Liz is in Demand on Back-to-Back Episodes of “30 Rock” | Cultural Critique

Banner, Cultural Critique, Opinion — By Bethany Larson on January 18, 2010 at 12:28 PM

By Bethany Larson

Although “30 Rock” ended their fall season in early December, there hasn’t been a lack of “30 Rock” news.

We’ve learned that Kevin Brown “Grizz” Chapman (Dot Com) actually does need a kidney now and that Jon Hamm will reprise his role as Liz’s love interest/baking doctor beginning in February. “Mad Men” (and Jon Hamm) fans, rejoice. More pressing however, is that “30 Rock” returned to the tube on January 14th, with back-to-back episodes.

The first episode, “Greta and Klaus,” started the new season with a strange and hilarious bang. Actor James Franco guest starred as himself, but with a penchant for a Japanese body pillow named Kimiko (more on that in a minute), Jack realized that he and Nancy may indeed have a future together, Jonathan and Kenneth vied for Jack’s attention, Tracy got his wife pregnant over the holidays, and Liz outed her cousin, Randy, to the Lemon family on New Year’s. So, there’s a lot going on there. Let’s break it down, shall we?

Although the show’s A-plot was the possible relationship between Jack and Nancy, hence the name of the episode (it was their names in their high school German class), it was honestly kind of boring. Jack recruited Kenneth to help him break into Nancy’s house to delete a message he left her at 3:42 AM on New Year’s and realized that her voicemail code spelled his German name, Klaus (awwweeeee). The side plots were far more fun.

Jenna began a fake relationship with James Franco because he needed to dispel tabloid rumors that he was in love with a body pillow adorned with an anime lady. Hilariously, he was indeed in love with a body pillow adorned with an anime lady. Jenna loves the paparazzi attention at first, but then, after a kiss for the cameras, she realizes that she doesn’t want a high-profile fake relationship–she wants something real. After explaining this to Franco, he agrees that they should both be happy and he decides to no longer hide his love for Kimiko, the body pillow.

In the other fun story-arc, Liz’s newly-outed cousin Randy comes to see her in New York. Liz tries her best to protect Randy from the lust dungeons that are NYC’s gay bars, but Randy sneaks around and locks her in a closet (haha) so that he can go be gay in New York. However, Liz convinces Randy to move back home after she, James Franco, and Kimiko come out of her bedroom wearing mismatched pajamas, begging the question, did Liz Lemon sleep with James Franco and a body pillow?

In the next episode, “Black Light Attack!” Jack and Danny (Cheyenne Jackson) have a bromance that is interrupted by Liz and Danny’s inter-office relationship. Jack and Liz have a battle royale and Jack prevails because he tells Danny (wait for it) …..that he is in love with Liz!!!!!! It must be noted that he says it jokingly and mostly so that he can win, but still! He said it! That’s step 1 right?

Also, in this episode, Tracy decides to add a woman to his entourage so he can practice being a dad to a daughter (the pregnancy is far too early to know the gender, but Tracy is convinced it’s a girl) and Jenna reveals her true age (41) on an episode of Gossip Girl.

Although the second episode was not nearly as fun as the first, at least Liz is finally in demand. With Hamm back in the cast, and Jack’s announcement that he (jokingly) loves Liz, hopefully we’ll finally see Liz with someone who isn’t a pathetic loser. Perhaps Hamm and Baldwin will have a battle royale….

Favorite Quotes

“Greta and Klaus”

“5 dates a week, 1 fight a month, and because of a product placement deal with Jamba Juice….the fight will be in a Jamba Juice.”–James Franco, negotiating relationship with Jenna

“I’ll see you at dawn so you can get caught coming out of my apartment. I’ll loan you a shirt, try to look like you just got drilled. You know the deal.”–Franco to Jenna

”Now you just have to hope it’s a girl.” –Liz to Tracy, upon announcement of Angie’s pregnancy
“I know it’s a girl! I know it because I yelled Susan B. Anthony at the moment of conception!”–Tracy

“Kenneth! You’re haircut is disrespectful to lesbians. Dot Com! Do you ever read books by women?”–Tracy
“But George Eliot was a woman.”–Dot Com (oh, Dot Com. How we love you.)

“Hey Liz. We’re playing the Today Show drinking game. You take a shot every time they give a dumb travel tip.” –Frank

“Black Light Attack!”

“I want to be TGS’ Steve Nash. Come down from Canada, work hard, make the black guy look good.” – Danny to Jack

“My biggest problem with quidditch is, if the snitch is 150 points, why does anyone bother with the quaffle?”–Toofer

“She has really thin lips, but she makes up for it with tongue girth.”–Danny to Jack, about Liz

---

** CORRECTION: It is Grizz Chapman, who plays “Grizz” on 30 Rock who needs a kidney transplant. The article originally incorrectly identified him. We apologize for the error.**

Tags: 30 Rock, James Franco, Jon Hamm, NBC

SIMILAR POSTS

• “30 Rock” needs more Grizz and Dot Com | Cultural Critique at 12:25 PM on November 6, 2009
• “30 Rock”: Relying on eccentricity is never good | Bethany’s Cultural Critique at 3:42 PM on February 8, 2010
• 30 Rock Review: Liz opts for oral on Valentine’s Day .. oral surgery, that is | Bethany’s Cultural Critique at 10:11 PM on February 15, 2010
• Liz and Jack’s professional romance | Cultural Critique at 10:24 AM on November 13, 2009
• 30 Rock’s X-Mas episode filled with twisted and touching holiday moments | Cultural Critique at 10:53 PM on December 11, 2009