"Plan B" is the Eighteenth 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 98th overall episode of the series. It was directed by the show's composer and producer (and

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 ...

's husband)

Jeff Richmond Jeffrey Wayne Richmond (born January 7, 1961) is an American composer, comedian, producer, and director. He composed the music for, and directed multiple episodes of ''30 Rock'', a sitcom created by and starring his wife, Tina Fey. He also execut ...

, and written by Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan. The episode 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 March 24, 2011. Guest stars include

Ken Howard Kenneth Joseph Howard Jr. (March 28, 1944 – March 23, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in ''1776'' (1972) and as high school basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the televisi ...

Aaron Sorkin Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter, playwright and film director. Born in New York City, he developed a passion for writing at an early age. As a writer for stage, television, and film, Sorkin is recognized f ...

and

Will Arnett William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian and American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix sitcom '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and the titular ch ...

. 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 ...

(

) discovers that without

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 ...

), NBC is putting ''TGS'' on a forced hiatus. However, when she passes on the news to the cast and crew, they all assume that the show will be cancelled and turn to their backup plans, leading Liz to wonder about her own. Meanwhile,

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 ...

) is forced to hire his nemesis

Devon Banks ''30 Rock'' is an American television comedy series, created by Tina Fey, that aired on NBC. The series takes place behind the scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy series, also airing on NBC; the name "30 Rock" refers to the address of the ...

in order to turn around his disastrous acquisition of TWINKS, a network for

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

men. 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 ...

, "Plan B" was watched by 4.359 million viewers during its original broadcast and received a 1.9 rating/5 share among adults aged 18–49.

Plot

(

) calls

(

) into his office to inform her that while its primary star

(

) is in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, ''The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan'' (''TGS'') will have to be placed on a forced hiatus. Initially, Liz herself is optimistic and believes that Jack will be doing all that he can to save the show. However, when her cast and crew hear the news, they quickly scramble to find other employment. Concerned, Liz decides to contact her agent, Simon (

Josh Fadem Josh Fadem ( ; born July 19, 1980) is an American actor, writer, and comedian. Early life Fadem was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he attended Booker T. Washington High School. He has lived and worked in Los Angeles since 2000. Car ...

), wanting to see if he can find her other work. Jack gets Liz an interview with

Nick Lachey Nicholas Scott Lachey ( ; born November 9, 1973) is an American actor, singer-songwriter, producer, TV personality and host. He rose to fame as the lead singer of the multi-platinum-selling boyband 98 Degrees and later starred in the reality ser ...

for a writing job in ''

The Sing-Off ''The Sing-Off'' is an American television singing competition featuring a cappella groups. It debuted on NBC on December 14, 2009, and was produced by Sony Pictures Television and Outlaw Productions, with Mark Burnett's One Three Media (for a t ...

'', where she meets

. Sorkin, in a

walk and talk Walk and talk is a storytelling technique used in filmmaking and television production in which a number of characters have a conversation while walking somewhere. Walk and talk often involves a walking character who is then joined by another cha ...

sequence, advises Liz that writing is a dying art. He then starts sucking up to Lachey himself. Ultimately, Liz doesn't get the writing job and is forced to try to save ''TGS'', which even

Kenneth Parcell Andromakennethamblesorton "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 produ ...

(

Jack McBrayer Jack McBrayer (; born May 27, 1973) is an American actor and comedian. He gained national exposure for his portrayal of characters on '' Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' and as Kenneth Parcell in ''30 Rock''. For his role in ''30 Rock'', McBraye ...

) has lost all hope of rescuing. Meanwhile, Jack Donaghy has recently acquired a television network for

men called TWINKS, which has turned out to be a ratings disaster. Kabletown boss Hank Hooper (

) is unhappy with TWINKS and advises Jack to either find a gay version of himself to run the network or drop the network altogether. Jack realizes that there ''is'' a gay version of himself and calls upon his old nemesis

for help. As it turns out, Banks has fallen from grace and is living in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

with his partner and three "gaybies". Eventually, Liz's attempts to save ''TGS'' are met with a slight possibility of succeeding when Kenneth informs her that during his webcam talks with Tracy, he sometimes orders pizza from the same restaurant as she does. Liz immediately realizes that Tracy never left

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Jack's plans for reviving TWINKS backfire when Devon Banks brings one of his "gaybies" to work and Hank Hooper, a family man himself, promotes him. However, Devon has an epiphany and realizes that he loves his children too much to leave them for Kabletown, turning down Hooper's offer in the process. While victorious, Jack realizes that he hasn't been spending enough time with his own baby daughter.

Reception

Aaron Sorkin at the Music Box Theatre in 2007 crop

According to the

, this episode of ''30 Rock'' was watched by 4.359 million households in its original American broadcast. It earned a 1.9 rating/5 share in the 18–49 demographic. This means that it was seen by 1.9 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 5 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. The figure was an improvement on the previous episode, Queen of Jordan, which was seen by 4.192 million households. Caitlan Smith of ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' particularly praised the appearance of Aaron Sorkin, calling it "one of the most unexpected and excellent cameos this year". Dan Forcella of ''TVFanatic'' also praised Sorkin's appearance, as well as that of Ken Howard, whom he described as "a joy to watch on screen". However, he criticised the primary storyline, commenting that "Liz acting frantic is never really that funny".

References

External links

* {{30 Rock episodes 2011 American television episodes 30 Rock season 5 episodes