"Sandwich Day" is the fourteenth episode of the second season of ''

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 thirty-fifth episode overall. It was written by one of the season's executive producers,

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 ...

, and one of the season's co-executive producers,

Jack Burditt Jack Burditt is an American producer and screenwriter who has worked on television shows like '' Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'', ''Frasier'', ''30 Rock'', '' Last Man Standing'', ''Modern Family'', and ''The Mindy Project''. He won two Emmy awards ...

. The episode was directed by one of the season's producers,

Don Scardino Donald Joseph Scardino (born February 17, 1949) is an American television director, producer, and retired actor. Career Acting Scardino was born in New York City, to jazz musician parents, Dorothy Denny Scardino and Charles Scardino. His first ...

. The episode first aired on May 1, 2008 on the

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 ...

network in the United States. Guest stars in this episode included

Brian Dennehy Brian Manion Dennehy (; July 9, 1938 – April 15, 2020) was an American actor of stage, television, and film. He won two Tony Awards, an Olivier Award, and a Golden Globe, and received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Dennehy had roles i ...

Marceline Hugot Marceline Hugot (born February 10, 1960) is an American stage and screen actress. Best known for playing Kathy Geiss on NBC sitcom ''30 Rock'', she has also appeared in the films ''Working Girl'', ''Julie & Julia'', '' To Wong Foo, Thanks for Eve ...

Jason Sudeikis Daniel Jason Sudeikis ( ; born September 18, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. In the 1990s, he began his career in improv comedy and performed with ComedySportz, iO Chicago (Improv Olympic), and The Second City. I ...

, and

Rip Torn Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn Jr. (February 6, 1931 – July 9, 2019) was an American actor whose career spanned roughly 60 years. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing Marsh Turner in '' Cross Creek'' (1983). Tor ...

. The episode earned

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 ...

the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Beginning with the 18th Primetime Emmy Awards, leading actresses in comedy have competed alone. However, these comedic performance ...

. Unusually this episode begins on the 30 Rock title sequence - there is no

cold open A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In North ...

as is normally the case. This episode begins on the annual ''TGS with Tracy Jordan'' (a fictional

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) Sandwich Day.

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 ...

(

) receives a phone call from her ex-boyfriend, Floyd (

), asking for a place to stay;

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 ...

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 ...

) and the ''TGS'' writers try to get a new sandwich for Liz;

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 ...

) reconsiders his future at

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

Plot

It is the annual Sandwich Day for the crew of ''TGS''. The

Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a trade union, labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union, the union now represents a di ...

, led by Mickey J. (

), bring in "secret" sandwiches from an unknown Italian delicatessen 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 ...

. When the writers eat Liz's sandwich, Liz threatens that she will "cut

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

faces up so bad .. hey'llall have chins." As a result, the writers and Tracy, aided by Jenna, enter a drinking contest against the Teamsters in an attempt to get Liz a new sandwich. Floyd, who broke up with Liz in the episode "

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 ...

", calls Liz to ask if he can have a place to stay, as he has come to visit

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 ...

on business. Liz tries to win Floyd back, only for him to lie to her about going home to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. Floyd eventually travels home, and the pair agree to remain friends. Meanwhile, after being ousted from his office on the 52nd floor by

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 ...

(

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 ...

), Jack is not taking well to his new job on the 12th floor. He later decides to move to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, to be the new "

Homeland Security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

Director for Crisis and Weather Management."

Production

This episode was primarily filmed on April 1, 2008. Save Picture as → Right click file → Properties → Summary → Advanced → Date Picture Taken This episode was the fourth episode written by Burditt and the seventh written by Carlock. The episode was the twelfth episode which was directed by Don Scardino.

Reception

"Sandwich Day" brought in an average of 5.4 million viewers. The episode also achieved a 2.6/7 in the key 18- to 49-year-old demographic. The 2.6 refers to 2.6% of all 18- to 49-year-olds in the U.S., and the 7 refers to 7% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast in the U.S. Robert Canning of

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

wrote that this episode "turned out to be an absolute winner". He concluded that "with its more relatable storylines and moments like the eerie-voiced guy at the hospital, Liz tipping tables for her mac and cheese, and watching an entire sandwich be eaten in real time in the airport security line, 'Sandwich Day' was a definite highlight in the post-writers' strike season." Erin Fox of ''

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 ...

'' said that "the minor story of the episode was probably the funniest". Jeff Labrecque of ''

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, ...

'' thought that this episode "was nothing more than...''eh''". He called this episode a "weak link".

References

External links

* {{good article 2008 American television episodes 30 Rock season 2 episodes