TVSquad

(S03E12) "Elisa? I was about to do the whole run to the airport thing, like Ross did on Friends and Liz Lemon did in real life." - Jack

Am I wrong or did something look really weird with Tracy's interview with Larry King? There were a lot of shots of King alone and Tracy alone and only a handful of them together, from odd angles. And it kinda looked like Tracy wasn't even on the same set as King, like they actually did it with special effects, the way they used to have two Patty Dukes on the screen at once. Maybe King and Morgan couldn't film together because they're on different coasts?

Anyway, that's just an observation I had about this episode, which I think was the best of the season so far.

It's great to see the show focus on NBC and TGS again. Sure, a lot of the episode took place outside of the studios (even outside of Manhattan for the Liz/Kenneth storyline), but the writing staff was finally in an episode, and the Jack/Elisa plot had to do with him spending so much time at work with the executives.

There was a really nice balance to this episode, from Liz and Kenneth looking for the cellphone in Queens to Jack trying to find time for love and work to Pete and the gang looking for Tracy's money. The scenes here and there of King interviewing Tracy were spread out just right. I like how what Tracy was saying on TV affected all of the other plots in the episode. 30 Rock does that really well. And tying it up with connecting Tracy's hidden money to Kenneth so Liz could get her phone back ... a very satisfying conclusion. Though I wonder why the cabbie didn't ask for more than $2000 after seeing all that cash.

Goodbye to Elisa for now. Salma Hayek was fine, but I like having Jack single and getting involved in Liz's life. As for Liz's life, there was no Jon Hamm this week, though it's great they mentioned his character and that he and Liz are still going out (and doing it - twice!). Having some gaps where Hamm isn't on is a good idea, instead of just having Liz's boyfriend come and go in three quick episodes in a row.

Some quotable goodness:

"Look at this guy ... he used to be a man once." - Jack, about a man with a baby and stuffed animals

"She keeps confusing me with this ridiculous notion that sex and love are somehow connected." - Jack

"I cursed for three hours straight just to get it out of my system." - Tracy, prepping for Larry King Live

"I'm new to this country. Is that a real day?" - cab driver, after Liz said she'd bring the money on "Opposites Day"

"We're Jack and Elisa ... Jalisa!" - Jack

"You're not coming in at all? What about Jaconathan?" - Jonathan

"We're here with Tracy Jordan, who just recounted, by the way, the entire plot of the movie Teen Wolf." - Larry King

"Tracy Jordan ... saying three serious things and then a joke." - Larry King

"I was supposed to be in the movie Rush Hour but two weeks into shooting I was replaced by Jackie Chan." - Tracy

"Everything's gone coco for cuckoo poops ... is that right?" - Elisa

"Oh, was it "The Day Is Done My Sweet For The Lambs Have Been Decapitated?" - Kenneth, about Liz's childhood song

"I watched an American Masters last night about Baryshnikov ... I picked up a few things." - Jack

"That's "99 Red Balloons," Nena's famous anti-balloon protest song." - Kenneth

"I can't handle the truth!" - Kenneth

"Adult? You mean like you're driving a car and wearing a suit?" - Kenneth, about Liz's adult pic

"I only kept it because for once they were both pointing in the same direction." - Liz, about her boobies pic

"What about his manstress?" - Jack, asking Jonathan if he called Don Geiss' mistress

"It smells like dude in here." - Elisa

"If you've just joined us, we're with Tracy Jordan, who is giving guitar icon Peter Frampton enigmatic clues about a secret treasure. Stay with us." - Larry King

"Oh yes! I keep a VCR so I can watch your old football tapes." - Jonathan

"If you're watching this, you are an executive of the General Electric Corporation, and the unthinkable has happened. Capitalism is ending, either because of the Soviets or something ridiculous, like a woman President. I'm speaking to you from the year 1987, but the message is timeless: Avoid The Noid!" - Don Geiss