30 Rock: Into the Crevasse

Posted by: Jeff Anseeuw  •  October 24, 2009 @ 2:27pm

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

Liz continues to face the fallout from the release of her successful "That's a Deal-Breaker" relationship book. Virtually every man she meets despises her for the trouble her book has caused them in their relationships with their wives and girlfriends who are now demanding better behavior from them. Every man, from the worker in the bookstore window (Jon Glaser) who rips the head off the Liz cardboard cutout, to the janitor who empties her garbage on the floor of her office instead of the trash can, seems to have a bone to pick with her. It is clear that in spite of her success as a relationship advisor, Liz will now need to work extra hard to actually achieve a relationship with a man of her own.

As usual, however, Liz has more pressing concerns as a new week of TGS production gets underway. Tracy and Jenna are making her life difficult again. Tracy is among the men who find himself in the doghouse since his wife read Liz's book. He gets kicked out of the house, and shows up on Liz's doorstep to move into her apartment to punish her. Jenna is still mad that Jack wants to add a new actor to the show, and, despite the fact that no one has actually been hired at this point (not to mention the fact that it was Jacks idea, not Liz's) she decides to take her anger out on Liz. She takes a role in a low-budget Werewolf movie being filmed in Iceland to ensure that she will have to miss rehearsal all week.

Jack is forced to take a bus to Washington, DC to deliver a report to a new task force dealing with GE's microwave oven division. He expects to deliver a powerful and concise speech to the effect that the industry has no need for government handouts or increased regulation despite the downturn in the economy and then be back on his way to New York by noon. What he does not expect is for the task force to be headed by his old rival Devin Banks (Will Arnett). Banks uses his insider information from his time at GE to expose all sorts of overspending and corporate excess (some of which he himself created). Banks relishes his new position and the problems he can cause for Jack. Jack vows that he will return the microwave division to prosperity and starts to brainstorm on ways to make microwave ovens popular again.

Kenneth takes a few hours off work to volunteer at a dog shelter. He thinks he will have no problem maintaining a safe emotional distance from the strays due to his farming background. Within seconds, however, he has given names to all the dogs and promised to adopt them all to prevent them from being put down. He puts a sign on his desk advertising for a good home for the dogs, and Tracy adopts them all to take home to Liz's apartment to further complicate her life. When Liz complains to Jack about her situation, he sides with Tracy and says that since Liz used parts of Tracy's life in her book without his permission or input, Tracy should get the legal rights to Liz's life to do with as he pleases. Liz is furious with jack, but he draws on a past experience and tells her that sometimes the only way to improve a bad situation is to make it worse temporarily.

Feverishly working on ideas to improve microwave oven design, Jack and his team instead create a car-sized contraption with four doors, tires, and no capability to cook food. Realizing his failure, he is about to admit defeat when Banks comes to kick him out of his office, but then Jack recalls his advice to Liz about sometimes needing to make things worse for yourself before they can get better. He tells Banks that the best way he could get revenge on him is to use his influence in Washington to force Jack to take government bail-out money and therefore effectively become his boss. Liz takes Jacks advice, too. She needs to get Tracy to move out of her apartment and hits upon a most heinous and abhorrent solution: she suggests that Tracy use the rights to her life story by filming a porno set in her apartment, featuring all the characters in her life. In the end, both Jack and Liz emerge from their latest trials and tribulations to fight another day. Although as Jack points out, it is only Wednesday so the work-week is only half over for them....

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

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