Don Geiss, America and Hope

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"Don Geiss, America and Hope"
30 Rock episode
Episode no.Season 4
Episode 15
Directed byStephen Lee Davis
Written byJack Burditt
Tracey Wigfield
Production code415
Original air dateMarch 18, 2010 (2010-03-18)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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30 Rock season 4
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"Don Geiss, America, and Hope" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 73rd overall episode of the series. It was directed by Stephen Lee Davis, and written by Jack Burditt and Tracey Wigfield. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 18, 2010. Guest stars in "Don Geiss, America and Hope" include John Anderson, Scott Bryce, Marceline Hugot, James Rebhorn, and Michael Sheen.

In the episode, Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) attempts to avoid running into Wesley Snipes (Sheen) after they fail to hit it off in their first encounter, but fate seems to want them together. At the same time, Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) deals with the impending purchase of NBC. Finally, Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) does damage control after his former nanny publishes a tell-all book.

The episode continued a story arc involving Wesley as a love interest for Liz, which began in the

NBC Universal by cable company Comcast, as well as that of professional golfer Tiger Woods' extramarital affairs scandal
.

This episode of 30 Rock has received generally positive reviews from television critics. According to the

Primetime Emmy Award nomination in the category for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
.

Plot

Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), outgoing Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming for General Electric (GE), researches company Kabletown (which recently purchased the NBC network as a charitable, tax-deductible act), to find a way he can contribute in the corporation's development. NBC page Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer) lets it slip that he may have been living forever, when he shows concern that Kabletown may impose new rules for "age limits and age verification" for pages. A former colleague, Dave Hess (Scott Bryce), who left NBC for Kabletown, reveals that Kabletown's success comes from running pay-per-view adult channels; the company runs "the perfect business" and needs no investment in new services or products. On learning this, Jack is horrified at the prospect of no longer making things. Later, however, while giving a eulogy at former GE CEO Don Geiss's (Rip Torn) funeral, he has an epiphany and proposes to Kabletown executives that they produce "porn for women" (specifically, channels featuring attractive men who "listen" while women blather on).

Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) tries to avoid meeting with Wesley (Michael Sheen), the British man she met and flirted with while under the influence of anesthesia. Liz finds him to be annoying, but they continually run into each other, which leads them to believe they are meant to be together. However, after visiting the dentist office where they met, Liz and Wesley come to terms with the fact that the anesthesia was the cause of whatever they experienced, and agree to stop seeing each other. But when they run into each other yet again, Wesley suggests that they should probably just "settle" for one another. Liz is horrified at this prospect and consults Jack for advice, but he is still disconsolate at the prospect of "settling" for a company without upward momentum, and cannot help her. Later, Liz meets Wesley to tell him her answer is no, and she believes both of them can do better than being with each other; she is further dismayed to learn he shares his name with actor Wesley Snipes.

Meanwhile, Tracy Jordan's (Tracy Morgan) nanny publishes a tell-all book, revealing that he has never actually had an affair with anyone, a secret he had shared only with Jack in "The Ones". In order to restore his womanizing persona, Tracy holds a press conference announcing he is leaving show business to spend more time with a stripper, but no one is convinced. To make matters worse, women begin to come forward and admit that they did not have sex with Tracy. His wife Angie even advises him to have an affair in order to save his career, a suggestion which Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) urges him to take seriously. Tracy attempts to proposition Liz, but is unable to pretend he wants to cheat on his wife. Liz rebuffs Tracy's advances, admitting she envies his happy marriage and urging him to embrace his monogamy.

At the end of the episode, Liz is seen watching and being intrigued by some of the "porn for women" content, which somehow features her fantasy boyfriend Astronaut Mike Dexter.

Production

Michael Sheen, a caucasian male in his mid-40s with dark hair, wears a black suit and burgundy shirt.
Michael Sheen made his second guest appearance on the show in this episode.

