30 Rock is one of the great TV comedies of the 21st century.
Even though the series was spawned from Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock is the closest another sitcom has come to recapturing the rapidfire-on-all-cylinders humor of The Simspons during its prime years.
The NBC sitcom wasn’t a huge r±atings hit, which makes it all the more miraculous that we got seven seasons (139 episodes).
These episodes grew increasingly absurd as the writers became more comfortable swinging for the fences without the fear of striking out. As a result, the comedy consistently produced some of the funniest and most memorable TV episodes to date.
Here is our ranking of the 15 best 30 Rockepisodes of 30 Rock:
15. The Tuxedo Begins (Season 6 Episode 8)
In 2012, Batman was on people’s minds thanks to The Dark Knight Rises. Months before that picture’s release, 30 Rock Season 6 Episode 8, “The Tuxedo Begins,” got in on the joke.
It would’ve been easy to do an episode where TSG puts on a superhero-themed sketch. However, the show had moved away from show-within-a-show humor to focus on Liz (Tina Fey) and Jack’s (Alec Baldwin) dynamic.
So, instead, the Batman parody comes from an episode about the pair’s relationships to New York City — and how its people repulse them. Jack is mugged, and the experience leaves him shaken (he doesn’t change out of the tuxedo he was wearing for days).
Jack decides the rich aren’t doing enough to win the class war, and Liz realizes the more disgusting she appears, the more people will leave her alone. By the episode’s end, she’s looking a lot like the Joker.
The two face off on a poorly lit soundstage, culminating in a wide shot of Jack with a “cape” flowing behind him. In the ’90s, Alec Baldwin could’ve been a pretty good Batman, making Jack’s role in the episode even sweeter.
14. I Do Do (Season 4 Episode 22)
30 Rock Season 4 stumbles a bit in focusingtoomuch on Liz and Jack’s love lives, particularly the latter, who finds himself stuck between his high school crush Nancy Donovan (Julianne Moore) and spitfire reporter Avery Jessup (Elizabeth Banks).
The season finale, 30 Rock Season 4 Episode 22, sticks the landing.
Take the opening scenes, where Liz has to draw out a hymn reading at a wedding by any means necessary (including an impromptu guitar solo); Nancy, a devout Catholic, can’t leave in the middle of Mass no matter how angry at Jack she is.
Nancy’s subsequent meeting with Avery is another highlight, albeit one that should’ve come earlier in the season. Stuffed in this sweet moment is a hilarious cutaway to Avery starring in a commercial with her then-Maryland accent.
The climax, where Kenneth (Jack McBrayer) vents and gives an aggressive speech about how much he loveseveryone else, is a fantastic way to end the season.
13. Rosemary’s Baby (Season 2 Episode 4)
30 Rock Season 2 Episode 4, “Rosemary’s Baby,” features an Emmy-nominated guest appearance by Carrie Fisher as Rosemary Howard, Liz’s comedy writing idol.
Liz learns never to meet one’s heroes or try to give them a job, especially if they’re three decades past relevance.
As memorable as Fisher’s appearance is, what cements this episode as one of the best is a scene between Jack and Tracy (Tracy Morgan). Jack is frustrated with how Tracy always does the opposite of what he’s told and decides to get to the bottom of his absentee daddy issues with a therapy session.
Jack is recruited to roleplay Tracy’s family, switching between five different voices as he speaks to himself in character as Tracy, his parents, his white stepfather, and (to add further detail) an elderly Latina neighbor.
Is this an insensitive scene? More than a bit? But is it also effective? Absolutely — both in showing off Baldwin’s knack for impressions and winning over Tracy.
30 Rock had a lot of guest stars, but they were always a feature, not a crutch. “Rosemary’s Baby” proves that.
12. Jackie Jormp-Jomp (Season 3 Episode 18)
An A-plot and a B-plot don’t have to tie together to be effective, as 30 Rock Season 3 Episode 18, “Jackie Jormp-Jomp,” proves.
