30 Rock – EGOT me like no one else

Full transcript of 30 Rock – EGOT me like no one else.

0:00KT: Hey, guys. Welcome back to For Your Reference, and we're starting off with your phrase or mine. And because I'm a grown woman and I do whatever I want, instead of an idiom or a proverb Mhmm. I am actually going to quote a line from 30 Rock and you're going to have to tell me who said it and what the context is.

0:23Oti: Oh, shit. Alright.

0:25KT: Bring it on. Because we love Tina Fey, and I break the rules for her every time. Okay. So the line is eyes sitting next to Bopbo.

0:37Oti: Okay. That sounds like something Tracy Morgan would say. So context? I don't know what the fucking context is.

0:48KT: That's okay because context left the building. So I was wrong. It was Liz Lemon, and it's when she thought she saw Oprah on the plane.

0:58Oti: Can you repeat this phrase? What was it?

0:58KT: I said next to Bobbo.

0:58Oti: Oh, for fuck. Don't remember that. Alright.

1:08Oti: You win this one.

1:08KT: Let's get on to the show. Hey, friends and lovers. Welcome back to For Your Reference. You have your host, KT.

1:08Oti: And Oti.

1:08KT: And listen up, fives. A 10 is speaking. You need to check your beepers because we are going to have some cheesy blasters on MILF Island. Yes, motherfucker. We are covering 30 Rock. Whoop whoop. Whoop whoop. Indeed. I am so excited. If you've if this is the first time you've ever come to our podcast, welcome. This is the most momentous

2:06KT: episode for you to ever tune in on. If you are returning forever eternal reigning listeners, thank you so much for coming back. You will know that I fucking love Tina Fey with every fiber of my core. Elizabeth Stamatina Fey.

2:24Oti: Stamatina?

2:27KT: Yeah. Wow. Sounds very Greek, doesn't it? Very ethnic.

2:35Oti: I wouldn't say it sound Greek, but, you know, whatever tickles your boat. Well, she's not Kenyan. That's for sure.

2:43Oti: But Just to put this in context before you continue,

2:46Oti: I think the only person you love more than Colin Firth would be Tina Fey.

2:52KT: I think I love her more. That's what I'm saying. Like, the only person you Actually love actually, there is a reference in 30 Rock where I'm gonna do it. Let's just say it now. Liz Lemon is trying to get adopted trying to adopt. And she said that she she had to hide her Colin Firth DVDs in case people mistook it as erotica. I think we're done. I think we're I genuinely think we're done. My world of splooshing collides.

3:23Oti: Mhmm.

3:24KT: Oh, fucking hell. I am so excited. Are you excited?

3:27Oti: Yep.

3:27KT: Thanks, Meat Cat.

3:31Oti: I think I understood that, but yep. Continue.

3:32KT: We have not even gotten into the stats yet, so let's do that. Mhmm. From the Mind Grapes, which again, if you listen to our episodes, I say Mind Grapes a lot. That is a direct reference. Squeezing the Mind Grapes from the youth from 30 Rock. So 2006 to 2013, 30 Rock was on the air of NBC from the mind grapes of Tina Fey.

3:59Oti: Mhmm.

4:01KT: Originally, when she pitched this show, it was actually more of that news show that she came out with, which had Nicole Richie in it. But the president of NBC at the time was like, no, man. Like, you need to write about what you know. If you guys didn't know, Tina Fey was a lead female first female lead writer for SNL. Oh. Yeah, man.

4:25Oti: Breaking boundaries,

4:27KT: She is breaking my lady parts, and I am living for it. So it it went for it was quite a darling in regards to awards, specifically in regards to Emmys. It got a 103 Emmy award nominations. That's amazing. And 10 of it was actually in the first season alone.

4:49Oti: But, you know Did it win any or just noms?

4:49KT: Excuse me? Did you

4:49Oti: Just putting it out there, you know? You can have 500 nominations.

4:58KT: What do you think this is? Amateur hour?

5:01Oti: Seriously. But that's really impressive. It is. Yeah. Whatever.

5:07KT: You don't deserve Tina Fey. You don't deserve good shows. Go and watch your

5:14Oti: Friends?

5:17KT: Chums? That's another reference. Let's just let's let's go. Let's go. We've got so much to cover today. But, yes, 30 Rock, you need to watch it. If I can only recommend or reference one show for you guys to watch, it is 30 Rock. Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Jane Krakowski, Tracy Morgan, Jack McBrayer, Scott Adsit, who's Pete Hornberger, Judah Friedlander, your Keith Powell is Toofer. It is a it's a delicioso cast. Eat it all up because I'm a proud peacock, baby. We're not gonna get through this episode if I keep spouting out references.

6:02KT: So let's go through first impressions. Obviously, I'm going to go first. Obviously. Obviously, I'm going to go first.

6:10Oti: Oh, it's me just being a gentleman and letting you go first, so let's see.

6:18KT: We don't know her. We don't know her. What are you talking about? But I came across 30 Rock literally on, like, a grandpa, grandma show. Like, there's a TV channel in Australia that plays, like, Cheers and MASH, and somehow 30 Rock was playing on there. And that's how I came across it, which is really weird because I don't know. But in any case, I am so thankful that I came across the show. I didn't watch it when it came out in 2006 and just to gauge, because people like to play a game of how old is KT,

6:55KT: I was still in high school when 30 Rock came out. So I had a couple of seasons to catch up on, but I was hooked. I was hooked. I'd never seen anything like this before. This was before I watched Community, before I watched Arrested Development. And, you know, we have so much to cover, and the guest cast for this is quite expansive as well. So I just wanna say it now because I probably won't get the time, but 30 Rock is layered in its writing. It has it has jokes that have continual payoffs.

7:29KT: It has callbacks to previous seasons. And it's it's delicious and it's bitey and it's it's witty in every in every sense of it. And it's it's one of the best sort of comedy shows that has depth, that is in a league of its own.

7:47Oti: Wow. High praise.

7:49KT: High praise and high arousal. All alerts. All alarms are going off right now. But yes. So I I came across 30 Rock and I was hooked. I was obsessed. I I I guess it was just before my time when Tina Fey was on 30 Rock, but I motherfucking stan. I know I said stan for everything, but stan everything everywhere in all the holes. You'll all have chins, my friends.

