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"Christmas Attack Zone" is the tenth episode of the fifth season of the American television comedy series ''
30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satire, satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live' ...
'', and the 90th overall episode of the series. It was written by show story editor
Tracey Wigfield Tracey Wigfield (born June 19, 1983) is an American comedy writer. She created, produced and appeared in the NBC sitcom '' Great News''. She also developed the Peacock teen sitcom ''Saved by the Bell'', a revival of the original series of the s ...
and directed by co-executive producer
John Riggi John Riggi is an American television writer, producer, director, and actor who has worked on various television shows. He is from Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended high school at Elder High School, in Cincinnati, OH. He has worked as a writer o ...
. It originally aired on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
in the United States on December 9, 2010. Guest stars in this episode include
Alan Alda Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner and a three-time Tony Award nominee, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pier ...
,
Elizabeth Banks Elizabeth Irene Banks (; February 10, 1974) is an American actress, director, and producer. She is known for playing chaperone Effie Trinket in ''The Hunger Games'' film series (2012–2015) and an ICCA commentator in the ''Pitch Perfect'' ...
,
Will Forte Orville Willis Forte IV ( ; born June 17, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He was a cast member and writer on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' for eight seasons from 2002 to 2010. During his time on ...
, and
Elaine Stritch Elaine Stritch (February 2, 1925 – July 17, 2014) was an American actress, singer, and comedienne, known for her work on Broadway and later, television. She made her professional stage debut in 1944 and appeared in numerous stage plays, music ...
. In the episode,
Liz Lemon Elizabeth Miervaldis Lemon is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American television series '' 30 Rock''. She created and wrote for the fictional comedy-sketch show ''The Girlie Show'' and later ''TGS with Tracy Jordan''. She is ...
(
Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Known for her comedic roles in sketch comedy, television and film, Fey has received List of awards and nominations received by Tina Fe ...
) and Avery Jessup (Banks) convince
Jack Donaghy John Francis "Jack" Donaghy ( ) 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 President of ...
(
Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...
) to confide in and grow closer to his visiting mother Colleen Donaghy (Stritch) at Christmas time. At the same time, actor
Tracy Jordan Tracy Jordan is a fictional character in the American television series ''30 Rock'', played by the actor Tracy Morgan. The character is a movie star whose personality traits and life events are taken from Morgan's own life. In 2010, ''Entertai ...
(
Tracy Morgan Tracy Jamal Morgan (born November 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2003, and played Tracy Jordan in the NBC sitcom ''30 Ro ...
) tries to stop the release of his new film before it ruins his new serious persona, and Liz also tries to fix
Jenna Maroney Jenna Maroney (born Yustrepa Gronkowitz; February 24, 1969) is a fictional character on the American television series ''30 Rock'', played by Jane Krakowski. For her portrayal of Maroney, Krakowski was nominated four times for the Primetime E ...
's (
Jane Krakowski Jane Krakowski (; ; born October 11, 1968) is an American actress and singer. She starred as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series ''30 Rock'' (2006–2013, 2020), for which she received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Out ...
) relationship with her former boyfriend Paul L'Astname (Forte). This episode of ''30 Rock'' received generally positive reviews from television critics. According to
Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, "Christmas Attack Zone" was watched by 4.759 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 2.9 rating/5 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic. On June 22, 2020, it was revealed that this would be one of three episodes being pulled from syndication due to a scene in which Jenna wears
blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...
.


