Hard Ball (30 Rock episode)
Template:Dated episode notability
| "Hard Ball (30 Rock episode)" |
|---|
"Hard Ball" is the fifteenth episode in the situation comedy series 30 Rock. It first aired in the U.S. on February 22, 2007, attracting 4.61 million viewers;[1] it ranked fourth in its timeslot, behind February sweeps episodes of Grey's Anatomy ("Some Kind Of Miracle") and CSI ("Fallen Idols"), and also behind the series finale of The O.C. ("The End's Not Near, It's Here").[2] It was 84th in Nielsen's prime-time television rankings for the week.[1]
Synopsis
Josh's contract comes up for negotiation: Jack tries to save money, while Liz tries to warn Josh he could lose his job. When Liz learns that Josh was talking to a Daily Show producer, she gets mad at Josh and decides to side with Jack to get back at him.
Jack gives Josh a less-than-desirable offer; Liz, still mad about Josh's lack of loyalty, makes him "do the worm" as punishment and insists he list five reasons why she's better than him. Josh's agent, who previously admitted to Jack that he suffered from a sex addiction, asks for a punishment, too. He is ordered to do a crab walk, and is prompted to start fighting Josh's worm. The humiliation ends when "the crab is getting aroused. Shut it down, shut it down."
Jenna gets into trouble after she is misquoted in Maxim magazine as saying she hates the troops, when her original statement was actually directed at theater troupes. The resulting outrage prompts Liz and Jack to get her an interview on Hardball to clear up the confusion over her comments. The interview make matters worse when Jenna confuses Osama bin Laden and Barack Obama. An attempt to do a musical number about America fuels more outrage when the pinwheels in the background refuse to spin, and when ignited, resemble swastikas.
Meanwhile, Tracy allows Kenneth into his entourage, but in the process discovers (by invoking the transitive property) that Grizz and Dot Com have been allowing him to win at things such as Halo, Trivial Pursuit (Dot Com:What's the only mammal that lays eggs? Tracy: That's easy! The easter bunny!), and basketball. Tracy fires Grizz and Dot Com, but the union between Tracy and Kenneth doesn't gel as Tracy did with Grizz and Dot Com. The two come to the rescue in a parody of the movie The Bodyguard after Tracy is surrounded by a mob outside the NBC studios that had gathered to protest Jenna and the show.
Trivia
- The news ticker headlines that scroll at the bottom of the screen during Martha Blanch's rant are: PANDA MURDER-SUICIDE SHOCKS CHINA, WOLF BLITZER INJURED IN WOLF BLITZ, MYSTERIOUS VISITOR FROM FUTURE WINS LOTTERY, and ANNE HECHE LEAVES HUSBAND... (The latter part about Heche was a headline story in real life when this episode aired).
- After she comments on loving America, Liz winks towards the camera. When asked about this on her "Ask Tina" space, Fey first joked that she was winking directly at the inquirer before stating that she was winking to America. This would indicate that she was indeed breaking the fourth wall.
Guest starring
|
Special appearances
Featuring
|
References
Watch this episode online
Watch this TV show online – "Hard Ball" Episode