30 Rock Poker Scene
30 Rock is available now on Peacock, the new streaming service from NBCUniversal. Watch thousands of hours of hit movies and shows, plus daily news, sports, and pop culture updates. 30 Rock, like Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon, was a bit of a late bloomer though. While the show is phenomenally weird, hilarious, it was oft-times uneven comedy in the early seasons.
(This would be a terrible idea; of television 30 Rock was born and of television 30 Rock was meant to be.) The seams are showing here, which both invites the viewer’s understanding and prompts us to want something better. And then sequences like the poker games from “Blind Date” come forward, and they make the waiting worth it. Kenneth Ellen Parcell is a fictional character on the NBC comedy television series, 30 Rock, portrayed by Jack McBrayer.Originally a supporting character in the first two episodes of the series, the show's producers eventually viewed him as a breakout character. For his portrayal of Kenneth Parcell, McBrayer received one Primetime Emmy Award nomination and seven Screen Actors Guild Award. John Francis 'Jack' Donaghy (/ ˈ d ɒ n ə ɡ iː / DON-ə-gee) is a fictional character on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, airing from 2006 to 2013.The character was created by series creator Tina Fey, and is portrayed by Alec Baldwin.He was introduced as the Vice.
Remember how 30 Rock and Studio 60 premiered at the same time, and everyone knew that there was only room for one “behind the scenes at a late-night sketch comedy show” series, and most people, it seemed, had their money on the Sorkin one? Before they aired, one of my friends even dismissed 30 Rock “the un-funny sitcom version” of what was sure to be the far-superior Studio 60.
Well that obviously turned out to not be true. But while Studio 60 became universally hated, 30 Rock was busy being universally ignored. No one I knew was watching 30 Rock. I fell instantly in love, but felt as though I were by myself. I tried to get my friends into it, but nobody was biting. Until, that is, Jack and Kenneth played poker.
30 Rock is kind of a behind-the-scenes show, but it’s more about the absolute absurdity of the people who work there. While TGS was pretty prominent in season one, it all but disappeared by the end of season 3. So while the first season focused more on the office politics, the third episode of the series, “Blind Date,” gave us a taste of what was to come.
In this episode, Jack and Liz are still trying to figure out their relationship. She sees him as “the man,” and he sees her as someone who “hasn’t been touched in any way” in quite a long time, and sets her up on a date with a woman. So while Liz is off figuring out whether or not she can become a lesbian, even though she’s not into the “sex stuff,” Jack invades the writers’ weekly poker game.
It is in this poker game that we discover that Alec Baldwin isn’t going to be merely playing the straight man on this show; that even though he is playing the big executive, he isn’t above getting drunk and channeling a little Hannibal Lecter while playing poker with a hapless NBC page.
Unfortunately, this is the only clip I could find of this encounter between Kenneth and Jack, so you don’t really get to see how brilliant Jack McBrayer is in this episode. But this is the one in which McBrayer began to transition from quirky background player to integral member of the cast. Between this and Baldwin infusing a sense of humor into the Jack Donaghy character, I had a lot less trouble convincing people to give 30 Rock a chance after this episode.
Categories: 30 Rock Blowing the Hatch Clack Features General TV Shows
| 'Blind Date' | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Rock episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 3 | ||
| Directed by | Adam Bernstein | ||
| Written by | John Riggi | ||
| Production code | 103 | ||
| Original air date | October 25, 2006 | ||
| Guest appearance(s) | |||
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| 30 Rock (season 1) | |||
| List of 30 Rock episodes | |||
'Blind Date' is the third episode of the first season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock. It was written by co-executive producer John Riggi and directed by Adam Bernstein. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) in the United States on October 25, 2006. Guest stars in this episode include Brett Baer, Katrina Bowden, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, John Lutz, Stephanie March, Maulik Pancholy, Keith Powell, and Lonny Ross.
The episode focuses on Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) setting up Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) on a blind date with a friend of his (March). At the same time, Jack infiltrates the TGS with Tracy Jordan writers'—Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit), Josh Girard (Ross), Frank Rossitano (Judah Friedlander), James 'Toofer' Spurlock (Powell), and J. D. Lutz (Lutz)—weekly poker game and starts winning hands until NBC pageKenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer) joins in and proves to be a surprisingly adept player.
'Blind Date' has received generally positive reviews from television critics. According to the Nielsen ratings system, the episode was watched by 6.01 million viewers during its original broadcast, and received a 2.2 rating/6 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic. 'Blind Date' was nominated for Outstanding Individual Episode (in a series without a regular gay character) at the 18th GLAAD Media Awards.
Plot[edit]
Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) is concerned that Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) is stressed and underperforming as the head writer of TGS with Tracy Jordan because of a lack of human contact. He suggests that she go on a date with his friend 'Thomas', which she initially refuses. When she almost chokes to death alone in her apartment that night, an action that Jack had foreshadowed as 'a single woman's biggest worry,' she changes her mind. She meets her date in a restaurant and finds that Jack has set her up with Gretchen Thomas (Stephanie March), a lesbian. Although Liz and Gretchen have great chemistry, Gretchen is not interested in chasing after a 'straight girl'. The next day, Liz chastises Jack for thinking she was a lesbian. At night, Liz gets lonely and calls Gretchen. After sharing their fears as single women, they go to dinner. There, Gretchen expresses that she feels she is starting to chase the 'straight girl' and says they should stop seeing each other. Liz attempts to make a pact that they get back together after 25 years and start a relationship then if they are both still single, but Gretchen walks away.
