30 Rock Episode Summary – Season 1, Episode 1
Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin Launch New Sitcom
May 28, 2009
Liz Lemon, the head writer of a live all-girl sketch comedy show called The Girly Show arrives at work to find out she has a new boss - Jack Donaghy. Jack is the new VP of Programming and has been given the job after his success at marketing a new kind of oven for the network's parent-company.
Although Jack knows nothing about television, he does know market-research. Based on a quick study of the demographics Jack has decided that The Girly Show needs to be re-tooled to appeal to a wider audience. He plans to start by hiring Tracy Jordan, a talented, but insane comedic movie star.
Liz and her producer/friend Pete don't like the idea, but Liz agrees to have lunch with Tracy to see if he's a good fit. Jack promises that he won't force her to hire Tracy if, after meeting him, she feels he's wrong for the show.
Introducing Tracy Jordan
Liz meets Tracy and his entourage at a fancy restaurant for lunch. Before she can talk to him he gets angry at the food selection and leaves the restaurant. Liz follows and they end up at a soul-food diner with the entourage in tow.
They order a few beers and Liz starts trying to talk Tracy out of joining The Girly Show . They continue drinking and talking for a while before leaving the diner and Liz starts to get a little drunk. Tracy offers to take her back to the studio after he makes a quick stop. She agrees.
The "quick stop" ends up being at a strip bar and there's nothing quick about it. After unsuccessfully trying to talk Tracy out of joining the show Liz leaves to get back to the studio in time for the live show that night. Once outside she realizes that she has lost her phone and goes back inside to find Tracy on stage drunkenly singing. She has to admit he does have a weird kind of charisma.
She calls the studio on Tracy's phone to arrange a car and finds out that Jack fired Pete.
Back at the studio things are unraveling without Liz or Pete there to organize everything. Jack steps in to try and help things along as the live broadcast gets closer, but he's out of his corporate element.
In the strip bar Liz and Tracy drunkenly bond while she vents about Pete's firing and how Jack is ruining her show. She ends up on stage dancing with the strippers before getting Tracy to drive her to the studio so she can dramatically quit in front of everyone.
Liz Lemon Vs. Jack Donaghy
With no one there to keep the show in order it's a mess. As Liz and Tracy arrive the show is running two minutes too short . Liz asks Tracy to go on stage and talk about anything for two minutes. He runs out to the cheers of the crowd and announces he's going to be joining the cast of the show while making some nonsensical jokes. The crowd loves it.
Liz pulls Jack aside and drunkenly demands that he re-hire Pete, promise in-writing not to fire Jenna, and buy the writers the cappuccino machine they've been asking for.
After seeing the chaos that the show was in without her, he agrees.
To read a summary of the next episode click here.
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