TVSquad

(S03E17) "Top front? Good lord, Lemon, that's your worst quadrant." - Jack, to Liz about what she gave the night before

Well, obviously, what we can learn from this episode of 30 Rock is that sexual favors can probably help save the economy. That's probably something that Suze Orman and Dave Ramsay haven't thought of yet. It seemed to work at NBC, though. It's probably not the most moral solution, but it works in our little TV world.

But I'm worried that we've lost a very funny supporting character tonight.

I'm going to assume that the firing of Jonathan (Maulik Pancholy) is just a one-episode thing. Kenneth replaced him as Jack's assistant but was fired from that position at the end of the episode and made a page again (loved Kenneth knowing that somehow free Showtime would be important to Jack and his sweeping of the hand in front of his face to change from page to assistant). But Jack didn't say anything about getting Jonathan back again. I hope we're not going to see an endless supply of assistants a la Murphy Brown until Jonathan comes back later in the season or next season.

This was a funny episode ... but. And I'll explain that "but." I don't like what Liz did in this episode. I think the best episodes of 30 Rock have Liz as the level-headed one (at least compared to the rest of the TGS gang - her love life is often a mess), and now she's actually sleeping with some guy from a consulting firm to save her the jobs of the people under her? Hey, I admire her loyalty to her team, but I think it tilted too far over the line into the red zone of creepy.

And the subplot of Tracy and Jenna (together yet again in a subplot) thinking that Kenneth is a murderer because of a wacky series of misunderstandings and assumptions? Eh. We've seen that in every other sitcom since 1989. Still, I like the episodes that focus on NBC/TGS and the goings-on at the network level, so this still delivered. And by "delivered" I mean it was really funny, as usual. Plus it's not many episodes you see Tina Fey impersonating Steve Jobs.

I really love the looks that Jack and Liz give each other when they know everything is going to work out. That happened tonight when Jack was put in charge of the budget after what happened to the consultant. That's really a nice, human touch they have running throughout this show that I hope never stops.

Some quotes:

"That's 50 hours of comedy, over 300 sketches, one unsolved crew death, and an Emmy ... Magazine cover story. - Liz

"Enjoy your decorative air holders, you deserved them." - Jack

"The days of your wild coke parties are over." - Jack
"Well, if by coke you mean soda..." - Liz
"I do." - Jack

"No, Trix, the cereal, in my sleeve...sticking to the fibers." - Liz, telling Jack she has tricks up her sleeve

"I put on a live hour show every week - unless there's wrestling. I'm on it." - Liz

"Yes, the rest of us talked about it last night at Finnegan's, the bar we go to after work. In my dreams." - Kenneth

"You'll do fine as long as you follow my Three Ds: Discretion, Docility, and Don't Use My Bathroom." - Jack, to Kenneth

"I feel like I'm in The Pelican Brief. Do I know too much?" - Kenneth

"We're in final negotiations to provide exclusive content to America's jails." - Liz

"Yeah, like Julia and Denzel in that movie, The Pelican Brief." - Tracy, on being heroes

"I want to keep making prank phone calls to people like Seattle's Richard Sackmuncher." - Liz

"It's TRRRGIISSS, with Tracky John John and Jimmy Mole." - TGS announcer Sid, who lost the ability to speak correctly after getting hit by lightning

"Sometimes sexual bartering works. Salome, Mata Hari, Deborah Norville." - Jack

"Do something Liz, you're our only hope." - yet another Star Wars reference

"...................................yes." - Kenneth, after Jack told him to think before he speaks

"I had to study serial killers to prepare for my role as criminal profiler Jill St. Ferrari in the Lifetime original miniseries Hushed Rapings." - Jenna

"Oh no, Kenneth's a killer, and the Riddler is coming!" - Tracy, after seeing Kenneth's bug bomb

"We're not behind the times. We're groovy!" - boombox division exec, to Jack

"I'm sorry to use my barn voice, but I'm riled up!" - Kenneth, to Jenna and Tracy

"Your writer's room is now the headquarters for Telemundo's coverage of World Cup soccer qualifying." - Jack, to Liz

"In the human resource world, we call that 'being a dirty prostitute.' " - human resources guy, to Liz

"You know how you told Tracy not to go into your bedroom? Well, naturally, we assumed you were a serial killer, and as you can imagine, your bird is dead." - Jenna, to Kenneth

"It is now." - Jack, to Kenneth, after he asked if he had interrupted another firing meeting

"Pat...Balthazar...Donna...Lorne...Michael." - Kenneth, naming his new birds

"Why is everyone talking about that movie?" - Jack, about The Pelican Brief