Jenna (Jane Krakowski), starring in an unlicensed Janis Joplin biopic, is accidentally reported dead; she and Jack decide to maintain the illusion to sell the movie — and that’s only the side story!
Liz Lemon is a notorious workaholic, so “Jackie Jormp-Jomp” takes her out of her element; after she was suspended for sexual harassment on the previous episode (long story), she must spend three weeks without a cause. It seems like she’s found a new friend group of similarly idle women and has started to enjoy an unemployed life.
Faced with the prospect of returning to work, she again harasses milquetoast NBC HR rep Jeffrey Weinerslav (Todd Buonopane).
Then, the bombshell is dropped about Liz’s new friend circle; it’s a fight club because, without work, they need another way to blow off steam. (Guest star Elizabeth Marvel’s ravenous, bloodthirsty expressions sell this moment.)
The series needed Liz back at TGS, but it sends her there with a twist that is so heightened that it avoids feeling like a message episode about our need for the stimulation/productivity that work brings.
11. Larry King (Season 3 Episode 12)
On 30 Rock Season 3 Episode 12, “Larry King,” Tracy Jordan proves he should not be on any TV program more intellectual than TGS. Unfortunately, he goes on Larry King and causes a panic.
During their interview, news broke that the Asian financial markets were opening poorly. Tracy started offering apocalyptic predictions, and King did nothing to counter his claims or pull him from the air. (The only context is sidebar text explaining that Tracy is an uneducated comedy actor, but if word comes from a celebrity’s mouth, New York City buys it.)
The funniest moments are often when Tracy (as in the actor and character) riffs with absurd lines. Seeing him do this in this context, and King addressing him as an expert panellist even when his words are as in(s)ane as ever? Gutbusting.
10. Idiots Are People Two/Three! (Season 6 Episodes 2-3)
30 Rock Season 6 Episodes 2-3, “Idiots Are People Two!” and “Idiots Are People Three!” feature Tracy making Liz’s life difficult. This time, though, he goes a step further.
After Tracy makes some hom*ophobic comments, Liz publicly defends him as an idiot who doesn’t understand what he says. Tracy is shocked and starts a protest movement outside 30 Rock Plaza, joined by his fellow idiots, demanding they be treated as equals.
The two-parter begins with a passed-out Pete (Scott Adsit) being found in Liz’s office. But how did Pete get there? This being 30 Rock, the answer is unpredictable and hilarious.
Jenna and Kenneth accidentally locked him in a room with a gas leak, so they call Kelsey Grammer (playing himself) to fix the problem. His solution is to stage a one-man Abe Lincoln show so they can move Pete without anyone noticing.
The “Idiots Are People” duology earns its extended runtime, not just because the number of puns in the titles was too good not to use.
9. Greenzo (Season 2 Episode 5)
30 Rock Season 2 Episode 5, “Greenzo,” is mostly (and justifiably) remembered as the show’s environmentalism-parody episode. NBC mandated the show to make such an episode, so it chose to center the episode around how useless such an effort is.
“Greenzo” has not one buttwomemorable cameos: David Schwimmer as “Greenzo,” a struggling actor who Jack makes into the environmental mascot of GE, and former Vice President Al Gore (then synonymous with the “Go Green” movement).
Gore is depicted as a crusader of environmental justice; his cameo abruptly ends when he telepathically (?) senses a whale is in trouble and jets off to rescue it. The only thing he’s missing is a grapple gun, but who knows how carbon-neutral that would be?
Just as funny is the subplot involving Kenneth’s party. The entire cast slowly decides to attend as wild rumors spread about it (thanks to Liz wanting other people to show up for once). Smash cut to them into Jack’s office the next day, all looking dishevelled and ashamed as they must live with the reality of the previous night “in the cold light of day.”
8. Game Over (Season 7 Episode 9)
Jack Donaghy’s goal during 30 Rock is to become a CEO. Initially of General Electric, but once he gets moved to Kabletown after it acquires NBC, he settles for that silver medal.
