Series One: Episode Run Down

In this post I will detail each episode from the first season. I will list a small synopsis, a few of the most memorable quotes, and if possible either an image or video footage. I will continue to do this for all four seasons in future blog posts. At the end of the post when I have gone through the whole series I will give my opinion on what I feel was the best episode and why. Read on but be aware, spoiler alert!

Episode 1 - Pilot

The show begins with Liz Lemon, the head writer of the television series The Girlie Show, attempting to buy a hot dog before work. After a fellow commuter begins an argument, Liz buys $150 worth of hot dogs and distributes them to random passersby, hobos, and colleagues. When she arrives at work, she is embarrassed when she is forced by Kenneth, the naїve NBC Page who conducts tours around 30 Rock, to introduce herself to a group of Girlie Show fans.

Liz and her producer Pete meet with The Girlie Show's new network executive Jack Donaghy. Jack tells Liz and Pete that he has been sent to 30 Rock to re-tool The Girlie Show. After he inadvertently insults her, Liz takes an initial dislike to Jack. Jack asks Liz to hire Tracy Jordan, star of the film Honkey Grandma Be Trippin', as part of the cast. Liz is skeptical as Tracy has a history of problematic behaviour, including running down New York State Route 405 in his underwear while shouting "I am a Jedi!" and falling asleep on his neighbor's roof. In comparison to Liz, Jenna Maroney, the narcissistic star of The Girlie Show, takes to Jack upon their first meeting. She begins to worry when she hears that Tracy may become the new star of the show.

Against her own judgment, Liz meets Tracy at a restaurant, but when Tracy discovers that he does not like the food they go to another restaurant. While Liz tried to convince Tracy not to join The Girlie Show, he discusses conspiracy theories. After the meeting, Tracy offers to take Liz back to the studio, but he makes a detour to a strip club in the Bronx. While trying to get home, Liz learns that Jack fired Pete earlier that day. Tracy and Liz arrive at the studio halfway through the live broadcast of the show. Liz sends Tracy out on stage to talk off the last bit of the show, much to The Girlie Show studio audience's delight and Jenna's shock. Backstage, Liz forces Jack to rehire Pete and to promise to guarantee Jenna's job security.

Episode 2 - The Aftermath

Liz becomes furious when Jack decides that Tracy should be the number one priority on The Girlie Show. Jenna fears that Tracy will begin to overshadow her, but Tracy is quite pleased with his new job on the show. Liz and Jenna become more aggravated when Jack decides to change the name of The Girlie Show to TGS with Tracy Jordan, without consulting either of them. Jack has Tracy and Jenna appear in a promotion for the show, in which Tracy angers Jenna by forgetting her name and by not letting her speak. After the promotion, Liz tries to re-assure Jenna by telling her that nobody on the show likes Tracy and that the only reason that he is on the show is because of Jack. Liz finds out that Jenna's microphone was still on, and everyone in the studio heard her say terrible things about Jack and Tracy.

Liz attempts to make amends by talking to Tracy during a rehearsal, during which she makes negative remarks about Jenna and the other members of her staff. Liz is notified by Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer) that her chat with Tracy was aired over the studio's monitors, which meant that everyone heard and saw her making the comments. Liz's staff show their displeasure by throwing food and other objects at her. Liz and Tracy discuss an idea to get everyone together to try and smooth things over, and Tracy decides to invite Liz and the staff to a party aboard a yacht. Tracy gets along well with everyone at the party, including Jenna, and things appear to be going very well. Liz soon discovers that the yacht does not belong to Tracy, and the yacht's real owner shows up with the NYPD. The following day Liz learns that Jack paid the newspapers to keep Tracy out of the press but left a photo of Jenna passing out on the yacht in their pages, which Jenna sees as exciting and flattering.

Episode 3 - Blind Date

Jack Donaghy is concerned that Liz Lemon is stressed and under performing as the head writer of TGS with Tracy Jordan because of a lack of human contact. He suggests that she go on a date with his friend "Thomas", which she initially refuses. When she almost chokes to death alone in her apartment that night, an action that Jack foreshadowed as "a single woman's biggest worry," she changes her mind. She meets her date in a restaurant and finds that Jack has set her up with Gretchen Thomas, a lesbian. Although Liz and Gretchen have great chemistry, Gretchen is not interested in chasing after a "straight girl". The next day, Liz chastises Jack for thinking she was a lesbian. At night, Liz gets lonely and calls Gretchen. After sharing their fears as single women, they go to dinner. There, Gretchen expresses that she feels she is starting to chase the "straight girl" and says they should stop seeing each other. Liz attempts to make a pact that they get back together after 25 years and start a relationship then if they are both still single, but Gretchen walks away.

