30 Rock: Difference between revisions

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The series follows the life of the [[Hollywood Homely|supposedly homely]] [[Hollywood Nerd]] Liz Lemon ([[Tina Fey]] [[Author Avatar|more-or-less playing herself]]), who is head writer of a fictional [[Show Within a Show]] based on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''. "30 Rock" [[The Place|refers to a nickname of 30 Rockefeller Plaza]], the address of NBC's New York headquarters where ''SNL'' is filmed, [[Captain Obvious|which is where the series takes place]].

* Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) - This guy may have started off as a [[Pointy-Haired Boss|Pointy Haired]] [[Bait and Switch Tyrant|Tyrant]] fond of [[Executive Meddling]], and while he may have become [[Character Development|more obviously human over time]], he's also become a true [[Magnificent Bastard]]. Don't cross him.

* Tracy Jordan ([[The Danza|Tracy Morgan]]) - Has a [[Small Name, Big Ego|Big Name and an Even Bigger Ego]]. Tracy seems to [[Cloudcuckoolander|live in his own world]] of stabbing robots and vampire golfers. He has [[Ultimate Job Security]] due to his celebrity status.

* Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit) - Implied to be a [[Jaded Washout]] with his mostly unseen family, at work he's the [[Only Sane Man]] and/or [[The Generic Guy]].

* Kenneth Ellen Parcell (Jack McBrayer) - [[The Ditz|Dim-witted]] [[The Pollyanna|Pollyanna]] from the [[Deep South]], he's quickly become a [[Breakout Character]] and often acts as a [[Morality Pet]] for the other characters. His age is [[Vague Age|not]] [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|disclosed]].

'''Tracy:''' That one's a puzzler.}}

*** Jonathan, [[If It's You It's Okay|if only for Jack]], not really that ambiguous, he seems to have combined hero worship and love.

'''Jonathan''': But I can't do that, sir! Then you wouldn't be perfect anymore!}}

* [[And Knowing Is Half the Battle]]. Tracy's public service message about the importance of Japanese sex dolls.

* [[Anguished Declaration of Love]]: Liz gives one to her boyfriend in "St. Patrick's Day", to which he responds, "I know."

{{quote|'''Liz''': [[The Empire Strikes Back|You Soloed me!]]}}

* [[Anything That Moves]]/[[Hermaphrodite]]: Jenna claims that her boyfriend Paul is a "gender-dysmorphic bigenitalian pansexualle".

* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]:

* [[The Artifact]]:

** The initial concept was to have ''TGS with Tracy Jordan'' sketches figure more prominently. This was abandoned early in the first season, and the ''TGS'' sketches became 2-second cutaway jokes about [[Stylistic Suck|how terrible they were]], leaving characters such as Josh (''especially'' Josh) little to do.

*** Pete has become this [[Genre Savvy]] [[Chew Toy]].

* [[Artifact Title]]: An in-show version. The TV show Liz writes for was originally called ''The Girlie Show'', meant to be a sketch-comedy show "by women, for women." Jack ended that in the pilot episode, adding Tracy to the cast and giving him top billing in ''TGS With Tracy Jordan''. Liz still has the original "Girlie Show" logo hanging in her office.

* [[Bald of Awesome]]: Pete.

* [[Ballad of X]]: Season 6 episode "The Ballad of Kenneth Parcell".

** In an early episode, Liz says that "If you're a gay guy looking for a beard, I don't do that [[Oh, No, Not Again|anymore]]."

* [[Bedsheet Ghost]]: In "The Return of Avery Jessup", Jack throws Avery a party combining all the holidays she missed, including Halloween, and New York City Mayor Bloomberg wears this as his costume.

{{quote|"Ahora con más semen de toro!"}}

** A Japanese man is shown singing a Japanese version of "I've Been Working on the Railroad" at a karaoke bar in Season 4. What he sings and what the prompt says are ''totally'' different, but they are both about railroads. What Jenna is doing on the screen is completely unrelated (from cavorting with a man in a field to strangling an old Japanese man, and so on).

* [[Bi the Way]]: Sue (although the instances of this that we have seen may all have been [[If It's You It's Okay]] and/or [[Funny Foreigner]]).

** Sue is also often shown to have a strong element of [[Lovable Sex Maniac]] being the only female running to download more porn in anticipation of a lack of Internet access and offering to have sex with cannibals as her skill [[After the End]].

