When It Rains, It Pours (30 Rock)

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"When It Rains, It Pours"
30 Rock episode
Episode no.Season 5
Episode 2
Directed byDon Scardino
Written byRobert Carlock
Production code502
Original air dateSeptember 30, 2010 (2010-09-30)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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"The Fabian Strategy" 		Next →
"Let's Stay Together"
30 Rock season 5
List of episodes

"When It Rains, It Pours" is the

Joanna Adler, Ben Bailey, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Castaldo, Paul Giamatti, Andrea Mitchell, Chris Parnell, Sherri Shepherd, and Brian Williams
.

In the episode,

Pete Hornberger's (Scott Adsit) problem with a difficult television editor named Ritchie (Paul Giamatti). Meanwhile, Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) decides to teach his unborn child with his girlfriend Avery Jessup (Elizabeth Banks) how to live. Elsewhere, Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) is determined to be with his wife Angie Jordan (Sherri Shepherd) when she gives birth, and a mysterious individual is making sure Kenneth Parcell's (Jack McBrayer) page duties
at the fictitious show The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan (TGS) at NBC are still getting done.

"When It Rains, It Pours" received generally positive reviews from television critics. According to the

Writers Guild of America Award
for Episodic Comedy.

The beginning of this episode features a construction worker played by Mike Carlsen, who was later retconned into being Carlsen's character Mikey Politano from Fey and Carlock's later show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.[1]

Plot

Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit) with a problem he has had with a difficult television editor named Ritchie (Paul Giamatti
). Liz visits him in the editing room and hopes to convince him to get TGS's show's opener footage finished as soon as possible in which she is successful after flirting with Ritchie. Later, Liz learns that Ritchie is spreading a rumor that the two are sleeping together. She confronts Ritchie about it, he admits to starting the rumor in order to get the attention of his assistant editor Donna (Joanna Adler). Later, Liz and Ritchie have a pretend break-up in front of Donna, and Donna becomes interested in Ritchie.

Meanwhile, Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) and his girlfriend CNBC host Avery Jessup (Elizabeth Banks) tell Liz that they are expecting a son. Liz congratulates them and tells the two that their son will have an old dad as Jack is in his early 50s. As a result of what Liz said, Jack fears that he will not be around so he decides to teach his unborn son how to live by recording a video containing advice for him. Later, Jack learns that he and Avery are in fact expecting a daughter and not a son. Jack realizes that he needs to make new tapes and in the tape he says to his unborn daughter "If you have the blondeness and self-esteem of your mother, you will need no advice."[2]

At the same time,

Cash Cab
—informs Tracy that he is a contestant. As part of the game, Tracy must answer questions to win money and reach his destination. As a result, Tracy answers all the questions correctly and arrives at the hospital in time to witness the birth of his daughter.

In addition, Liz and Jenna are surprised how smoothly everything is running in the TGS set without Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer), a former NBC page. Unbeknownst to everyone, there is a "mystery man" going around TGS in a black cape completing all of the tasks that Kenneth would do. While Jack is recording a video, he catches Kenneth in his office, revealing that Kenneth has been the one completing all of his old tasks. Kenneth says that he is there because he knows how much he is needed, but Jack tells him that they do not need him and he must move on with his life. Hurt and bewildered, Kenneth leaves, and Jack says in the video for his unborn child that the exchange between him and Kenneth was really "tough love" and he had just sent Kenneth on a journey. Later, Kenneth gets a phone call from Angie, who is delirious on pain killers. At the same time, as Tracy is on the game show, Angie tells Kenneth to find Tracy. Unable to do so, Kenneth takes a cardboard cut-out of Tracy and pretends to be him as she is giving birth until Tracy comes in and pushes Kenneth out of the way. Later, Jack tells Kenneth that he is truly needed back at TGS and offers to talk to human resources to get his job back, but Kenneth refuses and says he will re-apply to the page program, following the proper procedures.

Production

Andrea Mitchell (left) and Brian Williams (right) played themselves in this episode of 30 Rock.

This episode of 30 Rock was written by co-

show runner and executive producer Robert Carlock and directed by series producer Don Scardino. This was Carlock's sixteenth writing credit,[3] and Scardino's twenty-eighth directed episode.[4] "When It Rains, It Pours" originally aired in the United States on September 30, 2010, on NBC as the second episode of the show's fifth season and the 82nd overall episode of the series.[5] This episode of 30 Rock was filmed on August 30,[6] August 31,[7] September 2,[8] September 5,[9] and September 8, 2010.[10]

In August 2010, series creator, executive producer and lead actress Tina Fey revealed to

Dr. Leo Spaceman, the doctor who assisted in the birth of Angie and Tracy's daughter in the episode,[16] has appeared in the main cast of Saturday Night Live (SNL),[17] a weekly sketch comedy series which airs on NBC in the United States. Tina Fey was the head writer on SNL from 1999 until 2006.[18]

News anchors

Cash Cab played himself.[23] In the beginning of the episode, several men hit on Liz, which surprises her, and one of those men who hits on her was credited as "Moonvest" and was played by Craig Castaldo, or known as Radio Man.[24]
Castaldo has made numerous appearances on the program.

Reception

In its original American broadcast, "When It Rains, It Pours" drew in 5.688 million households, according to the

Writers Guild of America Award for Episodic Comedy for his work in this episode of 30 Rock.[27]

Paul Giamatti's appearance on the show was appreciated by critics.

