The fifth season of 30 Rock, an American television comedy series on the NBC network in the United States, began airing on September 23, 2010. NBC announced on March 5, 2010, that 30 Rock would be returning for a fifth season in the 2010–2011 television season.[1] Beginning with episode 11, 30 Rock was moved to the 10:00 PM timeslot, but, as a consolation, was renewed earlier than the other NBC sitcoms. During this time, Tracy Morgan underwent an emergency operation, causing his character to be written out for several episodes.[2]
On July 31, 2010, NBC announced that an episode of 30 Rock's fifth season would be filmed and broadcast live, twice, on the evening of October 14, 2010. The two separate recordings resulted in a live telecast of the episode to American viewers in both the West and East Coast. The episode was a ratings success and was met with very positive reviews.[3][4][5] The season also featured the show's 100th episode, which aired as a one-hour episode.[6]
Synopsis
Season 5 continues with Liz in a relationship with Carol (Matt Damon), a man she met in the episode "I Do Do", and Jack practicing to be and then being a father. Jack finally marries the woman he chose in "I Do Do", but an error in the wedding certificate leads to shocking results. Jack meets with Kabletown's boss, Hank Hooper (Ken Howard), who acts rather like Kenneth, and meets his competition in his granddaughter, Kaylee Hooper (Chloë Grace Moretz). Meanwhile, Tracy also becomes a father and finally gets an EGOT ("E" standing for "Emmy", "G" for "Grammy", "O" Oscar", and "T" for "Tony" ). However, the pressure of being an award-winning celebrity leads Tracy to nearly bring TGS to cancellation. With the help of Jenna, Kenneth tries to get back into the NBC Page Program. Tracy's wife, Angie, is given a reality show of her own, "Queen of Jordan", which was aired as an episode of 30 Rock. In the middle of the season, Jack and Avery's daughter is born, but a few episodes later, something happens in their relationship that separates them, possibly forever. Jenna continues her relationship with Paul. The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan (TGS) celebrates its 100th episode.
Determined to help Liz stay in a relationship for once, Jack meddles in her relationship with Carol (Matt Damon). While at home, Jack struggles to compromise with Avery (Elizabeth Banks) as she redecorates his apartment. Tracy has trouble coming to grips with Kenneth getting fired and Jenna becomes one of the newest TGS producers.
Liz uses her newfound confidence of men noticing her to solve Pete's problem with a difficult television editor named Ritchie (Paul Giamatti). Meanwhile, Jack decides to teach his unborn child with his girlfriend Avery how to live. Elsewhere, Tracy is determined to be there when his wife Angie (Sherri Shepherd) gives birth, and a mysterious individual is making sure page duties at TGS at NBC are still getting done.
Jack appears before Congress to discuss the NBC merger with KableTown. He hopes to win over the celebrity members, but one congresswoman (Queen Latifah) demands that there be more diversity in the programming lineup. So Jack enlists Tracy's help to come up with some new ideas for programming. Meanwhile, Liz is fed up with the grief her staff gives her, and Jenna helps Kenneth reapply for the NBC page program.
Jack is on edge after promising to remain sober during Avery's pregnancy. Liz is upset that no one seems to remember it is her 40th birthday. Tracy is convinced that breaking character during a TGS taping will be hilarious while Jenna balks at the idea.
Jack is having a perfect day and succeeding at all of his tasks, so he decides to use his winning streak and help Liz figure out her relationship with Carol. Meanwhile, Jenna and Kenneth enlist actor Kelsey Grammer to help them pull off an ice cream scam, and Tracy tries to shoot a commercial for the Boys and Girls club.
Avery forces Jack to set some boundaries in his friendship with Liz. At the same time, Liz gets a surprise visit from her father Dick Lemon (Buck Henry). Meanwhile, Tracy asks Kenneth's help to remake his pre-produced video obituary, and when Jenna learns of this, she decides to make a video of her own.
Jack tries to influence a congressional election in favor of a particular (albeit questionable) candidate (John Slattery) for the benefit of the network. Meanwhile, Liz has newfound confidence when Jenna helps her find the perfect pair of jeans. At the same time, Jenna helps Tracy plan a Golden Globe event.
Jack worries that GE's microwave sales have improved too much without his help and tries to find glitches in their newest design. Meanwhile, Liz partakes in a crew lottery despite Jenna and Tracy's warning her not to do so. Elsewhere, the TGS writers discover that Jack is the voice of an online dictionary's pronunciation guide.
After Jack suggests that she go and see a therapist, Liz starts talking to Kenneth about her relationship with Carol. Meanwhile, Tracy tries to get Jack to invest in his son's theme restaurant in Times Square and Jenna and Paul celebrate their half year anniversary.
Liz and Avery try to convince Jack to reveal secrets to his visiting mother at Christmas time. Liz also tries to fix Jenna's relationship with Paul, and Tracy tries to stop the release of his new film before it ruins his new serious persona.
The "TGS" staff is affected by budget cuts at NBC. Liz's New Year's resolution could mean more trouble for Jack's wedding. Jenna shares a dressing room with Danny. Tracy has a health scare.
Liz tries to exploit the situation when crew members from Angie's TV show (Queen of Jordan) follow Tracy for the day. Jack pre-tapes a disaster telethon, but his efforts have unexpected results when a storm ravages the island of Mago.
Liz helps Avery against her work competition by pretending to be pregnant. Jack works to impress the new boss, even going as far as to steal one of Kenneth's ideas. Meanwhile, the new boss sends Tracy and Jenna some gifts and they start to fight when they realize that they were only sent one Kabletown sweater and they both want it.