At the same time, poker night is a Thursday night tradition among Pete Hornberger, Josh Girard, Frank Rossitano, James "Toofer" Spurlock, and J. D. Lutz, the TGS staff. Jack and Tracy Jordan join them for the first time. Jack is able to read and defeat all of the other players, except for NBC page Kenneth Parcell, who wins the final hand. The next day, Jack sets up another poker night. Eventually, Jack and Kenneth come down to the final hand. Jack has more chips and goes all-in. He offers to make the hand winner-take-all if Kenneth bets his page jacket. Kenneth agrees, and Jack's pair of twos beats Kenneth's king high. Liz asks why Kenneth would bet on a hand like that, and he responds that he enjoys living on the edge and was also confused about the rules. Jack stops Kenneth from leaving, explains that he only made Kenneth bet his job to prove his power over him, and returns the jacket to Kenneth with the expectation that he come in early on Monday.

Episode 4 - Jack the Writer

The staff are preparing to write sketches for TGS with Tracy Jordan when Jack arrives and announces that he went through a program at General Electric (GE) called Six Sigma, which encourages bosses to interact with their staff. He tells Liz and the writers that he will be sitting in the writers' room every day as an observer. As days pass, Jack begins to interfere with the writers' work, and instead of just being an observer, he regularly gives the writers ideas for upcoming sketches. This causes a major frustration for the staff, so Liz tells Jack that the writers do not like his involvement. Jack says that although he enjoyed joining the writers every day, he tells Liz that he accepts their decision.

Afterwards, Jack's secretary tells Liz that Jack wants her to apologize, but that she has to pretend that it was her idea. Liz goes to Jack's office and apologizes, and they forgive each other. While the staff eats their lunch, Jack introduces the staff to two of his guests. The writers mention to Liz that they would love to go outside to the same roof that is used for The Today Show, and Liz tells them that she can make it happen now that she and Jack are friends. Liz asks Jack, but he denies the request. He tells her that the two guests were his bosses from GE, and then criticizes Liz and her staff. He apologizes to Liz, but she says that their friendship is over. Having settled the situation with Jack, Liz tries to talk to her assistant Cerie about her attire, which seems to distract the writers. Liz attempts to convince her to wear something conservative, but Cerie tells Liz that she would look great in something sexy herself, and Liz is later seen walking down the hallway with a dress that reads "Dirty Diva".

Kenneth, who is now working for Tracy, learns that working for Tracy is more than he expected. Tracy orders Kenneth to complete several tasks, including going to the Yankee Stadium for nachos, and picking up an important package, which turns out to be an illegal fish that Tracy wants to put in his aquarium. Tracy then tells Kenneth to buy something for his wife, Angie Jordan (Sharon Wilkins), and to take her to a fancy restaurant, where he gives her Tracy's gift.

Episode 5 - Jack-Tor

Jack tells Liz and the writers of TGS Tracy Jordan that he wants them to insert General Electric (GE) products into the show. The writers express their reluctance in doing product placements for GE (even though during the scene the cast talk about how great Snapple's White Green Tea tastes), but Liz agrees on the condition that Jack appears in the sketch. The next day, Liz watches a video containing outtakes from Jack's product placement video, where she discovers that he repeatedly forgot his lines after 142 takes. After realizing that he needs help, Liz encourages Jack to go through with the sketch, which he ultimately is able to shoot.

Tracy decides that he is going to take a break from rehearsals after he is called back on stage to read his cue cards. When Tracy appears to be ignoring his cue cards, Jenna informs Liz of the situation, and realizes that Tracy might be illiterate, citing an earlier promo cue card mishap as an example. Liz confronts Tracy about the problem; he admits that he is illiterate and agrees to get help. Liz later notices Tracy reading a newspaper, and learns that he was using the ploy to get out of work. Liz tells Tracy that she is not going to take it anymore, and forces him to go through with the sketch.

