30 Rock: The Problem Solvers

Posted by: Jeff Anseeuw  •  November 14, 2009 @ 12:38am

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

Jack takes Liz out to dinner and tells her that NBC wants to produce a Talk Show based on her book, and Starring her. She excitedly agrees, until Tracy and Jenna talk her into getting an agent first to look after her business interests. Tracy and Jenna believe that they should get into the business of solving problems since they gave Liz such solid career advice. When Liz walks away from the deal and tells Jack of her intentions, relations between them cool off immediately, however.

The new TGS cast member, hired amid the chaos of the previous weeks wacky audition process, arrives for work. Everyone is excited to meet him and eagerly clusters together by the door until he shows up. He arrives with humility, just happy to have the opportunity and without the big ego common among many of the current stars. Kenneth asks him what he can do for him, but he doesn't have any special requests. His undemanding nature upsets Kenneth because he is used to having to dote on everyone.

Jack announces plans to go ahead with the Deal-breakers talk show without Liz. Liz meets with her new agent and finds that he isn't all she was expecting. He is barely out of school, has only represented dogs up until now, and has no real connections for her to meet with. He and Liz meet with Jack to tell him that they are going to sue NBC for the rights to the Deal-breaker franchise, but Jack shuts them down by going over the agents head. Tracy and Jenna again try to help by setting Liz up to meet a producer from a rival network so she can pitch her show idea.

Tracy and Jenna talk to the new cast member and explain that Kenneth actually enjoys doing errands for them and that he should take advantage of him as well. He tells them that he cant treat anyone badly and that they shouldn't either since it could come back to haunt them later. They are cowed into temporarily respecting Kenneth as a person, but that only upsets him more and he sets out to set things straight at 30 Rock. He goes to visit with the new cast member to explain that in order to have the right dynamic on the set, the actors need to use and abuse the pages.

Jack meets with an actress he intends to use in place of Liz on the NBC version of the Deal-breakers talk show, while Liz meets with the producer Tracy and Jenna recommended to explore her options. The producer talks a great game, but is constantly distracted by tweets, texts and calls on his cell phone. Jack starts to see how important an opportunity the new talk show will be for whomever gets the job, and he has second thoughts about not involving Liz. He leaves his meeting determined to find Liz, just as Liz leaves her meeting wanting to find Jack. They find each other and (figuratively) kiss and (literally) make-up and agree to do the project together as originally planned.

Tags: 30 Rock, Tina Fey, Tracy Jordan, Alec Baldwin

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