Dealbreakers Talk Show
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"Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series '' 30 Rock'', and the 65th overall episode of the series. It was written by co-producer
Kay Cannon Kay Cannon (born August 22, 1974) is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and actress. She is best known for writing and producing the ''Pitch Perfect'' film series (2012–2017). She made her directorial debut with the comedy film '' ...
and directed by series producer
Don Scardino Donald Joseph Scardino (born February 17, 1949) is an American television director and producer and a former actor. Career Acting Scardino was born in New York City, to jazz musician parents, Dorothy Denny Scardino and Charles Scardino. His f ...
. 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 are l ...
in the United States on December 3, 2009. Guest stars in the episode include
Kristian Alfonso Kristian-Joy Alfonso (born September 5, 1963) is an American actress, former figure skater and fashion model. She is recognized for her portrayal of Hope Williams Brady on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. Early life Alfonso was bo ...
, John Anderson,
Will Arnett William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor, comedian and producer. He is best known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix series '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and as the titular char ...
,
Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...
, Chris Parnell, Peter Reckell, and
Sherri Shepherd Sherri Shepherd (born April 22, 1967) is an American actress, comedian, author, broadcaster, and television personality. She currently hosts the daily syndicated daytime talk show, '' Sherri''. From 2007 to 2014, Shepherd was a co-host of the da ...
. 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 ...
) starts her first day on her talk show ''Dealbreakers'' and appoints
Frank Rossitano ''30 Rock'' is an American television comedy Television program, series created by Tina Fey, which aired on NBC. The series takes place behind the scenes of a fictional Live television, live sketch comedy series, also airing on NBC; the name "3 ...
(
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 Splendo ...
) to replace her as the head writer of the fictional sketch comedy show ''The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan'' (''TGS''). 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, ''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 ...
) tries to achieve an EGOT by winning the four awards: an Emmy, a Grammy, an
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
, and a
Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
. "Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001" has received generally positive reception 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 rati ...
, the episode was watched by 6.2 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 3.0 rating/8 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic. ''30 Rock'' editor Ken Eluto received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in the category of Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series for his work in this episode. "Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001" was submitted for consideration on the behalf of Tina Fey for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy.


Plot

The episode opens with
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) and
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 ...
) preparing for the beginning of her new talk show, ''Dealbreakers''. Jack's rival,
Devon Banks '' 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 ...
(
Will Arnett William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor, comedian and producer. He is best known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix series '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and as the titular char ...
), complicates the situation by threatening to publicly ridicule Jack if the show loses money. Jack, under pressure, begins to interfere with Liz's appearance, sending her over the edge with insecurity. After 510 takes, they finally settle on an opening title to the show. After Liz locks herself in her dressing room, Jack shuts ''Dealbreakers'' down, but manages to break even by selling the show's opening titles; in future, whenever a television show is playing in the background of a Sheinhardt Universals soap opera, the ''Dealbreakers'' titles will be shown. 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, ''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 ...
) realizes that although he has two sons with his wife Angie (
Sherri Shepherd Sherri Shepherd (born April 22, 1967) is an American actress, comedian, author, broadcaster, and television personality. She currently hosts the daily syndicated daytime talk show, '' Sherri''. From 2007 to 2014, Shepherd was a co-host of the da ...
), what is missing from his life is a daughter. As he shops for a special Christmas present for Angie, to try to convince her to have another child, Tracy finds a diamond encrusted "EGOT" necklace and sets a new life goal to achieve EGOT status by winning four major awards: an Emmy, a Grammy, an
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
, and a
Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
. Tracy discovers many EGOT-ers have been composers and aspires to write the most popular song of all time. The "EGOT" necklace originally belonged to
Philip Michael Thomas Philip Michael Thomas (born May 26, 1949) is an American actor and musician, best known for his role as detective Ricardo Tubbs on the hit 1980s TV series ''Miami Vice''. His first notable roles were in '' Coonskin'' (1975) and opposite Irene C ...
of ''
Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two M ...
''. After failing to combine five popular musical styles into one song, he seeks help from
Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...
, an EGOT title holder. Tracy sings his song to Angie and she is so moved she agrees to have another child. At the same time, ''TGS with Tracy Jordan'' staff writer
Frank Rossitano ''30 Rock'' is an American television comedy Television program, series created by Tina Fey, which aired on NBC. The series takes place behind the scenes of a fictional Live television, live sketch comedy series, also airing on NBC; the name "3 ...
(
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 Splendo ...
) is appointed head writer of the show in Liz's absence. He accepts the role, thinking that there is finally "a cool person in charge". As the day progresses, he begins acting and dressing just like Liz. After Liz returns to TGS, Frank begs her never to leave again.