Jenna tells Liz that she wishes to insert a music number called "Muffin Top" into the show, which she claims is a big hit overseas. While rehearsing, Jenna is pranked by Frank and Toofer, who tell her that several people are going to be fired. Believing them, Jenna tries to use her sexuality to seduce a NBC executive, who she sees talking to Jack. Liz later notifies Jenna that no one is going to be fired, and that the executive is actually an extra on the show. Jenna aims to get back at the pair, and although Toofer admits that he was too smart for Jenna's tactics, Frank is seen running around naked outside Jack's balcony. Jenna finally gets her chance to perform "Muffin Top", unaware that the show has already ended and the number was scratched at the last moment, thanks to Liz.

Episode 6 - Jack Meets Dennis

Liz Lemon and Dennis Duffy have gotten back together after Dennis was the only person who remembered her birthday. Disturbed by Liz's acceptance of mediocrity, her boss, Jack Donaghy, tries to reform her into someone who enjoys the good life. He refers Liz to the fanciest restaurant in the city, Stone. Nevertheless, Liz declines Jack's offer to be her mentor. That night at Stone, Jack and his date walk by Liz and Dennis's table, with Jack very unimpressed by Dennis's manners. The following day, Jack introduces Liz to a former mentee of his, Howard Jorgensen. At lunch the next day, Liz realizes she is frustrated with her relationship with Dennis, then she storms off to Jack's office to ask for help. Jack motivates Liz to end it with him. Liz comes home to break up with Dennis, only to find him distraught after a loss of his favorite hockey team, the New York Islanders. As a result, Dennis moves in with her.

Meanwhile, Tracy Jordan is upset after being identified in a magazine as an actor behaving normally, far from the insane persona he is trying to maintain. To re-establish his street cred, Tracy gets a dragon tattoo on his face, but is later identified as made of sharpie. At the same time, Josh Girard is told that he is to receive a special gift from Liz Taylor as a response to an impression he did of the actress on TGS with Tracy Jordan. Liz Taylor sneaks into the 30 Rock studios and, upset over Josh's impersonation, brutally beats him with a fire extinguisher.

At the same time, Jack, responding to audience research, starts cleaning out green clothes from the set. He asks Jenna Maroney, one of the stars of TGS, how old she is, and she tells him that she is 29. As a result of this exchange, Jenna gets botox and collagen injections that go terribly wrong. Later, during a sketch rehearsal—involving impersonations of Condoleezza Rice, Laura Bush, and John Kerry—the various mishaps of Tracy, Jenna, and Josh prompt Liz and Pete Hornberger that it would be impossible for the three to perform on the show. Fortunately, the power in the NBC Studios goes out, canceling the show.

Episode 7 - Tracy Does Conan

While giving a blood donation, Liz reveals that she plans to break up with, her boyfriend, Dennis Duffy. On the way to her office, she runs into Jenna Maroney who reveals that Jack has "bumped" her from appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and he has decided to put Tracy on in her place. When Liz can't change Jack's mind, Jenna threatens to quit her job.

As the taping time, 6 pm, is fast approaching, Tracy begins acting strangely. Liz and Pete discover that he has not been taking his medication correctly. Liz calls Tracy's doctor, Dr. Leo Spaceman, who gives her instructions regarding the medication. Liz gives the instructions to Kenneth Parcell who has to visit multiple identical pharmacies until he finds the correct one, which will have Tracy's new medication. Liz and Pete's attempts to get Tracy to the Late Night stage on time are further complicated as Jack persistently calls Liz to his office to ask for her advice on a speech he is going to read at The Waldorf Astoria. Tracy eventually appears on Late Night only to immediately fall asleep after sitting down.

Liz walks in to her apartment after the Conan incident, Dennis is sitting on their bed playing Halo. He told Liz he got her a cheeseburger. She takes one bite and falls asleep listening to him playing the video game.

Episode 8 - The Break Up

Liz Lemon comes home to find her wall full of knife holes, a great dane roaming her apartment, and a complete stranger on her bed, all courtesy of her boyfriend, Dennis Duffy. She breaks up with him, but Dennis claims squatter's rights, so she gives him a week to move out. Liz and her friend, Jenna Maroney, go out to try and pick up some men, but are very unsuccessful. The next day, Dennis walks in to the staff office of TGS with Tracy Jordan, announcing he has found a new apartment and reads a heartfelt letter to Liz. The staff suddenly turns on Liz after Dennis walks out, and Jenna suggests to Liz that in lieu of the previous night's disaster, she should re-consider getting back together with him. She suggests making a list of pros and cons. Liz compiles her list of pros and cons. She marks down a positive remark after coming home to find that Dennis has cleaned up the apartment, put up shelves and a TV stand, and left her dinner. In the evening, Dennis returns with an early Christmas present for Liz. She invites him in, but soon sees Dennis on Dateline's To Catch a Predator. As a result of this, Liz breaks up with Dennis, and marks it down as a con.

