Into the Crevasse

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"Into the Crevasse"
30 Rock episode
Episode no.Season 4
Episode 2
Directed byBeth McCarthy-Miller
Written byRobert Carlock
Production code402
Original air dateOctober 22, 2009 (2009-10-22)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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30 Rock season 4
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"Into the Crevasse" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 60th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by co-showrunner and executive producer Robert Carlock and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on October 22, 2009. Guest stars in "Into the Crevasse" include Will Arnett, Caitlin Fowler, Shawn Gianella, Jon Glaser, and Savanna Samson.

The episode largely revolves around repercussions from a sketch "Dealbreakers" that

Washington D.C. for a hearing on microwaves and Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer) volunteers at an animal shelter
.

"Into the Crevasse" received generally positive reception from television critics. According to the

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

Plot

Background

Liz had written a

Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit), but both men grow angry with her for their spouses' subsequent anger with them both. At the end of "Kidney Now!" Liz tells Jack she has signed a book deal on the sketch.[2]

"Into the Crevasse"

This episode

J.D. Lutz (John Lutz), Pete, Tracy, and the janitor yell at her for providing advice which they believed damaged their relationships. Tracy's wife Angie (Sherri Shepherd) kicked him out of their home and he moves in with Liz as punishment for damaging his marriage. Once there he reads Liz's Dealbreakers book in detail and discovers that much of the book was written directly about him (calling his various oddities "deal breakers"). Also Jenna, angry with Liz over the search for a new cast member which started in the previous episode, travels to Iceland to film a low-budget werewolf
movie.

Meanwhile, Jack, who serves as Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming for

light bulb" to improve the microwave. Basing their ideas off the American auto industry
, they try to incorporate suggestions such as making the microwave bigger or making them break down more often so they require replacement, but Jack eventually abandons the project as a failure when the result is simply a car.

Kenneth takes some time off from his

adult stars acting out a scene of Jenna (Caitlin Fowler) and Liz (Savanna Samson
) apologizing to one another. Tracy shuts down production when filming gets too distasteful for him.

Production

Savanna Samson guest starred as the porn version of Liz Lemon in this episode.

"Into the Crevasse" was written by co-showrunner and executive producer Robert Carlock and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller,[3] a long-time television director who worked with 30 Rock creator Tina Fey on the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live.[4] "Into the Crevasse" originally aired in the United States on October 22, 2009, on NBC as the second episode of the show's fourth season and the 60th overall episode of the series.[3]

Comedic actor Will Arnett made his fifth appearance as Devon Banks on 30 Rock, after appearing on "Fireworks", "Jack Gets in the Game", "Succession", and "Do-Over". Jon Glaser, a comedy actor, guest starred as Mike, a nametag-wearing employee who grows angry with Liz Lemon after showing her a quote from her book.[5] Caitlin Fowler and Shawn Gianella appeared in "Into the Crevasse" as porn versions of Jenna Maroney and Jack Donaghy, respectively, while adult film actress Savanna Samson played the porn version of Liz, as part of Tracy Jordan owning Liz's life rights.[6] At the end of the episode, Gianella and Samson recreate an earlier scene in which Jack gives Liz her retainer, though, upon receiving the retainer, Samson asks Gianella "How will I ever thank you?" prompting Tracy to stop production.[6] This whole scene is a reference to a pornographic parody of 30 Rock released earlier the same year. Despite rumors to the contrary, the actors playing 'porn versions' of 30 Rock characters were not the same performers featured on the original parody.

Carlock was asked in a 2009 interview if the TGS writers were going to be seen more in the upcoming season, to which he replied, "One of the great things about this show and the blessing and the curse is that we have so many characters and so many different interactions between characters that work so well. [...] And so, yeah, absolutely because we love those guys".[7] In "Into the Crevasse", Frank, Toofer, and Lutz help Jack come up with ideas on how to improve microwaves.[6]

Part of this episode featured Jenna shooting a movie in Iceland as a retaliation to Liz, whom Jenna believes is behind the idea of adding a new cast member on TGS, a show Jenna stars in and Liz is the head writer for, though it was Jack's idea to cast a new actor.[6] In "Season 4", the season premiere episode, Jack explains that the show's staff have become too elitist and need to change to survive in tough economic times, and informs Liz to begin searching for a new cast member to help lessen this elitist image.[8] Jenna is not happy with this decision as she believes that her position on the show will be lessened with the arrival of a new actor. The search for a new cast member would continue throughout the season.

Cultural references

In redesigning a microwave Jack, Frank, and Toofer accidentally create a car that resembles the Pontiac Aztek.

The episode makes several references to the

November 19 congressional hearing.[9] The dilemma over bailout money also bears resemblance to federal bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler. In describing how he plans to destroy Jack's image, Devon says "by the time I'm done you're going to make AIG look like the Lehman Brothers of microwaves," a reference to two notable corporations from the financial crisis. Devon also says that in his search for an organization more powerful than GE he selected the American government because, "American Idol
's not on until January."