Production

"Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001" was written by co-producer
Kay Cannon Kay Cannon (born August 22, 1974) is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and actress. She is best known for writing and producing the ''Pitch Perfect'' film series (2012–2017). She made her directorial debut with the comedy film '' ...
and directed by series producer
Don Scardino Donald Joseph Scardino (born February 17, 1949) is an American television director and producer and a former actor. Career Acting Scardino was born in New York City, to jazz musician parents, Dorothy Denny Scardino and Charles Scardino. His f ...
. This episode was Cannon's fifth writing credit, preceded by " Black Tie", " Somebody to Love", "
Christmas Special Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared in in literature and Christmas music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth of material, with both adaptatio ...
", and "
Jackie Jormp-Jomp "Jackie Jormp-Jomp" is the eighteenth episode of the third season of the American television series '' 30 Rock''. It was directed by series producer Don Scardino, and written by executive story editor Kay Cannon and script co-coordinator Tracey ...
". This was Scardino's twenty-fourth directed episode. "Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001" originally aired on December 3, 2009, on NBC in the United States as the seventh episode of the show's fourth season and the 65th overall episode of the series. This episode of ''30 Rock'' was filmed on October 28 and November 18, 2009. Comedian actors Will Arnett and Sherri Shepherd reprised their roles as Devon Banks and Angie Jordan, respectively, each for the sixth time. Actress Whoopi Goldberg returned to the show for the second time playing herself; in this episode Tracy Jordan enlists her help with his EGOT plans. Goldberg first appeared in the show's first season episode "
The Rural Juror "The Rural Juror" is the tenth episode of the first season of '' 30 Rock''. It was written by Matt Hubbard and was directed by Beth McCarthy. The episode first aired on January 11, 2007, on the NBC network in the United States. Guest stars in ...
", which also established that despite her success as the head writer of ''TGS'', Liz wants to be an on-camera performer like Jenna."
The Rural Juror "The Rural Juror" is the tenth episode of the first season of '' 30 Rock''. It was written by Matt Hubbard and was directed by Beth McCarthy. The episode first aired on January 11, 2007, on the NBC network in the United States. Guest stars in ...
"
Comic actor Chris Parnell played
Dr. Leo Spaceman ''30 Rock'' is an American television comedy Television program, series created by Tina Fey, which aired on NBC. The series takes place behind the scenes of a fictional Live television, live sketch comedy series, also airing on NBC; the name "3 ...
in this episode, in which Liz Lemon visits Dr. Spaceman for
Lasik LASIK or Lasik (''laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis''), commonly referred to as laser eye surgery or laser vision correction, is a type of refractive surgery for the correction of myopia, hyperopia, and an actual cure for astigmatism, sinc ...
surgery. Actors
Kristian Alfonso Kristian-Joy Alfonso (born September 5, 1963) is an American actress, former figure skater and fashion model. She is recognized for her portrayal of Hope Williams Brady on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. Early life Alfonso was bo ...
and Peter Reckell, who star in the daytime soap opera '' Days of Our Lives''—another NBC program—played their ''Days of our Lives'' characters
Hope Brady Hope Williams Brady is a fictional character from '' Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera on the NBC network. Created by writer William J. Bell, she was portrayed by Kristian Alfonso on and off from April 1983 to October 2020. Hope is a mem ...
and Bo Brady, respectively; the two appear at the end of "Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001", in a ''Days of our Lives'' episode that Liz is watching. In the background of their scene, a television can be seen playing the opening titles Liz filmed for ''Dealbreakers''. Actor John Anderson made his ''30 Rock'' debut as Astronaut Mike Dexter, Liz's imaginary perfect husband. In the beginning of the episode, Liz, who is fantasizing about her life, is notified by Mike Dexter that he has to go back to
outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...
. The character was first referenced in the previous episode, " Sun Tea", although Anderson did not play the character, instead "Dot Com" Slattery (
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 ...
) pretended to be Mike Dexter, Liz's "crazy black boyfriend". This is the first episode where
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 ...
received star billing. Tracy's storyline of achieving EGOT status was first mentioned in this episode, and would continue throughout the season. In one scene from the episode, NBC page
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 ...
) appears as a
Muppet The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are ...
while walking by a high-definition camera, a reference to
season three A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
episode "
Apollo, Apollo "Apollo, Apollo" is the sixteenth episode of the third season of American television comedy series '' 30 Rock'', and the 52nd episode of the series overall. It was written by executive producer Robert Carlock and directed by Millicent Shelton. Th ...
" in which Kenneth sees everyone as muppets. In addition, Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) walks by the camera and is seen as a younger version of himself. The footage shown on the high-definition monitor was extracted from the 1990 film ''
The Hunt for Red October ''The Hunt for Red October'' is the debut novel by American author Tom Clancy, first published on October 1, 1984, by the Naval Institute Press. It depicts Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius as he seemingly goes rogue with his country's cutt ...
'' starring Baldwin. This episode was the final time that the show referenced Liz's show ''Dealbreakers'', a story arc that had begun in the third-season episode " Mamma Mia" and continued with " Kidney Now!", "
Into the Crevasse "Into the Crevasse" is the second episode of the 30 Rock (season 4), fourth season of the American television comedy series ''30 Rock'', and the 60th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by co-showrunner and executive producer Rob ...
" and " The Problem Solvers".


