30 Rock: Jackie Jormp-Jomp

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

Liz has started serving her 2 week suspension from 30 Rock for sexual harassment but is eager to get back to work as she is stir-crazy without the daily stresses that she usually encounters. She passes her time by attending the mandatory group therapy sessions with the HR department and by boring the doormen in her building to near tears by talking to them since they can't leave. She then meets Emily, a recently downsized investment banker who tells her that there are many other ways to feel fulfilled at life other than through work.

Meanwhile, Universal is having second thoughts about releasing Jenna's upcoming movie (very) loosely based on Janis Joplin. The movie now apparently includes vampires, a concert called 'Woodstocks', and the closest name to 'Janis Joplin' that they can legally use for Jenna's character is 'Jackie Jormp-Jomp'. Not surprisingly, it has not fared well with test audiences. Jack tells Jenna that the movie needs some positive "buzz" or it will be shelved, so she needs to get out and promote it every chance she gets, starting with the Kids Choice Awards. Jenna attends the awards with Jack but her PR efforts are completely wasted as no one recognizes her. Then, due to a mix up, she is listed as having died in the past year. Jenna is outraged and offended, but Jack sees a marketing ploy in the offing and runs with it.

Liz spends the day with Emily and several other women from her building, all currently unemployed but with access to money for various reasons. They spend their days in leisurely excess- going to the spa, shopping, getting botox treatments, eating at posh restaurants and having nightcaps 'til midnight. Liz briefly resists the allure of this lifestyle but soon gets pulled in to the point that she tells Jack that she doesn't want to come back to work when her suspension is over. He tells her that she is fooling herself and that she needs to work to feel right. She gets nervous about coming back though, and decides that the easy life she has been living is much more appealing, so after she is given a passing grade in her sensitivity training, she purposely harasses the HR guy (Though, with a last name like Weinerslav- pronounced Weiner-slave, a compelling case could be made that he had it coming). Liz spends more and more time with her new friends and feels totally comfortable living the 'good' life. Suddenly that comfort level is erased when Emily tells Liz to punch her in the face. Apparently, the womens' leisurely activities are not stimulating enough to sustain them, so they have formed a sort of 'fight club' to feel more alive and connected.

Jack sets the marketing wheels in motion to further the illusion that Jenna is dead and to sell the movie. He tells Pete to put a tribute tape of Jenna together to play on TGS. Tracy runs through video clips of Jenna's earlier work and Jenna is pleased to go along with the charade, until she sees the giant poster of herself listing her actual date-of-birth. She cant allow people to think she is older than she lets on, so she sabotages the entire effort by showing up and singing on her own tribute show. Liz arrives just in time to see the disaster unfolding, complete with a black eye presumably sustained by fighting her way past her new friends.

She calls Jenna and Tracy into her office and tries to yell at them about how badly they screwed up and how much trouble they have caused, but she is actually smiling the whole time because she is just happy to be back in her element. Her smiling face is very unnerving to both Jenna and Tracy, however, and they both run from her office, terrified, when she tries to hug them.

Tags: 30 rock, Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan

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