As the show reaches its endgame, the last obstacle in his path is Kaylie Hooper (Chloë Grace Moretz), granddaughter of Kabletown CEO Hank Hooper (Ken Howard). Jack recruits his old one, Devon Banks (Will Arnett), to defeat his new nemesis.
Former adversaries teaming up against a common foe? Schemes within schemes weaved by fraught alliances? A climactic showdown where Jack finally triumphs? 30 Rock Season 7 Episode 9, “Game Over,” has it all.
No one will confuse “Game Over” for, say, a sincere political or conspiracy thriller, but it can be as shocking as one.
7. Operation Righteous Cowboy Lightning (Season 5 Episode 12)
One of the running threads of 30 Rock is Jack Donaghy fumbling his way as he runs NBC with evermore ridiculous ideas. One of the most hilarious and infamous comes on 30 Rock Season 5 Episode 12, “Operation Righteous Cowboy Lightning.”
Jack learns that ratings spike whenever NBC covers natural disasters and celebrity benefits to alleviate them. When a storm strikes small Mago Island, Jack orders round-the-clock coverage and deploys a pre-taped benefit starring Jenna (the episode’s title refers to the name he gives this strategy).
Unfortunately, Jack soon learns that the island is notan impoverished third-world micronation like he assumed, but the private resort of Mel Gibson. Baldwin never acts more hilariously petrified than Jack does when he discovers this. Jack fails to pull the plug quickly enough before Operation Righteous Cowboy Lightning goes through, but in the end, no publicity is bad publicity.
The episode aired in 2011, but since Gibson remains infamous (and his comeback attempts haven’t quite panned out), the joke still lands in 2024. Not all of the show’s pop culture references can say the same, but “Operation Righteous Cowboy Lightning” sure can.
6. Cooter (Season 2 Episode 15)
30 Rock Season 2 only has 15 episodes, making it one of the show’s shortest seasons. (It was one of many shows impacted by the 2007 writer’s strike) Thankfully, the comedy stuck the landing with 30 Rock Season 2 Episode 15, “Cooter.”
The episode’s story covers Tracy’s invention of the world’s first video game p*rnography and Kenneth’s efforts to apply to be a page at the Beijing Olympics.
Both are funny in their own right, but the episode’s highlight is Jack working in Washington, D.C. He befriends fellow public servant “Cooter Burger” (Matthew Broderick), and they soon reach their limit with the low funding and conspire to get fired.
Their proposal? A “gay bomb,” a notion ludicrous enough to be fact. The show and characters acknowledge this as a bad idea, but seeing it referred to with the matter-of-fact language of bureaucracy is quite funny.
“Cooter” concludes with a “three months later” flashforward montage, tipping its hand that the season had to rush to its end. What happens in that montage — specifically, Jack presenting the gay bomb to Bush administration officials and Cooter accidentally exposing them to it — makes it all worth it, though.
5. Tracy Does Conan (Season 1 Episode 7)
Long-running television shows that have a shaky start often have that one episode where, looking back, is the point where things clicked into place. 30 Rock Season 1 Episode 7, “Tracy Does Conan,” is that episode for this series.
The title gives the episode’s premise away, but not the scramble that it proves for the characters.
Tracy is off his meds and thus crazier than usual. Liz and co. have precious little time to get him presentable to appear on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. The episode has more of the off-the-wall humor that later 30 Rock is synonymous with, mostly thanks to Tracy’s dialogue and delusions.
“Tracy Does Conan”also introduces the always welcome Dr. Leo Spaceman (Chris Parnell); his name (pronounced “Sp-Che-Min,” though Tracy says it like it’s spelled) initially makes the others dismiss “Dr. Spaceman” as Tracy being crazy until the good doctor introduces himself.
Is this joke low-hanging fruit? Maybe, but it’s still plenty ripe.
