Fireworks (30 Rock)

Last updated
"Fireworks"
30 Rock episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 18
Directed by Beth McCarthy
Written by Brett Baer
Dave Finkel
Cinematography byVanja Černjul
Production code118
Original air dateApril 5, 2007 (2007-04-05)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"The Fighting Irish"		Next →
"Corporate Crush"
30 Rock season 1
List of episodes

"Fireworks" is the eighteenth episode of NBC's first season of 30 Rock . It was written by two of the season's co-executive producers Brett Baer and Dave Finkel, and it was directed by Beth McCarthy. It first aired on April 5, 2007 in the United States. [1] Guest stars in this episode include Will Arnett, Kay Cannon, Dave Finkel, Chris Parnell, Maulik Pancholy, Maury Povich, Keith Powell, Al Roker, Kissy Simmons, and Jason Sudeikis.

Contents

In this episode, Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) stages a televised firework display, in an attempt to show up his rival, Devon Banks (Will Arnett). Devon, upon their first meeting, develops a crush on Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer). Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) follows Floyd (Jason Sudeikis), a colleague whom she is attracted to, into Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) in an attempt to get closer to him. Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) discovers that he is related to Thomas Jefferson and decides to honor his ancestor. James "Toofer" Spurlock (Keith Powell) discovers a shocking secret about one of his own ancestors.

Plot

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 isn't 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, but still intends for the film to be a drama.

Production

Chris Parnell, who is a recurring guest star, appeared in the main cast of Saturday Night Live along with series stars, Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan. Chris Parnell by David Shankbone.jpg
Chris Parnell, who is a recurring guest star, appeared in the main cast of Saturday Night Live along with series stars, Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan.

This is Jack McBrayer and Will Arnett's third time working together. McBrayer made guest appearances as a country club waiter in "Burning Love" and "S.O.B.s", two episodes of the situation comedy Arrested Development . [2] Arnett, a member of the main cast of Arrested Development, played George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II in that series. [3] The plot of the Arrested Development episode in which McBrayer appeared revolved around G.O.B. accidentally becoming a waiter at the Bluth family's country club.

This episode was advertised by NBC as a "supersized" episode, with the total runtime extended from 30 minutes to 40 minutes. [4] It aired at 8:40 pm, after "The Negotiation" episode of The Office , [5] as opposed to 9:00 pm which was the series' usual timeslot. [4]

The husband and wife characters who appear in the 10-second internet sitcom, Makin' It Happen, are played by Dave Finkel and Kay Cannon. [6] Finkel and Cannon are both staff writers on 30 Rock. [7] Cannon was, at the time, also married to guest star Jason Sudeikis and Finkel co-wrote this episode. [6] A series of Makin' It Happen was produced and the webisodes aired on NBC.com. [8]

Star Wars is referenced twice in this episode: once when Liz tells Floyd that she and Pete are watching the movies on the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies list, but they only own Star Wars and Tootsie so they keep watching those two films. It is again referenced during Tracy's dream, when Thomas Jefferson holds his hand up to Tracy and says "May the Force be with you".

Reception

"Fireworks" brought in an average of 5.4 million American viewers upon its original broadcast in the United States, achieving a 2.5/7 in the key 18- to 49-year-old demographic. The 2.5 refers to 2.5% of all people of ages 18–49 years old, and the 7 refers to 7% of all people of ages 18–49 years old watching television at the time of the broadcast. [9] Compared to the previous episode, "The Fighting Irish", which aired on March 8, 2007, "Fireworks" gained 200,000 viewers. [10]

Matt Webb Mitovich of TV Guide thought that Will Arnett, who appeared as Devon Banks, was "shrewdly cast". Webb Mitovich added that this episode displayed some "good, good stuff". Anna Johns of AOL's TV Squad declared "Fireworks" as "one of the best episodes so far this season" citing that "the writers juggled a handful of storylines very, very well". She wrote that the best part of the episodes were "the one-liners. They had [her] laughing so hard that [she] frequently had to pause the TiVo to recover." [11] Robert Canning of IGN wrote that this episode "was another prime example of what this show is capable of". He thought that "the choice of Arnett as Jack Donaghy's nemesis was perfect, right down to their shared graveled vocal delivery", and that recurring character Chris Parnell's "short, quick hitting scenes are always nonsensical perfection". [12]

Related Research Articles

"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.