Plot

Liz Lemon Elizabeth Miervaldis Lemon is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American television series '' 30 Rock''. She created and wrote for the fictional comedy-sketch show ''The Girlie Show'' and later ''TGS with Tracy Jordan''. She is ...
(
Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Known for her comedic roles in sketch comedy, television and film, Fey has received List of awards and nominations received by Tina Fe ...
) is invited by her boss
Jack Donaghy John Francis "Jack" Donaghy ( ) 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 President of ...
(
Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...
) to spend Christmas with him to help him deal with a visit from his mother, Colleen Donaghy (
Elaine Stritch Elaine Stritch (February 2, 1925 – July 17, 2014) was an American actress, singer, and comedienne, known for her work on Broadway and later, television. She made her professional stage debut in 1944 and appeared in numerous stage plays, music ...
). Liz finds it strange that Jack's fiancée Avery Jessup (
Elizabeth Banks Elizabeth Irene Banks (; February 10, 1974) is an American actress, director, and producer. She is known for playing chaperone Effie Trinket in ''The Hunger Games'' film series (2012–2015) and an ICCA commentator in the ''Pitch Perfect'' ...
) will not spend the holiday with him and immediately realizes that Jack has not told his mother about Avery's pregnancy. Avery becomes angry, but she and Liz convince him to tell her, which he promises to do. Jack tells Colleen about the news but she is not excited about the pregnancy as Jack and Avery are not married. To get back at her, Jack calls his biological father
Milton Greene Milton H. Greene (March 14, 1922 – August 8, 1985) was an American fashion and celebrity photographer and film and television producer, best known for his photo shoots with Marilyn Monroe. Early life Greene was born Milton H. Greengol ...
(
Alan Alda Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner and a three-time Tony Award nominee, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pier ...
), the father she never told him he had, and invites him to spend Christmas with him, and does not inform him that Colleen will be present. The next day, Milton arrives and Jack explains the reason for his visit is so that he can ambush Colleen as she looks down on his relationship with Avery. Later, Avery arrives and is angered about what Colleen said about her relationship with Jack. Liz tries to warn Colleen about Jack's plan but to no avail. She is shocked to see Milton, but immediately figures out what Jack is up to. Colleen gets even with Jack by faking a heart attack, which causes Milton and Avery to feel sorry for her, thus abandoning their plan to reprimand Colleen. At the hospital, Avery reveals that she and Jack had planned to
elope Elopement is a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, sometimes involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting married without parental approval. A ...
over New Year's and extends an invitation to everyone. After the announcement, Liz leaves and travels to
White Haven, Pennsylvania White Haven is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located along the Lehigh River. The population was 1,163 at the 2020 census. History Establishment White Haven was created in 1824 by indu ...
to spend Christmas with her family. Meanwhile, actor
Tracy Jordan Tracy Jordan is a fictional character in the American television series ''30 Rock'', played by the actor Tracy Morgan. The character is a movie star whose personality traits and life events are taken from Morgan's own life. In 2010, ''Entertai ...
(
Tracy Morgan Tracy Jamal Morgan (born November 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2003, and played Tracy Jordan in the NBC sitcom ''30 Ro ...
) is nominated for a
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
for his role in the drama feature ''Hard To Watch'', but realizes that in order to win the award, he needs to act as a serious actor. As a result, Tracy buys the rights to his new comedy movie, ''The Chunks 2: A Very Chunky Christmas'', in order to block the distribution of the feature and improve his chances at winning the award. Later, Tracy decides to do a charity event by screening ''Hard To Watch''—a story of an inner-city boy living in the ghetto—for a women's shelter. At the charity event, Tracy introduces the movie but decides against showing it, realizing that laughter is the best medicine and instead screens ''The Chunks 2: A Very Chunky Christmas''. The people in the shelter find the movie hilarious, thus making Tracy happy. At the same time,
Jenna Maroney Jenna Maroney (born Yustrepa Gronkowitz; February 24, 1969) is a fictional character on the American television series ''30 Rock'', played by Jane Krakowski. For her portrayal of Maroney, Krakowski was nominated four times for the Primetime E ...
(
Jane Krakowski Jane Krakowski (; ; born October 11, 1968) is an American actress and singer. She starred as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series ''30 Rock'' (2006–2013, 2020), for which she received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Out ...
) is having a hard time dealing with her break-up with Paul L'Astname (
Will Forte Orville Willis Forte IV ( ; born June 17, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He was a cast member and writer on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' for eight seasons from 2002 to 2010. During his time on ...
). Liz, seeing Jenna miserable, visits Paul and tells her that Jenna misses him. Paul visits Jenna, though not to resume their relationship, instead to tell her that he has come up with a brilliant costume for the New Queer's Eve party in which guests dress up as a pop culture phenomenon from the previous year. Unbeknownst to Paul, Jenna also has the same costume idea as his and as a result, the two get back together. At the party, Paul dresses like actress
Natalie Portman Natalie Hershlag{{efn, Some Hebrew sources claim that her birth name was "Neta-Lee Hershleg" ({{langx, he, נטע-לי הרשלג) and later, her first name was Americanized to "Natalie". {{Cite news , last=Shamir , first=Oron , date=August ...
's character in the 2010 movie ''
Black Swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large Anatidae, waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent ...
'' and Jenna dresses up as former
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
wide receiver
Lynn Swann Lynn Curtis Swann (born March 7, 1952) is an American former professional football player, broadcaster, politician, and athletic director, best known for his association with the University of Southern California and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He ...
.