Meanwhile, James "Toofer" Spurlock is upset that Tracy Jordan is cross-dressing on TGS because it is demeaning to African-Americans. After a bit of objection, Toofer convinces Tracy to stop, handing the female character over to Josh Girard. Once Josh's character is successful, Tracy is upset with Toofer. Liz convinces Toofer to work with Tracy. As they work together, Tracy gets upset with Toofer's supposed lack of blackness, and endearingly calls Toofer a racial slur. The next morning, Jack Donaghy, Liz, Toofer, and Tracy sit down for a meeting about Tracy's vocabulary from the previous night. Tracy and Jack point out that the African-American community has adopted the word to deprive it of its meaning. In trying to reach out to Tracy, Toofer says the word again but in a more aggressive tone of voice, which causes everyone to sympathize with Tracy. Tracy and Toofer attend sensitivity training, start arguing, and in the process develop a new sketch for TGS. When show starts running short on time, Liz offers Tracy the option to either air the sketch or one from the Star Jones cooking show, Tracy chooses the latter. Toofer is initially upset, but agrees with Tracy's decision when he finds the sketch funny.

Episode 9 - The Baby Show

Cerie Xerox announces her engagement during a gathering for Jenna Maroney's birthday, and says that she wants to be a "young hot mom". Liz Lemon confronts her own marital and maternal status. She speaks with Jenna about this, and Jenna proceeds to tell all of the men in the office—Frank Rossitano, Toofer, and Lutz—that Liz is looking for someone to get her pregnant. Later that day, Liz sees Cerie in the makeup department getting herself made up. Anna, the makeup artist has her baby at work with her. She asks Liz to hold the baby for a while, so Liz takes the baby for a stroll around the 30 Rock building. Suddenly she realizes that she is no longer in the building, but is now in her apartment. She hurries back to the office with the baby, and Pete Hornberger fixes the situation.

Meanwhile, Jack Donaghy is being harassed by his mother over the phone. She calls him repeatedly, with the intention of moving in with him. The situation causes him to exhibit some stress-eating tendencies. At the same time, Tracy Jordan and Josh Girard begin to hang out, but Tracy gets annoyed of Josh's impression of him. He demands that Liz fire Josh, but she refuses, so instead she tries to fix the situation, but Tracy threatens to go to Jack if she does not. Josh tries to avoid getting in trouble by calling Tracy and impersonating Jack, and then calling Jack and impersonating Tracy. It is not long before he is caught and Jack and Tracy have their revenge on him. As part of his punishment, Jack forces Josh talk to his mother "Every day, for the rest of your or her life."

Episode 10 - The Rural Juror

Jenna anticipates the opening of her new film The Rural Juror. The film, based on a "Kevin Grisham novel" (John Grisham's brother), revolves around a Southern-born lawyer named Constance Justice. Jenna wants Liz to give her an honest opinion on the film, as she is nervous about how it will be received by the public. Liz sees the film in private, and her reaction is not very positive, but she hesitates to tell Jenna the truth. When Jenna finds out that Liz did not enjoy the film, the two start fighting and accusing each other of not being truthful. Meanwhile, ignoring Liz's warnings, Josh Girard manages to break into Liz's office to steal the film, which he watches with the rest of the TGS with Tracy Jordan writing staff. Much to Liz's shock, the staff likes the film. As the argument between Liz and Jenna escalates, Jack intervenes and convinces them to work things out. Liz admits that she was jealous of Jenna's success, and they forgive one another.

Jack is on the phone with Maureen Dowd when Tracy shows up to ask him for $100,000. Jack tells him that this is not possible, but says that he has a better idea: use his celebrity image to endorse a product. After Tracy agrees, he comes up with "The Tracy Jordan Meat Machine". Armed with an "endorsement" from Dr. Spaceman and hook-ups from Jack, the product is finally ready for sale. Soon after, a series of product defects prompts Tracy to tell Jack that he does not wish to endorse the product any longer. Jack finds a way to make it work: by rebranding it as a Whoopi Goldberg-endorsed product targeted for Ukraine.