8:18Oti: Really? I got your phrase or mine wrong. So what part of this statement do you think I'll be able to catch up with you with all the references you're spitting out right now?

8:18KT: Well, you'll never compare with my affections.

8:18Oti: How many times have you watched 30 Rock?

8:41KT: At least 15 times. Is this an intervention?

8:45Oti: It is an intervention. Anyone who is listening to this, you know, write us up, and we need to help KT stop watch 30 Rock for a while.

8:59KT: And we've talked about this on other episodes. If I had the choice, I would rewatch 30 Rock a million other times than try new TV shows. Fair, no wonder you're not watching anything else. Hey, mate. Look at our bunker.

9:15Oti: Everything we've pretty much covered on the podcast is me initiating you to watch them. So.

9:21KT: But I initiate you in other things.

9:24Oti: Alright. You've won that argument. Alright.

9:29KT: Oh, actually, while we're on the topic, Liz Lemon's character is always weird about sex. Like, she's sexually repressed. And we'll blame Tom Jones for that, but that's a story for another day. Apparently, Tina Fey wrote that into the script because she didn't wanna have to do sex scenes. Oh. Right? Yeah. And also while we're at it, her husband who she met in Second City when she was auditioning and she was actually part of the improv crew is a musical composer.

9:59KT: And that's who he was in Second City, and he does all of the music for 30 Rock. Oh. And what like, that's quite a nice little component that you have of 30 Rock continuing on to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and, you know, other projects as well.

9:59Oti: It is. But maybe the reason

10:15Oti: why she didn't want to do sex scenes is because her husband was fucking there.

10:21KT: Yeah. But she still kissed, like like, would you let me kiss Jon Hamm? Hey.

10:27Oti: Get out of

10:29Oti: no. I would not. We don't take too Carly.

10:33Oti: We don't take too around here.

10:36KT: I don't know. That's but that's a weird and we have that conversation all the time. And I told you, you don't need to worry about me, like, hooking up with other people. I would literally not be an actress because I I'm weird about toilet.

10:49Oti: Oh, you go the Chloe I wanna say her second name. She used to be in Big Love, she pretty yeah. Much She pretty much filmed well, she did a movie with her husband where they did like the full sexual act. So yeah. You're welcome. The movie is called Brown Bunny.

11:11KT: Or your best friend Emily Browning, is that her name? Yeah. The one that's in American Gods. She does some creepy sex scenes, man. With old people. Yeah.

11:21Oti: That was a bit yeah. Yeah. I'd give that a pass.

11:25KT: Okay. I've set I've set the timer. That's enough diversion from 30 Rock. Alright. Let's continue. You're talking about your first That is as much as I will allow you. You're talking about your first impressions. I am fucking obsessed with 30 Rock to the and it's weird because as a brown as a brown girl in Australia, not even in America, like, I had no one in my circles. Oti loves when I talk about my circles. Dude, your circles want shit.

11:54Oti: We just watch out the brown people. Okay? Mate, you'd put the news on and you'll still be like, oh, mate, in my suckles, I'm the only one watching this.

12:03KT: It's usually just rugby. That's that's usually what my people want. Alright, man. But in any case, it was hard for me to find people that, like, loved 30 Rock the way I love 30 Rock. But the cutest thing about my family, even though they didn't understand why I fucking love this show is when I went to Kenya, they actually bought me the box set of the first five seasons, which is very, very cute. Yeah. So it's just fueling my obsession with 30 Rock. But let's leave that because I am going to

12:33KT: pepper my juices all over this episode about how much I love 30 Rock. How about you, sir? Because you you kind of resisted it. You kind of resisted it. And it was kind of a deal breaker that it took you, what, four, five, even six years.

12:33Oti: It took a long time to convince me to watch it.

12:33KT: And why? Tell me.

12:33Oti: Because when I started it when I when it came out, I think I tried it.

12:33KT: Okay. Yes.

12:58Oti: And Tracy Morgan is a wonderful actor. But far up, he irritated the hell out of me. I was like But what nah. I'm not watching this shit.

12:58KT: What reference did you have of him before that, or you just had an assumption?

12:58Oti: None. I just couldn't understand his delivery, his it was just weird. He seemed like a caricature. Yeah. He just put me off. I was like, nah, man. I'm not gonna do this. But after after several several attempts by KT for me to watch this

13:31KT: Gentle gentle nudgings. That that will be the first chapter of my erotic novel, Gentle Nudging.

13:31Oti: Mate, I'd wake up with 30 Rock playing in the background.

13:44Oti: I subconsciously watched it the entire show without knowing it anyway.

13:44KT: So he was the main reason?

13:44Oti: Yeah. He just pissed me off. I don't know why.

13:55KT: Well, you had an assumption and you didn't test it. You just steered away from the show. Yeah. So eventually, after years and years and years of unfavorable favors to you, you watched 30 Rock. And what did you think? Because, you know, I'm that annoying person because when I love a show, I get obsessed. And I'm that person. We're both sitting there watching it, but I'm like, look. Look, babe. Look. Look. Can you see it? Layers. That's a callback. That's a reference. Come on. Yeah.

13:55Oti: Annoying is the right word you use there.

14:29Oti: It's just

14:29KT: Rude. Rude.

14:29Oti: It it grew on me. At first, I was just watching it just to make peace.

14:40KT: Oh, wow.

14:42Oti: But after a few episodes, I could tell where it was heading and realizing that I didn't give it its proper chance and credit. Mhmm. And I completely understood Tracy Morgan's character.

14:58KT: I and, you know, we'll we'll we'll talk about his character in particular, but Tracy Morgan is a phenomenal talent. He is. No. He really is. But you need people that know how to write for him because so easily he can become the caricature. See Cop Out. But if people no. But if people know Tracy Morgan and they know how ridiculous of a man he is, they can actually portray it in a satisfying way for everyone. See 30 Rock, see The Last O.G. headed by Jordan Peele, our best friend on most days. Right?

15:41KT: But wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Let's get into the cast. Is there anything else you wanna mention about 30 Rock?

15:41Oti: Nah, me.

15:41KT: Yeah?

15:41Oti: Yep.

15:41KT: Okay. Well, let's get into it. Obviously, we are going to be starting with Tina Fey's character, Liz Lemon or yellow sour fruit, which was the Japanese version when she got a Dealbreakers show.

