"The Fabian Strategy" is the
first 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 81st overall episode of the series. It was directed by
Beth McCarthy-Miller, and 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, 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 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 September 23, 2010. Guest stars in this episode include Mario Brassard,
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige Damon ( ; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He was ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars in 2007, and in 2010 was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received va ...
, Jan Owen,
Paula Pell
Paula Pell (born April 15, 1963) is an American comedy writer, producer, and actress. She is best known for her work as a writer for the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2013. For her work on ''SNL'' and '' 30 Rock' ...
, and Jeffrey Schara.
In the episode,
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 ...
) interferes in
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 ...
's (Fey) relationship with
Carol (Damon) as he is determined to help Liz have a relationship that lasts for once. At the same time, Jack struggles to compromise with his girlfriend
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'' ...
) as she redecorates his apartment. Meanwhile,
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 ...
) has trouble coming to terms with
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 ...
) getting fired as an
NBC page
The NBC Page Program is a 12-month paid fellowship at the NBCUniversal studios in New York City and Universal City, California. Pages contribute to various teams while on business, consumer, and content assignments. East Coast pages also give tou ...
and
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 ...
) becomes a producer of the fictional sketch comedy show ''The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan'' (''TGS''). This episode also continued a story arc involving Carol as a love interest for Liz, which began in the previous episode, the season finale of the show's
fourth season "
I Do Do
"I Do Do" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the fourth season of the American television comedy series ''30 Rock'', and the 80th overall episode of the series. It was directed by series producer Don Scardino, and written by ser ...
".
Before the airing, NBC moved the program to a new timeslot at 8:30 p.m., moving it from its 9:30 p.m. slot. 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 ...
, it was watched by 5.85 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 2.6 rating/8 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.
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 ...
), the head writer of the
sketch show
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 ...
''TGS with Tracy Jordan'', goes back to work following the summer break and prepares for the show's fifth season. At the
30 Rock building, where she works, Liz and ''TGS'' producer
Pete Hornberger (
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 app ...
) meet their 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 discuss cutting the show's expenses. During the meeting, Pete reveals that star
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 ...
) now has a producer credit because of changes in her contract that were not set to start until the fifth season of ''TGS'' (nobody thought that the show would last that long). Jenna takes this role seriously and takes on the job of firing people. Eventually, on reviewing the budget, she realizes that her producer credit is costly—and unnecessary—and asks Pete to fire her.
Later, Jack asks Liz about her relationship with her boyfriend
Carol (
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige Damon ( ; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He was ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars in 2007, and in 2010 was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received va ...
), an airline pilot. She tells him that during the summer break the two met twice a month in a hotel. Jack does not believe that the relationship is serious since Carol never stays at Liz's apartment. He decides to force Carol to stay with Liz and reserves all the rooms of the hotel that Liz and Carol stay in when he is in New York. During his stay with Liz, Carol bursts into tears and asks her where their relationship is heading as he believes that she is resisting him, which she denies. The next day, Carol decides to leave New York early, but tells Liz that they need to work on their relationship. The two go their separate ways and
agree to meet again on October 14.
During the summer break, Jack's girlfriend
CNBC
CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...
host
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'' ...
) moved in with him. Avery decides to redecorate Jack's apartment. He is not keen on the idea, but not wanting to say no or give into Avery's demands, decides to employ the
Fabian strategy
The Fabian strategy is a military strategy where pitched battles and frontal assaults are avoided in favor of wearing down an opponent through a attrition warfare, war of attrition and indirection. While avoiding decisive battles, the side emplo ...
—named after
Fabius Maximus
Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus (), surnamed Cunctator ( 280 – 203 BC), was a Roman statesman and general of the third century BC. He was consul five times (233, 228, 215, 214, and 209 BC) and was appointed dictator in 221 and 217 BC. He wa ...
, a Roman general who employed a strategy of avoiding battles, instead wearing the enemy down by attrition. Jack is successful in avoiding redecorating the apartment; he agrees to knock down a wall instead. At the end of the episode, however, he realizes that Avery has emulated the military genius of
Hannibal
Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War.
Hannibal's fat ...
, outmaneuvering his Fabian strategy, and he ecstatically realizes they are a perfect match, far beyond the level of mere soul-mates.
Elsewhere,
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 missing
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 ...