{{quote|"What lovely nostrils!"}}

** She also revealed she is a virgin... with white men.

* [[Black Best Friend]]: After being repeatedly antagonized by Tracy for only granting freedom to white male land-owners, an actor playing John Hancock on Boston's Freedom Trail tries to pass off an actor playing Crispus Attics as this, though Tracy points out that Attics died six years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

* [[Black Like Me]]: Parodied: in one episode, Jenna and Tracy get into an argument whether it's harder to be black or be a woman. Let's just say the end results were less than [[White Chicks|convincing]].

** Throwaway gags about Jack dating Condoleeza Rice were redeemed in the fifth season when she played herself as Jack's PO'd ex.

** Buzz Aldrin was Liz's mother's old boyfriend

* [[Camp Gay]]: ''All'' of the openly gay characters, especially Randy Lemon and, of course, Devon Banks.

* [[Canada, Eh?]]: New castmember Danny is from Canada, and the show goofs on Canadian stereotypes.

** In "Double-Edged Sword", Jack and Avery are horrified at the prospect their baby might be born in Canada.

* [[Captain Oblivious]]

* [[The Cast Showoff]]: The writers never miss an opportunity to put Jane Krakowski's singing abilities on display.

* [[Catapult Nightmare]]/[[Dream Within a Dream]]: Tracy and Pete both have sex dreams about Kenneth in "Floyd".

{{quote|Jack: That suggestion was ''off the charts, kemosabe!''}}

* [[Celebrity Paradox]]:

** There are constant references to ''[[Friends]]'', usually accompanied by mentions of its infamous Ross and Rachel storyline. Yet nobody recognized Greenzo or Liz's old college friend as David Schwimmer or Jennifer Aniston.

* [[Chekhov's Skill]]:

** Josh's impressions of both Tracy and Jack solves their problems of talking to their loved ones over the phone.

* [[Chew Toy]]: The entire cast. However, Pete gets the most abuse, even more than Lutz.

* [[Chivalrous Pervert]]: Tracy, surprisingly. Despite being a pornography savant with a dedicated chair in every strip club in town, a tell-all book about Tracy reveals that he's never been unfaithful to his wife, whom he loves dearly.

* [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome]]:

{{quote|I just want to wake up, look over, and see my husband asleep. On the neighbor's roof.}}

** In Season 5, Jenna, Kenneth and Kelsey Grammer formed "The Best Friends Gang". The next season, Kelsey mentions the Gang with Jenna.

* [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]]: Jack, though classist and greedy, is arguably the most sympathetic character on the show, and undoubtedly a good human being.

* [[Country Matters]]: An episode titled "The C Word" centered around... you know.

* [[Credits Gag]]: In "Subway Hero", the [[Stanley Cup]] briefly appears. Come the closing credits:

{{quote|''And Introducing '''Lord Stanley Cup''' as Himself''.}}

* [[Crowd Song]]: [[No Title|"Episode 210"]] ends with a memorable cast rendition of "Midnight Train to Georgia".

* [[Cultural Posturing]]: Jack can't take a company seriously if they're from Philadelphia, which causes Liz Lemon (from White Haven, PA) to stand up and defend it. Jack responds by defending Boston and they square off until the [[Los Angeles]] branch tries to interrupt, only for everyone to pile on ''them.''

{{quote|'''Cooter:''' I feel weird.

'''Jack:''' ''(hungrily)'' Let's do this.}}

{{quote|'''Sideways!Jack:''' What the hell is a Pwomp?

'''Normal!Jack:''' It's when two fat people- }}

{{quote|'''Jenna:''' Still alive not yet 32! [[Worth It]]! Sorry, Jack.}}

* [[Decapitation Presentation]]: "Stone Mountain". Well, it's a dummy's head.

* [[Demoted to Extra]]: Poor Josh Girard, from Jenna's male co-star in Season 1 to largely anonymous staff writer. Got [[Put on a Bus]] in Season 4.

* [[Department of Redundancy Department]]: "New blood is the lifeblood of every company's blood."

** Abby Flynn in one episode. {{spoiler|Subverted in that it was all an act to disguise herself from her psychotic ex-husband, who saw ''[[Sleeping with the Enemy]]'' and ''[[Se7en]]'' while being electrocuted}}.

* [[The Determinator]]: Jack Donaghy's freakish willpower. Includes growing an inch and a half and defeating a peanut allergy.

