30 Rock: Rosemary's Baby (Episode 204)

Therapy hijinks: Tracy and Jack/Mama Jordan/Papa Jordan/Mrs. Rodriguez/the White guy Mama Jordan left Papa Jordan for get into itJack is pleased to announce that the winner of this year's G.E. Followship Award is Liz Lemon. Liz is not as pleased, as the prize is awarded to the G.E. employee who best exemplifies a follower. Liz is miffed, to say the least -- was it because of the G.E. sketch featuring Tracy and Jenna having dinner with a man who had a G.E. microwave for a head? Liz doesn't seem to care so much once she learns the prize includes $10,000, which she graciously accepts. Jack, though, is concerned to learn that Liz doesn't have a 401(k) in which to invest the cash. What, she can't buy another wedding dress? The $4,000 ham napkin will have to do for now.

Jack finds Jenna at the craft services table, and compliments her figure. Jenna explains that as she had been Monique fat, she figured the only way she could go was Teri Hatcher thin. She gets some food on Kenneth's jacket, which wasn't so bad except that in the process she burns it on a hot plate. Kenneth freaks out, worried that head page Donnie will punish him. Jenna promises to talk to Donnie.

Liz takes Pete to a book signing to meet Rosemary Howard, her idol growing up. She was the first female writer at "Laugh-In" and, as Rosemary herself explains, wrote the political content for "Donny and Marie". Though Liz initially freaks herself, Pete, and Rosemary out with her fandom, Rosemary permits Liz to take her out to lunch -- if only so Liz can get this all out of her system.

Back in Jack's office, Tracy bursts in with a question: "If you desecrate something, is that bad?" Tracy explains that he botched some words of the national anthem -- we see a clip of Tracy singing:

Who brought stars and bright stars
To the party last night
For the rascals we fought...

Tracy is still amazed: "Who'd ever known there so many words? It's like a Mos Def CD." Jack assures Tracy that, as a star, Tracy can do all he wants -- Jack will be there to take care of any fallout. Duly assured, Tracy goes off with a reminder from Jack that he can do anything he want, just not dog-fighting! Of course, after returning to his dressing room to be curiously quiet for 20 minutes, Tracy tells Grizz and Dot-Com to get him some dogs. Though Grizz and Dot-Com protest, calling dog fights the worst thing ever, Tracy insists and stomps out in a huff. Dot-Com flings himself down on the couch, resigned: "Man, this is like Phil Spector's entourage all over again."

At lunch, Rosemary is full of new (or are they really old?) ideas for edgy content. She misses live television, which is like sex: "It's always better when everything goes horribly wrong." Liz, for some reason, takes that as a cue to invite Rosemary to be a guest writer on "The Girlie Show".

Backstage at the studio, Jenna finds Donnie lurking behind the super computer from a long-ago NBC series. When she tells Donnie about the jacket, he is ecstatic that he finally has a reason to send Kenneth to page hell at CNBC in New Jersey. When Jenna tries to use her boobs to get him to relent, he stops her. Having breast-fed until the age of 11, he's "forgotten more about a lady's chest than [she'll] ever know. Kenneth Parcell is finished!"

At a writer's meeting in Liz's office, Rosemary's ideas -- a New Orleans abortion clinic featuring "a beautiful mulatto", and Josh in blackface -- are met with excitement from everybody except Liz. Liz isn't sure that the sensitive content will go well, and doesn't do a good job of distancing herself from Jack (the giant Followship check is behind her). Rosemary assures Liz she'll talk to Jack herself, but Liz isn't so sure that's a great idea, either.

Tracy's excited about the dogs Grizz and Dot-Com have acquired until he sees that the dogs are, in fact, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Unless they can defeat other dogs with their cutness, they'd have no chance in the ring. Jack interrupts, asking Grizz and Dot-Com and the puppies to leave the room so he can talk to Tracy alone. Reminding Tracy that dog fighting was the one thing he asked him not to do, Jack wonders why Tracy always does the opposite of what he's told. Tracy yelps "You're not my dad!" and stomps out. Uh oh, I think we may have a very special moment coming up.

