Stone Mountain (30 Rock)
"Stone Mountain" | |
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30 Rock episode | |
Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 3 |
Directed by | Don Scardino |
Written by | John Riggi |
Production code | 403 |
Original air date | October 29, 2009 |
Guest appearances | |
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"Stone Mountain" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 61st overall episode of the series. The episode was written by co-executive producer John Riggi and directed by series producer Don Scardino. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on October 29, 2009. Guest stars in "Stone Mountain" include Jeff Dunham and Bubba J, Jimmy Fallon, Blaine Horton, and Betty White.
In the episode,
"Stone Mountain" received generally mixed reception from television critics, with Meredith Blake of the Los Angeles Times calling it "disappointing".[1] According to the Nielsen Media Research, it was watched by 6.011 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 3.0 rating/7 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.
Plot
The search for a new TGS with Tracy Jordan cast member continues as the episode opens with Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) approaching Liz Lemon (Tina Fey)—the show's head writer—inquiring how the search has been going. Unhappy with her suggestions of someone from San Francisco, California or Canada, Jack decides to travel with Liz to NBC page Kenneth Parcell's (Jack McBrayer) hometown of Stone Mountain, Georgia to find a comic from "real America". Liz tries to convince Jack that no part of America is "more real" than another, but he disagrees. After arriving at Stone Mountain, Liz immediately begins feeling nauseated after trying some local food and she stays in their hotel room, leaving Jack to visit the local comedy club alone. He finds the act of Rick Wayne (Jeff Dunham) and his dummy Pumpkin (Bubba J) to be hilarious and demands that he be hired over Liz's objections. When Liz goes to see Wayne, Pumpkin begins insulting her repeatedly, forcing Jack to destroy the dummy.
Meanwhile,
At the same time,
Production
"Stone Mountain" was written by co-executive producer John Riggi and directed by series producer Don Scardino. This was Riggi's eighth writing credit,[2] and Scardino's twenty-third directed episode.[3] "Stone Mountain" originally aired on NBC in the United States on October 29, 2009, as the third episode of the show's fourth season and the 61st overall episode of the series.[4] This episode of 30 Rock was filmed on October 15,[5] October 16,[6] and October 20, 2009.[7]
In September 2009, it was announced that actress Betty White would guest star on the show playing herself.
30 Rock executive producer Robert 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". Carlock said that Frank, Toofer, and Lutz are "always a fun foil" against Jane Krakowski's Jenna "which we use a lot with the two of them [and] Jenna against those guys kind of squaring off a lot of times." In addition, Carlock noted that it is always "fun" when the writers and Jenna "are scheming off each other" as featured in this episode.[11]
The episode largely revolved around Jack and Liz Lemon traveling to Stone Mountain, Georgia in search of a new cast member for the fictional
Cultural references
When Tracy calls Betty White, she is seen reading the book From Peanut to President,
Reception
According to the Nielsen Media Research, "Stone Mountain" was watched by 6.011 million viewers during its original United States broadcast. The rating was a 9 percent drop in viewership from the previous week's episode, "Into the Crevasse",[18] which was seen by 6.684 million American viewers.[19] The show claimed a 3.0 rating/7 share among viewers aged 18 to 49,[18] meaning that 3.0 percent of all people in that group, and 7 percent of all people from that group watching television at the time, watched the episode.
The episode received generally mixed critical reception. Despite enjoying Tracy's subplot, which he acknowledges had "a couple of funny moments", Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger wrote that this episode was a "mediocre" one from season four.[20] The A.V. Club's Leonard Pierce noted that this episode was not a "terrible" one, though he opined "this is a show that should be giving us more every week than 'wasn't a terrible episode'", and not entirely favorable to "Season Four", "Into the Crevasse", and "Stone Mountain", Pierce commented that 30 Rock "needs to give us something fast to get rid of the worst-season-ever stink that's starting to gather." In conclusion, he gave it a C grade rating.[21] Time contributor James Poniewozik reported that the "middle America" theme "would have played a little stronger if (1) it wasn't vocalized so blatantly and repeatedly by Liz and Jack and (2) if it hadn't already been the theme of ['Season 4'] two weeks ago."[22] Meredith Blake, a contributor for the Los Angeles Times, was not complimentary towards "Stone Mountain", citing Jeff Dunham's appearance as the major problem, and concluded by calling the episode "disappointing" and a "letdown".[1] New York magazine contributor Lane Brown also found it unfavorable, calling it a "sorta disappointing episode", and concluded "...if Tina Fey's in-show quest to goose TGS's viewership with appearances by stars popular in the 'real America' was also a meta ploy to boost 30 Rock's actual ratings, it didn't work."[23]
Sean Gandert of
References
- General
- Writer(s): NBC Universal. NBC.
- Specific
- ^ a b c Blake, Meredith (2009-10-30). "'30 Rock': Master of Puppets". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- ^ a b c d e "30 Rock — Stone Mountain". Yahoo! TV. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- NBC Universal Media Village. 2009-10-15. Archived from the originalon 2012-03-11. Retrieved 2010-07-02. Save Picture as → Right click file → Properties → Summary → Advanced → Date Picture Taken
- NBC Universal Media Village. 2009-10-16. Archived from the originalon 2012-03-11. Retrieved 2010-07-02. Save Picture as → Right click file → Properties → Summary → Advanced → Date Picture Taken
- NBC Universal Media Village. 2009-10-20. Archived from the originalon 2012-03-11. Retrieved 2010-07-02. Save Picture as → Right click file → Properties → Summary → Advanced → Date Picture Taken
- ^ a b Porter, Rick (2009-09-22). "Betty White gets a piece of '30 Rock'". Zap2it. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- ^ Richardson, Jay (2010-04-19). "Interview: Jeff Dunham, ventriloquist". The Scotsman. p. 1. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- ^ Wagner, Curt (2009-10-09). "Jack McBrayer or Kenny the Page? 'Same thing,' says '30 Rock' star". Chicago Now. Archived from the original on 2010-05-24. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
- ^ "30 Rock — Season 4". Yahoo! TV. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- ^ Rabin, Nathan (2009-10-15). "Season 4". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- ^ Gandert, Sean (2009-11-06). "30 Rock Review: "Audition Day" (Episode 4.4)". Paste. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
- ^ Gay, Verne (2009-10-13). "'30 Rock' returns in top form in season premiere". Newsday. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- TV Squad. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- Daily News (New York). Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- ^ a b "Updated TV Ratings Thursday: Fox Wins as Yankees Even World Series". TV by the Numbers. 2009-10-30. Archived from the original on 2012-06-03. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- ^ Gorman, Bill (2009-10-23). "TV Ratings Thursday: Community, FlashForward, Leno Down; Survivor, Grey's Up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- ^ Sepinwall, Alan (2009-10-30). "30 Rock, "Stone Mountain": Jack and Liz go on a road trip". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- ^ Pierce, Leonard (2009-10-29). "Stone Mountain". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- ^ Poniewozik, James (2009-10-30). "Halloween Comedy Watch: Who Wants a Chuckle?". Time. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
- ^ Brown, Lane (2009-10-30). "No Dunham Bump for 30 Rock Ratings". New York. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
- ^ Gandert, Sean (2009-10-30). "30 Rock Review: "Stone Mountain" (episode 4.3)". Paste. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
- TV Squad. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- ^ Hyden, Steven (2009-11-20). "Sun Tea". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
- ^ Canning, Robert (2009-10-30). "30 Rock: "Stone Mountain" Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2009-11-02. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
External links
- "Stone Mountain" at IMDb