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"Secret Santa" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series ''
30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American 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'', ta ...
'', and the 66th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by series' creator
Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...
and directed by
Beth McCarthy-Miller Beth McCarthy-Miller (born September 3, 1963, Elizabeth, New Jersey) is an American television director. Shows she has directed include ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''30 Rock''. Early life McCarthy-Miller was born on September 3, 1963, in El ...
. It originally aired on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
in the United States on December 10, 2009. The episode featured appearances by actors Cheyenne Jackson as Danny Baker,
Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, ...
as Nancy Donovan, and Larry Wilcox playing himself. The episode centered on a gift-giving contest between
Liz Lemon Elizabeth Miervaldis Lemon is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American television series ''30 Rock''. She created and writes for the fictional comedy-sketch show ''The Girlie Show'' and later ''TGS with Tracy Jordan''. She is po ...
(
Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...
) and
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, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nich ...
),
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 Prime time ...
's (
Jane Krakowski Jane Krakowski (; ; born October 11, 1968) is an American actress, comedienne, and singer. She is best known for her starring role as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series ''30 Rock'' (2006–2013, 2020), for which she received fou ...
) jealousy over new ''TGS with Tracy Jordan'' cast member Danny Baker's (Jackson) singing skills, and the writers— Frank Rossitano (
Judah Friedlander Judah Friedlander (born March 16, 1969) is an American actor and comedian, known for playing the role of writer Frank Rossitano on the NBC sitcom ''30 Rock''. Friedlander is also known for his role as Toby Radloff in the film '' American Splend ...
), James "Toofer" Spurlock ( Keith Powell), and
J. D. Lutz ''30 Rock'' is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey, which 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 ...
(
John Lutz John Michael Lutz (born April 23, 1973) is an American actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is best known for playing J. D. Lutz on the NBC sitcom ''30 Rock'', and for his work as a writer on the NBC series ''Saturday Night Live'' for seven ...
)—coming up with a fake religion to get out of NBC page Kenneth Parcell's (
Jack McBrayer Jack McBrayer (; born May 27, 1973) is an American actor and comedian, who 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'' he was ...
) "Secret Santa" scheme. Critical reception of the episode was generally less than favorable. According to the
Nielsen ratings 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 ...
system, "Secret Santa" was watched by 7.54 million households during its original broadcast. The night the episode premiered, it was immediately preceded by an episode of '' The Office'' with the same title.


Plot

Jack and Liz decide to exchange gifts for Christmas. Meanwhile, Jack reconnects with a friend from high school, Nancy Donovan (
Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, ...
), and ponders the possibility of romance as Nancy's marriage is falling apart. When Liz ends up buying an expensive necktie that Jack already owns, they agree to spend zero dollars on their gifts. Jack gets Liz a program from her performance of ''
The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as an ...
'' framed in wood from her high school stage — and does not reimburse his office assistant,
Jonathan Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media * ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer * ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski * ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...
(
Maulik Pancholy Maulik Navin Pancholy (, born January 18, 1974) is an American actor and author who is best known for his roles as Jonathan on ''30 Rock'', Baljeet Tjinder in ''Phineas and Ferb'', Neal in the first season of '' Whitney'', and as a character name ...
) for fuel costs. In return, Liz calls in a
bomb threat A bomb threat or bomb scare is a threat, usually verbal or written, to detonate an explosive or incendiary device to cause property damage, death, injuries, and/or incite fear, whether or not such a device actually exists. History Bomb threats ...
to Penn Station, keeping Nancy in New York, and finally Jack arranges for Liz to fulfill her dream of meeting Larry Wilcox as Officer Jon Baker from the show '' CHiPs''. ''TGS'' producer
Pete Hornberger ''30 Rock'' is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey, which 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 t ...
(
Scott Adsit Robert Scott Adsit (born November 26, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. Born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, Adsit joined the mainstage cast of Chicago's The Second City in 1994 after attending Columbia College Chicago. He ap ...
) learns that the new actor on the show, Danny, is a talented singer. Despite Danny's lack of interest in singing on the show, Pete gives him the Christmas solo as revenge for Jenna not chipping in to tip the cleaning ladies, which is a yearly source of frustration for Pete. Jenna is outraged when she hears Danny was assigned the solo, and tries to get Subhas the janitor to punch Danny in the throat. But when the agreeable Danny learns of Jenna's hurt feelings, he arranges for them to perform a duet, in which he sings off-key to make Jenna look good. Meanwhile, Kenneth is throwing his rule-filled "Secret Santa Fun Swap", much to the writers' chagrin. Frank, Toofer, and Lutz proclaim they are strict adherents of "Verdukianism," a religion they make up on the spot, and have Kenneth give them things they claim to need for "Merlinpeen," the Verdukian Holiday of Mouth Pleasures (such as meat-lover's pizza and having their teeth flossed by a blonde virgin). Their famous holiday song is, "Oh, Meatbowl of Verduke, you bring me such pizza. Meatbowl." When Tracy Jordan (
Tracy Morgan Tracy Jamal Morgan (born November 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actor best known for his television work as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1996–2003) and for his role as Tracy Jordan in the sitcom ''30 Rock'' (2006 ...
) tells Kenneth that they made up their religion, he goes into shock at the idea that all religions are made up by man. His faith is restored when the three are arrested for the bomb threat Liz called in, using their phone.


