30 Rock (season 2)

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30 Rock Season 2

The promotional poster for 30 Rock, season two.
Country of origin USA
Network NBC
Original run October 4, 2007 – May 8, 2008
No. of episodes 15
Previous season 1
Next season 3

The second season of the television comedy series 30 Rock originally aired between October 4, 2007 and May 8, 2008 on NBC in the United States.[1] The season consisted of 15 episodes,[2] each of which were approximately 22 minutes long, excluding commercials.

During its second season, 30 Rock moved timeslots three times. The first eight episodes aired on Thursdays at 8:30 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST),[1][3] the ninth episode aired at 9:00 pm EST on Thursday December 13, 2007,[4] episode ten through twelve aired at 8:30 pm EST on Thursday[5] and episode thirteen through fifteen aired at 9:30 pm EST on Thursdays.[6] Throughout the season, 30 Rock aired under NBC's promotional banner "Comedy Night Done Right."

The season was affected by the 2007 – 2008 Writers Guild of America strike, which began on November 5, 2007[7] and ended on February 12, 2008.[8] The season show runners Tina Fey and Robert Carlock agreed not to allow their writing staff to write episodes of 30 Rock during the strike.[9] As a result, only 15 episodes of the 22 episodes ordered were able to be produced.[10][11]

Contents

[edit] Crew

Tina Fey is an executive producer, a writer and lead actress.
Tina Fey is an executive producer, a writer and lead actress.

The season was produced by Broadway Video, Little Stranger and NBC Universal and was aired on NBC in the U.S. The executive producers were creator Tina Fey, Lorne Michaels, Joann Alfano, Marci Klein, David Miner and Robert Carlock with Jack Burditt and John Riggi acting as co-executive producers. Producers for the season were music composer Jeff Richmond, Matt Hubbard and Don Scardino with Diana Schmidt, Margo A. Myers and Irene Burns acting as co-producers.[12]

There were six different directors throughout the season. The staff writers were Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, Matt Hubbard, Jack Burditt and John Riggi, who all wrote, or co-wrote at least two episodes. Jon Pollack, Kay Cannon, Ron Weiner, Tami Sagher, Donald Glover and Andrew Guest acted as guest writers and only wrote, or co-wrote, one episode each. Those who directed more than one episode were Don Scardino, Michael Engler and Beth McCarthy. There were three directors who only directed one episode each throughout the season, they were Richard Shepard, Kevin Rodney Sullivan and Gail Mancuso.

[edit] Cast

Five members of the cast of 30 Rock. From the left, they are: Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan, Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy, Tina Fey as Liz Lemon, Jane Krakowski as Jenna Maroney and Jack McBrayer as Kenneth Parcell
Five members of the cast of 30 Rock. From the left, they are: Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan, Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy, Tina Fey as Liz Lemon, Jane Krakowski as Jenna Maroney and Jack McBrayer as Kenneth Parcell

This season had a cast of ten actors who received star billing. Tina Fey portrayed Liz Lemon, the head writer of a fictitious live sketch comedy television series named TGS with Tracy Jordan (commonly known as just TGS).[13] The TGS cast consists of three actors. They are the loose cannon movie star Tracy Jordan, portrayed by Tracy Morgan[13] and the dense, limelight-craving Jenna Maroney, portrayed by Jane Krakowski[14] as well as the playful Josh Girard, who is also a writer for TGS, portrayed by Lonny Ross.[15] Jack McBrayer played the naïve Southern-born NBC page, Kenneth Parcell.[16] Scott Adsit acted as the witty and wise TGS producer, Pete Hornberger.[17] Judah Friedlander portrayed the wise-cracking, trucker hat wearing, repulsive staff writer Frank Rossitano.[18] Alec Baldwin played the high flying NBC network executive Jack Donaghy.[19] Donaghy's full corporate title for the majority of the season is "Head of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming."[20] Keith Powell played the Harvard University alumni and TGS staff writer James "Toofer" Spurlock.[15] Katrina Bowden acted as the writers assistant Cerie Xerox.[15][21]

The cast also included some recurring characters including Maulik Pancholy as Jonathan, Grizz Chapman as "Grizz" Griswold, Kevin Brown as "Dot Com" Slattery and John Lutz as J.D. Lutz.