16:03Oti: Fuck sakes. I don't even remember that. My god. The point to be in this podcast?

16:10KT: You are. You you let's let's just say my bar of expectations of you is very low. You just need to appreciate the art of this show. That's all you need to do. Come with an open heart and clean hands.

16:31Oti: That I can do. And a big dick. That's already there.

16:36KT: I know. I can see. And that's why we don't have a video podcast, guys. But let's go back to Liz Lemon as a character. So she is a successful head writer of the girly show, which is what it's originally called. And she is single for the most part. She's living in New York. She's successful. She's you know, she most of her life is essentially wrapped up in work. And I told you, even watching the first episode, the pilot of 30 Rock, it got me immediately because one of the opening scenes

17:14KT: is Liz Lemon standing in line to buy a hot dog in the morning, which I relate to. I know why you're laughing. Are you thinking about KFC at 10AM in Kenya? Yep. I thought that's I thought that was the norm.

17:32Oti: That is not a norm. That is not a norm anyway. Eat not eat fried food before lunchtime.

17:38KT: I thought KFC was the mother's milk of Kenya. We're gonna get in trouble. Let's go back to 30 Rock. But she was standing in a hot dog line, and it essentially was this man out of nowhere forming his own line because he didn't feel like waiting. He formed his own line. And the current line actually went against her and formed the other line as well. So what Liz Lemon did is she bought all of the hot dogs

18:09KT: as Pete Hornberger would say. And I relate to that so fucking hard because people are shitty, man. Like, is it really going to hurt you to just stand in a fucking line? And I I was drawn in. I was drawn in, and it was charming, and it was great. And, you know, let let's let's get through the series. But in that particular first episode, we have to go meet the execs. So Liz and Pete Hornberger,

18:37KT: they go up to meet Jack Donaghy Mhmm. For the first time. And, you know, Jack Donaghy is giving all of this business sort of spiel and Liz Lemon is like, oh, I get it. So you take things that don't need to be fixed, and you fix them. And Alec Baldwin, apparently, was an ad lib. He was like, oh, I like you. You have confidence of a younger woman. And he also talks about her having shark eyes as well.

19:03Oti: Oh, this is a rich show. You know what you know what set it apart for me? Mhmm. Like, the fact that they didn't try to put Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey together. Yeah. That did it for me. Because if you I guarantee you, if it was any other show, those two would have had sex all in a relationship of some sorts.

19:29KT: But I I'm sure there's fanfic out there. Yeah. Fuck. Because I'm sure it's a different thing altogether. And and later with the Queen of Jordan, there was the sequence where Jack Donaghy was kissing everyone with Titus as well or D'Fwan. That's his name in 30 Rock. And it gets to the point where Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy have to kiss, and they don't end up doing it. And it's just it's just for all the fans to be like, this isn't going to happen. Never.

19:58Oti: Right?

20:00KT: But that's supposed to mirror Tina Fey and Lorne Michaels relationship.

20:05Oti: Oh, really?

20:06KT: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That that that sort of dynamic.

20:09Oti: Sempai They're superposed, but then it's all.

20:12KT: Yeah. Definitely. But oh, I just love it. I love it. I love it. Because it's nice. It's nice to see someone like a woman that is in her thirties being successful, but not really having her life altogether. Right? There's even a sequence with like a series return where Liz is starting to tell Jack what she got up to over the break. And he's like, you don't need to tell me. You probably took up the knitting for two weeks, and you gave it up. And it's it's just nice. It's just a nice little dynamic that Liz and Jack also have.

20:47Oti: Yeah. Yeah. It's definitely one of the best I've seen in any show.

20:53KT: Good god, Lemon. And that was one of the times where she had gastro and he said, where did you find time to eat a diaper on the beach? It's crazy. But I really, like, I really felt like Liz Lemon was the perfect protagonist to have at the center of a show because she she has a sense of who she is. She has a sense of how far she will go morally, professionally. And that is tested by her job, by Tracy, by Jack Donaghy, and, you know, even her personal sort of life.

21:33KT: Right? And there are so there are so many delicious morsels to get through. And speaking of her love life and all of the love interest in the guest stars that have come in in regards to that, but I just wanna go through the core cast first Yep. Before we actually bed down on all of that because Wesley Snipes. And let's just let's just leave it there because Michael Sheen, you have my whole little heart.

22:05Oti: He's pretty good in The Good Wife as well. He sings there a lot. I think you've seen a clip of it already. I showed it to you. But

22:05KT: The Good Wife?

22:05Oti: Yeah. Not the oh, not The Good Wife. The Good Fight. Sorry.

22:16KT: Michael Sheen?

22:16Oti: Yeah.

22:16KT: He sings?

22:16Oti: Yeah.

22:20Oti: He sung. I showed you a clip of it.

22:20KT: How is that not in my YouTube recommendations?

22:20Oti: No idea. You dropped the ball, mate.

22:29KT: Well, now wow. Oh, how cool. Definitely, we'll need to check that out after my millionth time watching 30 Rock. So because we're going to talk about Liz Lemon all throughout anyway, especially the way she interacts with other characters. But let's talk about Jack Donaghy. Alec Baldwin. I know he obviously is the best of the Baldwins. Greatest hits coming out in 2019. But

23:02KT: I don't think I was at an age where I actually saw anything that he was in. But in my periphery, I knew that he was, you know, big time. Did you did you ever see Alec Baldwin in anything?

23:13Oti: I think so. His face was vaguely familiar, but all I remember him for was his scandal where he called his daughter An ungrateful pig.

23:24KT: Which okay. And and

23:27Oti: people took it so weirdly. Like, people went berserk over it. And I'm like, fucking hell. I wish my mother all I wish my parents all they did was ungrateful pig. I'm bloody grateful.

23:43KT: Because we we are not precious flowers that

23:46Oti: Sticks and stones, mate.

23:49KT: Which is a Dave Chappelle comedy, which we're not talking about. But we're not precious flowers that early grow at the peak of the Swiss Alps. Right? And exactly what you're saying. Because if that's all you got from your parents

24:04Oti: Ungrateful pig. That was hilarious to me.

24:10KT: Fuck's sake. Could you could you imagine could you imagine if all of the beatings and all of the verbal abuse from our parents were documented? That would be a problem. Yeah. That that would be a problem.