Reception

In its original American broadcast, "Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001" drew in 6.2 million households, 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 amounted to a seven percent ratings increase over the previous week's episode, " Sun Tea", which was seen by 5.858 million American viewers. The show claimed a 3.0 rating/8 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic, that is 3.0 percent of all people in that group, and 8 percent of all people from that group watching television at the time, watched the episode. Ken Eluto, an editor on the show, received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, but lost it to Ryan Case for his work on the pilot episode of ''
Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of th ...
''. "Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001" was submitted for consideration on the behalf of Tina Fey for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at the same awards show, but lost it to actress
Edie Falco Edith Falco (born July 5, 1963) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Carmela Soprano on the HBO series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), and Nurse Jackie Peyton on the Showtime series ''Nurse Jackie'' (2009–2015). She also ...
. This episode of ''30 Rock'' has received generally positive reviews. Robert Canning of
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game 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 distri ...
gave the episode an 8.9 out of 10 rating and wrote that the plotlines featured here were "fun, but it was, as is often the case, Liz and Jack that really made he episodea winner." 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 ...
'' said that Frank turning into Liz "felt a little too predictable", nonetheless complimented Judah Friedlander for it. Regarding the episode itself, Sepinwall wrote that it was a "great story, and a much better closing point to the 'Dealbreakers' plot".
Bob Sassone 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 be ...
of AOL's
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 be ...
objected to the jokes about Liz and Fey being unattractive, but was glad that Liz did not get her talk show, reasoning it would have "ruin dthe whole Liz/Jack/''TGS'' dynamic." ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' contributor
James Poniewozik James "Jim" Poniewozik (; born July 12, 1968) is an American journalist and television critic. He is the chief TV critic for ''The New York Times''. Earlier in his career, he wrote ''Time'' magazine's ''Tuned In'' column for 16 years. Early life ...
was complimentary towards the "Dealbreakers" story, and commented that the series "has often been strongest in the episodes in which Liz Lemon's professional life tracks Tina Fey's, and 'Dealbreakers' was definitely one of them." In conclusion, Poniewozik said that despite this not being "an all-time classic" it was "one of the most laugh-full ''30 Rock'''s in a while". ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...
'''s Michael Anthony reported that part of him really wanted to see the ''Dealbreaker'' pilot work out for Liz, noting "I think there's something there – something really funny!" Anthony was complimentary towards Whoopi Goldberg's cameo, and said that when the Jenna character "opens her mouth" she is a "hysterical treat." Nathan Rabin of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American 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 cre ...
'' wrote that "Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001" was a "delightful surprise, delivering laughs aplenty and steering clear of the pitfalls that have hindered the show so far this year. ..It was a welcome return to form chockablock with quotable lines and laugh out loud moments." He was complimentary towards Fey here, noting that she "illustrated erchops as a physical comedian". Sean Gandert, a contributor for '' Paste'' magazine, said that Tracy's plot was "pretty awesome". Gandert, who has not been a fan of the "Dealbreakers" storyline, appreciated it in this episode, opining it had "good writing even by the show's outsized standards." ''
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 cu ...
'' contributor Margaret Lyons was positive about this episode, writing "Last night's ''30 Rock'' was legitimately one of the best episodes ever ..'Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001' was one for the record books".


References

;Specific


External links

* {{good article 30 Rock (season 4) episodes 2009 American television episodes