"Tracy Does Conan" is the seventh episode of NBC's first season of 30 Rock. It was written by the series' creator and executive producer, Tina Fey and it was directed by one of the season's supervising producers, Adam Bernstein. It first aired on December 7, 2006, in the United States and November 29, 2007, in the United Kingdom. Guest stars in the episode included Katrina Bowden, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, Rachel Dratch, Dave Finkel, Maulik Pancholy, Chris Parnell, Aubrey Plaza, Keith Powell, and Dean Winters. Conan O'Brien appeared as himself in this episode. The episode marks the first appearance of Chris Parnell as recurring character, Dr. Leo Spaceman.

"The Fighting Irish" is the seventeenth episode of NBC's first season of 30 Rock. It was written by one of the season's co-executive producers, Jack Burditt, and it was directed by Dennie Gordon. It aired on March 8, 2007, in the United States. Guest stars who appear in this episode are Dan Bakkedahl, Katrina Bowden, Anna Chlumsky, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Nathan Lane, Boris McGiver, Brian Murray, Maulik Pancholy, Lonny Ross, Molly Shannon, Jason Sudeikis and Kristen Sudeikis.

"Corporate Crush" is the nineteenth episode of the first season of the American television series 30 Rock. It was written by co-executive producer John Riggi and directed by Don Scardino. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 12, 2007. Guest stars in this episode include Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, John Lutz, Emily Mortimer, Maulik Pancholy, Jason Sudeikis, and Rip Torn.

"SeinfeldVision" is the first episode of the second season of 30 Rock and the twenty-second episode of the series. It was written by the series' creator, executive producer and lead actress, Tina Fey and directed by producer Don Scardino. The episode first aired on October 4, 2007 on the NBC network in the United States.

<i>30 Rock</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of the television comedy series 30 Rock originally aired between October 11, 2006, and April 26, 2007, on NBC in the United States. The season was produced by Broadway Video, Little Stranger and NBC Universal, and the executive producers were series creator Tina Fey, Lorne Michaels, JoAnn Alfano, Marci Klein, and David Miner.

<i>30 Rock</i> season 2 Season of television series

The second season of 30 Rock, an American television comedy series, originally aired between October 4, 2007, and May 8, 2008, on NBC in the United States.

"Somebody to Love" is the sixth episode of the second season of 30 Rock, and the twenty-seventh episode overall. It was written by Kay Cannon and the series' creator, Tina Fey, and was directed by Beth McCarthy. The episode first aired on November 15, 2007 on the NBC network in the United States. Guest stars in this episode include Fred Armisen, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, Edie Falco, John Lutz, Maulik Pancholy, and Kristen Wiig.

"Hiatus" is the twenty-first and season finale episode of NBC's first season of 30 Rock. It was written by series creator and executive producer Tina Fey, and was directed by Don Scardino. It first aired on April 26, 2007 in the United States. Guest stars in the episode included Katrina Bowden, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, Rachel Dratch, Sean Hayes, Emily Mortimer, Chris Parnell, Lonny Ross, Elaine Stritch, and Jason Sudeikis. Lester Holt appeared as himself in this episode.

"Sandwich Day" is the fourteenth episode of the second season of 30 Rock and the thirty-fifth episode overall. It was written by one of the season's executive producers, Robert Carlock, and one of the season's co-executive producers, Jack Burditt. The episode was directed by one of the season's producers, Don Scardino. The episode first aired on May 1, 2008 on the NBC network in the United States. Guest stars in this episode included Brian Dennehy, Marceline Hugot, Jason Sudeikis, and Rip Torn. The episode earned Tina Fey the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

"Cleveland" is the twentieth episode of the first season of 30 Rock. It was written by one of the season's co-executive producers, Jack Burditt, and one of the season's executive producers, Robert Carlock. It was directed by Paul Feig. It first aired on April 19, 2007 on the NBC network in the United States. Guest stars in this episode included Jennifer Bassey, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, Lester Holt, Traci Hovel, Emily Mortimer, Maulik Pancholy, and Jason Sudeikis.

"Ludachristmas" is the ninth episode of the second season of the television series 30 Rock and was first broadcast on December 13, 2007, on the NBC network in the United States.

