Believe in the Stars

Last updated
"Believe in the Stars"
30 Rock episode
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 2
Directed by Don Scardino
Written by Robert Carlock
Production code302
Original air dateNovember 6, 2008 (2008-11-06)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Do-Over"		Next →
"The One With the Cast of Night Court"
30 Rock season 3
List of episodes

"Believe in the Stars" is the second episode of the third season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock . The 38th overall episode of the series was written by executive producer Robert Carlock and directed by series producer Don Scardino. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on November 6, 2008. Guest stars in this episode include Remy Auberjonois, Todd Buonopane, Raven Goodwin, and Oprah Winfrey.

Contents

The episode's plot concerns a feud between Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) and Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) over royalties from Tracy's pornographic video game Gorgasm: The Legend of Dong Slayer. Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) attempts to settle the fight with the help of Oprah Winfrey, whom she meets on a return flight from Chicago. Meanwhile, NBC page Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer) is stung by the revelation that most events from the 2008 Summer Olympics were staged to boost America's image and NBC's ratings. Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) attempts to break Kenneth of his moral absolutism.

"Believe in the Stars" received generally positive reception from television critics, with Neal Justin of the Star Tribune concluding it was "the most brilliant episode in the series' history". [1] According to the Nielsen ratings system, the episode was watched by 8.0 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 3.9 rating/9 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.

On June 22, 2020, it was revealed that this was one of three episodes being pulled from syndication and repeats due to the scene of Jenna wearing blackface. [2]

Plot

The episode starts with Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) announcing to her boss, Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), that she needs to go to Chicago for jury duty because she is still registered to vote there. Jack gives Liz a powerful sedative for the trip. Later, NBC page Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer) walks in on a meeting between Jack and the American silver medalist in tetherball, Tyler Brody (Remy Auberjonois). Tyler is angry at Jack for not selecting him as the gold medalist, and is threatening to go public with the revelation that there was no Olympic tetherball competition during the 2008 Summer Olympics, as it was staged to boost NBC's ratings. Jack makes a deal with Brody, but is bothered when Kenneth tells him that he no longer looks up to him over the morally grey actions. In an attempt to break Kenneth's moral absolutism, Jack stages a gambit where nine people are trapped in an elevator with enough air for eight, and Kenneth shows no hesitation in sacrificing himself. Jack concedes that Kenneth is better than him, and gives him a big screen television as a gift, but no cable hookup. Kenneth steals cable and later confesses to Jack, asking if SpongeBob SquarePants "is supposed to be terrifying".

Meanwhile, Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) demands compensation for her voice work in Tracy Jordan's (Tracy Morgan) pornographic video game, Gorgasm: The Legend of Dong Slayer. The argument escalates and Liz orders them to stop their bickering. After Liz leaves for Chicago, Jenna and Tracy decide to conduct a social experiment to see whether Tracy can survive better as a white woman than Jenna can as a black man, after arguing respectively that black men and white women have it harder in society. Later, while on her flight, Liz takes Jack's sedative. Liz realizes that the woman sitting next to her is Oprah Winfrey. When Liz arrives back at the 30 Rock studios, Tracy is dressed in female drag with his body covered in white makeup and soon after, Jenna enters in blackface and male drag. Jack worries that the situation has gone out of control, but Liz assures him that Oprah, who is coming to the studios, will be able to make them come to terms. As it turns out, her inflight conversation with Oprah was a hallucination. The person who Liz thought was Oprah is actually a 12-year-old girl named Pam (Raven Goodwin). Even so, Pam engages Tracy and Jenna in a heart-to-heart, and manages to settle their differences.

Production

Oprah Winfrey guest starred in this episode. Oprah closeup.jpg
Oprah Winfrey guest starred in this episode.

"Believe in the Stars" was written by executive producer Robert Carlock and directed by series producer Don Scardino. [3] This episode was Carlock's ninth writing credit, [4] and was Scardino's fifteenth directed episode. [5] "Believe in the Stars" originally aired in the United States on November 6, 2008 on NBC as the second episode of the show's third season and the 38th overall episode of the series.