At the same time, poker night is a Thursday night tradition among Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit), Josh Girard (Lonny Ross), Frank Rossitano (Judah Friedlander), James 'Toofer' Spurlock (Keith Powell), and J. D. Lutz (John Lutz), the TGS staff. Jack and Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) join them for the first time. Jack is able to read and defeat all of the other players, except for NBC pageKenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer), who wins the final hand. The next day, Jack sets up another poker night. Eventually, Jack and Kenneth come down to the final hand. Jack has more chips and goes all-in. He offers to make the hand winner-take-all if Kenneth bets his page jacket. Kenneth agrees, and Jack's pair of twos beats Kenneth's king high. Liz asks why Kenneth would bet on a hand like that, and he responds that he enjoys living on the edge and was also confused about the rules. Jack stops Kenneth from leaving, explains that he only made Kenneth bet his job to prove his power over him, and returns the jacket to Kenneth with the expectation that he come in early on Monday.
Production[edit]
'Blind Date' was written by co-executive producer John Riggi and was directed by supervising producer Adam Bernstein.[1] This episode originally aired on October 25, 2006, on NBC as the third episode of the show's first season. This episode featured a guest appearance from actress Stephanie March, who played Gretchen Thomas. That season's co-executive producer Brett Baer had a brief appearance in 'Blind Date' as a man who hits on Liz after Gretchen leaves.[2]
One filmed scene from 'Blind Date' was cut out from the airing. Instead, the scene was featured on 30 Rock's season 1 DVD as part of the deleted scenes in the Bonus feature. In the scene, Pete comes to Liz's office and tells her about how Jack set-up the TGS stage in which they can play poker. Liz asks him if it would be all right if she brings Gretchen to the poker game.[3]
Towards the end of the episode Jack declares about Kenneth; 'in five years we'll all either be working for him, or dead by his hand'. This inadvertently foreshadows the events of Season 7 when Jack personally chooses Kenneth to be his replacement as the head of NBC.
Reception[edit]
According to the Nielsen ratings system, 'Blind Date' was viewed by 6.01 million viewers upon its original broadcast in the United States.[4] It earned a 2.2 rating/6 share in the 18–49 demographic.[5] This means that it was seen by 2.2 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 6 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This was an increase from the previous episode, 'The Aftermath', as it was watched by 5.7 million American viewers.[6] This episode was the 72nd most watched episode of the week.[4] 'Blind Date' was nominated at the 18th GLAAD Media Awards for Outstanding Individual Episode (in a series without a regular gay character),[7] but lost to the Grey's Anatomy episode 'Where the Boys Are'.[8]
Since airing, the episode has received generally positive reviews. It is often considered to be a turning point in the series, where the show found its footing and could start living up its potential. Robert Canning of IGN praised the episode for 'playing to its strengths', and focusing on the series 'most fully realized characters', Liz and Jack. He pointed out that Tracy had 'leveled off significantly from his constant high', making him 'funnier in the process'. Canning also enjoyed Kenneth's increased screen time and the lack of the Jenna Maroney character, played by Jane Krakowski.[9] A television reviewer for the Chicago Tribune noted that the scenes between Jack and Liz are always 'a treat' and enjoyed the scene in this episode in which Liz chastises Jack for thinking she was a lesbian. The reviewer also added that Judah Friedlander, Keith Powell, and Scott Adsit, who play Frank, Toofer, and Pete, respectively, 'haven't been given enough to do', and hoped that the show would produce funny moments from the writers' room.[10]Sarah Warn of AfterEllen.com felt that for a single-episode lesbian sitcom character, Gretchen was 'one of the best we've seen'. Warn also enjoyed the episode itself, calling it 'one of the funniest sitcom episodes I've seen so far this season'.[11] Kevin D. Thompson of The Palm Beach Post noted that 'Blind Date' was one of the 'show's funniest episodes'.[12] A reviewer from the Richmond Times-Dispatch also praised the episode, citing that it was 'one of the show's best.'[13]
References[edit]
- ^'30 Rock: Episodes'. London: Screenrush (AlloCiné). Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^Writer: John Riggi; Director: Adam Bernstein (2006-10-25). 'Blind Date'. 30 Rock. Season 1. Episode 3. NBC Universal. NBC.
- ^30 Rock: Season 1 (Bonus Features — Deleted Scenes CD). Universal Studios Home Entertainment. 2007.
- ^ ab'Weekly Program Rankings'. ABC Medianet. 2006-10-31. Archived from the original on 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
- ^''Heroes,' The #1 New Show Of The Week And The Season, Soars To New Ratings Highs'. The Futon Critic. 2006-10-31. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^''Heroes' Flexes Ratings Muscle As The #1 New Show Of The Week And The Season In 18-49'. The Futon Critic. 2006-10-24. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^'Jennifer Aniston to Receive Vanguard Award at 18th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Presented by Abssolut Vodka in Los Angeles'. GLAAD Media Awards Official Website. 2007-04-03. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
- ^Associated Press (2007-04-16). 'GLAAD honors 'Grey's Anatomy''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
- ^Canning, Robert (2006-10-26). 'IGN: 30 Rock: 'Blind Date' Review'. IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^''30 Rock' is on a roll but could still use a bit more polishing'. Chicago Tribune: 1. 2006-12-14.
- ^Warn, Sarah (2006-10-26). 'Tina Fey, Stephanie March Get Lesbians Right on 30 Rock'. AfterEllen.com. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2008-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
- ^Thompson, Kevin D. (2006-12-25). 'Kevin's TV Tips — Our Critic's Picks Of The Week'. The Palm Beach Post: 6D.
- ^'Download This: '30 Rock''. Richmond Times-Dispatch: G–4. 2006-11-30.
External links[edit]
| Wikiquote has quotations related to: 30 Rock |
30 Rock Poker Scene Photos
- 'Blind Date' on IMDb
- 'Blind Date' at TV.com