Jack and Avery try to delay labor on a romantic vacation, while Liz and Carol get stuck on the runway on the way to their own getaway. Meanwhile, Tracy finally earns an EGOT but is besieged by all the responsibility that comes with it.
To help Liz after her breakup with Carol, Jenna, Jack and the "TGS" staff members, come up with a plan to show Liz that she can still find love again, through having a one night stand. Meanwhile, Jack has trouble negotiating with his nanny due to sleepless nights as a new father and Pete and Frank decide to start a band.
Jack appoints Liz in charge of an event for Angie in the hopes that Liz can manipulate Angie into manipulating Tracy. Meanwhile, the Queen of Jordan cameras embarrass Jack and completely ignore Jenna, and Frank finds a lost love. Susan Sarandon guest stars.
The staff searches for work when the show goes on hiatus and Jack attempts to salvage a disastrous network acquisition. Aaron Sorkin and Will Arnett guest star.
Liz and Kenneth try to find Tracy's whereabouts before "TGS" can be cancelled. Meanwhile Pete, feeling emasculated, challenges the writers and crew to a contest of strength. Philip Rosenthal and Rob Riggle guest star.
Jack convinces management to give "TGS"'s cancellation an eleventh hour reprieve to prove their worth with the 100th episode; Jenna considers becoming a mother. Guest stars include Dean Winters, Michael Keaton, and Tom Hanks.
Liz realizes that she needs to take control of her personal life by fixing up her dream apartment, but she encounters an obstacle along the way. Meanwhile, Jack has his own problems to deal with when Avery is held hostage. Elsewhere, Tracy finds out that Kenneth, Dotcom and Grizz have bonded in his absence. Guest stars Margaret Cho and Condoleezza Rice as herself.
Tracy interrupts Liz's summer vacation. Meanwhile Jack feels lonely and turns to Kenneth, while Jenna must choose between being the Wool Council spokeswoman and her relationship with Paul.
Reception
Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 86% with an average score of 7.6 out of 10 based on 21 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Liz Lemon continues to fire off tart zingers in a resilient fifth season that maintains 30 Rock's streak of innovative – if somewhat inconsistent – gags, pulled off with tremendous heart."[41] The fifth season earned positive reviews from critics, a number of whom noted that it had staged a "comeback" after what they had considered a disappointing fourth season.[42][43][44] Writing for HitFix, reviewer Alan Sepinwall noted his disappointment in the fourth season and opined that the fifth had "rebounded", commenting "there have been weeks [...] where 30 Rock made me laugh longer, louder and more frequently than not only every other NBC sitcom, but every comedy on TV". Sepinwall cited a tighter focus on its main characters, a happier Liz Lemon, smarter use of guest stars and a general improvement in quality as the reasons why the series had demonstrated such a turnaround.[43] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club expressed similar sentiments in regard to the fourth season, noting "the growing pains hit hard [...] the show devolved into self-parody". However he considered that "30 Rock found its footing in its fifth season [...] it has at least aged into a show that no longer feels such a desperate need to impress. For all its busyness, it feels a little more comfortable in its own skin".[44] He also described the series as having "experienced a hell of a comeback" during its fifth season.[45]
Francis Rizzo of DVD Talk was also positive about the season, commenting that "the joy of 30 Rock is the way it manages to keep surprising after years of following the same, relatively unchanging characters, thanks to writing that's frequently ridiculous and hilarious, and a cast that makes even the most over-the-top situation feel real, and thus even funnier".[46]
Ratings
The fifth-season premiere, "The Fabian Strategy", drew 5.9 million viewers,[19] an increase from the previous episode, "I Do Do" (5.5 million),[47] but a decrease on the fourth season premiere, "Season 4", which had drawn an audience of 6.4 million.[48] The fourth episode of the season, "Live Show", aired live and demonstrated a turnaround, attracting a season high of 6.7 million viewers.[22] This figure was the highest overall for NBC in the 8:30 p.m. Thursday timeslot for non-sports events since December 2009.[49] Following NBC's decision to move 30 Rock to the later time of 10:00 p.m. for the second half of the season,[50] ratings declined to beneath five million viewers per week, starting with the episode "Operation Righteous Cowboy Lightning".[30] The penultimate episode of the season, "Everything Sunny All the Time Always" became the new lowest-rated episode of the series, with less than four million viewers tuned in.[39] Previously, the fourth-season episode "Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter" had been the lowest-rated, with four million.[51] The season finale, "Respawn", attracted 4.2 million viewers,[40] and overall, the season averaged 5.3 million viewers, ranking one hundred and sixth for the year, according to Nielsen Media Research.[52]
30 Rock season five was found to have added an average of 30 percent more viewers in the 18–49 demographic, when DVR plus seven day viewers were factored in.[53] This is a measurement of the viewers who recorded the series and viewed it within seven days of broadcast. In all, the season added 1.4 million (28 percent) more total viewers when seven day results were factored in.[53]
During the fall of 2010, the show aired at 8:30 p.m., after Community and before The Office on Thursdays.[54] On November 15, 2010, it was announced 30 Rock would move to 10:00 p.m., following Parks and Recreation starting January 20, 2011 (the show's sixth season renewal was also announced along with this information[50]). Episode 22 - "Everything Sunny All the Time Always" aired at the special time of Thursday at 10:30-11:00 (ET/PT), due to extended episodes of The Office and Parks and Recreation.[55]
^Emily VanDerWerff (October 15, 2010). ""Live Show" | 30 Rock". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on October 30, 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
^ ab"30 Rock: Credits". NBC Universal Media Village. Archived from the original on July 17, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2009. (No direct link. Browse to "Networks & Programs", "NBC Entertainment", "30 Rock" and click "Credits.")