Production

"Secret Santa" was written by series' creator, executive producer and lead actress
Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...
. The director of this episode was
Beth McCarthy-Miller Beth McCarthy-Miller (born September 3, 1963, Elizabeth, New Jersey) is an American television director. Shows she has directed include ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''30 Rock''. Early life McCarthy-Miller was born on September 3, 1963, in El ...
, a long-time television director who worked with Fey on the sketch comedy show ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...
''. This was Fey's nineteenth writing credit, and McCarthy-Miller's ninth directed episode. "Secret Santa" originally aired on NBC as the eighth episode of the show's fourth season, and the 66th overall episode of the series, in the United States on December 10, 2009. It was filmed on November 5 and November 20, 2009. In November 2009, it was announced that actress
Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, ...
would guest star on ''30 Rock'' as a love interest for
Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nich ...
's character,
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 ...
. Moore would later guest star in the episodes "
Winter Madness "Winter Madness" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series ''30 Rock'', and the 69th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Tom Ceraulo and Vali Chandrasekaran, and directed by Beth ...
", "
Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter "Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter" is the seventeenth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series '' 30 Rock'', and the 75th overall episode of the series. It was written by co-producer Kay Cannon and series creator Tina Fey. ...
", "
Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" is the twenty-first episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series ''30 Rock'', and the 79th overall episode of the series. It was written by supervising producer Matt Hubbard and directed ...
", and " I Do Do". In an interview with ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...
'' in October 2009, Fey said that Jack would find more enduring love in the upcoming season. "As we move into the back half of the season, we'd like to get ackinto a real adult relationship with some hurdles." In the same interview, Baldwin noted, "Fifty-year-old Jack running around still using women like a drug is not where I'd like him to end up." Actor Larry Wilcox made a cameo in this episode, though, he was in character playing Officer Jon Baker from his old days in the drama show '' CHiPs'', as
Liz Lemon Elizabeth Miervaldis Lemon is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American television series ''30 Rock''. She created and writes for the fictional comedy-sketch show ''The Girlie Show'' and later ''TGS with Tracy Jordan''. She is po ...
had a teen crush on Wilcox. In one scene of this episode, Liz says "shark farts", and when asked about it in an April 2010 interview, Fey revealed that the term "was one that we ad-libbed that we ended up leaving in. The studio asked us not to leave it in, but we left it in." This was actor Cheyenne Jackson's second appearance as Danny on ''30 Rock''. He made his debut in the November 12, 2009, episode "
The Problem Solvers "The Problem Solvers" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series ''30 Rock'', and the 63rd overall episode of the series. It was written by co-executive producer Ron Weiner and directed by co-executive pro ...
". Fey had seen Jackson in the Broadway musicals ''
Xanadu Xanadu may refer to: * Shangdu, the ancient summer capital of Kublai Khan's empire in China * a metaphor for opulence or an idyllic place, based upon Coleridge's description of Shangdu in his poem ''Kubla Khan'' Other places * Xanadu (Titan), ...
'' and '' Damn Yankees'', the latter that starred
Jane Krakowski Jane Krakowski (; ; born October 11, 1968) is an American actress, comedienne, and singer. She is best known for her starring role as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series ''30 Rock'' (2006–2013, 2020), for which she received fou ...
, who plays
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 Prime time ...
on the show. According to Jackson in a November 2009 interview, Fey set up a meeting to interest him in a role on the program. In an interview with the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'', it was revealed that it was Krakowski who brought Jackson to the attention of the ''30 Rock'' producers. In the episode, Danny sang off-key during a duet with Jenna, in order to keep her happy. In regards of his off-pitch performance, Jackson said in an interview, "It's actually harder than you might think. I worked on it a lot to make it sound real and to make it sound believable. But I got some good, funny feedback from it, so I'm glad it worked out." One filmed scene from "Secret Santa" was cut out from the airing. Instead, the scene was featured on ''30 Rock''s season four DVD as part of the deleted scenes in the Bonus feature. In the scene, Liz goes to Vattene, a men's dress apparel retailer. She is there to buy a gift for Jack for Christmas but is shocked at the prices. She then sees a red neck tie and purchases it.