24:21Oti: I would take a Grittle Pig any to help him today.

24:28KT: It's kind of endearing, isn't it? Yeah. It is. It is. Fuck's sakes. It's kind of funny.

24:38Oti: It hilarious.

24:41KT: But wow. Yeah.

24:44Oti: Yeah. No. So I didn't know him. Well, I think I've seen him in a few stuffs, movies here and there, but wasn't a big draw enough for me to watch 30 Rock definitely for sure when it first came out. Uh-huh. Yeah. Dino Tina Fey. Yeah. It was just weird. I I thought the ensemble was a bit and then it was Tracy Morgan in there. It just ruined it for me at the start before being enlightened.

25:13KT: This is how black people watch 30 Rock. Is that accurate?

25:23Oti: Yeah. That's accurate.

25:25KT: Oh my goodness me. Actually, no. I'll leave it when we actually talk about Tracy. So let's go back to Jack Donaghy. He kind of embodied the, you know, that white man in power, the conservative Mhmm. Because he's a republican even though in real life Alec is a staunch vocal liberal. Mhmm. Right? So that that made it quite fun. But, you know, if you take it from, like, a mechanical sort of sense, you You know, more of the greater sort of shows that are conscious of themselves whenever they want to carry out or convey,

26:08KT: you know, offensive sort of rhetoric, it's done through problematic characters or conservative sort of characters. So, for example, in Community, you have Pierce. So he says all of the shitty things. Right? And it's all funneled through his character. Not to say Jack Donaghy had the same, but, you know, all of that Republican sort of speech comes through him.

26:33Oti: Yeah. And and just to put it out there, once Chevy Chase left Community, it just went started going downhill.

26:40KT: Oh, yeah. Totally. Totally. But thank you for respecting the gods and that's why we're doing 30 Rock before we're doing Community.

26:40Oti: You're welcome.

26:40KT: So I appreciate that very much. It's nice you know where you lay your head. I do. On the billowy bosoms of 30 Rock. But Jack Donaghy was quite an interesting character because he went through like, you know, he was all about business. Right? But most of his day was taken up by Liz Lemon's ridiculous problems. Right? And then later on in the series, it talks about the shower principle

27:17KT: who that's who Liz Lemon is. Right? For him for him to be able to figure stuff out professionally, he needed the distractions of Liz Lemon. Right? And one of one of the funniest sort of exchanges that you have between Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy is when she's negotiating. Yeah. And she actually reads his book. Right? So she's got her hair up and, you know, they they it's essentially a jack off, and I'm pretty sure that's what the episode is called as well.

27:48Oti: I'd take your word for it.

27:51KT: You don't wanna you don't wanna pull your glasses up?

27:54Oti: No. They're not coming up for this.

27:57KT: But, you know, for for for all of the ups and downs that Jack and Liz has, there's that foundational respect. And, you know, genuinely wanting the best for each other. Yeah. Because there was a there was a story arc where Liz Lemon wrote Dealbreakers. Right? And she was pitching to shows. Yeah. So Jack was actually like, let me just package it up and I'll just give it to you. You you you can just do it on NBC. It's fine. Right?

28:25KT: And, you know, Jenna and Tracy got into Liz's head. And then they're not necessarily, you know, the focal point for rationality, are they? No. They're not. So I guess she just got all up in her head. And that's where we actually meet her agent, who is one of my favorite characters, like one of my favorite minimal side characters on 30 Rock.

28:50Oti: Is this the kid with the over

28:52KT: With the really big Suit. Suit. Yeah. And he initially was just an agent for dogs, and he was excited because Liz Lemon was going to be his first human client.

29:03Oti: You know what I don't get sometimes? Like, I understood the character, and I thought some bits were funny, but I was like, would Liz really go with him?

29:15Oti: Like, I don't know. It just felt a bit weird for me.

29:15KT: Yeah. But then we also found that she was hiding money like an immigrant. Like, she wasn't she didn't have a four four zero one k set up, and she wasn't

29:25Oti: best way to save money. Put it under your mattress, kids.

29:30KT: Yeah. That's that's what my parents were telling me. I could see it when they were beating me under the mattress. But, you know, like, my point is in that particular story arc, you had Padma Lakshmi from Top Chef. Yep. Right? And essentially, the show was going to be pitched for her. And Jack was like, no. I don't wanna change your life. I wanna change Liz's life. And then you have, like, the final scene of that episode. Oh, yeah. That was really sweet. Yeah.

30:00KT: Yeah. And it was quite nice. And they they kind of play on that will they, won't they throughout the whole season, and that was kind of a crescendo. One of the crescendos that they have in the series as well. But Jack Donaghy also did not like Lutz. No one liked Lutz. No one liked Lutz, but, like, the the very existence of Lutz just infuriated him. Yeah. It's like Lutz was putty to string a in the wire. He just he just didn't want him breathing No, man. Essentially. One

30:36KT: of the other highlights with Jack Donaghy is whenever he had little squabbles with Toofer and Frank Rossitano as well? There was there was one episode where they actually found his voice because in in uni, he actually used his voice because he had the Oh, Like the Alexa thing. The perfect American accent. And was it twigs and berries? Or something? It was like a code phrase where no matter what was happening, he had to leave the room. So I like those little squabbles as well. And remember how they, like, they tricked Pete Hornberger

31:15KT: into thinking that Jack was calling him so they could have beers in his with guitar? Yeah. Which actually ended up happening, which is quite nice as well. But it was nice seeing him, like, you know, just have scenes with the plebs, if you will, with the with the writers room. Another another sort of interactions that I really enjoyed was Jack Donaghy and Jenna.

31:42Oti: Yeah.

31:45KT: They had quite a lot. I think one of the first times they're actually introduced to each other is when Kenneth buys hemorrhoids cream for Jenna's under eye, which is quite fun because, you know, he Alec Baldwin is a very handsome man, and he has a full head of hair. Like like Jack Donaghy says, the hair is the head suit for business. So he gets it trimmed every two days. Right? But there there's an there's an exchange where Jack Donaghy is coming in, and he's talking about how,

32:22KT: you know, Jenna's character or her as an actress isn't isn't testing very well with straight males. So he asked her all of these fire these rapid fire questions of how old of you, when were you born, you know, what song was played at your prom, and it was Motownphilly, Boyz II Men. One of the last questions that he asked is theater or drive in? And Jenna's like, what's a drive in?

