"The Ballad of Kenneth Parcell" is the
fourth episode of the
sixth season of the American television comedy series ''
30 Rock'', and the 107th overall episode of the series. It was directed by
Jeff Richmond
Jeffrey Wayne Richmond (born January 7, 1961) is an American composer, actor, director, and producer. He composed the music for, and directed multiple episodes of ''30 Rock'', a sitcom created by and starring his wife, Tina Fey. He also executive ...
, and written by co-executive producer
Matt Hubbard. The episode 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 are l ...
in the United States on January 26, 2012. Guest stars in this episode include
Emma Stone,
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'' and as basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the television show '' The Wh ...
,
Mick Foley
Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American actor, author, retired professional wrestler, and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE under the company's Legends program, acting as a company ambassador.
Foley worked for m ...
,
Andy Samberg
Andy Samberg (born David A. J. Samberg; August 18, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer and screenwriter. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island and was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2005 ...
, and the
Philadelphia Phillies mascot the
Phillie Phanatic.
Steve Earle sings a ballad about Kenneth Parcell in the closing credits.
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 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
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 E ...
(
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 four ...
) fall out as a result of Jenna's selfish behavior since her role on ''America's Kidz Got Singing'',
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 Ea ...
(
Alec Baldwin) eliminates the page program to impress Hank Hooper (
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'' and as basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the television show '' The Wh ...
), but comes to suffer the consequences, and
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, ''Entertain ...
(
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 ...
) contemplates his own mortality after a misunderstanding results in him receiving no birthday presents.
Plot
As a result of her role on ''America's Kidz Got Singing'',
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 E ...
(
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 four ...
) has become a more widely known celebrity and is starring in the new holiday movie ''Martin Luther King Day''. Soon, she begins to let the fame go to her head. Jenna even uses her best friend
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 ...
) as a decoy when leaving a restaurant, tricking her into having paint thrown over her by
PETA protestors on her behalf. This leads the pair to fall out and go in search of new best friends. Jenna starts hanging out with D-list celebrities, such as Charlie from ''
Charlie Bit My Finger'', while Liz comes across her
doppelgänger in a
Barnes & Noble bathroom.
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 Ea ...
(
Alec Baldwin) eliminates the page program to impress Hank Hooper (
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'' and as basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the television show '' The Wh ...
), since all the jobs that the pages do can be done electronically to save money.
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, 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 ...
) argues against this, but Jack still goes through with his plan, even naming the new computer "NotKenneth." However, Jack's plan backfires when a one-year "businessversery" present to Hank is sent to ''TGS'' by accident, as Jack accidentally instructed the computer to deliver it to the "6th floor" instead of the "60th floor". Finally,
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, ''Entertain ...
(
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 ...
) discovers that he won't be receiving any birthday presents due to a misunderstanding. When
Grizz (
Grizz Chapman
Grizzwald "Grizz" Chapman (born April 16, 1974) is an American television actor best known for his recurring role as Grizz on the NBC series ''30 Rock''. A June 2007 interview with rollingout.com lists Chapman's height as . In his commentary f ...
) and
Dot Com (
Kevin Brown Kevin Brown may refer to:
Entertainment
* Kevin Brown (blues musician) (born 1950), English blues guitarist
* Kevin Brown (author) (born 1960), American journalist and translator
* Kevin Brown (poet) (born 1970), American poet and teacher
* Kevin ...
) inform him that he already has most things anyway, he starts to contemplate his own mortality.
Ultimately, Liz comes to realize that she needs Jenna because she is too self-absorbed to complain when she talks about her problems, while Jenna notices that all of her D-list friends are too self-absorbed to pay her any attention. Jack acknowledges then he needs Kenneth and the other pages because he is able to blame all of his mistakes on them, while Tracy discovers that he was simply annoyed with Grizz and Dot Com for not buying him any presents. During the closing credits,
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fo ...
singer
Steve Earle sings a ballad about the rise of Kenneth from farm boy to page.
Reception
![Jane Krakowski (6296483205)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Jane_Krakowski_%286296483205%29.jpg)
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 rati ...
, this episode of ''30 Rock'' was watched by 3.98 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 episode received positive reviews from critics. Emily Cheever of ''Ology'' praised the episode as a big improvement over the previous celebrity-filled, "gimmicky" episodes of the series, opining that the show was best when it was utilizing its main cast. She gave the episode an 8 out of 10.
Alan Sepinwall
Alan Sepinwall (born October 19, 1973) is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He ...
, writing for ''HitFix'', praised this and previous episode "
Idiots Are People Three!", calling them both "terrific episodes where the jokes not only kept coming, but kept hitting, almost every time".
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballad of Kenneth Parcell
30 Rock (season 6) episodes