In September 2008, it was announced that television host Oprah Winfrey would guest star on the show. [6] She filmed her appearance on September 13, 2008. [7] When Winfrey interviewed series creator Tina Fey on her show in November, Fey revealed that they shot their scene together on a Saturday, a day that the show normally does not film on. [8] Actress Raven Goodwin played Pam, [9] a 12-year-old girl that, while hallucinating, Liz Lemon believed was Oprah. Actor Remy Auberjonois played Olympic medalist Tyler Brody in this episode. [10] This was actor Todd Buonopane's debut as the character Jeffrey Weinerslav, an NBC Human Resource mediator. In "Believe in the Stars", Jeffrey tries to mediate the disagreement that Jenna and Tracy are having over the video game. Buonopane later guest starred in the episodes "Cutbacks" and "Jackie Jormp-Jomp". [11]

Star Wars is frequently referenced in 30 Rock, beginning with the pilot episode in 2006 where Tracy Jordan is seen shouting that he is a Jedi. [12] Liz admits to being a huge fan of Star Wars, saying that she had watched it many times with Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit), [13] and dressed up as the Star Wars character Princess Leia during four recent Halloweens, [14] and in this episode while trying to get out of jury duty in Chicago. [15] Star Wars is also referenced when Tracy takes on the identity of the character Chewbacca. [16] Fey, a fan of Star Wars herself, said that the weekly Star Wars joke or reference "started happening organically" when the crew realized that they had a Star Wars reference "in almost every show". [17] She said that from then on "it became a thing where [they] tried to keep it going", and that even though they could not include one in every episode, they still had a "pretty high batting average". [17] She attributed most of the references to Carlock, whom she described as "the resident expert". [17]

Reception

According to the Nielsen ratings system, "Believe in the Stars" was watched by 8.0 million households in its original American broadcast. It earned a 3.9 rating/9 share in the 18–49 demographic. [18] This means that it was seen by 3.9 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 9 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This was a decrease from the season premiere episode, "Do-Over", which was watched by 8.7 million American viewers. [19] Nonetheless, this episode was the eighth highest-rated show on the NBC network during the week of November 3–9, 2008. [20] Since airing, "Believe in the Stars" has received positive reception from television critics.

IGN contributor Robert Canning praised the episode, saying that it was "an absolutely perfect episode with not a moment wasted [and] equally hilarious were the storylines between Jack and Kenneth, and Tracy and Jenna. The episode had everything that makes 30 Rock great." Canning opined that Liz's admissions to Oprah Winfrey were "painfully funny", and that Tracy "was on fire" following his actions in this episode. In conclusion, Canning gave it a 10 out of 10 rating. [21] Jeremy Medina of Paste was complimentary towards the episode, reporting that it had "madcap humor tirelessly delivered one joke after another at a lightning fast speed, adding up to one of the funniest episodes in the series." Medina enjoyed the social experiment between Jenna and Tracy, noting that it was "hilarious". [22] TV Guide 's Matt Mitovich commented that the episode was "Rock-solid", [23] while Neal Justin of the Star Tribune believed it was "the most brilliant episode in the series' history". [1] Television columnist Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger wrote that "Believe in the Stars" belonged to Tina Fey "who has grown by leaps and bounds as an actress over the past few years. The Princess Leia voice, her drunken panic on the plane [...] and the religious fervor at the knowledge that Oprah would be coming to the studio were all hilarious, and played with the sort of confidence I don't know that she would have had at the start of the series." [15]

The A.V. Club 's Nathan Rabin said that the Jenna and Tracy subplot was not the most inspired idea, but admitted it introduced one of his "favorite gags in 30 Rock history" regarding two make-up artists giving Tracy a monster claw to use as a white hand when they ran out of white powder. [24] Rabin called it a "brilliant gag." [24] He was less enthusiastic with Winfrey in the episode, noting that her appearance "was treated as such a seismic cultural event that tonight's episode couldn't help but feel like a letdown." [24] Bob Sassone of AOL's TV Squad wrote that "the least effective plot" in this episode was Jenna and Tracy's. [8]

Related Research Articles

"Jack the Writer" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American situation comedy 30 Rock, which aired on November 1, 2006, on the NBC network in the United States, and on November 1, 2007, in the United Kingdom. The episode was written by Robert Carlock and was directed by Gail Mancuso. Guest stars in this episode include Katrina Bowden, Keith Powell, Maulik Pancholy, Tom Broecker, Jonathan Lutz, James Anderson and Sharon Wilkins.

"Jack-Tor" is the fifth episode of the first season of the American situation comedy 30 Rock, which aired on November 16, 2006 on the NBC network in the United States, and on November 8, 2007 in the United Kingdom. The episode was written by Robert Carlock and was directed by Don Scardino. Guest stars in this episode include Katrina Bowden, Lonny Ross, Keith Powell, Maulik Pancholy, Teddy Coluca, Donald Glover, Doug Moe, and Matthew Stocke.

"The Head and the Hair" is the eleventh episode of the first season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock. It was written by series creator Tina Fey and co-executive producer John Riggi. The director of this episode was Gail Mancuso. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 18, 2007. Guest stars in this episode include Katrina Bowden, Craig Castaldo, Peter Hermann, Brian McCann, John McEnroe, Maulik Pancholy, Keith Powell, and Lonny Ross.