32:52KT: Oh, but it was so nice. It was so nice to see, like, the face offs, you know, that Jack will have with other characters as well. But before we before we go into other characters, and I don't wanna I I definitely wanna talk about the guest cast, but let me just talk about this one, and then we'll focus more on the main cast. Oh. Yeah. Devon Banks. Gob Bluth. Will Arnett. Will Arnett, we fucking love you. And I'm glad you got BoJack Horseman

33:24KT: because for a long time, you were in a string of canceled shows.

33:24Oti: Mate, he was yeah. He he had his own show, I think, right after Up. It was called Up All Night.

33:24KT: Oh, that was one of them. Oh.

33:24Oti: Where they're like new parents. Boring as hell.

33:24KT: Yeah. And no. And he had another one as well. The one from Flaked. Yes. See how dedicated I am? I won't won't won't watch more than ten minutes of your show, but I know it. But

33:51KT: Devon Banks and Jack Donaghy, wasn't that a fun little jerk off between the two? Oh, that was really cool. Yeah. Laser beam. Laser shield. So so good. So good. And it's just it's just nice seeing, like, people that genuinely know how to act and have comedic tendencies in the room together. It is a delight to watch. Yeah.

34:20Oti: I enjoyed it. I really did enjoy the dynamics in between them two, and it was just something that added to what Jack was and what he was fighting to be or what he wanted to be in terms of his ambition of leading GE.

34:20KT: Yes. Yes. Oh, I got that. I had that. Television and microwave

34:44KT: programming, and it sounds like he programs microwaves.

34:47Oti: Yeah. The fact that what was his name? I've gotta call him Gob.

34:47KT: Devon.

34:47Oti: Call him Gob, actually. Watkins who tried all the underhand ways to lead GE, and he got in, but it was so fun to watch it.

35:06KT: Oh, totally. And Will Arnett, and they they kind of play off this in 30 Rock as well. He's got a very gravelly Batman esque type voice. So, you know, Jack and Devon's character will have that sort of Batman off in regards to their voices. And later on in the season, there's Devon Banks absolutely crushing it. And at the end, he's he's talking to his what do they call it? Send us a tweet, guys. He refers to his beautiful babies. I don't think he says mulatto, but he refers to the babies cappuccino maybe?

35:44KT: And he's like, who wants their nom noms?

35:44Oti: I don't remember that.

35:44KT: You don't?

35:44Oti: No.

35:44KT: Do you remember when they're at Don Geiss' place for a barbecue and he keeps getting tackled?

35:44Oti: Yes.

35:44KT: Well, there you go.

35:44Oti: Well, I think that says more about you than it does about the show.

35:44KT: For sure. Well, actually, no. Let's let's stay with Jack for a second. Elaine Stritch, rest in peace, plays the mother, Colleen Donaghy.

36:15Oti: Yeah.

36:16KT: How nice was it seeing them two together?

36:19Oti: Yeah. It's it's it was a weird relationship them two. Right?

36:19KT: Yeah. Well, I guess Colleen had made a lot of sacrifices

36:29KT: for Jack that he wasn't aware of. So he just got the output of it, which wasn't warm most of the time.

36:36Oti: You know what that you know what that relationship reminded me of? Archer and Mallory?

36:42KT: Yes. I was literally about to say the same thing. I was gonna say that.

36:45Oti: It's so Mallory and Archer, isn't it? It is. And and and all the best and heartbreaking.

36:54KT: Because you know there were some pieces of the puzzle that were missing. Yeah. They don't know they both don't know their fathers.

36:59Oti: Yeah. They can't get any sort of emotion from their mothers. Like, it's you know the love is there, but it's all hidden and tucked away safe, the emotions. Yeah. Yeah.

37:15KT: And, you know, as much as Jack Donaghy will detest to it, it was important to have her around. Yeah. And Elaine Stritch is just she is obviously everyone. It's it's universally accepted that she is a fucking legend. Yep. She is. Was. It seems weird to say was. But one of my favorite one of my favorite scenes is when she gets hit by the car. And then she and then she comes back not the fact that she gets hit by a car, but she comes back and she's interrogating Jack because he waited eight minutes.

37:52Oti: Before he did anything.

37:54KT: He waited eight minutes before he called 911 or whatever. Right? So she's there in the wheelchair, and she's like, exhibit a. And she's talking about the watch, but not the Cartier watch. See, I'm so poor. I can't even pronounce it. Cartier?

38:10Oti: Let's go with that. I feel like my Kenyan accent will just devour that.

38:18KT: Oh my. I know where you are at 10AM. Hey, yo. That's a callback, my friends. You're welcome. And then yeah. So she goes through a series of interrogations, and she's fully and what I love about it, she just plays it so straight. She plays it so straight. She's like, 16 minus eight equals eight. I just love like, my heart my heart just warms. And when he when he gets with Liz he doesn't get with Liz, but he he takes her as a date and

38:53KT: Elaine Stritch meets her sorry, Colleen meets her for the first time. She was like, oh, finally, a good one on your hands. Right? Yeah. Not like that she didn't call her a floozy, but she's like, not like that airhead Beyonce. Yeah. Right? So good. We also have Emily Mortimer with her hollow bones.

39:15Oti: Hollow bones.

39:18KT: And one of the most favorite moments I have, like, watching with Elaine Stritch was when Jack Donaghy and Emily Mortimer's character were planning their wedding. And, you know, Emily Mortimer just I guess she was just too pressy for Colleen's character. And she was saying that they're going to get married in the spring because that's when the petunias are about to bloom. And and Colleen didn't respond. And she's like, did you hear me? She's like, yeah. I just wanted to make sure you heard you.

39:54Oti: So good. How do you reckon those two had sex? Because she could well, because of her hollow bones, she could do pretty much anything.

40:04KT: Well, I guess that's how you get out of particular things. Probably. I'm banking that excuse. Don't you worry. Oh, Elizabeth Banks. Elizabeth oh, do you do you wanna go into love interest or you wanna go to the rest of the core cast?

40:04Oti: Love interest and then we'll divot through others.

40:04KT: So Elizabeth Banks is who well, Avery Jessup Mhmm. Is who Jack Donaghy ends up with. Yeah. Right? With Liddy? Liddy. Liddy with their child, and she actually gets stuck in North Korea. And Margaret Cho plays Kim Jong-il Mhmm.