4. Hogco*ck/Last Lunch (Season 7 Episodes 12-13)
30 Rock Season 7 Episodes 12/13, “Hogco*ck /Last Lunch,” works because of the final season’s structure.
The characters reach their goals before the finale (Liz adopts two kids, Jack becomes CEO, Kenneth takes over NBC, etc.). “Hogco*ck” is mainly about the characters adjusting to the fact that their lives will never be the same, while “Last Lunch” is about them returning for one last hurrah before they (and we) say goodbye.
The series finale is funny, especially the ending credits montage, which shows what the characters are up to in the future. Yet, for a show as goofy as 30 Rock was from beginning to end, the finale aims for the heart.
Liz’s last moments with Tracy, when they admit they won’t see each other much without TGS linking them, don’t invalidate their friendship. Jack, when they finally admit they (platonically) love each other, stands out as especially bittersweet.
The message that things will end, but that’s okay, couldn’t be more perfect for a series finale.
3. Milf Island (Season 2 Episode 11)
Some of my favorite jokes on 30 Rock are about the fake (and mind-numbing) TV shows that NBC puts out.
Aside from TGS itself, there’sGold Case, God Cop,andB*tch Hunter. 30 Rock Season 2 Episode 11, “MILF Island,” is centered around a Survivorsend-up that now looks prescient.
The episode includes flashes of the show-within-a-show, but the parody extends further. The story of the episode mimics reality TV. Someone on the TGS writing staff made negative comments about Jack to the press (spoiler alert: it was Liz), and he’s trying to smoke the rat out. The writers are pitted against each other like they’re on reality TVand turn on each other as expected.
“MILF Island” isn’t the last time the comedy parodies reality TV (see 30 Rock Season 5 Episode 17, “Queen of Jordan”), but it remains the funniest.
2. Funcooker (Season 3 Episode 14)
Another firing-on-all-cylinders episode is 30 Rock Season 3 Episode 14, “The Funcooker.”
Somehow, Jenna procuring military-gradeanti-sleeping pills from Dr. Spaceman is only the fourthmost important story in this episode, which gives you a sense of how jam-packed it is with hilarity.
While Liz is off at jury duty, Jack recruits the TGS writers to develop a new name for his mini microwave oven after the previous name, the “Bitenuker,” was discovered to be “horribly offensive to those who speak either French or Dutch.”
Speaking of horribly offensive, after Tracy receives an FCC fine, he decides he’s rich enough to just curse on TV and pay off the fines. When advertisers pull out of TGS, he foots the advertising sponsorship himself (despite having nothing to advertise).
30 Rock is exceptionally good at mocking the media, whether TV or public relations, and “The Funcooker” is an example of both.
1. Reunion (Season 3 Episode 5)
30 Rock Season 3 Episode 5, “Reunion,” is one of the show’s most subversive episodes in genre and cultural commentary.
It’s time for Liz’s high school reunion, and she’s reluctant to go because she was a meek and bullied nerd. Jack convinces her to show up her past tormentors, but she makes an Earth-shattering discovery: shewas the bully, not the popular kids.
They were more than willing to include her, but she pushed them away with verbal cruelty.
This is consistent with Liz’s character; she is never as good a person as she thinks she is. “Reunion” also doesn’t just subvert the “mousy girl nerd” high school movie/TV cliche; it brings depth to it. People like Liz use biting humor to deflect their insecurities, and that’s far from an attractive trait.
When you have a low opinion of yourself, it’s easy to see yourself as a victim without even considering how you make others feel or whether the world is different from your opinion.
Despite how cartoony it is, 30 Rock is one of the most brilliant TV comedies out there.
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Devin Meenan
Devin Meenan is a freelance entertainment writer. His first love was movies but he found himself writing more passionately about TV, hence him joining the Tell-Tale TV team. His favorite types of TV to sink into include prestige dramas, mystery box thrillers, sci-fi/fantasy, and anime.