* [[Do-It-Yourself Theme Tune]]: During the live show, Jane Krakowski (East Coast) and Cheyenne Jackson (West Coast) sang along to the theme.

* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]: Once in a while the show pulls off enormous conceits, like using coaching a Little League team to comment on the war in Iraq or Liz acting like she's courting a man as she attempts to buy an apartment.

* [[Double Standard]]: "Women are allowed to get angrier over the double standard than men are!"

* [[Drinking Contest]]: "Sandwich Day".

'''Jenna:''' You know, there hasn't actually been a ''white'' princess since 1991.

'''Pete:''' [[The Princess and the Frog|Tiana]], [[Mulan]], [[Pocahontas]], [[Aladdin (Disney film)|Jasmine]]... Wow, she's right!}}

{{quote|'''Jaden:''' [[Sanity Slippage|Would a crazy person laugh like this?]] Hoo-hoo-haha-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!}}

* [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]]: Tracy's movie ''Hard to Watch'', which reduces everyone to tears.

'''Liz:''' Okay, ''Jeffrey''...}}

* [[Fake Charity]]: Jack's conman brother takes a collection for "Chicago All-Saints Hospital" (C.A.S.H.).

'''Jenna:''' Sometimes I was like this [shakes head no], but other times I was like this [gives thumbs up].}}

* [[Fate Drives Us Together]]: The only reason Wesley Snipes (not [[Name's the Same|that]] one) made any appearances after his first.

* [[Friends Rent Control]]: Averted--Liz's apartment is pretty nice, but quite modestly sized by the standards of anywhere in America but Manhattan. It ''is'' in Manhattan, and she ''is'' a network TV executive. In the DVD commentary for "Black Tie", Tina Fey points out how ludicrously expensive Liz's apartment would be. Then again, the high rent might explain why Liz makes [[Show Runner]] money and yet her only assets are $12,000 in checking and a gas giant named in her honor.

* [[Full-Name Basis]]: Tracy to Liz.

** Jack's swindler brother Eddie convinces everyone to make out checks to Chicago All Saints Hospital.

** LUNCH: [[LEGO]] Utilization for Negating Crisis Hierarchies.

** Jack belonged to a secret society called "The Twig and Plums".

** Jenna's transvestite boyfriend (and Jenna impersonator) Paul works at Tuck Wang's Noodle Bar.

{{quote|'''Kenneth:''' I was technically dead for five minutes, but I'm all right. Though I think I brought something back with me. ''(exhales a cloud of condensation)''}}

* [[Gilligan Cut]]: Lampshaded by Pete when Tracy insists that he couldn't possibly get in trouble while going on a historical walking tour.

* [[Gratuitous German]]: Many characters on several occasions. Ranges from good (with an accent) by Liz & Kenneth to [[As Long as It Sounds Foreign]] with Jack. One episode spoils a major plot point if you understand German.

* [[Gross Up Close-Up]]: "NO! NO HI DEF!"

** Even among Alec Baldwin characters, Jack stands out.

{{quote|"If this turns into a showdown, you guys can settle it with a '''''talking-like-this contest'''''."}}

* [[Half-Hour Comedy]]

* [[Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?]]: Lutz does this. A ''lot''. No one is fooled.

* [[The Mirror Shows Your True Self|The HDTV Shows Your True Self]]: Liz is a hag, Pete resembles Larry David, Kenneth is a Muppet, and Jack is [[The Hunt for Red October|Jack Ryan]].

{{quote|'''Liz:''' Randy, this is James Franco, and... friend.

'''James Franco:''' Randy. ''(Kimiko's head bows)''

{{quote|'''Dot Com:''' As soon as I'm vested, I'm outta here.}}

** Cerie also counts, knowing the exact speed of Light and appearing to be saner than some of the TGS Staff

* [[Hilariously Abusive Childhood]]:

** Tracy in "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land":

{{quote|'''Tracy:''' It's all coming back to me. Oh my God! I slept on an old dog bed stuffed with wigs! I watched a prostitute stab a clown! Our basketball hoop was a rib cage - ''a rib cage''! Why did you bring me here? I blocked all this stuff out for a reason! Oh, Lord, some guy with dreads electrocuted my fish!