40:40KT: As well. So there's, like, a little sub arc as well. But she was she was a fiery little Hot Pocket. She really was. Wasn't she? Yeah. And she actually had a show called the Hot Box. Right? Which is where I think they first met. And also, let's not forget that Jack Donaghy also kind of maybe had a relationship with Condoleezza Rice Yeah. As well. A lot a lot happened on 30 Rock. Yeah. But with Elizabeth Banks' character,

41:08KT: she was quite an interesting sort of dynamic. Right? And she gave it as much as Jack Donaghy did to Liz Lemon as well. Yeah.

41:16Oti: I did. Right?

41:19KT: Yeah. But she she was quite an interesting character as well. And it was interesting to see I can't remember who what her counterpart's name was, but the them tapping the pencils.

41:30Oti: Oh, when doing the Morse code. He had a really generic name, maybe Steve or something. Can't remember, but when they were captured in Korea.

41:38KT: Yeah. Yeah. He also had a maybe also fling with Diana Jessup who is played by Mary Steenburgen. I've seen her in quite a few things after, actually. Yeah. Yeah. And she kind of falls into a tryst with the other Baldwin. The Baldwin brother. Let's talk about

42:00Oti: Wait. They have some strong genes than Baldwins. Right?

42:07KT: Oh, yes. Fair. I think do you think they have stronger genes than, say, Hemsworths or Skarsgards?

42:14Oti: Oh, for sure. You can tell a Baldwin from miles away.

42:20KT: Yeah. Actually. Yeah. Well, there you go. Is that is that where you wanted it to go? Yeah.

42:29Oti: Okay.

42:30KT: You're welcome. Well, it went as far as you took it then. Let's talk about Julianne Moore. She plays Nancy Donovan from Boston. That's my Boston accent.

42:45Oti: Yeah. It was a pity that they didn't end up together. I was rooting for them.

42:48KT: I wanted them to be together too. And when he was trying to figure out who's better, and he had a whole math equation about it as well. He was trying to figure out because Nancy Donovan, Julianne Moore's character is who he was. Yeah. And, you know, you you don't need to put up a wall because she knows who you are and this is who you are. But Avery Jessup makes him the man that he wants to be. Mhmm. Right? And, yeah, I was definitely rooting for Julianne Moore's character. I liked hearing her accent.

43:20KT: If anyone is from Boston, let us know if that is an authentic accent. But Julianne Moore is a motherfucking treasure.

43:27Oti: Yeah. Even if it wasn't authentic, she fucking makes it.

43:32KT: She does so well in everything. But let's continue because I I I'm about to start a love fest, and I think I already have one pending. I'll start it. Well, actually, there's quite a lot of love interests. And when I was writing it down, I think he had more than Liz Lemon. Well, you know, it's Alec Baldwin. Yeah. Yeah. You ungrateful pigs. We have Edie Falco playing Celeste Cunningham.

44:02Oti: Yeah. I forgot about it.

44:09KT: Love how they made a Lifetime movie out of her, and I'll need to get the the full name of it. But, you know, essentially, the neighbor's dog shot my face off. When you have, like, some Jack Russell Yeah. Sort of dog shooting her. And, you know, Jack Donaghy is saying, I didn't know it was you. Now it makes sense because you're making love like an ugly girl. Very generous

44:34Oti: Yeah. Is the point. I hated her. I hated her in Sopranos, but she she was really good in this. As Ka Carmel? Carmen.

44:43KT: Camilo? Camilo? Whatever. As Edie Falco. That's Edie Falco. Yeah. She was a problem in Sopranos, but I loved her in Oz.

44:52Oti: Yeah. And and Nurse

44:54KT: I haven't watched Nurse Jackie, but

44:54Oti: You've not watched anything.

44:54KT: I will I will wholeheartedly endorse it just on the fact that Edie Falco's in it. But she I don't really know titles because I'm not American. But she was fighting for it's it was essentially the equivalent of like Flint water, Michigan. But the kids were swimming in the lake and their skin turned orange, which for for some people lacking melanin, they walk around looking orange anyway with their with their fake noticed. With their with their fake tan, but I guess this was a unintended

45:28KT: orange moment. Mhmm. Yes. So, you know, them battling their morality and code of ethics. I thought that was quite cute and they were talking about, you know, just leaving that world behind and they'll go heirloom potatoes, which is very cute. Yeah. Very nice. But, you know, I thought maybe it's not hard because he had such gorgeous counterparts, but, you know, it was nice. It was nice to see him interact with his love interests. Yeah. Speaking of the double d category, she's more than a double d. Salma Hayek? Salma Hayek.

46:09KT: What cup size do you think she is?

46:09Oti: I have no idea.

46:09KT: Let's invest. Let's invest some money because I wanna know. These are pertinent questions of the For Your Reference household.

46:09Oti: It's all about titties, mate.

46:09KT: Who plays Elisa. And we later find out that she killed her husband because she loved too much. And there was a song made about her, and it had Zach Braff in it. Elisa. Elisa. Actually, 30 Rock has a lot of fun songs on the side.

46:09Oti: It does.

46:44Oti: My favorite is Muffin Top.

46:47KT: My Muffin Top is all that. Oh, there are no fat I don't know the words. Oh, I I was waiting you for to start moaning. So but, yes, we have Salma Hayek's character, and it's like all of the things you want Salma to say, she says it in this when she talks about a McFlurry. And when they're when they're at the church and they're going to mass and Jack Donaghy is trying to hold the table Mhmm. And, you know, she she was talking about how he's all about work and

47:26KT: she she said something. She's like, you've got big something. And he's like, you've got big boobs. And she's like, and you're never going to see that again. He's like, oh, this has taken an unfortunate turn of events. And she says, you won't get to see the crazy underwears I have on. I don't know. It's just like, it's very important to know who was on your show and write for them. Because that that was primo content. And how she would

47:53KT: how Jack will moonlight and the the patient that she was looking after would be like, a man comes at night. And he takes us to the dinosaurs.

48:03Oti: This is also where we had the Telemundo show. Right?