Production

"Christmas Attack Zone" was written by ''30 Rock'' story editor Tracey Wigfield, her first episode for the fifth season, and her fourth writing credit overall after "
Jackie Jormp-Jomp "Jackie Jormp-Jomp" is the List of 30 Rock episodes, eighteenth episode of the 30 Rock season 3, third season of the American television series ''30 Rock''. It was directed by series producer Don Scardino, and written by executive story editor ...
", "
Future Husband "Future Husband" is the List of 30 Rock episodes#Season 4 (2009–10), fourteenth episode of the 30 Rock season 4, fourth season of the American television comedy series ''30 Rock''. It was directed by series producer Don Scardino, and written ...
", and "
Don Geiss, America and Hope "Don Geiss, America, and Hope" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series ''30 Rock'', and the 73rd overall episode of the series. It was directed by Stephen Lee Davis, and written by Jack Burditt an ...
". This episode was directed by co-executive producer and staff writer
John Riggi John Riggi is an American television writer, producer, director, and actor who has worked on various television shows. He is from Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended high school at Elder High School, in Cincinnati, OH. He has worked as a writer o ...
, making it his fifth for the series after directing "
Goodbye, My Friend "Goodbye, My Friend" is the thirteenth episode of the third season of the American television comedy series ''30 Rock'', and the 49th overall episode of the series. It was written by co-executive producer Ron Weiner and directed by co-execut ...
", "
The Problem Solvers "The Problem Solvers" is the List of 30 Rock episodes#Season 4 (2009–10), fifth episode of the 30 Rock season 4, fourth season of the American television comedy series ''30 Rock'', and the 63rd overall episode of the series. It was written by ...
", " The Moms", and " Let's Stay Together". This episode of ''30 Rock'' originally aired in the United States on December 9, 2010, on NBC as the tenth episode of the show's fifth season and the 90th overall episode of the series. Co-
showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...
and executive producer
Robert Carlock Robert Morgan Carlock (born September 21, 1972) is an American screenwriter and producer. He has worked as a writer for several NBC television comedies, and as a showrunner for ''30 Rock'', which was created by his recurring collaborator, comedia ...
revealed to ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' that "Christmas Attack Zone" was "the big pisodefor us. It's the long-awaited reunion of Jack's biological parents. A couple of years ago, Jack discovered his real father, but just to avoid an argument, he hasn't told his mother that he knows her shameful sex secret." The character Professor Milton Greene, Jack Donaghy's biological father, was played by guest actor Alan Alda, best known for his role as
Hawkeye Pierce This is a list of characters from the ''M*A*S*H'' franchise created by Richard Hooker, covering the various fictional characters appearing in the novel '' MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors'' (1968) and its sequels '' M*A*S*H Goes to Main ...
from the television series ''
M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richa ...
''. Alda and Alec Baldwin have worked together, having appeared in the 2004 biographical drama film '' The Aviator''. This was Alda's third appearance on the show. After the airing of the
season three A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...
finale episode "
Kidney Now! "Kidney Now!" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the third season of the American television comedy series ''30 Rock'', and the 58th overall episode of the series. It was directed by series producer Don Scardino, and written by ...
', in which Jack organizes a benefit concert to get Milton a kidney, it was unknown whether or not the benefit concert for Milton was a success, however, in the season four episode "
Into the Crevasse "Into the Crevasse" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series ''30 Rock'', and the 60th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by co-showrunner and executive producer Robert Carlock and ...
", Milton is shown to have written his book ''From Peanut to President'', a biography of United States President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
. In this episode it is revealed that Jack sent Milton a kidney from British singer-songwriter
Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
who participated in the benefit concert in "Kidney Now!". In October 2010, it was confirmed that Alda would return as his ''30 Rock'' character on the fifth season. In an interview with ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'', Alda said that he first met Elaine Stritch twenty years ago "but never worked with her before. I always knew the reunion would be interesting. We kid with each other a lot, and our characters have a common enemy in their son." This was Elaine Stritch's seventh appearance as Colleen Donaghy, Jack's mother, on the series. She guest starred in the episodes "
Hiatus Hiatus may refer to: * Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure * Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species '' Hiatus fulvipes'' * G ...
", "
Ludachristmas "Ludachristmas" is the ninth episode of the second season of the television series ''30 Rock'' and was first broadcast on December 13, 2007, on the NBC network in the United States. The episode was written by Tami Sagher and directed by Don S ...
", "
Christmas Special Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared Christmas in literature, in literature and Christmas music, in music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth o ...
", "
Señor Macho Solo "Señor Macho Solo" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American television comedy series ''30 Rock'', and the 43rd overall episode of the series. It was written by co-executive producer Ron Weiner and directed by Beth McCarthy ...
", " The Natural Order", and "The Moms". Avery Jessup, fiancée of Baldwin's character, was played by actress Elizabeth Banks, who first guest starred as the character in the show's fourth season. This was Banks' tenth time as the Avery character. Banks told
Michael Ausiello Michael Ausiello (born February 23, 1972) is an American television industry journalist, author, and actor. He was a senior writer at ''TV Guide'' and its companion website, TVGuide.com, between 2000 and 2008. From 2008 to 2010, he wrote and re ...
of ''Entertainment Weekly'' that she approached the ''30 Rock'' staff about making an appearance as she is a fan of the show. "I definitely put feelers out, like, 'I would love to be on your show.' And they did it. They made it happen! I'm a huge fan, so this is a dream come true." Banks also revealed that she has no intention on becoming a series regular, explaining that she has been having "too much fun" making films to commit to a television show full-time. Comedian actor Will Forte made his fourth appearance in the show, having guest starred as a different character in the February 1, 2007, episode "
Black Tie Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and North American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal ...
" from the show's first season. In the previous season, Forte played Jenna Maroney's boyfriend and Jenna impersonator. Forte has appeared in the main cast of ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' (''SNL''), a weekly
sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...
series which airs on NBC in the United States. Tina Fey, the series creator and lead actress on ''30 Rock'', was the
head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio ...
on ''SNL'' from 1999 until 2006. In June 2010, Jane Krakowski, who plays Jenna, confirmed that Forte would reprise his role as her boyfriend in the upcoming season. Carlock also noted in the ''Entertainment Weekly'' interview that the Jenna and Paul characters "have some ups and downs. He wants to try to be a normal couple, and she is afraid of that level of commitment." In the previous episode, "
Chain Reaction of Mental Anguish A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...
", Jenna and Paul break-up. In "Christmas Attack Zone", the two get back together.


Cultural references

Liz says that she watches the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
police procedural television series ''
The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, t ...
'' and that she has become a body language expert, in which she figures out that Jack has not told Colleen about Avery's pregnancy, similar to the show's series protagonist played by actor
Simon Baker Simon Lucas Baker (born 30 July 1969) is an Australian actor and director. He first gained prominence on the Australian soap opera ''E Street (TV series), E Street'' (1992–1993). He later starred in the CBS legal drama ''The Guardian (TV ser ...
. Some reviewers have noted that Tracy's movie ''The Chunks 2: A Very Chunky Christmas'' is a parody to the movies '' Nutty Professor II: The Klumps'' (2000), ''
Norbit In electronics, the NORBIT family of modules is a very early form (since 1960) of Digital electronics, digital logic developed by Philips (and also provided through and Mullard) that uses modules containing discrete components to build logic fu ...
'' (2007), and the comedic fictional character
Madea Mabel "Madea" Earlene Simmons is a character created and portrayed by Tyler Perry. She is portrayed as a tough, street-smart elderly African-American woman. Madea is based on Perry's mother and his aunt. In Perry's own words, Madea is "exactly ...
. Later, Tracy says "As an actor, it is my job to tell the truth, hold the mirror to humanity, and sell Proactiv", this is a reference to
Proactiv Solution Proactiv is an American brand of skin-care products developed by two American dermatologists, Katie Rodan and Kathy A. Fields, and launched in 1995 by Guthy-Renker, a California-based direct marketing company, that was endorsed by famous cele ...
, an over-the-counter topical treatment for mild to moderate forms of acne and the fact that the product has many celebrity spokespeople. At the New Queer's Eve, in which guests dress up as a pop culture phenomenon from the previous year, Paul dresses as actress
Natalie Portman Natalie Hershlag{{efn, Some Hebrew sources claim that her birth name was "Neta-Lee Hershleg" ({{langx, he, נטע-לי הרשלג) and later, her first name was Americanized to "Natalie". {{Cite news , last=Shamir , first=Oron , date=August ...
's character in the 2010 psychological thriller ''
Black Swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large Anatidae, waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent ...
'', and Jenna dresses up as former
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
wide receiver
Lynn Swann Lynn Curtis Swann (born March 7, 1952) is an American former professional football player, broadcaster, politician, and athletic director, best known for his association with the University of Southern California and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He ...
. Their a cappella rendition of "O Holy Night" with which the episode concludes is an homage to Episode 4:11 of ''
The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where t ...
'', "O Holy Night."