''(later)''

'''Tracy:''' I've seen a blind guy bite a police horse! A puppy committed suicide after he saw our bathroom! I once bit into a burrito and there was a child's shoe in it! I've seen a hooker eat a tire! A pack of wild dogs took over and successfully ran a Wendy's! The sewer people stole my skateboard! The projects I lived in were named after Zachary Taylor, generally considered to be one of the worst presidents of all time! I once saw a baby give another baby a tattoo! They were very drunk!}}

** Jenna's past qualifies, with her white trash stage mom Verna. "Go stand closer to the alligator!"

* [[Hospital Hottie]]: Elisa, played by the luscious [[Salma Hayek]].

* [[Hot Librarian]]: Liz. Jamie, a cute delivery boy, even uses that phrase to flirt with her.

{{quote|'''Cerie''': You have your whole life to have a career. But you only have a short window to be a young, hot mom.}}

* [[Hypno Fool]]: After seeing an R-rated hypnotist show, Liz will strip on hearing "nutmeg" and stop on "rodeo".

* [[Hypocrisy Nod]]: Frequent, especially in the vicinity of [[Product Placement]].

* [[Improbably Low IQ]]: Hazel Wassername, Kenneth's replacement as the Page.

{{quote|'''Hazel''': Why do I keep screwing things up? Is 70 NOT a good IQ?}}

* [[I Need a Freaking Drink]]: Liz in "Christmas Attack Zone" downs the whole glass of white wine in one gulp after finding out exactly what Jack is going to do.

** Jack. Especially in the "Live Show" when he's not allowed to drink thanks to his promise to a pregnant Avery.

* [[Is This Thing Still On?]]

* [[I Take Offense to That Last One]]: In "Idiots are People Three!", Liz is forced to read a pre-written apology to an idiot anti-defamation league. She has to credit them with such great achievements like the Birther movement, intelligent design, and water parks, but stops reading from the apology because water parks are the worst item on that list.

** The quack celebrity doctor for the cast (and other celebrities) name is Dr. Spaceman, as Liz learns when Tracy identifies his doctor as such. Initially considering it part of his ramblings, she admits she owes him an apology when she finds it written down. Although apparently it's pronounced "Spah-cheh-min".

** Then there's sexual harassment specialist Dr. Weinerslav. That's "weiner-slave", not "whiner-slav".

* [[It Tastes Like Feet]]: Jack's wine apparently tastes like Satan's urine after a large portion of asparagus.

* [[Ivy League for Everyone]]: Pretty much. Jack went to Princeton and Harvard Business School, Liz to Bryn Mawr, Jenna to Northwestern, Toofer to Harvard. Milton Greene teaches at Bennington. (Justified, though: this ''is'' the highly competitive corporate end of the entertainment industry we're talking about. And Kenneth studied TV theory at Kentucky Mountain Bible College.)

* [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy]]: The reason Kim Jong-Il does not raise objections to Avery and Jack's marriage vow renewals.

* [[I Was Quite a Looker]]: Jack describes his younger self this way when telling Liz about how extremely attractive people like her boyfriend Dr. Drew live in a bubble that affects their ability to genuinely accomplish things in life without having everything handed to them. He proves this by showing Liz a photo of his younger self which causes her to gush over its attractiveness. Justified in that Alec Baldwin really was that astonishingly good-looking as a young man; in another episode, in front of the HDTV, Jack is depicted as his handsome younger self [[The Hunt for Red October|in the role of Jack Ryan]].

'''Jenna:''' Oh, I know. She's going to make us buy more of her homemade jewellery. Birds always attack me when I wear it.}}

** And true to form, she {{spoiler|also steals a police officer's gun and lets Jack take the blame. [[Played for Laughs]] of course}}.

* [[Married to the Job]]: A motif of the series is the question of whether Jack and Liz can "have it all"--have a successful family life in addition to their devotion to their careers.

* [[May-December Romance]]:

* [[My Name Is Not Durwood]]: Cooter Burger--both "Cooter" and "Burger" are nicknames given him by then-President Bush. His real name is James Riley.

{{quote|'''Cooter''' ''(played by Matthew Broderick)'': Cooter Burger? What am I, a ''cartoon dog?'' The president gave me that name! 'Cooter' because I look like a turtle and 'Burger' because he saw me eating a burger ''one time!'' It wasn't even a burger... ''it was a sandwich''.}}

** Toofer has apparently lost them, by virtue of his educated demeanor.

{{quote|'''Liz''': It just sounds so hateful coming from you.}}

{{quote|Tracy [plaintively]: I even called a basketball team a bunch of nappy hoes, but apparently I'm allowed to do that? ''Why?'}}

* [[Name's the Same]]: In-universe: Liz briefly dated men named Wesley Snipes, Carol Burnett and is currently dating Criss Chros.