Episode 11 - The Head and the Hair

Liz Lemon and Jenna Maroney keep running into the same two men in the elevator at the 30 Rock building, and find themselves interested in them. Not knowing their names, Liz and Jenna refer to them as "The Head" and "The Hair". After talking with Jenna, Liz decides she is going to ask "The Head" out on a date. However, on her way to find him, she runs into "The Hair", who asks her out, and discovers his name is Gray. She agrees to attend a restaurant opening with him. Feeling uncomfortable with Gray, as she believes that she does not date someone like Gray as it feels wrong, Liz tries to go home, but he convinces her to hang out for a while longer. The next day, things end abruptly when Liz finds a picture of her great-aunt in his apartment and they learn that they are related.

Meanwhile, Tracy Jordan panics in the TGS with Tracy Jordan staff office, as his autobiography is due to a publisher the next day but he has not yet begun to write it. He begs Frank Rossitano and Toofer to help him get it done in time, and they agree. They run into a problem when Tracy cannot remember much about his own life, and turn to Wikipedia for the answers. They work non-stop on the project, until Tracy remembers that there never was an actual publisher for the book, thus shutting the project down.

Finally, Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming for General Electric Jack Donaghy and NBC page Kenneth Parcell are participating in "Bottoms Up" day at the office. Jack must work in Kenneth's job for a day, to help him be a better manager. During their time together, Kenneth tells Jack about an idea he has for a game show called Gold Case, in which contestants must correctly guess which briefcase being modeled contains gold bricks. Jack helps him sell the idea to NBC. The pilot episode of Gold Case is in production, with host John McEnroe. But, due to the weight of the gold, contestants can quickly spot which model is straining with the weight of the case. Every contestant wins almost immediately, which results in the show being shut down.

Episode 12 - Black Tie

Liz Lemon is invited by her boss, Jack Donaghy, to accompany him to a birthday party for his friend, Prince Gerhardt Hapsburg, in which she accepts. Liz fears the invitation is a date, but Jack denied this when asked. Later, Liz runs into her friend Jenna Maroney at the party. While the two talk, Prince Gerhardt makes his entrance. He has a physical disability with many disfigurements and illnesses due to "centuries of inbreeding." Meanwhile, Jack is shocked to see his ex-wife Bianca enter the room. When she comes over to say hello, Jack introduces Liz as his live-in girlfriend. She likes Liz and tells Jack not to let her get away.

At the same time, Prince Gerhardt spots Jenna and sends his messenger, Tomas, over to invite her to dine with him. She talks herself into doing it, despite his problems. Later, Bianca tells Liz that she dislikes the idea that Liz can make Jack truly happy. Liz tells Jack that Bianca is still not over him and to prove it, she goes to her and tells her the two are engaged. At hearing this, Bianca reacts violently and attacks Liz. Later, Prince Gerhardt decides he can now die happy, after he and Jenna discussed their relationship, and drinks some champagne, which he cannot digest. He dies because "he cannot metabolize the grape." As a result, the party comes to a conclusion. Jack walks Liz up to her apartment. Before he leaves, he leans in to take off the necklace he lent her, which she mistakes for an attempted kiss. Jack acts semi-repulsed by the idea, and tells Liz to give it up.

Finally, at the 30 Rock studios, after overhearing Pete Hornberger impersonating Elmo from Sesame Street while Pete was encouraging his son to do better with his potty training, Tracy Jordan compares Pete's relationship with his wife to that of Samson and Delilah. While working late at night in his office, Tracy enters with Grizz and Dot Com and a couple of other people, which turns into a party. Pete is still working, while Tracy's entourage enjoy themselves. Tracy encourages Pete to loosen up, and asks one of the women, Vicki, to look after him. Pete finally loosens up and begins to give in to Vicki's temptations, but NBC page Kenneth Parcell sets him straight, telling him to recall the day that he got married.

Episode 13 - Up All Night

It is Valentine's Day, although the TGS cast and crew still have to work all night. Frank reveals that he hates Jenna when a game of "Marry, Boff, Kill" gets out of hand. Jenna tries many times to redeem herself with Frank, with reasons such as her participation in Vagina Day; "a charity event founded by a group of celebrities who have for whatever reason never been asked to participate in the Vagina Monologues". Another game of Marry, Boff, Kill leads some of the writers into believing that Cerie has feelings for Kenneth. The writers send the pair off to get candy for the night. Kenneth and Cerie take a walk around Rockefeller Center, and Cerie reveals that she is not attracted to Kenneth.