"Rosemary's Baby" is the fourth episode of the second season of 30 Rock, and the twenty-fifth episode overall. It was written by Jack Burditt and was directed by Michael Engler. The episode first aired on October 25, 2007 on the NBC network in the United States. Guest stars in this episode include Carrie Fisher, Paul Scheer, and Stuart Zagnit.

"Apollo, Apollo" is the sixteenth episode of the third season of American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 52nd episode of the series overall. It was written by executive producer Robert Carlock and directed by Millicent Shelton. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 26, 2009. Guest stars in this episode include Adam West and Dean Winters.

"Jackie Jormp-Jomp" is the eighteenth episode of the third season of the American television series 30 Rock. It was directed by series producer Don Scardino, and written by executive story editor Kay Cannon and script co-coordinator Tracey Wigfield. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 16, 2009. Guest stars in the episode include Todd Buonopane, Kerry Butler, Danielle Flora, Mary Catherine Garrison, Christina Gausas, and Elizabeth Marvel.

"Kidney Now!" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the third season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 58th overall episode of the series. It was directed by series producer Don Scardino, and written by show producers Jack Burditt and Robert Carlock. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on May 14, 2009. Guest stars in this episode include Alan Alda, Kay Cannon, Donald Glover, Napiera Groves, Chris Parnell, Paula Pell, and Sherri Shepherd. In addition, "Kidney Now!" featured many musical guest stars including Clay Aiken, Elvis Costello, Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow, the Beastie Boys, Steve Earle, Adam Levine, Sara Bareilles, Wyclef Jean, Norah Jones, Talib Kweli, Michael McDonald, Rhett Miller, Moby, Robert Randolph, Rachael Yamagata and Cyndi Lauper, all as themselves.

"Cutbacks" is the 17th episode of the third season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 53rd episode of the series overall. It was written by supervising producer Matt Hubbard and directed by Gail Mancuso. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 9, 2009. Guest stars in this episode include Roger Bart, Todd Buonopane, and Don Pardo.

"Do-Over" is the first episode of the third season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the thirty-seventh episode overall. It was written by the series' creator, executive producer and lead actress, Tina Fey and directed by series producer Don Scardino. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on October 30, 2008. Guest stars in this episode include Will Arnett, Marceline Hugot, and Megan Mullally.

"Season 4" is the first episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 59th episode overall. It was written by the series creator, executive producer and lead actress Tina Fey and directed by series producer Don Scardino. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on October 15, 2009. Guest stars in this episode include Steve Buscemi, Liz Holtan, and Paula Pell.

"Stone Mountain" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 61st overall episode of the series. The episode was written by co-executive producer John Riggi and directed by series producer Don Scardino. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on October 29, 2009. Guest stars in "Stone Mountain" include Jeff Dunham and Bubba J, Jimmy Fallon, Blaine Horton, and Betty White.

"Black Light Attack!" is the tenth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 68th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Steve Hely and directed by series producer Don Scardino. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 14, 2010. Guest stars in this episode include Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Cheyenne Jackson.

"The Funcooker" is the fourteenth episode of the third season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock. It was written by Tom Ceraulo and Donald Glover, and directed by Ken Whittingham. The episode originally aired on NBC on March 12, 2009. Guest stars in this episode include Jackie Hoffman, Nancy O'Dell, and Chris Parnell.

"Señor Macho Solo" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 43rd overall episode of the series. It was written by co-executive producer Ron Weiner and directed by Beth McCarthy. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 8, 2009. Peter Dinklage, Salma Hayek, and Sherri Shepherd guest star in "Señor Macho Solo", and there are cameo appearances by Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell.

"Christmas Special" is the sixth episode of the third season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock. It was written by executive story editor Kay Cannon, and series' creator, executive producer and lead actress Tina Fey. The director of this episode was series producer Don Scardino. The episode originally aired on December 11, 2008 on NBC.

"The Source Awards" is the sixteenth episode of the first season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock. It was written by Robert Carlock and Daisy Gardner, and directed by one of the season's supervising producers, Don Scardino. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 1, 2007. "The Source Awards" featured appearances by Wayne Brady, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, Ghostface Killah, LL Cool J, and Jason Sudeikis.

"Don Geiss, America, and Hope" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 73rd overall episode of the series. It was directed by Stephen Lee Davis, and written by Jack Burditt and Tracey Wigfield. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 18, 2010. Guest stars in "Don Geiss, America and Hope" include John Anderson, Scott Bryce, Marceline Hugot, James Rebhorn, and Michael Sheen.