* [[Nerd Glasses]]: Liz Lemon.

* [[Never Learned to Read]]: In "Jack-Tor", Liz comes to the mistaken conclusion that Tracy can't read, and Tracy uses this as an excuse to goof off.

** In "TGS Hates Women", while giving a tour, Kenneth says he started working at NBC when Shirley Temple was eight years old (1936).

** In "Que Sorpresa", Kenneth is pitching an idea to Jack about censoring inappropriate images on TV, and points to himself when he says that some things may not be appropriate for "the elderly".

** An [[Imagine Spot]] of the future in "100" gives Kenneth's birth year as {{spoiler|''1781''}}.

** In early Season 4, Kenneth reassures Jenna during a crisis with an analogy from ''[[The Brady Brunch]]''. Jenna says she doesn't remember the show, as she was too young, then looks confusedly at Kenneth. There follows a brief awkward pause, then both laugh nervously and change the topic.

* [[Once a Season]]: Typically, Liz has a new multi-episode boyfriend usually played by a special guest star (Dean Winters, Jason Sudekis, Jon Hamm, Michael Sheen and [[Matt Damon]] among them) every season.

** Also, Dennis Duffy and Devon Banks usually make one, if not two, appearances per season.

** The Trivection Oven is described as being able to cook a turkey in 22 minutes (the length of a half-hour comedy, minus commercials).

** An annoyed Tracy is walking slowly down the stairs, and Liz yells at him, claiming they don't have time for him to be moving so slowly. Suddenly he's right in front of her and she lets out a surprised "Time jump!"

{{quote|'''Kenneth:''' Miss Lemon, as I'm sure you know, it is "Green Week", and NBC...

'''Liz:''' Oh brother, are they actually gonna do something this year, or are they just gonna put that stupid green peacock in the corner of the screen?

* [[Parental Substitute]]/[[Like a Son to Me]]: Liz and Jack often act like father and daughter. He's constantly pushing her out into the world and wants to see her take over his position when he moves up the ladder. She in turn worries about his health. This also explains the moments of [[Squick]] that can be seen on their faces whenever a romantic relationship is implied.

* [[Pie in the Face]]: "Flu Shot".

* [[Plucky Office Girl]]: Despite being the head writer on a very successful TV show, and despite technically being lower-level management, Liz Lemon fits this trope to a T.

* [[Pointy-Haired Boss]]: Jack Donaghy in earlier episodes. Funnier because he actually does have pointy spiked hair in earlier episodes ("Hair like a Viking, God bless ya!").

{{quote|'''Frank:''' [[555|That's not even enough numbers!]]}}

* [[Portmanteau Couple Name]]:

** Liz calls Jack and Avery "Javery".

** Jack and Elisa are "Jalisa".

* [[Product Placement]]:

** Parodied and [[Double Subversion|doubly subverted]] in the first episode. Tina Fey put in a plug for the Trivection Oven (allegedly created by Jack) just because she thought it sounded funny (though GE rushed to throw in a commercial so the audience would know it's a real product).

** The gratuitous McFlurry/McDonalds references in "Saint Valentine's Day" actually [[Subverted Trope|weren't for pay]]. Fey and the writers just like McFlurries.

** The situation was parodied in a later episode involving Liz's new Slanket. She's asleep at her desk, and when suddenly awoken, yells "It's not product placement, I just like them!"

* [[Regent for Life]]: Variation in Jack's attempts to steer Kaylie into following her parents' generation into "[[Upper Class Twit|Trust Fund Kid Syndrome]]" so that he can become CEO of Kabletown.

* [[The Renfield]]: Jonathan.

* [[Retirony]]: One of the maintenance guys is on his last day in "100". There's also a gas leak... {{spoiler|He ends up getting shot in the abdomen}}.

* [[Rich Bitch]]: Bianca.

* [[Shown Their Work]]: During Tracy Jordan's attempt to get his biopic of Thomas Jefferson off the ground, he casually mentions the horse in his dressing room will play Caractus. This is the one thing that's actually historically accurate.

* [[Show Within a Show]]: The primary one is ''TGS With Tracy Jordan'' (originally ''The Girlie Show''). But since the series takes place at NBC headquarters, there are hundreds more which pop up throughout the series.