Pete has forgotten that it is Valentine's Day, which also happens to be his wife Paula's birthday. He spends the night running around the city to try and find Valentine's Day and birthday presents for his wife. Tracy and Angie plan spend the night at the Soho Grand Hotel only to be interrupted by the newly-divorced Jack and his prostitute, Vlem. Liz has received a gift of chocolates and flowers from a supposed secret admirer. The "admirer" turns out to be Floyd and the gifts turn out to be for his girlfriend, Liz Lemler, who works in the accounting department at TGS.

Episode 14 - The C Word

Jack invites Tracy Jordan to a GE diabetes charity golf event. Jack hopes that bringing Tracy along can help him get close to GE CEO Don Geiss. At the event, Tracy becomes the hit of the party, but quickly begins to feel that the reason he was brought along was to be "the funny black man". Tracy insults Geiss by accusing him of not hiring more black people, which results in Tracy and Jack not being invited to golf along with Geiss. Jack blames Tracy for this, but Tracy does not care, as he tells Jack that he cannot help but drop "truth bombs". Later, to make amends with both Jack and Geiss, Tracy gives a heartfelt speech about his daughter battling diabetes, which moves Geiss. This results in Geiss inviting Jack, Tracy, and Tracy's daughter to the vineyard. Tracy admits to Jack that he does not have a daughter, which prompts Jack to say, "Let's have a casting session on Monday."

Meanwhile, at the 30 Rock studios,Liz and her writing staff are discussing potential topics to use in the show. Lutz suggests one of his sketches, "Dancing with the Hobos", which Liz criticizes, thus embarrassing him in front of everyone. Later, Liz talks to Greta Johansen, the show's cat wrangler. At the same time, she overhears Lutz calling her the C word. Outraged by this, Liz tells Pete and Frank about what Lutz called her and wants to fire him. Frank reveals that Lutz's poor behavior is due to the passing of his grandmother. After it is pointed out that she has been a terrible boss to the staff, Liz begins acting nice, but this backfires when they take advantage of her. Angered by this, Liz confronts the writers about their actions, and tells Lutz she knows what he called her. Liz warns all of them that if they call her that "horrible word" she will fire them.

Episode 15 - Hard Ball

When Josh's contract is due for renewal, Jack enters negotiation mode. Jack is looking to save money with the negotiations outcome, so Liz warns Josh to be careful. Later, thinking Josh is ill, Liz goes to order some soup and on her way, sees Josh. He meets with a producer from The Daily Show, which angers Liz, who decides to help Jack negotiate. When Josh and his agent return to negotiate, believing that an offer from the Daily Show was on the table, Jack promptly reveals that he was able to get the offer from the Daily Show pulled and thus leave Josh with no negotiating power. Jack then offers Josh the same terms as his previous contract, but Liz, upset that Josh was not made to suffer for his "betrayal" by speaking with another show, orders Josh to start breakdancing.

Meanwhile, Jenna gets into trouble after she is misquoted in Maxim magazine, allegedly saying that she hates the troops. This happened due to Jenna mishearing the interviewer and thinking he meant theater troupes. The resulting outrage prompts Jack to get her an interview on Hardball with Chris Matthews to clear up the confusion over her comments. During the interview, Jenna confuses Osama bin Laden and then-Senator Barack Obama, who was running for the Democratic Party nomination for President. A further attempt to clear Jenna's name backfires when swastikas are accidentally brandished on the TGS with Tracy Jordan stage.

Tracy allows Kenneth into his entourage, but in the process discovers that Grizz and Dot Com have been allowing him to win at things such as Halo, Trivial Pursuit, and basketball. Tracy "fires" Grizz and Dot Com from the entourage, but the union between Tracy and Kenneth does not gel. Grizz and Dot Com come to the rescue after Tracy is surrounded by a mob outside 30 Rockefeller Plaza, which is protesting against the controversy caused by Jenna.

Episode 16 - The Source Awards

Liz has a date with Steven Black, Tracy's new public relations agent, whom she met in one of Tracy's after-parties. Many people around Liz make an issue of Steven being black, but Liz does not care about his race. On her date with Steven, Liz is surprised to find out certain things about him, and does not have a good time. Steven believes that Liz does not like him because he is black, when really she thinks he is too "white". She does not like him but does not want to be thought of as racist, so she continues on the date. Later, Liz tries to break up with Steven and explain to him that she just does not like him as a person, not because of his race. To prove they are incompatible, she brings him as a guest to the Source Awards the following night.