"Don Geiss, America and Hope" was directed by series first assistant director Stephen Lee Davis, and written by Jack Burditt and Tracey Wigfield.[1] This was Burditt's first written episode for the season, as he had moved to Los Angeles, California,[2] to become a staff writer on the CBS comedy show The New Adventures of Old Christine.[3] Overall, this was Burditt's twelfth writing credit.[4] This was Wigfield's third writing credit,[5] and was Davis's first directed episode.[6] "Don Geiss, America and Hope" originally aired in the United States on March 18, 2010, on NBC as the fifteenth episode of the show's fourth season and the 73rd overall episode of the series.[7] This episode of 30 Rock was filmed on January 25[8] and January 27, 2010.[9]

In January 2010, it was announced that Welsh actor Michael Sheen would guest star as a love interest for series creator Tina Fey's character, Liz Lemon.

TV Squad, in his recap of this episode, wondered if Torn was written out of the series due to an alcohol-related incident that occurred with Torn in January 2010.[15][16]

This episode was inspired by the

NBC Universal by cable company Comcast in November 2009.[17] After winning her fourth Screen Actors Guild Award as her 30 Rock character at the 16th Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony in January 2010, Fey was asked whether or not the show would make reference to the Comcast acquisition to which she said that it would be dealt with. "The sale of NBC to another company is integral to our show and it will be hard for Jack."[18] In the episode, Kabletown—a fictional Philadelphia company network—has taken over GE Sheinhardt NBC Universal,[7] and Jack tries to contribute his ideas to the company. In April 2010, the NBC network created a website for the Kabletown company.[19] When asked by a contributor from The Philadelphia Inquirer why the characters on 30 Rock refer to the network's new owner as "Kabletown, with a K", co-showrunner and executive producer Robert Carlock revealed that the reason for this was that the staff writers came up with the name "Cabletown", however, they later learned that there was a real company with a similar name, so NBC's legal team department "wanted to emphasize the difference, and after a while, everyone just liked the sound of it."[20]

Tiger Woods, an African-American male in his early-30s, looks serious and wears a white hat and blue greyish polo shirt. On both his hands, he holds a golf club, after swinging it, and sports a white glove on his left hand.
Tracy's plot in the episode referenced professional golfer Tiger Woods' (pictured) extramarital affairs scandal.

Tracy Jordan's storyline in which his former nanny writes a tell-all book revealing that he has never actually had an affair with anyone mirrored—though in reversal—the real life of professional golfer Tiger Woods' extramarital affairs scandal that occurred in late 2009.[21] In one scene, it is revealed that women have come forward admitting to never have had a sexual relationship with Tracy;[22] After news broke of Woods's infidelities, numerous women came forward admitting to having affairs with the golfer.[23] To re-establish his womanizing persona, Tracy holds a press conference announcing he is leaving show business to spend more time with a stripper;[7] In December 2009, Woods announced he would take an indefinite leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage after he admitted infidelity.[24] Other women, who Tracy did not have a relationship with, have released voice mails to the news media. In one of them, Tracy leaves a message to his wife, Angie (Sherri Shepherd), in which he is loving and sincere in the message;[25] One of Woods's mistresses produced voice and text messages as evidence of a relationship with the golfer.[26] As a result of him being outed as monogamous, Tracy loses various endorsements;[7] After admitting to his affairs, Woods lost various endorsement deals with different companies.[27]

Cultural references

In the beginning of the episode, Jack announces at a staff meeting that NBC has been bought by Kabletown, a company network from Philadelphia. Immediately, Jack and Liz exchange opinions about Philadelphia and

Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire.[28]

Jenna claims to Tracy that she "ate the pig that played Babe", in a reference to the 1995 film

Catholic prayer Ave Maria
.

When Liz tells Tracy that he has a life with his family and should enjoy it after Tracy tries to have sex with her in order to restore his womanizing reputation, she tells him "You know what I have? A Sims family that keeps getting murdered."

second run of the movie Hot Tub Time Machine
, which provokes arguments between them despite their mutual enjoyment of the film.

Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit),[30] and dressed up as the Star Wars character Princess Leia during four recent Halloweens,[31] and while trying to get out of jury duty in Chicago and New York.[32][33] Star Wars is also referenced when Tracy takes on the identity of the character Chewbacca.[34] In this episode, at Don Geiss's funeral, he is shown to be frozen in carbonite similar to that of Star Wars character Han Solo in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back.[22][35] Fey, a fan of Star Wars herself, said that the weekly Star Wars joke or reference "started happening organically" when the crew realized that they had a Star Wars reference "in almost every show". Fey said that from then on "it became a thing where [they] tried to keep it going", and that even though they could not include one in every episode, they still had a "pretty high batting average". Fey attributed most of the references to executive producer and writer Robert Carlock, whom she described as "the resident expert".[36]

Reception

Alec Baldwin speaking at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con International in San Diego, California.
Alec Baldwin received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his work in this episode.

According to the

Primetime Emmy Award nomination in the category for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards,[39] but lost it to actor Jim Parsons.[40]

Television columnist Alan Sepinwall of

TV Squad was complimentary towards the NBC/Kabletown deal, enjoyed Tracy's subplot, noting it gave the character "something important to do ... it also shined some new light on the Tracy Morgan character."[15] Adam Mersel for TV Guide reasoned "I can officially say that almost no episode of 30 Rock falls flat for me, and this one certainly didn't [...] All in all, this is one of my favorite episodes of the season."[21] Paste magazine contributor Sean Gandert was favorable to it, noting "I'm not sure when the last time I thought every plot in a 30 Rock episode was a winner, but 'Don Geiss, Hope and America' delivered on the exuberant claims of the episode's title".[44] Nick Catucci of New York magazine wrote that Jack trying to fit in at Kabletown, along with his suggestion of "porn for women", was "meh", Liz dealing with Wesley and Tracy "dealing with the world's discovery of his fidelity to his wife" were all "quite comfortably situated in the show's wheelhouse".[45]

Not all reviews were positive. IGN contributor Robert Canning felt that "Don Geiss, American and Hope" felt "a bit rudderless as well. The main stories eventually crossed over in meaningful ways, but aside from those connections, their direction was a bit weak and unsure. They all had a great bit or two ... but the general feel of the episode was mostly blah. That could likely be the result of the main characters coming off as mostly blah." In conclusion, Canning gave it a 7.5 out of 10 rating.[22] Meredith Blake, a contributor for the Los Angeles Times, was not positive towards Fey and Sheen's story here, explaining that the premise of the two characters settling for one another "fell flat" and "it just wasn't as funny as it could have been."[25]

