| "Plan B" | |||
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| 30 Rock episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 18 |
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| Directed by | Jeff Richmond | ||
| Written by | Josh Siegal & Dylan Morgan | ||
| Production code | 518 | ||
| Original air date | March 25, 2011 | ||
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| 30 Rock (season 5) List of 30 Rock episodes |
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"Plan B" is the eighteenth episode of the fifth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 98th overall episode of the series. It was directed by the show's composer and producer (and Tina Fey's husband) Jeff Richmond, and written by Josh Siegal & Dylan Morgan. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) network in the United States on March 24, 2011. Guest stars include Ken Howard, Aaron Sorkin and Will Arnett.
In the episode, Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) discovers that without Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), NBC is putting TGS on a forced hiatus. However, when she passes on the news to the cast and crew, they all assume that the show will be cancelled and turn to their backup plans, leading Liz to wonder about her own. Meanwhile, Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) is forced to hire his nemesis Devon Banks in order to turn around his disastrous acquisition of TWINKS, a network for gay men.
According to Nielsen Media Research, "Plan B" was watched by 4.359 million viewers during its original broadcast and received a 1.9 rating/5 share among adults aged 18–49.
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Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) calls Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) to his office to inform her that, whilst its primary star Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) is in Africa, The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan (TGS) will have be to placed on a forced hiatus. Initially, Liz herself is optimistic and believes that Jack will be doing all that he can to save the show. However, when her cast and crew hear the news, they quickly scramble to find other employment. Concerned, Liz decides to contact her agent, Simon (Josh Fadem) to see if he can get her any other work.
Jack gets Liz an interview with Nick Lachey as a writer for The Sing-Off, where she meets Aaron Sorkin, who, in a walk and talk sequence, advises her that writing is a dying art and then proceeds to suck up to Lachey himself. Ultimately, Liz is unsuccessful in getting the job, and is therefore relegated to trying to save TGS, which even Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer) has lost all hope of rescuing.
Meanwhile, Jack Donaghy has recently acquired a television network for gay men (TWINKS) and it has turned out to be a disastrous ratings failure. Kabletown boss Hank Hooper (Ken Howard) is unhappy with the failure and takes Jack out for dinner to warn him that unless he knows where to find a gay version of himself, he should drop the network altogether. At that point, Jack realizes that there is a gay version of himself, and calls upon his nemesis Devon Banks for help. As it turns out, Banks has fallen from grace with the high society and is living in Brooklyn with his partner and three "gaybies".
Eventually, Liz's attempts to save TGS are met with a glimmer of hope when Kenneth informs her that when he talks to Tracy on webcam, he sometimes orders pizza from the same restaurant as she does, which leads her to the realisation that he's still in New York City. Jack's own plan backfires enormously when Devon Banks brings one of his "gaybies" to work and Hank Hooper, a family man himself, takes a liking to him and promotes him. However, Devon has an epiphany and realises that he loves his children too much to leave them every day, so he turns down Hooper's offer. Whilst victorious, Jack realizes that he hasn't been spending enough time with his own baby daughter, Liddy.
According to the Nielsen Media Research, this episode of 30 Rock was watched by 4.359 million households in its original American broadcast.[1] It earned a 1.9 rating/5 share in the 18–49 demographic. This means that it was seen by 1.9 percent of all 18–49 years olds, and 5 percent of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. The figure was an improvement on the previous episode, Queen of Jordan, which was seen by 4.192 million households.[2]
Daemon's TV critic Ciara Moyna spoke very positively about the episode, commenting that "30 Rock is far more effective when it is satirizing social issues rather than just shooting out punchline after punchline".[3] Caitlan Smith of The Atlantic particularly praised the appearance of Aaron Sorkin, calling it "one of the most unexpected and excellent cameos this year".[4] Dan Forcella of TVFanatic also praised Sorkin's appearance, as well as that of Ken Howard, whom he described as "a joy to watch on screen". However, he criticised the primary storyline, commenting that "Liz acting frantic is never really that funny".[5]
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