Jack, meanwhile, is producing his own wine, called Donaghy Estate Sparkling Wine. He and Liz taste it, and realize that it is practically undrinkable. This leaves Jack with the problem of disposing with the wine. He decides to market it to hip-hop producer Ridikolous, and at the same time patch up things between Tracy and Ridikolous, who was not allowed into one of Tracy's parties. Jack and Ridikolous have a meeting, resulting in the wine becoming the corporate sponsor of the Source Awards, which is being produced by Ridikolous. To further amend things with Tracy, Jack proposes to let Tracy host the award show. This backfires when Tracy refuses to host it in fear that he will get shot, but Jack still sees it as the only way to work things out with Ridikolous.

At the Source Awards, Tracy still does not want to host. Jack rhetorically asks him what Oprah would do, but Tracy misunderstands and starts acting like her. Backstage, Tracy shows Liz his gun, which she takes away from him. She fires it by accident and ends up shooting Steven in the buttocks. He thinks she shot him because he was going through her purse and calls her a racist. Following this, Ridikolous comes in and says that Jack has made a mockery of the award, adding: "Wait until I tell Tupac about this!". This leads to a short awkward moment, but Jack insists he did not hear anything.

Episode 17 - The Fighting Irish

Jack's down-and-out brother, Eddie, pays him a visit claiming that their father is dead. Jack and Eddie, after feuding, later bond and they even decide to invite their sisters and brother-in-law to 30 Rock for an impromptu family reunion. As his family are about to watch a taping of TGS, Jack's supposedly dead father visits Jack in his office, claiming that Eddie is dead. This eventually leads to an argument on the TGS stage and Liz getting beaten up by one of Jack's sisters, Katherine Catherine.

Meanwhile, Liz has been told by Jack that she has to fire ten percent of her staff. While the staff try their best to keep their jobs, Liz struggles with making a decision of whom to fire. Liz's problem is solved when Floyd, for whom Liz has romantic feelings, tells her that his girlfriend works in accounting at TGS. After Liz fires Floyd's girlfriend, she goes on a rampage around 30 Rock firing people, including her producer Pete, who disagree with her decision to fire Floyd's girlfriend for her own personal gain. Jack later tells her that he hired all the fired people back, but he is transferring Floyd's girlfriend to General Electric headquarters in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Episode 18 - Fireworks

When Devon Banks, the Vice President of West Coast News, Web Content, and Theme Park Talent Relations visits from Los Angeles, Jack fears that he is trying to take his job. After having his assistant Jonathan spy on Banks, he learns that Banks is gay and that he is interested in Kenneth. Jack sends Kenneth to try to gather information on what Banks is planning to do, but Kenneth is inept and fails at the task. Jack then enlists Liz to help him come up with some ideas so that he can impress the network and win the power coup over Banks. Jack sends Kenneth to seduce Banks again so that he will be late for the important meeting, but Banks sees through the plan and arrives at the meeting anyway.

Meanwhile, Liz sees Floyd, the corporate employee who she has a crush on, go into a church on a Tuesday afternoon. The next week, she follows him in and finds that he is attending an AA meeting. Liz pretends to be an alcoholic so that she can get closer to Floyd and hear his secrets. After finding out that members of the same AA group are not allowed to date, Liz confesses to Floyd that she was never an alcoholic and that she made it up to get close to him. He gets mad and feels betrayed, so she apologizes and tells him all of her secrets to make it up to him. Floyd forgives her and they begin dating.

When it comes time for Jack's important meeting with the network and showdown against Devon Banks, Liz is too busy pursuing Floyd to help Jack with his idea. Jack has to attend the meeting alone, but his idea for a fireworks special impresses the network and he successfully defends his job against Devon Banks. When the fireworks special actually airs, however, the fireworks are shot off in midtown New York outside Rockefeller Center and it ends up looking like a terrorist attack. Panic results and the mayor calls, causing the event to be unceremoniously ended.

Tracy is served with paternity papers and insists that the child is not his. After the DNA test, Tracy learns that the child is not his but that he is a direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson. The news angers Tracy and he talks to Toofer and Frank about it. Toofer learns that he is a direct descendant of Tobias Spurlock, a black Confederate soldier. Tracy and Toofer are upset about the news until Tracy has a dream in which Thomas Jefferson (portrayed by Jack Donaghy) appears to him on The Maury Povich Show. In the dream, Jefferson takes credit for "inventing" America and tells Tracy to forget his past. Tracy decides that he wants Toofer to write a movie about their experiences and Thomas Jefferson's life. Tracy intends to play all of the parts in the movie, except he intends for the film to be a drama.

