The Bubble (30 Rock)

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"The Bubble"
30 Rock episode
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 15
Directed byTricia Brock
Written byTina Fey
Production code315
Original air dateMarch 19, 2009 (2009-03-19)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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"Apollo, Apollo"
30 Rock season 3
List of episodes

"The Bubble" is the

Calvin Klein and Meredith Vieira
.

In the episode, Liz Lemon (Fey) discovers that her boyfriend Drew (Hamm) lives in a "bubble" because of his good looks, and has never experienced many of the unpleasant phenomena in life. At the same time, Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) decides to leave the fictitious sketch comedy show The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan (TGS) because he no longer needs the money, and Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) decides to cut her hair as a publicity stunt.

"The Bubble" received generally positive reviews. According to the

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
, respectively.

Plot

The episode begins with

Heimlich maneuver, even though he is a doctor, and cannot play tennis
, despite the fact that he worked as a tennis coach, Liz decides that she has to leave Drew, and ends their relationship.

Meanwhile, at TGS, it is time to renew

Today Show, where her haircut will be broadcast. Meredith Vieira
asks Jenna's opinion on the news that Tracy has left TGS. At learning this, Jenna bails out on her haircut.

After discovering that Tracy is still in contact with NBC page Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer), Jack realizes that their relationship is the key to bringing Tracy back to TGS. Jack, therefore, orders Kenneth to break off all contact with Tracy, although this fails because of Kenneth's relationship with Tracy. Seeing an opportunity, Jack states that since Kenneth's duties were primarily taking care of Tracy, and Tracy no longer works at NBC, Kenneth is no longer needed. Not wanting Kenneth to lose his job, Tracy agrees to return on the stipulation that Kenneth keeps his job.

Production

Series creator Tina Fey believed that there was no possibility of getting Jon Hamm to guest star on the show.

"The Bubble" was written by series creator, executive producer and lead actress Tina Fey. The director of this episode was Tricia Brock.[1] This was Fey's sixteenth writing credit, and Brock's first directed episode. "The Bubble" originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 19, 2009.

When actor Jon Hamm hosted the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) in October 2008, negotiations took place with the show's producers for him to guest star on 30 Rock.[2][3] In December 2008, it was confirmed Hamm would appear as a love interest for Fey's character, Liz Lemon.[4][5] It was also announced by NBC that Hamm would star in a three-episode arc;[6] he made his debut in the February 5, 2009, episode "Generalissimo", and made a second appearance in "St. Valentine's Day".[7] "The Bubble" was the completion of Hamm's three episode arc,[8] though Hamm made appearances on the show's fourth season episodes "Anna Howard Shaw Day" and "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land".[9][10]

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Fey said that when the writing staff is developing a script, "We'll have an actor in mind and we'll keep referring to them. Like for this we said, 'Then Hamm comes in, blah blah blah.'" She believed that there was no possibility of getting Hamm though: "we were lucky with the timing because Mad Men was on hiatus and he was hosting SNL. So I called over there and asked them [whispering], 'Hey, is that guy funny? Tell me the truth.' And they were like, 'Yes, he's really funny.' By Saturday I knew they were right."[5]

All of Liz and Drew's scenes were filmed on January 15, 2009, in the

Today show co-host Meredith Vieira's third guest appearance as herself,[16] having appeared in the episodes "Greenzo" and "Larry King".[17][18]

Cultural references

After Kenneth buys Tracy's food, Tracy calls Kenneth his

Rachel haircut, made famous by actress Jennifer Aniston, as the character Rachel Green on the show Friends. Later, Jenna says she does not want to make the wrong choice with her hair explaining she does not want to end up like actress Keri Russell from Felicity season two.[19]

During an attempt to get Tracey to return to the show by having an employee imitate Bill Cosby, Tracey yells "You’ve got a lot of nerve getting on the phone with me after what you did to my Aunt Paulette!". Show Runner Robert Carlock confirmed this to be a reference to Cosby's sexual assault allegations.[21]

Kenneth tells Jack that when he and Tracy watch the show Lost he always holds Tracy's hand,[22] due to the show's mysterious plots. After learning that Tracy has quit the show, Liz mocks Jack, in a deep voice, saying "Be a manager. Control your people. Buy better clothes." Jack explains his plans to her on how he will get Tracy to return, with Liz once again mocking Jack, this time in a deep raspy voice, "Just get it done. Nope. I lost it. That was Batman",[22] a reference to actor Christian Bale's voice as the superhero in the Batman films.[23][24]

During the scenes where Liz and Drew are together, the music piece "Theme from A Summer Place" is played.[citation needed]

Reception

Jon Hamm received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in this episode.

