Jack the Writer (1 Nov. 2006)

Jack joins the writing staff during a meeting as an observer. He joins the group day after day and gets more and more involved in their work. The group gets annoyed by his weird, not so ... See full summary »

Director:

Gail Mancuso

Writers:

Tina Fey (creator), Robert Carlock

Stars:

Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Tina Fey	...	Liz Lemon
Tracy Morgan	...	Tracy Jordan
Jane Krakowski	...	Jenna Maroney (credit only)
Jack McBrayer	...	Kenneth Parcell
Scott Adsit	...	Pete Hornberger
Judah Friedlander	...	Frank Rossitano
Alec Baldwin	...	Jack Donaghy
Keith Powell	...	Toofer
Maulik Pancholy	...	Jonathan
Katrina Bowden	...	Cerie
Tom Broecker	...	Lee
James Anderson	...	James Anderson
John Lutz	...	J.D. Lutz
Sharon Wilkins	...	Angie Jordan

Storyline

Jack joins the writing staff during a meeting as an observer. He joins the group day after day and gets more and more involved in their work. The group gets annoyed by his weird, not so funny ideas and wants him to stop attending the meetings. It is up to Liz to tell Jack that he is no longer welcome at the meetings. After she does, Jack is more than just angry at her. Liz also has to deal with Cerie and the way she dresses, which distracts the male workers from their work. After Kenneth gets nachos for him from Yankee stadium, Tracy uses Kenneth for other "missions".

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Plot Keywords:

sitcom | six sigma | character name in title

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 November 2006 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Silvercup Studios - 4222 22nd Street, Long Island City, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Broadway Video, Little Stranger, NBC Universal Television

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Frank's three trucker hats read "Ninja Expert," "Arcade Champ," and "Bigfoot Expert."

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Quotes

Tracy Jordan: But I want you to know something... You and me, it's not gonna be a one-way street. Cos I dont believe in one-way streets. Not between people, and not while I'm driving.
Kenneth: Oh, okay.
Tracy Jordan: So here's some advice I wish I would have got when I was your age... Live every week, like it's shark week.

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Connections

References Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

User Reviews

"Beep, beep, ribby, ribby!"

Jack the Writer sets another high standard for 30 Rock, by giving Alec Baldwin more juicy material to chew on and laying the path for hilarious interactions between other characters.

At first, the main problem appears to be nothing but the way Cerie (Katrina Bowden), Liz's young secretary, dresses at work, which results in most of the writing staff - Frank ahead of everyone else - being continuously distracted. Just as Liz thought everything was all right again, Jack starts showing up at every writers' meeting in order to better understand his employees and comes up with (weak) ideas for sketches, leading to a huge shortage of good material for TGS. Finally, the brilliant master/slave relationship between Tracy and Kenneth makes its debut here, as the naive page is ruthlessly exploited by the prickly movie star.

Aside from the limelight being temporarily granted to the good-looking Bowden (never a bad choice), the main pleasure of Jack the Writer is once again the flow of quotable dialogue. Best lines: Tracy's attitude towards life ("live every week like it's a shark week!"), his advice for maintaining your marriage solid ("Work that va-jay-jay!"), and, most of all, the dreadful catchphrase Jack insists someone write a skit around: "Beep beep, ribby ribby!". How could anyone doubt the show's status as one of the funniest things on American TV?