"I Do Do" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 80th overall episode of the series. It was directed by series producer Don Scardino, and written by series creator, executive producer and lead actress Tina Fey. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on May 20, 2010. Guest stars in this episode include Elizabeth Banks, Craig Castaldo, Matt Damon, Will Forte, Susan Heyward, Kristin McGee, Julianne Moore, Paula Pell, Michael Sheen, and Jason Sudeikis.

"When It Rains, It Pours" is the second episode of the fifth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 82nd overall episode of the series. It was written by co-show runner and executive producer Robert Carlock and directed by series producer Don Scardino. "When It Rains, It Pours" originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 30, 2010. Guest stars in this episode include Joanna Adler, Ben Bailey, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Castaldo, Paul Giamatti, Andrea Mitchell, Chris Parnell, Sherri Shepherd, and Brian Williams.

"Let's Stay Together" is the third episode of the fifth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 83rd overall episode of the series. It was directed by co-executive producer John Riggi and written by co-executive producer Jack Burditt. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on October 7, 2010. Guest stars in this episode include John Amos, Todd Buonopane, Reg E. Cathey, Queen Latifah and Rob Reiner.

References

  1. 1 2 Justin, Neal (2008-11-06). "Critic's picks". Star Tribune . The Star Tribune Company: 8E.
  2. ↑ Adalian, Josef (June 22, 2020). "30 Rock Is Pulling Blackface Episodes From Streaming Platforms and TV Reruns". Vulture. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  3. ↑ "30 Rock: Episodes". London: Screenrush (AlloCiné). Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
  4. ↑ "Robert Carlock — Filmography by TV series". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  5. ↑ "Don Scardino — Filmography by TV series". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  6. ↑ Conner, Thomas (2008-09-20). "Oprah makes 'magic' during '30 Rock' spot". Chicago Sun-Times . Sun-Times Media Group: 19.
  7. ↑ Ryan, Maureen (2008-09-18). "Oprah tapes her '30 Rock' guest spot". Chicago Tribune . Tribune Company. Archived from the original on 2008-10-24. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  8. 1 2 Sassone, Bob (2008-11-06). "30 Rock: Believe in the Stars". TV Squad . AOL Inc. Archived from the original on 2008-11-10. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  9. ↑ "30 Rock — Believe In The Stars". Yahoo! TV. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  10. ↑ ""30 Rock" Believe in the Stars (2008)". Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  11. ↑ "Todd Buonopane". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  12. ↑ Writer(s): Tina Fey; Director: Adam Bernstein (2006-10-11). "Pilot". 30 Rock. Season 1. Episode 1. NBC Universal. NBC.
  13. ↑ Writers : Dave Finkel, Brett Baer; Director: Beth McCarthy (2007-04-05). "Fireworks". 30 Rock. Season 1. Episode 18. NBC Universal. NBC.
  14. ↑ Writer(s): Robert Carlock, Daisy Gardner; Director: Don Scardino (2007-03-01). "The Source Awards". 30 Rock. Season 1. Episode 16. NBC Universal. NBC.
  15. 1 2 Sepinwall, Alan (2008-11-06). "30 Rock, "Believe in the Stars": Help me, Oprah Winfrey. You're my only hope". The Star-Ledger . Retrieved 2010-03-25.
  16. ↑ Writer(s): Tina Fey; Director: Adam Bernstein (2006-12-06). "Tracy Does Conan". 30 Rock. Season 1. Episode 7. NBC Universal. NBC.
  17. 1 2 3 Topel, Fred (2007-09-16). "Tina Fey Gets the Gold". CraveOnline . AtomicOnline. Archived from the original on 2009-07-31. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
  18. ↑ Kissell, Rick (2009-10-07). "CBS, ABC top Thursday ratings". Variety . Reed Business Information . Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  19. ↑ "'30 Rock' ratings rise". Deseret News . Associated Press. 2008-11-06. Retrieved 2010-04-13.[ dead link ]
  20. ↑ Seidman, Robert (2008-11-11). "Top NBC Primetime Shows, November 3–9". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2009-06-04. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  21. ↑ Canning, Robert (2008-11-07). "30 Rock: "Believe in the Stars" Review". IGN TV. IGN Entertainment . Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  22. ↑ Medina, Jeremy (2008-11-30). "30 Rock review. Episode 3.02—"Believe in the Stars"". Paste . Paste Media Group. Archived from the original on 2010-01-15. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  23. ↑ Mitovich, Matt (2008-11-06). "30 Rock Episode Recap: "Believe in the Stars"". TV Guide . OpenGate Capital. Archived from the original on 2009-05-27. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  24. 1 2 3 Rabin, Nathan (2008-11-06). "Believe In The Stars". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 2010-04-13.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.