[edit] Reception

[edit] Ratings

The season premiere, "SeinfeldVision," garnered 7.33 million American viewers, placing it third in its timeslot of 8:30 pm EST.[22] On December 13, 2007, "Episode 209" aired at 9:00 pm EST and it was viewed by 5.6 million viewers.[23] Upon returning to its 8:30 pm EST timeslot on January 10, 2008, the episode which aired, "Episode 210," caught the attention of 6 million viewers.[24] 30 Rock was moved to 9:30 pm EST on April 24, 2007[6] and began airing after The Office. The season's first airing at 9:30 pm EST garnered 5.52 million viewers.[25] The following week, the lowest rated episode of the season, "Sandwich Day," aired. The episode was viewed by 5.4 million viewers.[26] The season finale, "Cooter," which aired on May 8, 2008, was viewed by 5.6 million viewers.[27]

Various reruns aired throughout the season, outside of 30 Rock's regular timeslot. The first rerun, on Monday November 24, 2007, being of the episode "The Collection." The rerun attracted 3.31 million viewers.[28] The second rerun was of the episode "Rosemary's Baby," on Saturday December 8, 2007. The broadcast was watched by 1.8 million viewers.[29]

The second season averaged 6.4 million viewers for all 15 original episodes.[30][31]

[edit] Episodes

# Series # Episode Title Director Writer(s) Original
airdate		 Prod.
Code
22 1 "SeinfeldVision"  Don Scardino Tina Fey October 4, 2007 201
Jack invents "SeinfeldVision", which digitally inserts Jerry Seinfeld into every NBC show and Jenna returns from hiatus overweight due to her role in Mystic Pizza: The Musical. Tracy's wife Angie Jordan (Sherri Shepherd) kicks him out of the house, prompting Kenneth to become his "office wife". 
23 2 "Jack Gets in the Game"  Michael Engler Robert Carlock October 11, 2007 202
Jack hears that Don Geiss (Rip Torn) may be retiring and competes with Devon Banks (Will Arnett) to be Geiss' successor. Meanwhile, Jenna begins to enjoy the fame of being fat and Kenneth tries to get Tracy and Angie back together. 
24 3 "The Collection"  Don Scardino Matthew Hubbard October 18, 2007 203
Jack hires a private investigator, named Lem (Steve Buscemi), to find any dirt General Electric (GE) might dig up on him. Angie decides that she will be with Tracy every moment to keep him out of trouble and Jenna is upset to find that she has started losing weight. 
25 4 "Rosemary's Baby"  Michael Engler Jack Burditt October 25, 2007 204
Liz meets her childhood idol, comedy writer Rosemary Howard (Carrie Fisher), only to discover that Rosemary is a lonely woman still clinging onto a 1970s mindset. Jack helps Tracy with some unresolved issues in a therapy session and Kenneth is forced to compete in a "page-off" to keep his job. 
26 5 "Greenzo"  Don Scardino Jon Pollack November 8, 2007 205
Jack introduces NBC's environmental mascot, Greenzo (David Schwimmer). Greenzo's eco-friendly preaching gets out of hand around the TGS offices, as well as on The Today Show. Also, Kenneth is planning a house party. Knowing nobody wants to attend Tracy spreads a rumor about the party. Meanwhile, Pete reconnects with his wife Paula (Paula Pell). 
27 6 "Somebody to Love"  Beth McCarthy Tina Fey & Kay Cannon November 15, 2007 207
Jack falls for a Democratic congresswoman named C.C. (Edie Falco) Liz thinks her new neighbor, Raheem (Fred Armisen), is a terrorist. 
28 7 "Cougars"  Michael Engler John Riggi November 29, 2007 206