), a former
NBC page
The NBC Page Program is a 12-month paid fellowship at the NBCUniversal studios in New York City and Universal City, California. Pages contribute to various teams while on business, consumer, and content assignments. East Coast pages also give tou ...
who was fired in the previous episode, "
I Do Do
"I Do Do" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the fourth season of the American television comedy series ''30 Rock'', and the 80th overall episode of the series. It was directed by series producer Don Scardino, and written by ser ...
". When Tracy returns to work for the new season of ''TGS'', he begins to hallucinate Kenneth everywhere he goes, mistaking the new page (Jeffrey Schara) and Liz for him. Later, Tracy roams the city and sees Kenneth, who is now working as a page at
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 ...
. Tracy believes Kenneth is a hallucination. Later, the two run into each other again and Kenneth tries to talk to Tracy, but Tracy refuses to acknowledge him as he believes his mind is playing tricks on him. To prove he is real, Kenneth throws himself in front of a car, thus making Tracy believe him. He pleads with Kenneth to come back to NBC, but Kenneth says he is happy working at CBS. At the end of the credits, Kenneth admits to himself that he lied to Tracy and that he misses everyone at ''TGS''. Kenneth then starts hallucinating Tracy.
Production
"The Fabian Strategy" was written by series creator, executive producer and lead actress Tina Fey, and directed by
Beth McCarthy-Miller, a long-time television director who worked with Fey on the sketch comedy show ''
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 ...
''. This was Fey's twenty-second writing credit, and McCarthy-Miller's thirteenth helmed episode. "The Fabian Strategy" originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 23, 2010, as the season premiere episode of the show's
fifth season and the 81st overall episode of the series.
This episode of ''30 Rock'' was filmed on August 30, 2010.
In March 2010, it was announced that actor Matt Damon would guest star on ''30 Rock''. He made his debut in the
fourth season finale episode "
I Do Do
"I Do Do" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the fourth season of the American television comedy series ''30 Rock'', and the 80th overall episode of the series. It was directed by series producer Don Scardino, and written by ser ...
" as Carol, an airline pilot and love interest for Fey's character, Liz Lemon, and reprised the role in "The Fabian Strategy".
In December 2009, prior to the confirmation of his first guest appearance, ''
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, ...
'' informed Damon that he was at the top of Fey's guest star wish list for the show. A fan of the series,
Damon replied "I would do
'30 Rock''in a heartbeat if they asked me to come on. She should call my people—or even better ''me''. Or I could call her. Let's make this happen." A day after the airing of "I Do Do" he was asked if he would reprise his role as Carol in the upcoming season and responded "If they'll have me, I would love to pop in and see the gang again. I had a great time doing it." In August 2010, Fey confirmed Damon's return saying that he would play her boyfriend once the new season began.
Jane Krakowski, who plays Jenna Maroney, revealed to ''Entertainment Weekly''s
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 ...
her character's plot in which Jenna becomes a television producer as part of her contract as ''TGS'' begins its fifth season. "
enna
Enna ( or ; ; , less frequently ), known from the Middle Ages until 1926 as Castrogiovanni ( ), is a city and located roughly at the center of Sicily, southern Italy, in the province of Enna, towering above the surrounding countryside. It has e ...
has all these wacky things built into her contract
hat kick in at this point because nobody thought we'd still be on the air. So I get to be a producer." Series producer Paula Pell reprised her role as Paula Hornberger, the wife of Scott Adsit's character Pete Hornberger.
The episode references the ongoing storyline of Liz's desire to become a mother when she tells Carol that she is on a waiting list to adopt a child.
This story first began in the show's
first season, and continued in the
third season.
Two months after the airing of the fourth season finale episode, 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 ...
was asked if Jack McBrayer's character Kenneth Parcell would return in the upcoming season after he was fired as an NBC page in "I Do Do". Carlock said "We haven't cracked
owhe is getting
is jobback, but of course he will get back somehow. We wanted a fun thing to shuffle the deck a little bit and send him off into the world. Of course, he will miss it and he will be missed. Events will bring him back." In "The Fabian Strategy", Kenneth is now working at CBS as a page for the ''
Late Show with David Letterman
''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...
''.