Television columnist Alan Sepiwall for HitFix called this the best overall episode since

The Office, which aired on NBC the same night.[31] Brad Sanders of the Indiana Daily Student wrote that Giamatti played his part brilliantly, and that his involvement in the main plot was "well-written, well-organized, and by far the best thing about the episode".[32]

TV Squad commented that Giamatti "seems like he could be an editor at NBC, so the guest role didn't irritate or grate". Sassone enjoyed Kenneth and Tracy's stories here, and was glad that Jack and Avery have remained a couple.[33] Verne Gay of Newsday noted that this episode of 30 Rock was a "spectacular piece of television, and comedy writing, and acting".[34] Scott Eidler of The Cornell Daily Sun called Tracy's plot "very believable", and opined that "any reservations I have had about this show being less than completely real are gone" after watching this episode.[35] Meredith Blake of the Los Angeles Times deemed this a stellar episode, explaining that the Tracy, Liz, and Jack characters had storylines that allowed them "to strut their comedic stuff".[16] Time contributor James Poniewozik reported that "When It Rains, It Pours" was a very good episode. He noted that Jack's storyline was the "simplest recipe for comedy: just turn on a camera and let Alec Baldwin be hilarious. But it came within the story of his accepting having a [child] assessing his mortality, and trying to distill what matters in his life". Poniewozik was positive towards Liz's plot with Giamatti, reporting that her plot "involved one of the best guest roles in a sometimes too guest-heavy role" and enjoyed the traits from Giamatti's Ritchie.[36]

References

  1. ^ "Liz Gets Cat Called | 30 Rock" – via www.youtube.com.
  2. ^ a b Lady Lola. "30 Rock — When It Rains, It Pours — Recap". Yahoo! TV. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  3. Internet Movie Database
    . Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  4. Internet Movie Database
    . Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  5. ^ "Listings - 30 Rock". The Futon Critic. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
  6. NBC Universal
    Media Village. August 30, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010. Save Picture as → Right click file → Properties → Summary → Advanced → Date Picture Taken
  7. NBC Universal
    Media Village. August 31, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010. Save Picture as → Right click file → Properties → Summary → Advanced → Date Picture Taken
  8. NBC Universal
    Media Village. September 2, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010. Save Picture as → Right click file → Properties → Summary → Advanced → Date Picture Taken
  9. NBC Universal
    Media Village. September 5, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010. Save Picture as → Right click file → Properties → Summary → Advanced → Date Picture Taken
  10. NBC Universal
    Media Village. September 8, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010. Save Picture as → Right click file → Properties → Summary → Advanced → Date Picture Taken
  11. ^ Ausiello, Michael (August 30, 2010). "Emmy Video: Tina Fey nabs Jon Hamm for '30 Rock' live episode (and Paul Giamatti, period!)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  12. ^ O'Connell, Mikey (September 15, 2010). "First look at '30 Rock' Season 5: Gratuitous Matt Damon and other guests". Zap2it. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
  13. ^ "30 Rock — Tina Talks About the Season Premiere". NBC. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  14. Internet Movie Database
    . Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  15. Internet Movie Database
    . Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  16. ^ a b Blake, Meredith (September 30, 2010). "'30 Rock' recap: 'When It Rains, It Pours'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  17. ^ Barrett, Annie (December 7, 2006). "What SNL alums besides Chris Parnell should guest on 30 Rock?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  18. ^ Goodwin, Christopher (May 11, 2008). "And funny with it". The Guardian. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  19. ^ a b Weiner, Juli (October 1, 2010). "Re-cap: 30 Observations About Last Night's 30 Rock". Vanity Fair. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
  20. The Huffington Post
    . 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  21. ^ Canning, Robert (November 6, 2009). "30 Rock: "Audition Day" Review". IGN. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  22. ^ Blake, Meredith (March 12, 2010). "'30 Rock': Liz meets her future husband (we hope)". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
  23. ^ Kandell, Steve (October 1, 2010). "30 Rock: Sex, Lies, and Videotape". New York. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  24. NBC Universal. NBC
    .
  25. ^ a b Gorman, Bill (October 1, 2010). "TV Ratings Thursday: My Generation Crashes; 30 Rock Steady; Most Shows Fall". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 19, 2010. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  26. ^ Fitzgerald, Toni (October 1, 2010). "Thursday shows slide in week two". Media Life Magazine. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  27. ^ Fernandez, Jay A.; Georg Szalai (February 5, 2011). "'Inception,' 'Social Network' Win Top WGA Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
  28. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (October 1, 2010). "'30 Rock' - 'When It Rains, It Pours': Cash Cab confessions". HitFix. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  29. ^ Rabin, Nathan (September 30, 2010). "When it Rains, it Pours". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  30. ^ Barrett, Annie (October 1, 2010). "'30 Rock' recap: It's a Dad Dad Dad Dad World". Entertainment Weekly. p. 1. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  31. ^ Urban, Samantha (September 30, 2010). "What we're watching: 'Community,' '30 Rock,' 'The Office'". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  32. ^ Sanders, Brad (October 2, 2010). "30 Rock: "The Fabian Strategy" and "When It Rains, It Pours"". Indiana Daily Student. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  33. TV Squad
    . Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  34. ^ Gay, Verne (October 1, 2010). "'30 Rock:' Un. Be. Lieve. A. Ble". Newsday. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  35. ^ Eidler, Scott (October 1, 2010). "30 Rock Recap: Put Potato Chips On A Sandwich!". The Cornell Daily Sun. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
  36. ^ Poniewozik, James (October 1, 2010). "NBC Sitcoms Watch: Animated Comedy". Time. Retrieved October 1, 2010.

External links

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