30 Rock – Liz helps Jack save face, Frank helps Jenna lose some face

(Season 3, Episode 9 – “Retreat to Move Forward”)

Another episode devoid of guest stars, and another episode full of laughs. Even Salma Hayek got the week off in this installment, but I thought it was one of the stronger episodes of the season.

It had all the right elements — Jack and Liz being funny and adorable, Tracy and Jenna being crazy, Kenneth being “folksy,” and we even got to spend some time with the overlooked writers’ room, including appearances by Frank and Toofer.

The main plot this week saw Jack and Liz taking a trip to the GE business retreat, the cleverly named “Retreat to Move Forward.” Full disclosure here: as someone who has had some exposure to Six Sigma, this episode was really great. In particular I appreciated that there were six “sigmas” who were actual people, each representing a different aspect of business. I would totally want to be “handshakefulness.” There were some other great gags here, including Jack’s and Liz’s psych-up talks in the mirror. Classic.

Back at the studio, Jenna was busy “method acting” her way to success as Janis Joplin (or Janet Jopler, or Janey Jimplin, depending on the legal rights). Unfortunately, she did a bit too good of a job, and sparked a moment between herself and Frank, who loves messes. After sleeping together, Frank was the one who was horrified, which pissed off Jenna. Turns out Frank has been getting it on with many of the messes around the office, including the hairstylist and an old lady.

Kenneth spent the episode trying to get Tracy to eat his vegetables. This was probably the weakest plot going on in the episode, but it still made me laugh. I thought it was a little predictable; as soon as Kenneth started talking about the Hill Witch, I knew that Jenna was somehow going to end up being the witch. It still worked, and I can’t stay mad at 30 Rock.

Quotes and bullet points:

• The Sling Blade and Oprah was pretty funny, especially Jenna mistaking the Sling Blade impression for Oprah.
• We got to see a very small snippet of what happened after that gay bomb went off at the end of last season.
• “That’s a white myth Ken, like Larry Bird or Colorado.” – Tracy, on diet affecting diabetes.
• “Sorry! I dropped it when I was pretending it was my penis! Robot penis.” – Liz, playing with her Lego train.
• “You can’t say ‘a-doy’ to me in mixed company.” – Jack to Liz
• Jack telling Liz to carry her plates “like a waitress.” A classic Liz/Jack moment.
• “Now Dog the bounty hunter is the second grossest guy I’ve been with.” – Jenna, on sleeping with Frank

Clacked by Bob Degon
on Jan 22, 2009 @ 22:25 EST5EDT