According to the

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, respectively.[27][28]

The episode received generally positive reviews, although most reviewers found some of the storylines more effective than others. Robert Canning of

Cerie)", but nonetheless enjoyed the "variations" of the joke saying they were "well-conceived". Sepinwall concluded, "this was one of the funniest 30 Rock's of the season.[23] Zap2it's Rick Porter was also favorable to "The Bubble" in his recap, opining that 30 Rock "gave us a very well-done episode". As with Lyons and Poniewozik, Porter felt Jenna's story "didn't really click", but liked the scene with Jenna and her stylist team firing off words to describe Jenna's beauty as "scathingly funny."[31]

The A.V. Club's Nathan Rabin enjoyed Hamm's role as Drew, reporting that his character "initially seemed too good to be true but the show gradually revealed him to be imperfect and even fucked up enough to be plausible. [...] The Hamm subplot was very funny and well-executed".[32] Sepinwall also praised Hamm, writing, "Finally! It took three episodes ... but Tina Fey (who wrote this one) let Jon Hamm be funny on his way out the door."[23]

Not all reviews were positive. Matt Mitovich of TV Guide wrote, "I must be honest ... This A-story was ridiculous, and not in the hysterical way. When I first read the logline about Drew 'getting by on his good looks,' I thought we'd witness the occasional favoritism. But horrid doctor skills and flailing at the very public sport of tennis, and his obliviousness to it all? Hamm got a turkey of an exit story, sorry."[19]

References

  1. ^ "30 Rock: Episodes". London: Screenrush (AlloCiné). Retrieved 2010-05-26.
  2. ^ Rorke, Robert (2009-02-01). "'Rock'-Y Road to Romance — Jon Hamm Goes 'Mad' For Tina Fey". New York Post. Archived from the original on 2010-02-22. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
  3. ^ Gray, Ellen (2009-08-06). "Jon Hamm returns to 'Mad Men,' but look for changes". Philadelphia Daily News.
  4. ^ "Don Draper and Liz Lemon?: Hamm to guest on '30 Rock'". USA Today. Associated Press. 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
  5. ^ a b c Armstrong, Jennifer (2009-01-21). "Tina Fey and Jon Hamm talk about coupling up on '30 Rock'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
  6. ^ Ryan, Maureen (2009-01-08). "Liz Lemon has date with a 'Mad' man". Chicago Tribune: 5.
  7. ^ Canning, Robert (2009-02-13). "30 Rock: "St. Valentine's Day" Review". IGN TV. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
  8. ^ Thompson, Kevin D. (2009-03-20). "Liz dumps her handsome "bubble" man on "30 Rock"". The Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on 2010-02-14. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
  9. ^ Blake, Meredith (2010-02-12). "'30 Rock': It's Anna Howard Shaw Day!". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2010-03-24. Retrieved 2010-03-18.
  10. National Public Radio
    . Retrieved 2010-05-19.
  11. Universal Studios Home Entertainment
    .
  12. ^ "Jon Hamm and Tina Fey". New York Post: 025. 2009-01-16. Mad Men actor Jon Hamm and Tina Fey [shot] an episode of 30 Rock on the Upper West Side yesterday [January 15, 2009]
  13. ^ Odell, Amy (2009-01-23). "Victoria Beckham Now in Russian Vogue; Calvin Klein Spotted at 30 Rock". New York. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  14. ^ Ward, Kate (2009-03-20). "Bobb'e J. Thompson: Give this kid his own show!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
  15. ^ Rabin, Nathan (2008-11-20). "Gavin Volure". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
  16. ^ "30 Rock Episode: "The Bubble"". TV Guide. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
  17. ^ Labrecque, Jeff (2007-11-09). "30 Rock: Global Warping". Entertainment Weekly. p. 1. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
  18. ^ Porter, Rick (2009-02-26). "'30 Rock' plays devil's avocado". Zap2it. Archived from the original on 2010-04-16. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
  19. ^ a b c Mitovich, Matt (2009-03-20). "30 Rock Episode Recap: "The Bubble"". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  20. ^ a b Lyons, Margaret (2009-03-30). "'30 Rock': The Bubble". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  21. ^ "30 Rock showrunner says Bill Cosby joke was not an accident". Entertainment Weekly. Edmonton. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  22. ^
    TV Squad
    . Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  23. ^ a b c Sepinwall, Alan (2009-03-30). "30 Rock, "The Bubble": Pretty dumb". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  24. ^ "Batman's voice: Eastwood meets grizzly bear". MSNBC. Associated Press. 2008-08-03. Archived from the original on 2010-05-15. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
  25. ^ Gorman, Bill (2009-03-20). "Thursday Ratings: Down To The Wire". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  26. ^ "Nielsen primetime ratings report: week 26". Variety. 2009-03-30. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  27. ^ Bland, Pete (2009-07-16). "Hamm gets two Emmy nods". Columbia Daily Tribune. Archived from the original on 2009-07-20. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  28. ^ O'Neil, Tom (2009-08-10). "Best supporting comedy actor: Neil Patrick Harris, Rainn Wilson or Jon Cryer?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
  29. ^ Canning, Robert (2009-03-20). "30 Rock: "The Bubble" Review". IGN TV. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  30. ^ Poniewozik, James (2009-03-20). "30 Rock Watch: Bubble Trouble". Time. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  31. ^ Porter, Rick (2009-03-30). "'30 Rock' goes inside the bubble". Zap2it. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  32. ^ Rabin, Nathan (2009-03-19). "The Bubble". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2010-03-11.

External links

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