Episode 19 - Corporate Crush

Liz has become very happy since dating Floyd, and their relationship together is going strong. Don Geiss, the CEO of General Electric, speaks to Jack about his career, and points out that Jack is the only executive at his level to be unmarried. Geiss takes away Jack's role as the head of the Microwave Oven division, which makes Jack become extremely depressed. Liz decides that she wants Jack to meet Floyd at dinner, although Jack becomes obsessed with Floyd and becomes a third wheel in Liz and Floyd's relationship. Liz, extremely bothered by Jack's obsession, tells Jack to leave Floyd alone. Jack agrees, and he tells Liz that he has begun a relationship with Phoebe, a Christie's auction house art dealer. Jack asks Liz's approval in his relationship with Phoebe, and when Liz grants it, he immediately proposes to Phoebe.

Meanwhile, Tracy tries to get Don Geiss to finance his film, Jefferson, which is based on Thomas Jefferson's life. However, Geiss is not interested in Tracy's $35 million dollar project, even after Tracy uses Kenneth, Grizz and "Dot Com" to put together a trailer for the film. After failing to convince Geiss, who would rather see him do a sequel to one of Tracy's previous films, Fat Bitch, Tracy decides that he will make Jefferson on his own.

Episode 20 - Cleveland

When Floyd loses out on a possible job promotion to Alan Garkle, an African American, wheelchair-using, affirmative-action hire—he informs Liz Lemon of his aspirations to move back home to Cleveland. After Floyd asks Liz about her own future in New York, she begins to notice all the problems she has with the city and so they plan a visit to Floyd's hometown.

Meanwhile, Jack returns from a weekend in Paris with Phoebe, his new fiancée, and insists that Liz should get to know Phoebe better. He tells her to take Phoebe and Jenna on a girls' day out. As their day progresses Liz senses Phoebe is not who she claims to be. Liz's suspicions are confirmed when she covertly follows Phoebe to a restaurant and spies her holding hands with an older gentleman. This is alarming for two reasons: first, Phoebe is already engaged to Jack, and secondly, she has previously claimed to be afflicted by "Avian Bone Syndrome," a result of which is that her purportedly brittle bones would not be able to stand such intense physical contact. Even though Liz tries to remain inconspicuous at the restaurant, Phoebe notices her. Knowing that Liz is onto her deceptions, Phoebe confronts Liz. Liz is not interested in Phoebe's excuses and tells her that she has a choice: tell Jack about her cheating or Liz will do so herself. Phoebe gets angry and then shocks Liz when she drops her British accent. Liz tries to tell Jack about her suspicions, but he is quickly offended by her seemingly unfounded and slanderous comments about his fiancée, which puts a heavy strain on their working relationship.

Finally, Tracy has somehow become entangled in a character assassination plot. When tells Tracy that he read in a magazine that Bill Cosby hates him, Tracy realises that The Black Crusaders, a cabal of powerful black Americans, are out to destroy his career. The Black Crusaders have managed to put a stop to all productions featuring Tracy. Fearing for his life, Tracy goes on the run to Cleveland and, from there, into Needmore, Pennsylvania.

Episode 21 - Hiatus

After going on the run from the Black Crusaders, Tracy has traveled to Needmore, Pennsylvania to stay with Kenneth's cousin, Jesse Parcell. Liz is stressed as the season finale of TGS with Tracy Jordan is nearing, and Tracy cannot be found. Liz and Jack force Tracy's whereabouts from Kenneth, who they send to bring him back. Tracy realizes that he wants to go back to the city, but Jesse kidnaps him. Kenneth, accompanied by Dot-Com and Grizz, manages to rescue Tracy and get him back in time for the show's finale.

Jack is livid when his mother, Colleen Donaghy, visits him when she is in town to attend his ex-wife Bianca's wedding to Vincent Folley. Colleen takes an immediate dislike to Jack's fiancée, Phoebe, but takes a liking to Liz, whom she originally mistakes for Phoebe. The stress of his approaching wedding and the arrival of his mother prompt Jack to have a heart attack. While at the hospital, Colleen uses a heart monitor as a lie detector, on Jack, which leads him to revealing that he does not love Phoebe. They break off their engagement.

Liz and Floyd are struggling to maintain a long distance relationship, since Floyd's move to Cleveland. Liz later reveals to Jack that she and Floyd have separated.