"The Break-Up" is the eighth episode of the first season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock. It was written by co-executive producers Brett Baer and Dave Finkel, and directed by Scott Ellis. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on December 14, 2006. Guest stars in this episode include Rachel Dratch, Chris Hansen, Keith Powell, Lonny Ross, and Dean Winters.

<i>30 Rock</i> season 4 Season of television series

The fourth season of 30 Rock, an American television comedy series, consists of 22 episodes and began airing on October 15, 2009, on the NBC network in the United States. The season was produced by Broadway Video, Little Stranger, and NBC Universal; the executive producers were series creator Tina Fey, Lorne Michaels, Marci Klein, David Miner, and Robert Carlock.

"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.

"Into the Crevasse" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 60th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by co-showrunner and executive producer Robert Carlock and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on October 22, 2009. Guest stars in "Into the Crevasse" include Will Arnett, Caitlin Fowler, Shawn Gianella, Jon Glaser, and Savanna Samson.

"Floyd" is the sixteenth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 74th overall episode of the series. It was written by series producer Paula Pell, and directed by Millicent Shelton. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 25, 2010. Cheyenne Jackson, Kristin McGee, and Jason Sudeikis guest star in this episode, and there are cameo appearances by Kathie Lee Gifford, Lester Holt, Hoda Kotb, and Meredith Vieira.

"Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter" is the seventeenth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 75th overall episode of the series. It was written by co-producer Kay Cannon and series creator Tina Fey. The episode was directed by series producer Don Scardino. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 22, 2010. Guest stars in this episode include Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Steve Hely, Julianne Moore, and Ariel Shafir.

"Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" is the twenty-first episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 79th overall episode of the series. It was written by supervising producer Matt Hubbard and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on May 13, 2010. Guest stars in this episode include John Anderson, Elizabeth Banks, Jon Hamm, Kristin McGee, Julianne Moore, Michael Sheen, Jason Sudeikis, and Dean Winters.

"Idiots Are People Three!" is the third episode of the sixth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 106th overall episode of the series. It was directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller, and written by co-show runner and executive producer Robert Carlock. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 26, 2012. Guest stars in this episode include Will Arnett, James Marsden, Kelsey Grammer, and Denise Richards.

References

  1. ↑ "30 Rock "Fireworks" 04-05-2007 8:44 pm" (Press release). NBC Universal Media Village. Retrieved 2008-08-16.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. ↑ "Jack McBrayer: Biography". Yahoo . Retrieved 2008-08-17.
  3. ↑ "Arrested (comic) development? That's Will Arnett!". New York Daily News . 2008-02-29. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
  4. 1 2 Webb Mitovich, Matt (2007-04-04). "I Wanna Rock! NBC Renews Acclaimed Comedy". TV Guide . Retrieved 2008-08-17.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. ↑ "The Office "The Negotiation" 04-05-2007 8:00 pm" (Press release). NBC Universal Media Village. Retrieved 2008-08-17.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. 1 2 McBrayer, Jack (2007). 30 Rock: Season One DVD commentary for the episode "Fireworks" (DVD). NBC Universal. Event occurs at 01:47. Those are two of our writers. That was Dave Finkel and Kay Cannon, in fact Dave Finkel and Brett Baer are a writing team that original penned this episode.
  7. ↑ "2007 Writers Guild Awards Television & Radio Nominees Announced" (Press release). Writers Guild of America, West. 2006-12-13. Archived from the original on 2007-12-05. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  8. ↑ Cannon, Kay; Finkel, Dave (2007). Extended Scenes: Makin It Happen. Queens, New York: NBC.com. Archived from the original on 2008-08-21. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
  9. ↑ "NBC Ratings Results For The Week Of April 2–8" (Press release). NBC Universal Media Village. 2007-04-10. Retrieved 2008-08-17.[ permanent dead link ]
  10. ↑ "NBC Ratings Results For The Week Of March 5–11" (Press release). NBC Universal Media Village. 2007-03-13. Retrieved 2008-08-17. 30 Rock (2.5/6 in 18–49, 5.2 million viewers overall)[ permanent dead link ]
  11. ↑ Johns, Anna (2007-04-06). "30 Rock: "Fireworks"". AOL's TV Squad . Retrieved 2008-08-16.
  12. ↑ Canning, Robert (2007-04-09). "30 Rock: "Fireworks" Review". IGN . Retrieved 2008-08-16.

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.