30 Rock: Today, You Are A Man

What Happened, Yo!:

-Liz is informed by her old agent Simon that the time has come to renew her TGS contract, and she's insulted that Jack would think she'd just resign her old contract. At the same time, Jack is watching footage of GE developing weaponized Microwave technology and laments how much he's changed. Liz is determined to best him in negotiations and finds a secret weapon when she discovers a videotape Jack once made of himself giving advice to win negotiations. She starts following those tactics until Jack winds up negotiating for her against himself. Jack is able to beat himself, because the Jack negotiating against Liz made a mistake. So Liz will get what she wants, but Jack is depressed on how soft and inferior he's become. When he breaks down, Liz concedes, but it turns out that Jack was using emotion as a weapon. Jack gives her what she wants anyways though because he wants to help her. He had just wanted to prove that he could still negotiate like nobody's business.

-Meanwhile Tracy and Jenna are sent to perform at their agent's Bar Mitzvah, but the Bar Mitzvah kid doesn't like them and gets angry. They have to perform anyways, dressed as Transformers. When they later confront the Bar Mitzvah kid, it turns out he's just nervous about dancing with girls, because he doesn't think they'll like him. Jenna and Tracy assure him he'll be fine (Girls like rich guys) and the problem is solved. Realizing that they solved a problem by tackling it head-on, Jenna and Tracy decide that from now on, they'll solve all their problems that way.

-Also meanwhile, Kenneth is upset that nobody noticed he was gone during the day there was no Page Program. Drawing the line at being treated like an inanimate object, Kenneth transfers to the Suze Orman show, switching places with a page named Hazel Wassername (Played by Kristen Schaal!). The writer's staff see this as a ploy by Kenneth to try and get them to admit they need him. Suze Orman meanwhile, advises Kenneth to quit the page program and move up in the world. When Hazel makes some mistakes, the staff try to get Kenneth back y showing him how much Tracy needs him. But Tracy, now confronting his problems honestly and head-on tells Kenneth to quit the Program and make something for himself. So Kenneth goes to see Jack about other opportunities for him at NBC.

I Like This: Today, You Are A Man was another good episode of 30 Rock, which promised at least one major change. I liked the reasoning for Kenneth quitting the page program and how Tracy's storyline tied into his ultimate decision. Now, with Kenneth off to do other things even though he has no other skills, one can only imagine what might happen next. And as a big fan of Kristen Schaal from Flight of the Conchords and more recently, Bob's Burgers, I was delighted to see her turn up here. Hopefully we see more of her in the weeks to come. As for the meat of the episode, Jack negotiating against himself was confusing, but it was also hilarious. I liked how this storyline ties into the ongoing arc of Jack realizing how much he's changed since the beginning of the show. And it's good to know that he can still come out on top when he wants to.

But...: While it had it's moments, Tracy and Jenna's storyline was weak compared to the other plots. It did have a good conclusion though.

The Bottom Line: Today, You Are a Man was a solid episode of 30 Rock, which nicely showed how far Jack has come, while promising career advancement for Kenneth. Plus, Kristen Schaal!

Grade: 80% (Great)

Memorable Moments:

-In the old days, Jack could even get a cat and a dog to work together.

-Jenna: “How Jewish is everyone here? Because I may need to change my act.”

-Tracy and Jenna's Agent: “Your charity is just a front that has done nothing to make this country safer from Godzilla attacks." Tracy: "If anything, I've increased the likelihood!".

-Liz tries taking a fake phone call: "Yes, may I please talk to pizza?"

-Jack “It's the ultimate game: Jack Donaghy playing with himself... It’s a Jack-off”

-Tracy: "Who's on first?! That's the phrase I couldn't remember." And the end tag where we see their rendition of Who's On First was great.

-Tracy: "Ad-Roc, I'm gonna tell you the same thing I tell my son: "Put money in the girl's mouth. Also, my friend Daryl is your real father".

-Jack negotiates against himself: "If you walk out that door, you'll be burning every bridge she has here. It'll be back to submitting topical menopause jokes to Joy Behar- by fax".

-Pete: "Damn it! I have to write a 40 word exit evaluation of Kenneth. I wish I was dead!"


-Jack "I used to be a winner. Men wanted to be me. Women wanted to sleep with me. Bisexuals wanted to watch."

-Liz: "But [Kenneth], you have no other skills". Jack: "He's a white male with hair, Lemon. The sky's the limit".