Liz finds Rosemary in Jack's office, where she's been having fun pitching ideas to Jack. He's been receptive but when Rosemary leaves, he tells Liz to fire her. He won't have any of Rosemary's envelope pushing -- the only fools who get into envelope-pushing being letter writers, activists, and Howard Dean. Bwa! Liz won't do it -- Rosemary and her ideas are why Liz got into the business. While she asserts that she wants to make people think, Jack retorts that she's only in the business because she's funny, weird, and the job pays well. Liz is resentful that her creativity is used by G.E. to make charts. Whose show is it -- Liz or Jack's? Neither will back down, so Liz throws down the gauntlet -- if Jack wants to get rid of Rosemary, he'll have to fire her. So he does. Rosemary and Liz walk out, Rosemary happily and Liz a bit excited, to consider their next move.

Jack finds Tracy sitting on the stage in a spotlight, as it was the only place he could to get away from it all. Jack shares that he had anger towards his dad, and the best way he dealt with it was to forgive his old man with the help of therapy. Tracy resists when Jack tells him to seek therapy, but then immediately jumps for it when Jack tells him not to.

Jenna is in the middle of telling Kenneth about her encounter with Donnie with the man himself, who is gloating about sending Kenneth to CNBC. It's either New Jersey, or a "page off", a contest of physical stamina and NBC trivia. Jenna agrees to the page off, and Donnie takes off to get ready. A female page runs through the studio ringing a bell to alert the other pages -- it's on!

Liz is still with Rosemary, on their way to Rosemary's in Little Chechnya. Never mind the crime or the guy with a gun on the corner -- they can start their own network!
Jack and Tracy meet with an NBC therapist, who asks Tracy to talk to an empty chair and pretend it's his dad. He refuses until Jack agrees to pretend to be his dad. Tracy doubts that Jack could properly be a man from "funky North Philly. He worked in a Campbell's Soup factory, and he had a droopy upper lip". But Jack takes it on, playing him, Tracy, Tracy's mom, the White dude Tracy's mom left Tracy's dad for, and the Latina upstairs neighbor complaining about the fight. He even slips in J.J. from "Good Times" and Tom Robinson from "To Kill A Mockingbird", still conveying the message that even though Tracy's parents may have divorced, they still loved him. To end this spectacular performance, Jack slips back into Tracy's dad, dying tragically from multiple gunshot wounds: "They got me. The honkeys shot me" This comforts Tracy, and affirms that while he loves his family, they're crazy and he needs to stay away form them. He hugs Jack, walking out of the office triumphant: "Donaghy, you're the only family I'll ever need, Jackie D." Aw!

Back at Rosemary's (which comes with its own rat!), Liz is appalled that Rosemary chugs red wine all day (it's heart healthy!), still thinks it's the 90's, and was married to her job just like Liz is married to hers. Liz barely manages to escape, though Rosemary begs her to stay: "Liz Lemon, you're my only hope!"

OMG, the page off! Jenna quizzes Kenneth on NBC trivia before the bell rings. A page plays the NBC chimes while Donnie and Kenneth have their hands bound together. The tension mounts, unbearably so, until Pete comes in and yells at them all to knock it off. Nobody's at work, and the Conan guests won't seat themselves. Though Donnie is forced to give Kenneth a new jacket, he swears to Jenna that neither she nor Kenneth are out of the woods yet: "This isn't over between us, Maroney. You're in it now." On her part, Jenna is happy with the outcome and can barely remember what started the trouble in the first place. Kenneth, relieved if a bit frightened still, whispers "You burned my jacket" but by then Jenna is gone.

The best Liz can do is slink back to Jack's office and beg for her job back. Jack is happy to rehire her, though he can't resist reminding her to "never go with a hippie to a second location." HA! Jack promises to help Liz invest her money, and LIz swears she will send Rosemary $400 a month for the rest of her life. Though Liz is sad that the return to her job will certainly doom her sex life, Jack says when she makes enough money, she can always pay people to see her naked.

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