48:05KT: Generalissimo. Yes. Yes. So good. So good. And there are there are so many different, you know, intonations in regards to 30 Rock 30 Rock. Before we continue moving along, I just wanna mention for Celeste Cunningham's character, Tracy Morgan is is essentially the hype man for Jack Donaghy. You know, pretty much getting being like, go and get your girl. And he says, tell her you want to donate her body to science and your science. Tell her, Jack. Tell her her booty looks like a apple. You wanna take a bite. Oh,

48:45KT: wow. This show is amazing. So let's keep going. Let's continue. Before we leave Jack Donaghy's world, I just wanna talk about Maulik Pancholy who plays Jonathan. Yeah. I can't leave. And then he had a whole montage. He made, like, a little collage of him and Jack. Do you remember that? He was adorable. He really loved Jack. And he always tried to keep Liz Lemon away.

49:12Oti: So good. I think it was was competition, essentially, for Jack's attention. Oh, definitely. Mhmm. 100%.

49:19KT: Before we move on from Jack Donaghy's character, I do just wanna mention Milton Greene. But one of the most amazing, like, sub arcs that you have in 30 Rock is when Jack Donaghy finds out that he has a Mamma Mia. And Liz Lemon helps him get the Mamma Mia together. And we find out that Alan Alda is actually Jack Donaghy's father. Yeah. But he needs a kidney. So they end up having, like, a benefit show in regards to that. And and they did not come to play. Mary J. Blige, Clay Aiken,

49:54KT: Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Adam Levine, a whole slew of genuine musicians Yeah. Singing a song about a kidney.

50:05Oti: Yeah. That was brilliant. And Wyclef was in there as well. Oh, you can't have these things without Wyclef. And obviously, Jenna Maroney. The star of the show.

50:16KT: So good. But that that's one of my favorite. And don't ask me what my absolute favorite episode of 30 Rock is. That's just cruel.

50:26Oti: Yeah. All of them are your favorite. Thank you. You're welcome. We stan. Look at you.

50:32KT: Let's talk about Jenna Maroney.

50:36Oti: She is the most ridiculous character I've seen

50:41KT: Oh, yeah.

50:41Oti: In any show.

50:41KT: Oh, yeah. And what I love about Jane Krakowski is she is genuinely beautiful, gorgeous, talented. She can act. She can sing, but she also doesn't take herself too seriously so she makes fun of it as well. And that's quite nice because one of the first sort of introductions that we have to her her crazy sort of character is her singing on the boat. Right? Yeah. Where Tracy Jordan is like, do you sing? She's like, no. I don't. She grabs a mic and starts singing.

51:15KT: And then later on, you see in the papers, she's like passed out on the boat. Right? And Jack was like, you need to Liz was like, you need to make it up to her. And Jack's like, no. She'll like it. And she genuinely like, she does everything for attention. Genocide with her website. Yeah. She's so so good. Oh, and remember she was auditioning for an episode of Gossip Girl?

51:40Oti: She closed in

51:43KT: she was reading the parts of the child and not the mother.

51:48Oti: Fire Oh, up.

51:49KT: She I fucking I fucking love it. And I'm glad that she continued on in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

51:57Oti: One of her favorite scenes for me was when she was doing the movie, The Rural Juror. Rural Juror. And they had, like, a minute of sunlight, and she still dunked it. Like, bloody hell. She's she's amazing.

52:13KT: She is amazing. Just the one citation. That was actually for another movie. It's Oh, it wasn't for the Rural fine. It's fine. What was it for? She was like a werewolf doctor. Oh,

52:24Oti: I don't remember that. Oh, kudos. I always thought it was for the Rural Juror. The Rural Juror.

52:33KT: Oh, wow. And Muffin Top. And when she had that little rivalry with Weird Al Oh, yeah. I am kidnapped. So good. She just she just radiates everything. So good. Fucking love Jenna Maroney and her mom, Verna.

52:54Oti: Yeah. That was a bit sad. Yeah. It it was sad.

52:58KT: And sometimes, you know, you grow up to realize that your parents are human, and sometimes that means they're trash. Right? And Verna was. But she did have an arrangement with Jack Donaghy. But one of my favorite moments when she was, throwing a birthday party for Jenna, and they started singing, do that to me one more time. Once is never enough. And and Liz is like, why why aren't you emotional over this? And Jack's like, because I'm listening to the words. So good. And then, like, even hearing Jenna's backstory,

53:35KT: you know, and, you know, everything that she's gone through, and apparently, she received her schooling on an immigration boat. It's it's a whole thing. It's a whole it's a whole thing. And the running joke they have about her and Mickey Rourke Oh, yeah. As well. Poor Mickey Rourke. They also have a running joke about OJ Because she was talking about going to an audition and how OJ was supposed to pick her up, and she called OJ. And OJ is like, wait, you're alive? Who did I kill then?

54:11KT: Oh, there there are just some really good, really, really good moments. And I'm so glad that Jenna found her love in Will Forte, in Paul. Oh. Obviously, Jenna impersonator.

54:26Oti: Oh, of course. But who else? Who else? Yeah. Who else?

54:30KT: And I also I also really loved the when she was getting with Habsburg prince Gerhardt as well when she was dancing, and he he loved it so much his eyebrow fell off. And so He died. Right? He did. He did. I don't even know. It's it's too late to say spoilers now. Let's get into Tracy Jordan.

54:54Oti: Yeah. Hard to love, but once you love him, it's unstoppable.

55:01KT: He's the third heat, baby. I love when they go to Taste Temptations or Taste Tastations, which is a strip club that he goes with Liz Lemon. And they this is one of the because we reference stuff a lot in the For Your Reference household just in normal conversation. And one of our favorite ones is, no, that's charisma over there. And when when Tracy Morgan was trying to be more serious when he was trying to EGOT Yep. And they go back to the strip club and instead of,

55:37KT: you know, all of the dancers dancing for him, they actually start crying and trying to get advice from Tracy Morgan. And he's like, they're crying on their titties, Liz Lemon. But and then he was he was in that movie Hard to Watch Yeah. As well. Oh, but Tracy dropped everything. Right? And when he was trying to EGOT, one of the only people that have EGOT successfully is Whoopi Goldberg. Right? So he goes over and, you know, after speaking to her, he actually tries to steal one. Yeah. Right? And

56:12KT: before before he can actually grab it, Whoopi Goldberg is like, colored man, Put that down. Put that down. And Whoopi Goldberg also because of the George Foreman grill that Tracy Tracy Jordan decided not to sell, she did it. Mhmm. Right? So that was quite funny as well, I really enjoyed that. But expanding his family, Sherri Shepherd Yep. As Angie, so good. Oh, yeah.