References

  1. ^ a b c "30 Rock — Don Geiss, America and Hope — Cast and Crew". Yahoo! TV. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  2. Universal Studios Home Entertainment
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  3. ^ Eckerling, Debra (2009-09-18). "Author Q&A: TV Writer Jack Burditt, "30 Rock"". Write Online. Archived from the original on 2010-12-02. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
  4. Internet Movie Database
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  5. ^ "Tracey Wigfield — Filmography by TV series". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  6. ^ "Stephen Lee Davis — Filmography by TV series". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Lady Lola. "30 Rock — Don Geiss, America and Hope". Yahoo! TV. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  8. NBC Universal Media Village. 2010-01-25. Archived from the original
    on 2012-03-11. Retrieved 2010-07-14. Save Picture as → Right click file → Properties → Summary → Advanced → Date Picture Taken
  9. NBC Universal Media Village. 2010-01-27. Archived from the original
    on 2012-03-11. Retrieved 2010-07-14. Save Picture as → Right click file → Properties → Summary → Advanced → Date Picture Taken
  10. ^ House, M.L. (2010-01-18). "30 Rock Casting News: Michael Sheen and Jon Hamm". TV Fanatic. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  11. ^ Rosenberg, Adam (2010-05-28). "Will Wesley Snipes Be Back On '30 Rock' Next Season? We Ask Michael Sheen!". MTV. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  12. ^ "30 Rock — Flu Shot". Yahoo! TV. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  13. ^ "Marceline Hugot — Filmography by TV series". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  14. ^ Lady Lola. "30 Rock — Sun Tea". Yahoo! TV. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
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    TV Squad
    . Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  16. ^ Chris Michaud & Sandra Maler (2010-01-31). "Actor Rip Torn arrested drunk, armed in Conn. bank". Reuters. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  17. ^ Arango, Tim (2009-12-04). "G.E. Makes It Official: NBC Will Go to Comcast". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  18. ^ "Tina Fey hearts NBC". Reuters. 2010-01-24. Archived from the original on 2011-01-07. Retrieved 2010-10-25.
  19. ^ Abrams, Natalie (2010-04-07). "NBC Creates Sendup Website Kabletown". TV Guide. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  20. ^ Fernandez, Bob (2010-04-25). "Comedic License?". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2010-05-31. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
  21. ^ a b Mersel, Adam (2010-03-19). "30 Rock Episode Recap: "Don Geiss, America, and Hope"". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 2010-03-25. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  22. ^ a b c Canning, Robert (2010-03-19). "30 Rock: "Don Geiss, America and Hope". IGN. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  23. ^ Dahlberg, Tim (2009-12-12). "Two weeks that shattered a legend". Deseret News. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
  24. ^ Harig, Bob (2009-12-12). "Remorseful Woods going on hiatus". ESPN. Associated Press. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  25. ^ a b c d Blake, Meredith (2010-03-19). "'30 Rock': Liz Lemon refuses to settle". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  26. ^ Dorman, Larry; Elliott, Stuart (2009-12-03). "Woods Apologizes and Gets Support". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  27. ^ McCarthy, Michael (2010-02-26). "Gatorade ends endorsement contract with Tiger Woods". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  28. ^ Lyons, Margaret (2010-03-19). "'30 Rock' recap: The Geiss is right". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
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  32. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (2008-11-06). "30 Rock, "Believe in the Stars": Help me, Oprah Winfrey. You're my only hope". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  33. ^ Canning, Robert (2009-03-13). "30 Rock: "The Funcooker" Review". IGN. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
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  35. ^ Guzman, René A. (2010-05-21). "30 years of 'Empire'". San Antonio Express-News: 01F. Han Solo was frozen in carbonite in Empire Strikes Back partly because it was uncertain Harrison Ford would be back for a third Star Wars film
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  37. ^ a b Gorman, Bill (2010-03-19). "TV Ratings: March Madness Upsets Thursday; FlashForward Return Fizzles". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  38. ^ Gorman, Bill (2010-03-12). "TV Ratings: American Idol Leads Fox Win; Marriage Ref Loses Yardage". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  39. ^ O'Neil, Tom (2010-07-15). "Emmy episode entries revealed: Lea Michele, Hugh Laurie, Jim Parsons plus more". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2010-08-11. Retrieved 2010-07-17.
  40. ^ Serjeant, Jill (2011-09-18). "Jim Parsons wins best comedy actor Emmy". Reuters. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  41. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (2010-03-19). "30 Rock, 'Don Geiss, America and Hope': Jack moves on down to Kable Town". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  42. ^ Rabin, Nathan (2010-03-18). "Don Geiss, America and Hope". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  43. ^ Poniewozik, James (2010-03-19). "Thursday Comedies Watch: Flirting with Lizzaster". Time. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  44. ^ Gandert, Sean (2010-03-19). "30 Rock Review: "Don Geiss, America and Hope" (3.15)". Paste. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  45. ^ Catucci, Nick (2010-03-19). "30 Rock Recap: Gangway for Foot Cycle!". New York. Retrieved 2010-07-15.

External links

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