{{quote|'''Tracy''': We're on a [[Lampshade Hanging|show withing a show!]] My real name is Tracy Morgan! (episode "Grandmentor")}}

* [[Similarly Named Works]]: Jack quotes the poem "Invictus", prompting Liz to wonder who the white guy from ''[[Invictus]]'' was.

** Devon Banks (Will Arnett) also fills this role. Or at least he used to before he [[Villain Decay|became a joke]].

* [[Skyward Scream]]: '''"[[Rouge Angles of Satin|FRAJUR!!!]]"'''

* [[Special Guest]]: Jerry Seinfeld and others; [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] in "SeinfeldVision", but usually played straight.

* [[Spell My Name with an "S"]]: There are spelling inconsistencies within the subtitles, such as Donaghy vs. Donagee, Cerie vs. Suri, and Devon vs. Devin.

{{quote|'''Liz''': "And I wasn't even drinking anything."}}

** In "The Problem Solvers", to express astonishment, Liz actually' ''says the words'' "spit take".

{{quote|Kenneth:... ''and I don't know how long I can keep this up!''}}

* [[Story Arc]]

* [[Strange Minds Think Alike]]: The former [[Trope Namer]] ("Did A Korean Person Die"). Happens frequently, especially between Tracy and Jenna.

* [[Strawman Political]]:

** In "Respawn", Liz spouts a bunch of strawman liberal catchphrases to try and "cheer up" Jack back into his usual cutthroat self.

* [[Stylistic Suck]]:

** Any reference to Tracy Jordan's projects (''Honky Grandma Be Trippin''', ''Fat Bitch'', ''Fat Bitch 2'', and his adaptation of ''An Affair to Remember'': ''A Blaffair to Rememblack'').

*** ''[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Hard to Watch]]'', Tracy's attempt to be seen as a serious actor. He succeeded, but it didn't last long. The film's dramatic impact was a definite [[Informed Ability]].

** Anything Jenna Maroney stars in, including ''The Jackie Jormp-Jomp Story'' (which mutated from being a biopic about [[Janis Joplin]]), ''[[Mystic Pizza]]: The Musical'', and ''The Rural Juror'', which took several ''episodes'' for the rest of the cast (and the audience!) to figure out what Jenna said when she mentioned the title.

* [[Suspiciously Specific Denial]]: Jenna does this incessantly, but the rest of the cast is susceptible too.

{{quote|'''Kenneth:''' Ms. Maroney, I'm afraid I have some bad news.

** When Jack is showing off a voice-controlled TV to the Kabletown president, Jack mutters [[Oh Crap|"Crap"]]. Behind him, the television changes channels to ''[[Keeping Up With The Kardashians]]''.

** Aaron Sorkin makes a cameo on "Plan B":

'''Sorkin''': Shut up.}}

** In "Idiots Are People Two!", Tracy rallies the idiot community into protesting NBC. Included in the movement are the [[You Can Panic Now|anti-vaccination crusaders]] and Denise Richards.

** "Queen of Jordan" and "Queen of Jordan 2: Mystery of the Phantom Pooper" are presented as "episodes" of Tracy's wife Angie's reality show, ''Queen of Jordan''. The show is basically a parody of the ''Real Houswives'' franchises.

** During the [[Live Show]], Jack states he feels like he's in a Mexican soap opera (thanks to the live video feed, instead of the show being filmed as usual).

* [[Team Mom]]: Toofer outright says that Liz is that, using it as an explanation as to why Liz isn't invited to the writers' parties: "You don't wanna go drinking with your mom." Of course, {{spoiler|he was trying to convince an angry Liz to save them from a rabid dog at the time}}. True in the sense that Liz is usually the one keeping the writers and cast from killing each others or themselves.

** Unless they mess with her food.

* [[Tear Jerker]]:

** In the episode "MILF Island", someone tells a newspaper reporter that Jack is a "class-A moron". Jack then tells Liz about how that insult particularly hurts his feelings: as a child, he had low self-esteem and a stutter, and he was often bullied and called a class-A moron by his peers. At the end of the episode, Jack becomes so distressed about it that he starts to stutter again ("Whoever said that, they meant it. They think I'm a moron like Gilly and everyone else... It's just k-killing me that someone would say that about me... L-Liz, I g-g-guess I'll always b-b-b-be that k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k..."){{spoiler|Liz gets so upset that she admits to being the one that told the paper that Jack was a moron. Subverted though in that Jack was making the whole thing up and was just guilting Liz into admitting she had done it}}.