Liz goes on a date with a 20 year old coffee delivery boy, Jamie (Val Emmich), while Tracy has to coach a little league baseball team. Jack takes a special interest in the team and showers them with gifts. Jack fires Tracy as a coach and replaces him with Kenneth. The players then revolt. 
29 8 "Secrets and Lies"  Michael Engler Ron Weiner December 6, 2007 208
Jack is very reluctant when C.C. wants to go public with their relationship. Meanwhile, Liz tries to keep Jenna and Tracy equally as happy leading Tracy to earn a fake Pacific Rim Emmy Award and Jenna to form an entourage. 
30 9 "Episode 209"  Don Scardino Tami Sagher December 13, 2007 209
It's time for the annual "Ludachristmas" party for the TGS staff. Tracy is upset because he cannot participate in the party due to a court ordered alcohol monitoring bracelet. The Lemon family pay Liz a visits as does Jack's mom (Elaine Stritch) to him. 
31 10 "Episode 210"  Richard Shepard Robert Carlock & Donald Glover January 10, 2008 210
Jack meets a German TV executive who is planning to buy a major cable TV network. Jack gives Liz financial advice which motivates her to invest in some real estate, but she must appear before a co-op board to buy the apartment she wants. Jack and C.C. continue with their long distance relationship. Tracy buys a cappuccino machine for TGS, which he stations at Kenneth's desk; as a result, Kenneth gets addicted to coffee. 
32 11 "MILF Island"  Kevin Rodney Sullivan Tina Fey & Matt Hubbard April 10, 2008 212
A TGS staff member tells The New York Post that Jack is a "Class A Moron" as the reality show he developed during the summer, MILF Island, airs its finale. Jack confines the writers to try to make the person who made the statement confess. 
33 12 "Subway Hero"  Don Scardino Jack Burditt & Robert Carlock April 17, 2008 211
When Dennis Duffy (Dean Winters), Liz's ex-boyfriend, becomes New York's latest local celebrity, Jack books him to appear on TGS. Dennis tries to win Liz back into his life. Meanwhile, Jack wants to find a young, hip Republican celebrity to appear at a John McCain fundraiser. Jack can only secure Bucky Bright (Tim Conway), a TV star from the 1940s and 1950s. When Jack rejects him, he makes a friend in Kenneth, who happens to be a fan. Instead of Bucky, Jack tries to convince Tracy to become the celebrity face of the Republican Party. 
34 13 "Succession"  Gail Mancuso Andrew Guest & John Riggi April 24, 2008 213
Don Geiss names Jack the new GE chairman over Jack's rival, Devon Banks. Jack then names Liz as his successor, as "Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming," because she "always has his back." While Liz attempts to adjust to corporate life, Geiss' health puts Jack's promotion in jeopardy. Meanwhile, Tracy, upset that his son did not invite him to Bring Your Dad to School Day, decides to leave his kids a legacy by creating a pornographic video game. 
35 14 "Sandwich Day"  Don Scardino Robert Carlock & Jack Burditt May 1, 2008 214
Liz's ex-boyfriend Floyd (Jason Sudeikis) contacts Liz looking for a place to stay. Jack gets demoted to the 12th floor while Liz is furious that her sandwich is stolen on TGS's Annual Sandwich Day. 
36 15 "Cooter"  Don Scardino Tina Fey May 8, 2008 215
Jack gets a job in politics. When the job is not what he expected he schemes with another government employee, Cooter (Matthew Broderick), to get fired. Jack also enlists the help of C.C., his ex-girlfriend. Meanwhile, Liz thinks she may be pregnant. Kenneth aspires to be an NBC page at the Beijing Olympics, but Donny Lawson (Paul Scheer), the head page, is not prepared to let that happen. Tracy's invention is nearly complete. 

[edit] References

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
General
Specific
  1. ^ a b NBC Universal Media Village. "30 Rock "SeinfeldVision" 10-04-2007 8:30PM". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
  2. ^ 30 Rock Season 2. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
  3. ^ NBC Universal Media Village. "30 Rock "Secrets and Lies" 12-06-2007 8:30PM". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
  4. ^ NBC Universal Media Village. "30 Rock "Episode 209" 12-13-2007 9:00PM". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
  5. ^ NBC Universal Media VIllage. "30 Rock "Episode 210" 01-10-2008". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
  6. ^ a b NBC Universal Media Village. "30 Rock "Succession" 04-24-2008". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
  7. ^ Cieply, Michael; Barnes, Brooks. "Writers Say Strike to Start Monday", The New York Times, 2007-11-02. Retrieved on 2008-05-25. 
  8. ^ Eller, Claudia; Verrier, Richard. "Hollywood writers strike ends", The Los Angeles Times, 2008-02-13. Retrieved on 2008-05-25. 
  9. ^ Pencils Down Means Pencils Down. Writers Guild of America, West. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
  10. ^ Ausiello, Michael. "UPDATED Strike Chart: How Long Before Your Shows Go Dark?", TV Guide, 2007-11-09. Retrieved on 2008-05-25. 
  11. ^ Ausiello, Michael. "UPDATED! After the Strike: When Your Favorites Will Return!", TV Guide, 2008-02-07. Retrieved on 2008-05-25. 
  12. ^ 30 Rock Thursdays on NBC (8:30-9 p.m. ET). NBC Universal Media Village. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
  13. ^ a b Tina Fey channels SNL on 30 Rock. MSNBC (2006-10-11). Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
  14. ^ NBC Universal Media Village (2007-08-17). "Jane Krakowski joins the cast of new NBC comedy 30 Rock". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  15. ^ a b c 30 Rock; Thursdays on NBC (8:30-9 p.m. ET); Season Premiere: Thursday, October 4. NBC Universal Media Village. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
  16. ^ Porter, Rick. "30 Rock talk with Jane Krakowski and Jack McBrayer", Zap2it, 2007-10-03. Retrieved on 2008-03-24. 
  17. ^ Scott Adsit: Actor, Writer, Improviser. Filmography. Variety. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
  18. ^ Robertson, Lindsay. "Judah Friedlander's Hats on 30 Rock", Comedy Central, 2007-04-13. Retrieved on 2008-03-24. 
  19. ^ Andreeva, Nellie. "Baldwin eyes Fey's NBC pilot", The Hollywood Reporter, 2006-02-17. Retrieved on 2008-03-24. 
  20. ^ "Pilot". Writer(s): Tina Fey; Director: Adam Bernstein. 30 Rock. NBC Universal. NBC. 2006-10-11. No. 1, season 1.
  21. ^ Dos Santos, Kristen (2008-03-04). Exclusive! 30 Rock Scores Will Arnett, Chris Kattan and Mariah Carey (in Our Dreams). E! Online. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
  22. ^ Kissell, Rick (2007-10-07). Friday Night Lights Lights up NBC. Variety. Retrieved on 2008-03-29.
  23. ^ NBC Universal Media Village (2007-12-18). "Deal, Biggest Loser, and Sunday Night Football lead NBC's weeks of Dec. 10-16". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-05-26.
  24. ^ NBC Universal Media Village (2008-01-15). "American Gladiators, Biggest Loser and Law & Order: SVU pace NBC's week of Jan. 7-13". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-05-26.
  25. ^ ABC Medianet (2008-04-29). "I. T. R. S. Ranking Report 01 thru 100 (out of 100 programs) Daypart: Primetime Mon-Sun". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-05-26.
  26. ^ Levine, Stuart. "ABC wins Thursday but dramas dip", Variety, 2008-05-02. Retrieved on 2008-05-26. 
  27. ^ Levine, Stuart. "ABC wins tight Thursday race", Variety, 2008-05-09. Retrieved on 2008-05-09. 
  28. ^ ABC Medianet (2007-11-27). "I. T. R. S. Ranking Report 01 thru 95 (out of 95 programs) Daypart: Primetime Mon-Sun". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-05-26.
  29. ^ NBC Universal Media Village (2007-12-11). "Heroes and Sunday Night Football Power NBC's Week of Dec. 3-9". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-05-26.
  30. ^ ABC Medianet (2008-05-20). "I. T. R. S. Ranking Report 01 thru 220 (out of 220 programs) Daypart: Primetime Mon-Sun". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-05-26.
  31. ^ Hibberd, James. "For the networks, season didn't rate", The Hollywood Reporter, 2008-05-22. Retrieved on 2008-05-26. 
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