tor" is the fifth episode in the situation comedy series 30 Rock. It aired on November 16, 2006, as the third episode in a November sweeps two-hour block of comedies^[1] which also included an episode of My Name Is Earl and an episode of The Office. In the November 16 broadcast, the episode was 40 minutes long; in its first rerun it was edited down to 30 minutes.

Jack-tor attracted 5.19 million viewers (12.6% more viewers than 30 Rock's last episode); it was 77th in Nielsen's prime-time television rankings for the week.^[2] In spite of the show's continued ratings problems, critic Tom Shales, in a story about the show that included a review, believes the show "clearly deserves another shot, and ["Jack-tor"] shows why.

1 Synopsis
2 Trivia
3 Guest starring
4 Featuring
5 References and footnotes

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Liz finds herself dealing with two issues. The first one involves Tracy, who decides that he is going to take a break from rehearsals after he is called back on stage to read his cue cards. When Tracy appears to be ignoring his cue cards, Jenna informs Liz and comes to the conclusion that Tracy might be illiterate, citing an earlier promo cue card mishap as an example. When Liz confronts Tracy about it he admits it and agrees to help him. But as he left to go to the elevator Liz sees him reading a newspaper. Liz later learns that Tracy was using this ploy to get out of work, but Liz told him that she wasn't going to take it anymore and told Tracy (who was trying to use a little psychological tactic by claiming she was racist, but Liz wasn't buying it) that he has to read the cue cards, whether he liked it or not. Apparently Tracy gets the message and goes through with the sketch.

The second issue involves Jack, who wants Liz and the staff to insert GE products into the show. The staff is not happy about doing product placements for GE, though the indignation over GE product placement in the show-within-a-show becomes ironic when 30 Rock itself engages in the practice, with repeated references to Snapple that even feature a man dressed as a bottle of the drink.^[1]^[3] Liz agrees to the GE product placement on the condition that Jack appears in the sketch. Unfortunately, that decision might have been a disaster in the making: After seeing a video of him forgeting his lines after 129 takes, Liz thinks that he needs help if wants to inject himself into the sketch. After a late night pep talk Liz gives Jack the encouragement to go through with it, and in the end he does and likes what he sees. In fact he kept the scene where he told his co-stars "You're Fired" and replayed it over and over again.

Meanwhile, Jenna decided to insert a music number called "Muffin Top" into the show, after claiming that the song is a big hit overseas and feels it could be a hit in the States as well. Jenna also found herself the victim of a prank conjured up by Frank and Toofer, in which they told her that several people were going to be fired. She at first believed it, and tried to use her sexuality to convince a NBC exec after seeing Jack talk to one. But when Liz later tells Jenna that no one was going be fired and the exec is actually an extra on the show, it didn't take long for her to get back at the two, and although Toofer did admit it (He was too smart for Jenna's tatics), she did get back at Frank, who was seen running around naked outside Jack's balcony.

As for that "Muffin Top" number featuring Ghostface Killah, Jenna does get her chance to perform it on the show...unaware that the show has already ended and the number was scratched at the last moment, thanks to Liz.

[edit] Trivia

At the beginning of the episode Tracy mentions upcoming Friday events he wants to attend (rather than work on the show) to Liz including an orgy at an "Elizabeth's" place. Tracy is cut off before he can say Elizabeth's last name, but in close captions the last name is "Hasselbeck."^{[citation needed]} A differently spelled Elisabeth Hasselbeck is a co-host on the day-time talk show The View.
Actor Jack McBrayer receives credits but does not appear in this episode.
Like the previous episode, this episodes makes a subtle jab at Studio 60, by having Tina Fey's character talk about global education statistics and then point out the incongruity.^[4]
In honor of the show's addition to NBC's Thursday night "Must See TV" lineup, this episode contains references to several older NBC Thursday night shows.
- Jack remarks that he has been watching old episodes of Friends. He calls Liz "such a Monica." Another reference can be noticed when Frank is seen in the outdoor balcony of Jack's office with no clothes on, a homage to another Friends character, The Ugly Naked Guy.
- "Muffin Top" refers to a slang term for when someone wears overly-tight low-rise jeans. It is also a nod to an episode of Seinfeld, The Muffin Tops.
- Jack's sketch includes the line "You're both fired", like Donald Trump on The Apprentice.
- Tracy quotes Bill Cosby of The Cosby Show (although he claims to be quoting Bing Crosby.)

When messing with Jenna's head, Frank mentions a "friend in accounting" named Lando Calrissian. Lando Calrissian is a Star Wars character. This is the second time a Star Wars character has been mentioned in the series.
Rather than give GE televisions and displays "Pos-Mens," this episode shows off Sharp Aquos screens. (In fact, GE-branded TVs are no longer produced; GE sold its consumer electronics division in 1987 to Thomson SA, which now focuses on the RCA brand in North America.)