** Tracy's movie, ''Hard to Watch'', is apparently incredibly moving.

{{quote|'''Liz:''' Okay, this is my stop. STOP. POTS. TOPS. OPTS. POST...}}

* [[That Came Out Wrong]]:

'''Jack''': No one is; it's just happening.}}

* [[That Other Wiki]]: When Jenna is doing method acting preparation to play a [[Captain Ersatz]] of Janis Joplin, the writers mess with her by adding ridiculous lies to her [[Wikipedia]] page so that Jenna will emulate them.

* [[Ultimate Job Security]]: Tracy Jordan. Jack claims that the only thing he can't get away with is dog fighting. So he does ''that'' just because he can't. And ''still'' gets off the hook after one therapy session.

** Mitigated by the fact that he never ''succeeded'' in setting up a dog fight, and was as disgusted by it as anyone else. He only tried because he was told he couldn't, and probably never did after the session.

** Strangely Frank's explanation is fairly accurate, even though DVD commentary suggests the episode's writers didn't exactly get the concept (they didn't understand why zombies/animate corpses were in the depths of the valley).

* [[Unique Pilot Title Sequence]]: The opening credits of the first episode feature Liz in a ''[[That Girl]]''/''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]''-type opening, but this ends up as a [[Left the Background Music On]] gag and actually they're singing about the [[Show Within the Show]] character "Pam, the Overly-Confident Morbidly Obese Woman". The second episode introduces the regular opening credits.

** "Lizzing," a combination of laughing and whizzing.

** "Convenience store owner" is apparently Kenneth's slur of choice for Koreans.

{{quote|(on seeing a peacock) "Gasp! Living dinosaur!"}}

** Jack will sometimes say things like:

** Cerie considers naming her daughter "Bookcase", "Sandstorm", or "Hat", but thinks that Hat is more of a boy's name.

* [[Will They or Won't They?]]: Jack and Liz. Although Alec and Tina have acknowledged the existence of sexual tension between the characters, [[Word of God]] has rejected the idea of a romantic relationship. Flat-out ''parodied'', according to [[Word of God]]. Played deadly straight, according to [[Fan Dumb|some]]. Example: after learning {{spoiler|Danny}} is dating Liz, Jack, who thinks this relationship is bad for the show, tells him, "My secret is: I'm in love with Liz Lemon." Meanwhile, [http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_kwa7robSH91qzmvhdo1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=0RYTHV9YYQ4W5Q3HQMG2&Expires=1293751634&Signature=qLY5zT%2BGboroa4ZA/vkFrrQ4phU%3D Liz does a series] of gross [[Sight Gag|Sight Gags]], and he winces almost to the point of, well, [[A Worldwide Punomenon|gagging]].

'''Jack:''' It’s true. It was love at first sight. I ache for her sexually. How could I not? I’m entranced by those mud-colored eyes set back in that skin. And her laugh. Her walk, that splay-footed walk, and that... whole situation... right there. And... oh... mustache? ''(aside)'' '''''[[Brain Bleach|Good GOD, Lemon!]]'''''}}

** Jeffrey Wienerslav lampshaded this trope ''by name'' in Season 5, when {{spoiler|Jack and Liz accidentally got married}}.

** In "Hey Baby, What's Wrong?", Lutz accidentally hits on Liz ([[It Makes Sense in Context]]), leading to this line from Tracy:

{{quote|'''Tracy:''' 'bout time! After six years, it's been like watching ''[[Moonlighting]]''!}}

** In "Live Show", Jenna sings the opening theme with lyrics, as the credits are displayed on a monitor behind her.

** In "Kidnapped by Danger", [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] adds lyrics to the closing credits theme.

* [[Wolverine Publicity]]: "Seinfeld-Vision".

{{quote|'''Pete''': I said you could do it.

'''Jenna''': Why not?! Oh... I mean, thank you.}}

{{quote|'''Liz:''' Oh well you know what? I found the card, and actually, they're from your mom, so tell your gay mom I said thanks.}}

* [[You Say Tomato]]: Jenna does this a lot. For example, she pronounces camera as "cahmerah". When Liz gets her own ''Dealbreakers'' show, she begins to behave like Jenna and starts pronouncing stuff like her as well.

{{quote|'''Dr. Spaceman:''' This is always hard to say: You have die-AB-uh-dees?}}

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[[Category:American Series]]

[[Category:TV Series]]