The scene in which Kenneth throws himself in front of a car to prove to Tracy Jordan that he is real and not Tracy's imagination was filmed on August 27, 2010, in front of the
Ed Sullivan Theater
The Ed Sullivan Theater (originally Hammerstein's Theatre; later the Manhattan Theatre, Billy Rose's Music Hall, CBS Radio Playhouse No. 3, and CBS Studio 50) is a theater at 1697–1699 Broadway, between 53rd and 54th streets, in the Theat ...
.
Cultural references

At the start of the episode, Liz says while sleeping, "No,
Tom Jones
Tom Jones may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer
*Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist
*''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...
, no!" before waking up.
This is a reference to a future plot in the episode "
Reaganing" in which Liz is having intimacy issues because of a traumatic incident from her childhood that involved a poster of singer Tom Jones. Throughout the episode, Jack refers to the
Fabian strategy
The Fabian strategy is a military strategy where pitched battles and frontal assaults are avoided in favor of wearing down an opponent through a attrition warfare, war of attrition and indirection. While avoiding decisive battles, the side emplo ...
, a strategy named after Roman general
Fabius Maximus
Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus (), surnamed Cunctator ( 280 – 203 BC), was a Roman statesman and general of the third century BC. He was consul five times (233, 228, 215, 214, and 209 BC) and was appointed dictator in 221 and 217 BC. He wa ...
, which avoids direct battle in favor of
attrition warfare
Attrition warfare is a form of military strategy in which one side attempts to gradually wear down its opponent to the point of collapse by inflicting continuous losses in personnel, materiel, and morale. The term ''attrition'' is derived fro ...
. Jack uses the strategy as he does not want to say no to Avery or give in to her demands.
In addition, Jack hails Fabius Maximus as his role model.
When Carol surprises Liz at the ''TGS'' writers' room, staff writer
J.D. Lutz (
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 ...
) asks Carol if he is on
Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
.
Later, Liz tells Jack not to interfere in her relationship with Carol, as she believes she has the perfect relationship with him. She reveals that she is modeling her life on that of chef
Ina Garten of the
Food Network
Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...
show ''
Barefoot Contessa''.
Jack responds by saying that Liz will never be like Garten, including the "barefoot" part, referring to the fact that Liz has never let anyone see her feet,
which is a real life trait of Fey's.
Liz and Carol discover that one of the things they have in common is that they both love to watch
The Muppets
The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, slapstick, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Musical theatre, musical Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Cre ...
presenting award shows.
Later, Liz reveals that she has a
Life Alert Emergency Response necklace; this necklace helps the elderly contact emergency services in case of an accident.
Carol wonders why
Geico
The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is an American vehicle insurance company headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland. In addition to auto insurance, GEICO provides motorcycle, ATV, RV, boat, snowmobile, travel, pet, event, hom ...
—an auto insurance company—has multiple mascots, a reference to
Geico's advertising campaigns.
Jack plans to seduce the gay interior designer that Avery hired and hopes to get the designer to agree with him to leave the apartment the way it is, explaining to Liz "Do you know what a prize I am in the
gay community
The LGBTQ community (also known as the LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, or queer community) comprises LGBTQ individuals united by a common culture and social movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individua ...
? There's a term for it. I'm a
bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...
. And I'm a
daddy. I'm a daddy bear."
Before parting ways, Liz says to Carol "See you October 14", a reference to the live episode of ''30 Rock'' entitled "
Live Show
Live may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film
* ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film
* ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film
*'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...
" that aired on October 14, 2010.
''30 Rock'' and ''
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'' is an American comedy-drama television series created for NBC and primarily written by Aaron Sorkin. The series was about the production of a live comedy series similar to ''Saturday Night Live''. Produced by ...
''—both of which debuted on
2006–07 NBC lineup—revolved around the off-camera happenings on a sketch comedy series. Evidence of the overlapping subject matter between the shows, as well as the conflict between them, arose when
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 ...
, the creator of ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'', asked
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian and American television writer and film producer. He created and produced ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and produced the ''Late Night (franchise) ...
to allow him to observe ''
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 ...