Reception

According to
Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, this episode of ''30 Rock'' was watched by 4.759 million viewers during its original United States broadcast. The show claimed a 2.9 rating/5 share among viewers aged 18 to 49, meaning that 2.9 percent of all people in that group, and 5 percent of all people from that group watching television at the time, watched the episode. This was a decrease from the previous episode, "Chain Reaction of Mental Anguish", which was watched by 5.034 million American viewers. Zack Handlen of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' wrote that "Christmas Attack Zone" was a "nice holiday outing with a lot of great gag-writing", however "...I wouldn't put this up there with the show's best Christmas episodes. But I'd say it fits in nicely with the general run of competency to excellence we've been seeing so far this season. It was modestly funny, a little sweet, and not at all horrible." Alan Sepinwall from HitFix who is not a fan of Elaine Stritch's role on the show enjoyed her in this episode, writing that along with the appearances of Elizabeth Banks and Alan Alda "I decided to hope their presence would counteract my feelings about hers – which is pretty much what happened." Sepinwall enjoyed the subplots commenting that Tracy's "played well" and Jenna and Paul's "was both sweet and ridiculous". Brad Sanders of the ''
Indiana Daily Student The ''Indiana Daily Student'' (''IDS'') is an independent, student-run newspaper published for the community of Indiana University Bloomington, since 1867. The ''IDS'' is free and distributed throughout the campus and city. Circulation During ...
'' said it was "a ton of fun to watch" all the subplots play out and considered "Christmas Attack Zone" as "probably one of the two or three best episodes of the season thus far. In fact ... it may have been the best Christmas episode of ''30 Rock'' yet." Johnny Firecloud of
CraveOnline Mandatory (formerly CraveOnline Media) is a lifestyle website based in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial D ...
enjoyed Stritch and Alda's "wonderfully funny roles". ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
''s Annie Barrett opined that Stritch and Alda "really made this episode great." Meredith Blake, a contributor for the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'', opined that television Christmas episodes "are a sitcom staple, but ... they're also a risky proposition for a show like ''30 Rock.'' Just how do you maintain the right balance between holiday cheer and year-round irreverence? It's a delicate formula, and on Thursday night ''30 Rock'' got it just right. That is, they leaned toward the former, delivering a Christmas episode full of cynicism – but topped with just a sprinkle of sweetness." In addition, Blake was complimentary toward Stritch's role on the show.
Bob Sassone Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles, and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could be ...
of
AOL AOL (formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City, and a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc. The service traces its history to an online ...
's
TV Squad Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles, and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could b ...
wrote that this episode of ''30 Rock'' "wasn't the best Christmas episode that
he show He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
has had. Past episodes like 'Ludachristmas,' 'Christmas Special' and '
Secret Santa Secret Santa is a Western Christmas or Saint Nicholas tradition in which members of a group are randomly assigned a person to whom they give a gift. The identity of the gift-giver remains a secret until the end when Secret Santas are revealed. ...
' were put together better and had more heart". Sassone noted that the problem with "Christmas Attack Zone" was Tracy's subplot "as it wasn't very funny" and the one that dragged the episode down.


References


External links

* {{30 Rock episodes 2010 American television episodes 30 Rock season 5 episodes American Christmas television episodes Television episodes pulled from general rotation Blackface minstrel shows and films Race-related controversies in television Stereotypes of African Americans Television controversies in the United States