Cultural references

Jack tells Liz about YouFace, "an up-and-coming social-networking site", similar to that of MySpace and
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...
. The song Liz sings for Jack's Christmas gift is a parody of the song "
Anyone Else but You "Anyone Else but You" is a song by the indie rock band The Moldy Peaches. The song became popular after being featured on the soundtrack of the 2007 film ''Juno'', as it was used extensively in the film, along with several other songs by Kimya Daws ...
" originally by The Moldy Peaches featured in the film '' Juno''. Liz revealed that she played John Proctor "in a gender-blind" high school production of ''
The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as an ...
''. In one scene of "Secret Santa", Kenneth has multiple arrangements of multicultural holiday decorations in his desk page, which includes a portrait of U.S. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
"for the Muslims". Jack promises actor Larry Wilcox an appearance on the reality show ''
Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series ''Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...
'' if he visits Liz, until she tells him that the show airs on ABC. When Danny figures out sarcasm, he turns to the camera and says, "That went well", which Rick Mercer does in most episodes of the Canadian sitcom ''
Made in Canada Made in Canada and Product of Canada (French: Fabriqué au Canada and Produit du Canada) are certification marks designating a claim that Canada is the country of origin of a good. A product label for that good may use these marks, or a qualifi ...
''.


Reception

According to the
Nielsen ratings 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 ...
system, "Secret Santa" was watched by 7.54 million households in its original American broadcast. It earned a 3.5 rating/9 share in the 18–49 demographic, the season high in the 18–49 rating. This means that it was seen by 3.5% of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 9% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. ABC had an all-repeat evening on December 10, 2009, which helped increase numbers for the other networks. The night this episode broadcast, it was immediately preceded by an episode of '' The Office''—another NBC program—with the same title. Critical reception of the episode was not entirely favorable. Nathan Rabin of '' The A.V. Club'' noted a general decline in the show's quality in the fourth season, and after a return to form in its previous episode, " Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001", he found "Secret Santa" disappointing, and gave it a grade B−. "It was cute and nicely plotted", he wrote "but it felt a little rote and familiar." IGN contributor Robert Canning was more positively inclined. He appreciated Julianne Moore's appearance, but he found that some of the story lines, "though sprinkled with funny moments, were more successful as sweet tales made for the holiday." Bob Sassone of AOL's TV Squad was glad to see Cheyenne Jackson's Danny back on ''30 Rock'', and noted that the plots concerning Jack and Nancy and Kenneth and the ''TGS'' writers, respectively, were "home runs". He liked that Tina Fey's character Liz "was more of a supporting player" in "Secret Santa". Sassone also enjoyed Moore's appearance on the show, commenting that she was "''wicked'' good" as Jack's new love interest. ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...
'''s Margaret Lyons wrote that this episode "had some awesome Liz/Jack moments, a nice little storyline for Pete and Danny, and the invention of a whole new pizza-loving religion." Meredith Blake, writing for the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'', found that television Christmas episodes generally tended to bring "an awkward shift in tone: All of a sudden, everyone's being nice to each other." She also complained about the invented holiday, which she found to be an overused cliché of Christmas programming: "See also: ' Chrismukkah' or ' Festivus.'" Also, television columnist Alan Sepinwall for ''
The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to '' The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the ''Staten Island Advance'', all of w ...
'' found that the episode compared unfavorably with the preceding one, but still enjoyed the showcasing of several minor characters, and the "tender holiday spirit". What he appreciated most of all, however, was the Alec Baldwin–Julianne Moore angle. Mark Graham of ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
'' magazine opined that the three plots in "Secret Santa" could not be considered as "A-material" for ''30 Rock''. Michael Anthony for ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program TV listings, listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Mag ...
'' worried about the kiss between Jack and Nancy, as Nancy is married, and experiencing marital troubles. "The Nancy kiss kind of troubles me; is Jack going to become the 'other woman?'"


References


External links

* {{good article 30 Rock (season 4) episodes 2009 American television episodes American Christmas television episodes Television episodes written by Tina Fey Television shows directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller