30 Rock - "Reunion"
30 Rock S3 just keeps getting better! That's such the mark of a good TV show...that they can add seasons and not lose quality.
I may not do this kind of write-up for every episode, but I enjoyed this one so much and there were so many great visual gags, I figured I needed to post screencaps (created by lore_85).
Reunion-Goer: Go home, Lemon!
Liz: No way, new friend!
I wasn't too crazy about the idea that Liz would be shown as a Mean Girl in high school but, really, it does fit her character. "MILF Island"? "The C Word"? Heck even "The Head and The Hair" and "Hiatus" showed that Liz does have a bit of a mean streak if she wants to let it loose. I'd like to think that's what makes Liz Lemon a great comedy writer: she has a lot of anger.
Something else I thought was in character was Liz's terrible memory. "The Rural Juror", anyone?
The combination of Liz as a nerd + mean girl is even better! The homecoming queen was scared of her! LOL.
As much as I love the fact that Jack and Liz had to stay at the same hotel, why didn't they just stay at Ma and Pa Lemon's house? I guess I just assumed they still lived there.
Liz's hair after surviving the jet trauma is a great callback to Jack's words about how Liz found a hairstyle that worked for her, as long as it's not too humid.
I really would have loved to have seen the Closed Captioning for Liz's first nerdy answer about the telescope. She mumbled more than Bob Dylan in that scene.
But, man, Mean Liz WAS mean. LOL.
I love that Liz tried to be all sexy, ordering a Manhattan, but didn't know which Bourbon to select. Don't worry, Liz, I wouldn't know, either. Nice save with the White Wine Spritzer, though. :)
Tina went into a little Sarah Palin there when she says "fast lane".
Liz's exit from the reunion rivals this tell-off exit for me. And, I never thought anything could be as good as Scarface quitting his job in "Half Baked". I think it's the "New York Citaaayyy", "Lemon OUT", and the throwing of the microphone.
So cute that the cutdown at the end about the "whiddling, IHOP monkeys" is what she picked up from Jack earlier in the episode.
Jack Donaghy a.k.a. Larry Braverman
I thought the writing of this episode was just spot-on brilliance, especially, in terms of Jack's identity crisis and coping mechanism.
I particularly enjoyed Jack's lines about "I don't know who I am anymore" and "I just want to be one of them" because those all connect us to his persona as Larry Braverman.
Larry Braverman = Larry BRAVER man...as in Jack needs to be a "braver" man, which he pretty much is when he stands up for Liz and rescues her from being "Carrie"-ed.
Jack needed to be the coolest guy at the reunion after experiencing disappointment with Geiss.
Thought it was a nice connection to have Jack wanting to go to Miami to "blow off some steam" to reference back to when he talks about Sex and Awesomeness as his ways of coping with hard times.
Jack is quick to let go of Larry Braverman when he is told Larry has fathered a son. I think that's interesting to throw in there with all the hoopla around Liz wanting a child. Not sure how it relates because I'd like to think if Jack ever had a child with Liz, he'd be excited about it (like Bianca says he would parade the child around Nantucket) and wouldn't run away from it like he did with Jessica and Son. I guess he jumped off the Larry train because it wasn't HIS son.
Jack questions his life and happiness in his life. He even asks "Am I happy?". I think those are good things for Jack to be thinking about because it goes back to the whole "having it all" thing he and Liz want out of life. He needs to realize that he can have the job he's dreamed of and still have happiness. I wonder if that one question is going to be set up for the rest of the season for Jack?
Is Jack really Two-Face? LOL.
Jack can rent a jet? Who needs to be CEO if you can do that already? :)
Jack went to Princeton with Michelle Obama! LOL.
Jack doesn't want to let Geiss and The Beam win. LOL.
Aww, and he's going to fight for Liz to be able to use "cat anus".
Kathy Geiss
Words cannot express how much I love Kathy Geiss (which, seems fitting since she pretty much never speaks, except to cheer on a fake soap opera kiss).
Anytime that character is onscreen, I just howl with laughter. It's just pure comedic genius.
Jack uses his keys to attract Kathy's attention for the picture was so great, but it didn't end there. They reveal Kathy who is posing with a unicorn and has written "Kathy = CEO" on a Magna Doodle-type toy!
The scratching of the window when her father woke up from his coma was so freaking weird (and somewhat oddly, cute that they have such a connection) that it was brilliant. Marceline Hugot is totally shameless and gets that character, which is why I think she just goes for it. I'm pretty stoked because I just realized she's going to be in "Julia and Julia". Score.
I hope we haven't seen the last of Kathy Geiss since her Dad woke up and Jack has his old job back. I will miss her if we do.
Speaking of Don Geiss...is this the terrace (the Edison Terrace?) where Spider-man drops off Mary Jane? That's so pretty up there. I would totally want to go up there and read. I wonder if people can go up there? Or, if you have to be among the likes of Don Geiss and Jack Donaghy to access that level?
Geiss called Jack "Jackie Boy"! I bet Jack LOVED that.
High School Classmates
Oh man! The Whitehaven kids do NOT like Liz Lemon and it was hilarious.
I laughed so hard at PoopFace going "Lemon!" and then being revealed gesturing as if she wanted to hit Liz. Oh, Lord, that was funny.
Liz kissed more than one gay guy? Oh, Liz.
Diane with the rope? LOL.
This guy is Wayne Burditt. Wonder if he's any relation to Jack Burditt, one of the writers (the other 30 Rock writer nominated for the Writing Emmy this past year)?
Rob Sussman? I totally knew a guy in high school that was JUST like him. I swear, that Rob character is the TV adaption of my friend, Josh.
He raised three beautiful...dogs. HILARIOUS. You think he's going to say children, but he doesn't :)
Liz was right. The volleyball scene in Top Gun is SO gay.
"I'm so mad, all I can do is dance!" is going to be going in my Catchphrase Vault. Yes, I do have one. In my brain. Along with other useless pieces of information :) It's going in there with "Girl, Oprah was right. People just wanna be together and get free stuff!".
All of them were so hysterical when the liquid in the bucket was poured out onto the stage, but missed Liz. They were really upset that they didn't actually get her.
Jack/Liz
I'm trying not to look at this through shipper glasses, but I find it interesting that they've really been teasing a kiss between Jack and Liz. It was done bigtime in "Do-Over" with the fake soap opera and in "Reunion", it was done twice. Of course, granted, Jack actually does kiss her (on the forehead), but I thought it was an interesting, writing-wise, that we would get the first actual kiss between the two and then, later, in the episode, Jack would spin the bottle and land on Liz.
They don't kiss and I expected that. It's way too soon for anything like that. Plus, when it really happens, it will be because they want to, not because they've been forced into situations that warrant it (like "Do-Over" and being stuck in the closet).
I thought it was such a nice touch that the first person Jack runs to to tell about Geiss waking up and to share his excitement about being CEO would be Liz. That matches up to "Succession" and how he only shared the fact that Geiss had picked him with her.
It's interesting to me that Jack equalizes their ages when he says "Rich 50 is Middle-Class 38". In his mind, he and Liz are the same age ;)
So cute when Liz is practically blushing when Jack insists (as CEO) she fly on the jet. He definitely knows that the way to her heart is through food, bribing her with the popcorn.
I love how Jack sort of compliments Liz on her success and looks without every really coming out and saying it directly because it's like, he wants to tell her how great she is, but he hides it by using "ethnic" a lot. :)
Tina made me laugh, just by playing Liz as rolling her eyes as Jack accepted his role as Larry Braverman. She's a better actress than she gives herself credit for.
It's such a small moment that probably nobody else cares, but me, but I loved Liz's reaction to Jack saying "I don't know who I am". She seemed genuinely worried and upset for him and it's kind of adorable.
I don't know why I'm watching Smallville. Superman saving Lois Lane can be seen on 30 Rock :)
I loved Jack rescuing Liz from being "Carrie"-ed. Despite the fact that she made him cry and even in his drunken state, he didn't want to see her get humilitated and stuck up for her. That is so aww-worthy.
I like that Jack and Liz can be totally honest and real with each other, even if it gets them into a fight and then, later, can realize their mistakes and forgive each other. So cute that Liz apologized for saying what she did about the business cards and Jack seemed touched by it.
Jack refers to himself as Liz's "platonic friend", but I'm not sure what to make of that. He didn't really have to add that in there. He could have just said "I'm Liz Lemon's friend", so why say "platonic"? Of course, he DID say it right after learning Larry Braverman had a son, so maybe he was trying to distance himself from any romantic relationships?
Jenna Maroney
Maybe I've missed it before, but I just noticed that this picture of Liz and Jenna is in Jenna's dressing room. Okay, so maybe it's not the exact same picture, but from the same photoshoot. I really, really love that because I love their BFF relationship.
You can also see a newspaper article about Jenna's fat days on the wall to the left, which makes me laugh. I guess that's a proud moment for her since she was associated with a catchphrase ("Me want food!")? Not many people would frame their fat selves in their dressing rooms, but I guess in some ways, for Jenna, it's a badge of honor.
Oh, Jane Krakowski, you are too beautiful and you make me jealous of your insanely gorgeous look.
I'm getting my wish granted of having more singing from Jenna Maroney! She close-up sang "Wind Beneath My Wings" in the elevator! LOL.
Loved Jenna's hyperventilation turned screaming. Well-played Jane.
Tracy Jordan
Like the great props in Jenna's dressing room, Tracy has a lot of cool stuff in his as well. All of his posters are there, yes, but he also has a framed picture of that Lethal Weapon type movie he made where he really didn't know what was going on and he's shown reading a magazine called N-ICE! Hee.
I need an Angry Chair.
"Making up words won't save you!". BWAH.
Tracy sure proved those nuns wrong, even if they were with the School for Deaf Girls. LOL.
Tracy and Jenna Vs. Kenneth
Jenna: Kenneth is a monster!
I love when Mommy (Liz) and Daddy (Jack) go out of town, the kids (Tracy, Jenna, and Kenneth) get into a fight :)
As much as I love the Tracy and Jenna rivalry that sometimes, occurs, I do love that they bonded in this one. They couldn't let their star credentials be threatened and teamed up to teach Kenneth a lesson by switching roles.
This is the second time this season where Jenna and Tracy have attempted to be someone else (the first being their "Social Experiment" back in 3x02) and it's fun to see those role reversals.
Kenneth has been crying an awful lot this season. Is he okay?
As much as I may worry about him, it does make me laugh when he cries. Tracy even got emotional, which in turn made Kenneth cry more, increasing my laughter tears.
Kenneth: I would never do anything to hurt you. You're my best friend.
Tracy: We're not really best friends. We're just good friends.
Aww and LOL.
Music
30 Rock NEVER uses popular music on the show, except for that one musical montage from Episode 210 or Jenna singing something a cappella, so I wondered if they'd have 80's music at the reunion...and they did. I don't think it'd be a stretch to say that the songs that were used were there for a reason. Heck, I wouldn't even be surprised if they had written them in the script.
When Liz walks into the reunion, INXS' "I Need You Tonight" is playing, which to me, seemed to be foreshadowing how Liz would need Jack to show up and save her from the Whitehaven crowd who wouldn't forgive her and wanted to get their revenge.
When Jessica approaches "Larry Braverman" for the first time since high school, they played Animotion's "Obession", which makes me laugh because not only does Jessica come across as a little stalker-ish, but the song talks about figuring out what it will take to get someone to sleep with you :)
And, what 80's high school story wouldn't be complete without "(Don't You) Forget About Me" by Simple Minds. Cracks me up because in some ways, the gang in the episode were their own little Breakfast Club. A homecoming queen. A gay guy. A chick with a messed up leg. Someone with God poop on her face. And, then, there was Larry Braverman who was,
apparently, the coolest kid in school.
Did I also hear "Taking Care of Business"? They must want to get a lot of use out of that song because that would be the second time 30 Rock has used it (first time being in "Succession".
Other Thoughts
Loved the guy at the hotel! He did such a good job to really give life to what could have been a really small role.
The "Carrie" parody was fairly well-done. But, then all they really needed to do was to slow things down a bit and make it dramatic :) The difference in "Reunion" vs. Carrie is that Jack actually stops it from happening. Well, that and nobody got killed. :)
Such a fun episode!
It's been cool to see Jack and Liz outside of the TGS atmosphere together.
Loved the Tracy and Jenna bonding over celebrity power.
And, Kenneth? He is cuteness wrapped up in a page jacket, especially, when he cries over unintentionally, hurting his best friend.
I may not do this kind of write-up for every episode, but I enjoyed this one so much and there were so many great visual gags, I figured I needed to post screencaps (created by lore_85).
Reunion-Goer: Go home, Lemon!
Liz: No way, new friend!
I wasn't too crazy about the idea that Liz would be shown as a Mean Girl in high school but, really, it does fit her character. "MILF Island"? "The C Word"? Heck even "The Head and The Hair" and "Hiatus" showed that Liz does have a bit of a mean streak if she wants to let it loose. I'd like to think that's what makes Liz Lemon a great comedy writer: she has a lot of anger.
Something else I thought was in character was Liz's terrible memory. "The Rural Juror", anyone?
The combination of Liz as a nerd + mean girl is even better! The homecoming queen was scared of her! LOL.
As much as I love the fact that Jack and Liz had to stay at the same hotel, why didn't they just stay at Ma and Pa Lemon's house? I guess I just assumed they still lived there.
Liz's hair after surviving the jet trauma is a great callback to Jack's words about how Liz found a hairstyle that worked for her, as long as it's not too humid.
I really would have loved to have seen the Closed Captioning for Liz's first nerdy answer about the telescope. She mumbled more than Bob Dylan in that scene.
But, man, Mean Liz WAS mean. LOL.
I love that Liz tried to be all sexy, ordering a Manhattan, but didn't know which Bourbon to select. Don't worry, Liz, I wouldn't know, either. Nice save with the White Wine Spritzer, though. :)
Tina went into a little Sarah Palin there when she says "fast lane".
Liz's exit from the reunion rivals this tell-off exit for me. And, I never thought anything could be as good as Scarface quitting his job in "Half Baked". I think it's the "New York Citaaayyy", "Lemon OUT", and the throwing of the microphone.
So cute that the cutdown at the end about the "whiddling, IHOP monkeys" is what she picked up from Jack earlier in the episode.
Jack Donaghy a.k.a. Larry Braverman
I thought the writing of this episode was just spot-on brilliance, especially, in terms of Jack's identity crisis and coping mechanism.
I particularly enjoyed Jack's lines about "I don't know who I am anymore" and "I just want to be one of them" because those all connect us to his persona as Larry Braverman.
Larry Braverman = Larry BRAVER man...as in Jack needs to be a "braver" man, which he pretty much is when he stands up for Liz and rescues her from being "Carrie"-ed.
Jack needed to be the coolest guy at the reunion after experiencing disappointment with Geiss.
Thought it was a nice connection to have Jack wanting to go to Miami to "blow off some steam" to reference back to when he talks about Sex and Awesomeness as his ways of coping with hard times.
Jack is quick to let go of Larry Braverman when he is told Larry has fathered a son. I think that's interesting to throw in there with all the hoopla around Liz wanting a child. Not sure how it relates because I'd like to think if Jack ever had a child with Liz, he'd be excited about it (like Bianca says he would parade the child around Nantucket) and wouldn't run away from it like he did with Jessica and Son. I guess he jumped off the Larry train because it wasn't HIS son.
Jack questions his life and happiness in his life. He even asks "Am I happy?". I think those are good things for Jack to be thinking about because it goes back to the whole "having it all" thing he and Liz want out of life. He needs to realize that he can have the job he's dreamed of and still have happiness. I wonder if that one question is going to be set up for the rest of the season for Jack?
Is Jack really Two-Face? LOL.
Jack can rent a jet? Who needs to be CEO if you can do that already? :)
Jack went to Princeton with Michelle Obama! LOL.
Jack doesn't want to let Geiss and The Beam win. LOL.
Aww, and he's going to fight for Liz to be able to use "cat anus".
Kathy Geiss
Words cannot express how much I love Kathy Geiss (which, seems fitting since she pretty much never speaks, except to cheer on a fake soap opera kiss).
Anytime that character is onscreen, I just howl with laughter. It's just pure comedic genius.
Jack uses his keys to attract Kathy's attention for the picture was so great, but it didn't end there. They reveal Kathy who is posing with a unicorn and has written "Kathy = CEO" on a Magna Doodle-type toy!
The scratching of the window when her father woke up from his coma was so freaking weird (and somewhat oddly, cute that they have such a connection) that it was brilliant. Marceline Hugot is totally shameless and gets that character, which is why I think she just goes for it. I'm pretty stoked because I just realized she's going to be in "Julia and Julia". Score.
I hope we haven't seen the last of Kathy Geiss since her Dad woke up and Jack has his old job back. I will miss her if we do.
Speaking of Don Geiss...is this the terrace (the Edison Terrace?) where Spider-man drops off Mary Jane? That's so pretty up there. I would totally want to go up there and read. I wonder if people can go up there? Or, if you have to be among the likes of Don Geiss and Jack Donaghy to access that level?
Geiss called Jack "Jackie Boy"! I bet Jack LOVED that.
High School Classmates
Oh man! The Whitehaven kids do NOT like Liz Lemon and it was hilarious.
I laughed so hard at PoopFace going "Lemon!" and then being revealed gesturing as if she wanted to hit Liz. Oh, Lord, that was funny.
Liz kissed more than one gay guy? Oh, Liz.
Diane with the rope? LOL.
This guy is Wayne Burditt. Wonder if he's any relation to Jack Burditt, one of the writers (the other 30 Rock writer nominated for the Writing Emmy this past year)?
Rob Sussman? I totally knew a guy in high school that was JUST like him. I swear, that Rob character is the TV adaption of my friend, Josh.
He raised three beautiful...dogs. HILARIOUS. You think he's going to say children, but he doesn't :)
Liz was right. The volleyball scene in Top Gun is SO gay.
"I'm so mad, all I can do is dance!" is going to be going in my Catchphrase Vault. Yes, I do have one. In my brain. Along with other useless pieces of information :) It's going in there with "Girl, Oprah was right. People just wanna be together and get free stuff!".
All of them were so hysterical when the liquid in the bucket was poured out onto the stage, but missed Liz. They were really upset that they didn't actually get her.
Jack/Liz
I'm trying not to look at this through shipper glasses, but I find it interesting that they've really been teasing a kiss between Jack and Liz. It was done bigtime in "Do-Over" with the fake soap opera and in "Reunion", it was done twice. Of course, granted, Jack actually does kiss her (on the forehead), but I thought it was an interesting, writing-wise, that we would get the first actual kiss between the two and then, later, in the episode, Jack would spin the bottle and land on Liz.
They don't kiss and I expected that. It's way too soon for anything like that. Plus, when it really happens, it will be because they want to, not because they've been forced into situations that warrant it (like "Do-Over" and being stuck in the closet).
I thought it was such a nice touch that the first person Jack runs to to tell about Geiss waking up and to share his excitement about being CEO would be Liz. That matches up to "Succession" and how he only shared the fact that Geiss had picked him with her.
It's interesting to me that Jack equalizes their ages when he says "Rich 50 is Middle-Class 38". In his mind, he and Liz are the same age ;)
So cute when Liz is practically blushing when Jack insists (as CEO) she fly on the jet. He definitely knows that the way to her heart is through food, bribing her with the popcorn.
I love how Jack sort of compliments Liz on her success and looks without every really coming out and saying it directly because it's like, he wants to tell her how great she is, but he hides it by using "ethnic" a lot. :)
Tina made me laugh, just by playing Liz as rolling her eyes as Jack accepted his role as Larry Braverman. She's a better actress than she gives herself credit for.
It's such a small moment that probably nobody else cares, but me, but I loved Liz's reaction to Jack saying "I don't know who I am". She seemed genuinely worried and upset for him and it's kind of adorable.
I don't know why I'm watching Smallville. Superman saving Lois Lane can be seen on 30 Rock :)
I loved Jack rescuing Liz from being "Carrie"-ed. Despite the fact that she made him cry and even in his drunken state, he didn't want to see her get humilitated and stuck up for her. That is so aww-worthy.
I like that Jack and Liz can be totally honest and real with each other, even if it gets them into a fight and then, later, can realize their mistakes and forgive each other. So cute that Liz apologized for saying what she did about the business cards and Jack seemed touched by it.
Jack refers to himself as Liz's "platonic friend", but I'm not sure what to make of that. He didn't really have to add that in there. He could have just said "I'm Liz Lemon's friend", so why say "platonic"? Of course, he DID say it right after learning Larry Braverman had a son, so maybe he was trying to distance himself from any romantic relationships?
Jenna Maroney
Maybe I've missed it before, but I just noticed that this picture of Liz and Jenna is in Jenna's dressing room. Okay, so maybe it's not the exact same picture, but from the same photoshoot. I really, really love that because I love their BFF relationship.
You can also see a newspaper article about Jenna's fat days on the wall to the left, which makes me laugh. I guess that's a proud moment for her since she was associated with a catchphrase ("Me want food!")? Not many people would frame their fat selves in their dressing rooms, but I guess in some ways, for Jenna, it's a badge of honor.
Oh, Jane Krakowski, you are too beautiful and you make me jealous of your insanely gorgeous look.
I'm getting my wish granted of having more singing from Jenna Maroney! She close-up sang "Wind Beneath My Wings" in the elevator! LOL.
Loved Jenna's hyperventilation turned screaming. Well-played Jane.
Tracy Jordan
Like the great props in Jenna's dressing room, Tracy has a lot of cool stuff in his as well. All of his posters are there, yes, but he also has a framed picture of that Lethal Weapon type movie he made where he really didn't know what was going on and he's shown reading a magazine called N-ICE! Hee.
I need an Angry Chair.
"Making up words won't save you!". BWAH.
Tracy sure proved those nuns wrong, even if they were with the School for Deaf Girls. LOL.
Tracy and Jenna Vs. Kenneth
Jenna: Kenneth is a monster!
I love when Mommy (Liz) and Daddy (Jack) go out of town, the kids (Tracy, Jenna, and Kenneth) get into a fight :)
As much as I love the Tracy and Jenna rivalry that sometimes, occurs, I do love that they bonded in this one. They couldn't let their star credentials be threatened and teamed up to teach Kenneth a lesson by switching roles.
This is the second time this season where Jenna and Tracy have attempted to be someone else (the first being their "Social Experiment" back in 3x02) and it's fun to see those role reversals.
Kenneth has been crying an awful lot this season. Is he okay?
As much as I may worry about him, it does make me laugh when he cries. Tracy even got emotional, which in turn made Kenneth cry more, increasing my laughter tears.
Kenneth: I would never do anything to hurt you. You're my best friend.
Tracy: We're not really best friends. We're just good friends.
Aww and LOL.
Music
30 Rock NEVER uses popular music on the show, except for that one musical montage from Episode 210 or Jenna singing something a cappella, so I wondered if they'd have 80's music at the reunion...and they did. I don't think it'd be a stretch to say that the songs that were used were there for a reason. Heck, I wouldn't even be surprised if they had written them in the script.
When Liz walks into the reunion, INXS' "I Need You Tonight" is playing, which to me, seemed to be foreshadowing how Liz would need Jack to show up and save her from the Whitehaven crowd who wouldn't forgive her and wanted to get their revenge.
When Jessica approaches "Larry Braverman" for the first time since high school, they played Animotion's "Obession", which makes me laugh because not only does Jessica come across as a little stalker-ish, but the song talks about figuring out what it will take to get someone to sleep with you :)
And, what 80's high school story wouldn't be complete without "(Don't You) Forget About Me" by Simple Minds. Cracks me up because in some ways, the gang in the episode were their own little Breakfast Club. A homecoming queen. A gay guy. A chick with a messed up leg. Someone with God poop on her face. And, then, there was Larry Braverman who was,
apparently, the coolest kid in school.
Did I also hear "Taking Care of Business"? They must want to get a lot of use out of that song because that would be the second time 30 Rock has used it (first time being in "Succession".
Other Thoughts
Loved the guy at the hotel! He did such a good job to really give life to what could have been a really small role.
The "Carrie" parody was fairly well-done. But, then all they really needed to do was to slow things down a bit and make it dramatic :) The difference in "Reunion" vs. Carrie is that Jack actually stops it from happening. Well, that and nobody got killed. :)
Such a fun episode!
It's been cool to see Jack and Liz outside of the TGS atmosphere together.
Loved the Tracy and Jenna bonding over celebrity power.
And, Kenneth? He is cuteness wrapped up in a page jacket, especially, when he cries over unintentionally, hurting his best friend.