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Ever since HBO and Showtime first appeared, part of the controversy surrounding their shows has been linked to the free use of the C-word (most notably in The Sopranos and Deadwood), with some funny variations in Entourage and Weeds. Like all other major profanities, that word is strictly banned from public television, unless it's bleeped out or something. That "something" is what constitutes the charm of the fourteenth episode of 30 Rock.Reportedly based on an incident that occurred while Tina Fey was head writer of SNL, the script focuses on her attempt to be a nicer boss after pressure from deadlines made her take it out on her staff and she heard compulsive eater Lutz refer to her as a... that word. Torn between her wish to fire him and her eagerness to please the others, she gives way to a succession of hilarious happenings. In the meantime, Jack invites Tracy to join him in a golf tournament, since GE president Don Geiss (Rip Torn) will be there as well and the old man's grandchildren happen to love good old TJ. The set-up escalates when Tracy feels like a token and starts playing the stereotyped "African-American slave".Guest star-wise, The C Word brings Rachel Dratch's lovely Greta the Cat Lady back to the show, and it also marks Torn's first appearance, a welcome return to form after a decade or so of largely uninteresting roles (the demented coach in Dodgeball notwithstanding, his last really funny performance was in the first Men in Black). The real point of interest, however, is, as revealed by the title, the main plot line, an opportunity for Fey to toy with a major taboo in an inventive, rather harmless, but still quite audacious way (even Arrested Development refrained from inserting that word in the censored dialogue). And yet, the smartest line doesn't come from her, but from Scott Adsit, who contributes to the show's self-mocking style with the Seinfeld-like remark: "Oh Kenneth, if you're worried about disgracing the National Broadcasting Company, you're too late". Damn right: Larry David took care of that in 1992.
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