In their attempt to design a new microwave Jack, Frank, and Toofer change features on the microwave such as adding four doors and putting wheels on it until Jack stops the project saying they had "invented the Pontiac Aztek."[10] While living in Liz's apartment Tracy orders several adult films on pay-per-view including The Curious Case of Benjamin Butt and I'm-A-Do-Us, puns on the films The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and Amadeus (1984).[6] The story Jack tells Liz about the time he fell down into a crevasse and had to climb down into the darkness is inspired by the 1988 book Touching the Void.[11] In a discussion with Jenna about werewolves, Liz mentions "Thriller", a music video by recording artist Michael Jackson.[5]

Reception

Will Arnett received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in this episode.

According to the

Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards for his performance in this episode,[15] but lost it to actor Neil Patrick Harris for his guest appearance on Glee.[16]

Robert Canning of

TV Squad reported it was great to see Jack and NBC "still being affected by the economy, government bailouts, and Washington hearings". Sassone much preferred "Into the Crevasse" than "Season 4".[17] New York magazine contributor Mark Graham said this episode of 30 Rock saw the series "once again hitting a familiar, meta-flavored stride, as Tina Fey and her writing staff tried a 'ripped from the headlines' approach and took on recent real-life story lines like the 30 Rock porno".[18] "The return of Will Arnett, the existence of a Porn Liz, and one deal breaker after another: 'Into the Crevasse' had some killer lines, even if it didn't come together in one big narrative", remarked Margaret Lyons of Entertainment Weekly.[19] In his recap, TV Guide's Michael Anthony said that the Jack and Devon characters "really [knew] how to put a playful spin" on the bail out and government money story.[20]

Kevin Aeh of

Time Out Chicago said the episode "had some great lines" but overall it "was a little all over the place and, as a whole, not super hilarious."[21] Sean Gandert of Paste magazine also reviewed "Into the Crevasse," saying it "makes for an adequate, though not spectacular, episode" and that he was disappointed because he felt 30 Rock was beginning to "coast" as a series.[22] Television columnist Alan Sepinwall from The Star-Ledger was not impressed with Jenna's trip to Iceland, commenting that the show needs to find something new to do with the character or have her quit TGS. Sepinwall wrote that the writing staff have done "better iterations" of Tracy being mad at Liz story angles.[11] The A.V. Club's Nathan Rabin disliked "Into the Crevasse", noting that it fell short for its "tired storylines, an over-reliance on familiar faces to prop up weak gags and characters that are rapidly devolving into glib caricatures of themselves."[23]

References

General
Specific
  1. ^
    NBC Universal. NBC
    .
  2. ^ Lady Lola. "30 Rock — Kidney Now!". Yahoo! TV. Archived from the original on February 27, 2011. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  3. ^ a b "30 Rock — Into The Crevasse — Cast and Crew". Yahoo! TV. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  4. ^ Adalian, Josef (September 19, 2006). "'SNL' slimming down". Variety. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
  5. ^ a b c Blake, Meredith (October 23, 2009). "'30 Rock': The Odd Couple". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d e Lady Lola. "30 Rock — Into The Crevasse". Yahoo! TV. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  7. ^ Wagner, Curt (October 9, 2009). "Jack McBrayer or Kenny the Page? 'Same thing,' says '30 Rock' star". Chicago Now. Archived from the original on May 24, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  8. ^ "30 Rock — Season 4". Yahoo! TV. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  9. ^ Ross, Brian; Rhee, Joseph (November 2008). "Big Three CEOs flew private jets to plead for public funds". American Broadcasting Company. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  10. ^ a b Canning, Robert (October 22, 2009). "Into the Crevasse Review". IGN. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  11. ^ a b Sepinwall, Alan (October 22, 2009). "30 Rock, "Into the Crevasse": Werewolf bat mitzvah?". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  12. ^ Gorman, Bill (October 23, 2010). "TV Ratings Thursday: Community, FlashForward, Leno Down; Survivor, Grey's Up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  13. ^ Gorman, Bill (October 16, 2009). "TV Ratings Thursday: 30 Rock Premieres Down Sharply, Vampire Diaries Hits Highs". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  14. ^ Levine, Stuart (October 23, 2009). "ABC tops ratings with 'Grey's,' 'Private'". Variety. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  15. ^ Porter, Rick (July 8, 2010). "Emmy nominations: The complete list". Zap2it. Archived from the original on July 10, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  16. ^ "Betty White, Neil Patrick Harris snag an Emmy". The Star-Ledger. August 23, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  17. TV Squad
    . Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  18. ^ Graham, Mark (October 23, 2009). "30 Rock Takes a Gentle Poke at Ben Silverman's Post-NBC Plans". New York. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  19. ^ Lyons, Margaret (October 23, 2009). "'30 Rock' best lines: Climb into the darkness". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  20. ^ Anthony, Michael (October 23, 2009). "30 Rock Episode Recap: "Into the Crevasse"". TV Guide. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  21. Time Out Chicago. Archived from the original
    on October 26, 2009. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  22. ^ Gandert, Sean (October 28, 2009). "30 Rock review. "Into the Crevasse"". Paste. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  23. ^ Rabin, Nathan (October 22, 2009). "Into The Crevasse". The A.V. Club. Retrieved July 29, 2010.

External links

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