'' for a week, a request Michaels, the creator of ''Saturday Night Live'' and executive producer of ''30 Rock'', denied. Despite this, Sorkin sent Fey flowers after NBC announced it would pick up both programs, and wished her luck with ''30 Rock''. Fey succeeded where Sorkin did not when ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'' was canceled after one season and ''30 Rock'' was renewed for a
second
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
. Though ''30 Rock''s first season ratings proved lackluster and were lower than those of ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'', the latter was more expensive to produce. In the ending sequence of "The Fabian Strategy", Kenneth watches the credits for ''TGS'', which include
Ricky Tahoe and
Ronnie Oswald as writers, the two former head writers on ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip''.
Reception
Before the airing of this episode, NBC unveiled its
2010–11 primetime schedule in May 2010 with the network moving the program from the 9:30 p.m. time to the 8:30 p.m. timeslot. According to the
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 5.85 million households in its original American broadcast. It earned a 2.6 rating/8 share in the 18–49 demographic.
This means that it was seen by 2.6 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 8 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. A contributor from ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' reported that ''
Community
A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
'', an NBC show that airs at 8:00 p.m., and ''30 Rock'' "held up nicely" in their respective timeslots and that the two programs "were up over last year's opening Thursday hour for NBC in premiere week."
''
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 ...
''s Nathan Rabin reported that past season premieres of ''30 Rock'' had a solid track record as being the worst episodes of the season, nonetheless Rabin found "The Fabian Strategy" hilarious and breaking that barrier. He wrote that Matt Damon has been great on the show as Carol; however, his only complaint was Carol's character flaw as being too sensitive. Rabin, who has complained "extensively" about Jenna's character in the past, said the character was in "fine form" in her role as a ''TGS'' producer. Rabin gave the episode an A− grade rating.
Bob Sassone of
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 ...
deemed this episode a "solid season-opener" that featured "lots of great lines and plot development".
Meredith Blake, a contributor from 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 ...
'', was thrilled that the Jack and Avery relationship "not only lasted the summer, but is thriving", and wrote that she was looking forward to the pregnancy storyline involving Avery. Blake noted that Damon's character was "darn-near perfect, by which I mean 'a male version of Liz.'"
Television columnist Alan Sepinwall for HitFix said that "The Fabian Strategy" did not "live up to the good old days" of past episodes, nonetheless reported that he "laughed enough" and was pleased with the direction the show took Liz and Carol's relationship. Sepinwall did not like Tracy and Kenneth's story, calling it a complete miss, but was appreciative of the other storylines, choosing Pete and Jenna's as his favorite.
Alessandra Stanley from ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' was positive about Damon's role on the show, noting that he has been a "hoot". Scott Eidler of ''
The Cornell Daily Sun
''The Cornell Daily Sun'' is an independent newspaper at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. It is published twice weekly by Cornell University students and hired employees. Founded in 1880, ''The Sun'' is the oldest continuously independent ...
'' commented that the episode was a "nice start to the
ifthseason" of ''30 Rock'' as it was "perhaps more plot-driven than packed with the emotional and uproariously funny episodes that concluded last season." Eidler commented that "The Fabian Strategy" never did "
each
Each may refer to:
*''each'', a determiner and indefinite pronoun
An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun which does not have a specific, familiar referent. Indefinite pronouns are in contrast to definite pronouns.
Indefinite pronouns can represent ...
the utter hilariousness of last season, but I hope that wasn't the climax ... and it can eventually return to its previous heights of hilarity".
''
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 ...
''s Bruce Fretts was complimentary towards Damon's role as Tina Fey's love interest, writing that Damon "showed a refreshingly silly side in keeping with ''30 Rock''s anything-goes spirit." Matt Wilstein of ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
'' called the premiere "a very solid first episode", enjoying Damon's part on the show and the Kenneth story of him still being fired by NBC.
''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' contributor
James Poniewozik reported that the Pete/Jenna and Tracy/Kenneth plots were a "hit-and-miss", however noted it was good to see the show giving the Jack and Liz characters "ongoing direction, not just in their personal lives".
''
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 ...
''s Caitlan Smith was skeptical about Liz and Carol's relationship lasting, saying that Damon "who commands more than $20 million per movie, won't stick around for long, leaving Liz Lemon Carol-less and in for another round of the entertaining self-loathing that we've all been coming back for four seasons."
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabian Strategy (30 Rock), The
30 Rock season 5 episodes
2010 American television episodes
Television episodes written by Tina Fey
Television episodes directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller