Succession (30 Rock)

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“Succession”
30 Rock episode

Cathy Geiss, the new chairwoman of General Electric.
Episode no. Season 2
Episode 13
Written by Andrew Guest
John Riggi
Directed by Gail Mancuso
Guest stars Will Arnett
Marceline Hugot
Chris Parnell
Brian Stack
Tom Toner
Rip Torn
Production no. 213
Original airdate April 24, 2008 (2008-04-24)
Episode chronology
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30 Rock (season 2)
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"Succession" is the thirteenth episode of the second season of 30 Rock and thirty-fourth episode of the series. It was written by Andrew Guest and John Riggi and was directed by Gail Mancuso. It aired on April 24, 2008 on NBC. The episode is about Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) and his rival Devon Banks (Will Arnett) struggling to take over General Electric.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Jack meets with retiring corporate head Don Geiss (Rip Torn) who discloses that he has chosen Jack over his soon-to-be son-in-law Devon to run the company. Jack is overjoyed and chooses Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) to replace himself as Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming. Liz accepts when she learns of the higher salary, and tells her staff "Suck it monkeys, I'm going corporate." Meanwhile, Devon returns with intent to sabotage Jack, but Liz attempts to make Devon look bad by forcibly making out with him in front of a security camera.

At this time, Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) begins to feel he is an embarrassment to his son. Hoping to make his family proud, Tracy searches for a legacy and decides to produce the world's first pornographic video game. Despite Frank's skepticism, Tracy has some success in designing the game. This develops into a spoof of Amadeus.

A depressed Devon becomes resigned to the fact that Jack will receive the promotion. However, Don Geiss goes into a diabetic coma, despite the efforts of Dr. Spaceman (Chris Parnell), before he can announce his decision. Devon denies knowing that Geiss had chosen Jack as his successor. The next day, Devon appears in Jack's office, revealing he has convinced the board to put Cathy Geiss, his fiancée, in charge, with Devon acting as the power behind the throne. He then kicks Jack out of his office.

[edit] Reception

The episode received some positive feedback from critics. Bob Sassone of AOL's TV Squad compared "Succession" to a soap opera and said it was "a great episode" with "a lot of great lines," and he hoped the pornographic video game storyline would be continued.[1]

Robert Canning of IGN complimented Devon's appearances on 30 Rock, including in "Succession," and felt that "Succession" would be the first episode in a new story arc, which was a good thing. He gave the episode an 8 out of 10. [2]

Alan Sepinwell of The Star-Ledger generally praised "Succession" but took issue with a few aspects of the episode and its airing. He felt that it was "fabulous" and "showcased" Tina Fey as an actress. Sepinwell also felt that "Succesion" included an "inspired riff on Amadeus" and compared Tracy and Frank when they were working on a pornographic video game to Amadeus and Salieri. Less positively, he commented on the "one-note-ness of Will Arnett as Devin Banks" and didn't like the "Baby Mama" ad that was displayed on screen during "mozart montage." The ad made Sepinwell want to "to drive to NBC/Universal corporate headquarters and start slapping everyone there out of existence."[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sassone, Bob (2008-04-25). 30 Rock: "Succession" - VIDEO. AOL's TV Squad. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
  2. ^ Canning, Robert (2008-04-25). 30 Rock: "Succession" Review. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
  3. ^ Sepinwell, Alan (April 25, 2008). 30 Rock, "Succession": Too many notes. NJ.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-02.

[edit] External links

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