30 Rock/Heartwarming
< 30 Rock
- The friendship that develops between Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy provides a number of these. One of the best is in the second season finale, when Jack, in D.C. working for the Bush administration, is left a number of voicemails by Lemon stressing out over a pregnancy scare. After he listens to them, he shows up at her door, tells her, "I'm sorry you had to go through this alone," and offers to help her begin the adoption process. All this from two characters who kind of hated each other at first sight.
- A more recent one was the season four Valentine's Day episode that had Liz scheduling a root canal for V-Day, because she didn't need a man in her life. Except the dentist's office requires someone to drive Liz home since she's going to be on anesthesia (and she does exhibit some fun side effects, including cuddling the office plants and mistaking the dental assistants for her three ex-boyfriends). They call her emergency contact - Jack, who has been attempting to romance a political pundit who won't take him seriously - and he immediately drops everything to come pick Liz up and take her home.
- The scene where Jack, who is trying to prove to Kenneth that no one is really moral when tested, gets a bunch of people to rig the elevator to break down and play a trick on him, saying that there's only enough oxygen in the elevator for eight people to survive and since there's nine in the elevator, one person has to die (and mentions there's a gun conveniently located in the phonebox). The fact that Kenneth is gullible enough to believe him is a Crowning Moment of Funny. The fact that he doesn't hesitate for a second before grabbing the gun and trying to shoot himself in the head to save Jack and the others is the Crowning Moment of Heartwarming. Jack, it should be noted, is completely shaken by this display.
- Believe it or not, Kenneth's drunken rant at the end of season 4.
Kenneth: "I'll see YOU ALL IN HEAVEN!" |
- Kenneth's naivete and Pollyanna personality are often played for laughs, but there are times when his idealism and good nature becomes genuinely heartwarming.
Kenneth [speaking about a rival he's known for a few days]: He's my best friend! Tied with everyone else I've ever met!" |
- Jack and Liz are renegotiating contracts, and Jack realizes that he loses out on the deal because he cares too much about Liz. He uses this to his advantage to prove he could still beat her, but signs the favorable contract anyway.
Jack [offhand]: I still want you to have everything. |
- Jack Donaghy finally gets his job back at the beginning of Season 3, and Liz is on her way out the door of his office when she stops and looks behind. When Jack asks her what's wrong, she replies "nothing, I just like seeing you in there."
- Liz ends up showing sincere concern for and friendship to Jack as the show goes along, and some moments can make one feel a little fuzzy inside - though it's not long before the snark snaps you out of it.
- Liz deciding in "It's Never Too Late for Now" that the enormous office conspiracy to get Liz a one-night stand means everyone knows her extremely well and really cares about her happiness.
- The Season 5 Christmas Episode, especially at the end when Jack deliberately annoys his parents just to have them yell at him - like a normal family. His contented smile says it all.
- Followed by a genuinely sweet sequence in which Paul and Jenna sing a Christmas carol while Liz returns to her family.
- The Season 4 Christmas Episode when Danny deliberately sings off-key just to please Jenna during their duet.
- Jack's reaction to his phone messages from Liz during the Season 2 finale and then traveling all the way from Washington D.C. to her apartment in New York in the middle of the night after realizing she needed a friend to talk with.
- What does Don Geiss tell his employees to do in the event of a financial meltdown in "Larry King"? "We've all worked hard, but now it's over. There's only one thing for you to do... go to your loved ones. Hold them close; because, in the end, and if you're watching this, it is the end, love is all that matters."
- At the end of Season 6, Liz tells Jack (usually a ceaseless fountain of unsolicited advice) that she's finally ready to have a child of her own, but Jack, humbled by the failure of his second marriage, does not feel qualified to mentor her, instead just telling her that she'll be a great mother. But Liz asks for his advice anyway, in an honest display of admiration and friendship, and Jack, in an equal display of friendship, obliges. Awww....
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