The Fighting Irish is one of those adorable Jack-centric episodes of 30 Rock, which let Alec Baldwin do whatever the hell he wants with his character and get away with it superbly. And if you thought one Donaghy was funny, just wait and see.
Things heat up in the workplace when Jack tells Liz she has to fire 10% of her staff, although she does kind of enjoy that sort of power when it turns out Liz Lemler, whose boyfriend she has a crush on, is eligible for sacking. Pete is in trouble with his wife because he lied to her about getting a vasectomy, and now the plan appears to have backfired (awesome). Tracy has been advised to find a religion before his next lawsuit, and considers becoming Irish Catholic after a "heartfelt" discussion with Eddie Donaghy (Nathan Lane), Jack's brother, who has shown up to report the news of their father's recent death. Turns out Eddie is broke and might be exploiting the grief to get some cash out of Jack.
All plot strands are hilarious, as always, but for sheer vitality and cruel irony the crown goes to Baldwin and Lane's double act (later joined by former SNL star Molly Shannon and other as the rest of the Donaghys), which gives a lot of new meanings to the concept of "brotherly love". And if there has to be a contest between the two, then the absolute winner is Baldwin. Why? Just check out the episode's conclusion - Jack's the man.
Things heat up in the workplace when Jack tells Liz she has to fire 10% of her staff, although she does kind of enjoy that sort of power when it turns out Liz Lemler, whose boyfriend she has a crush on, is eligible for sacking. Pete is in trouble with his wife because he lied to her about getting a vasectomy, and now the plan appears to have backfired (awesome). Tracy has been advised to find a religion before his next lawsuit, and considers becoming Irish Catholic after a "heartfelt" discussion with Eddie Donaghy (Nathan Lane), Jack's brother, who has shown up to report the news of their father's recent death. Turns out Eddie is broke and might be exploiting the grief to get some cash out of Jack.
All plot strands are hilarious, as always, but for sheer vitality and cruel irony the crown goes to Baldwin and Lane's double act (later joined by former SNL star Molly Shannon and other as the rest of the Donaghys), which gives a lot of new meanings to the concept of "brotherly love". And if there has to be a contest between the two, then the absolute winner is Baldwin. Why? Just check out the episode's conclusion - Jack's the man.