56:40KT: She has sass for days. She has sass for days. And when they're when they're about to or when they're having sex, they're like, you can leave the room, but it's happening right now. That's something we like to adopt as well. Yeah. We tell that to our dog all the time. Role play, babe. Oh, but it's so good. And Werewolf Bar Mitzvah.

57:04Oti: Spooky scary.

57:06KT: Something very interesting. They actually recorded a full feature song on Yeah. But then Tracy Morgan disappeared, or he just didn't come for the rest of it. So they actually had Donald Glover impersonating his voice. Right?

57:23Oti: So good. Hilarious.

57:25KT: So good. But yeah. And then it spawned off into Queen of Jordan, which is one of my favorite inside shows inside of 30 Rock. So you have, obviously, Angie. You have D'Fwan, which is the first time we've been introduced to Titus. And Dominon. Yep. Yes. Thank you. I'll take another slice, please. And it's so good. And Brandy, the lady that has a stripper studio, which is where Frank and Susan Sarandon go Yep. For a cute little date, if that's what you wanna call it.

57:59KT: But it's so good. Queen of Jordan was very good, and I love how Jenna constantly tried to get in the clique. And she was throwing she was she she essentially drank all of her throwing wine, which is a whole mood. It is. It is a whole mood. But we also have in Tracy's entourage, we have Grizz and Dotcom. And they're actually genuine friends of Tracy Morgan.

57:59Oti: Oh, are they?

57:59KT: Yeah. And Dotcom, who is Kevin Brown, actually, at one point was his manager.

57:59Oti: That's nice.

57:59KT: Isn't that fun? Yeah. And that's I guess that just gives more layering

58:40KT: when they have that bodyguard sequence. When he said, and I will always love you. Oh, another fun sort of cover that they do as well is when Kenneth goes over to the Jordan's house to make love to Angie, and Dotcom starts singing this ain't no ordinary love. So good. There is so much to unpack in this, but unfortunately, we don't have all the time in the world. I also just wanna pinpoint Ridikolus played by LL Cool J.

59:14Oti: Yeah.

59:16KT: With the Source Awards, where Liz Lemon inadvertently shoots Wayne Brady for reaching into his bag. So good. So good. And Wayne Brady, his name is Steven, but I think their last name was Black, wasn't it? Yeah. Because Jack Donaghy mentions it, and he's like, no. No. No. It's not a racist thing. That's just their name, and they're not good swimmers either. But you have Wayne Brady's character, and he

59:47KT: he is just and he is just like a super nerd. And he talks about Star Wars who Liz Lemon, she's obsessed. And, obviously, you see Princess Leia and other Star Wars references throughout 30 Rock. And he's like, no. No. No. No. No. I mean, the actual book. And let me just say this because I know a lot of our friends and fellow potties love Star Wars. If Liz Lemon slash Tina Fey can't get me into Star Wars, then there's no hope in the world.

60:14Oti: I'm not gonna fuck that.

60:17KT: And and there's no point. I also wanna mention Denise Richards also features on 30 Rock when they speak on behalf of all of the idiots. That was quite a nice moment as well. So I just wanted to make sure I mentioned that. But let's move on. Let's talk about the other core cast that we have. Scott Adsit plays Pete Hornberger.

60:42Oti: Oh, he you feel sorry for Pete. You do. Even when he's he's supposedly happy, you still feel sorry for him. Yeah. He he's that character that,

60:54KT: you know, is in a relationship in college and they end up having a baby. Yeah. Don't guys. Well, you know, that that that part of your life is redacted in the in the official government documents. But Pete Hornberger is, you know, all of the parts of you that feel like you're not doing well in your life. You know, there was the poker night where he pretty much gambled everything, including his wedding ring. Right? There was also the night of MILF Island when he gets stuck in the vending machine.

61:27KT: And he throws things at the phone and he just needs to get four digits and he ends up calling his own. Just the the the world does not shine brightly on Pete Hornberger No. Unfortunately. And I love how there's a little sub arc that he was a medalist in the Olympics for archery as well.

61:47Oti: Yeah. He came in second, I think. Yeah. Yeah.

61:51KT: Which is amazing. Right? Just like Ray from Archer. Archer was like, you came third. Yeah. From the world.

62:00Oti: As long as it's not gold, mate, doesn't count for shit. Hornberger.

62:06KT: And how he how he ends up cheating his death and living his own life. And a year later, Paula comes up with the kids and the van and is like, get in. Yeah.

62:16Oti: The wife pretty much knew and you just gave him a break for pretty much a year. Oh, totally. So good. Oh, thanks.

62:25KT: So good. And just just amazing. And he's known Tina Fey since 1994. Oh, shit. They're in Second City together. Oh. But I love it. And, oh, there was also a segment where he had the wig.

62:40Oti: He looks weird with hair.

62:43KT: He kinda looks great.

62:47Oti: No, man. He's gotta keep that bald head.

62:47KT: He doesn't do it for you?

62:47Oti: No.

62:47KT: Okay. Let me keep working on my Colin Firth wig for you then.

62:47Oti: No. I already got you a poster of him, so put it up there.

63:00KT: It's getting worn out. Oh, but we we love ourselves. Pete Hornberger sort of moment. He just doesn't care about his job, but he's he has enough pulse in him to keep going, essentially. Let's talk about Kenneth the Page.

63:17Oti: Oh, Kenneth.

63:19KT: So his character is from Stone Mountain, and Donald Glover also grew up there. And a lot of the writing for Kenneth's character was spawned off Donald Glover. Oh, yeah? Not to say there were his experiences, but he had obviously a frame of reference, if you'll pardon the reference. One of the one of the sort of scenes that I enjoy is when he's going to his train. I missed it. On that Midnight Train to Georgia. Yeah. I remember that. Gladys Knight comes out as well. Oh, it it's a powerhouse.

63:58KT: Yes. Tina Fey has been on SNL and, you know, it might be easier to have connections to bring people in, but they use it so pointedly and so succinctly. So definitely definitely enjoy that. Kenneth also had a running joke that he was older than he seemed.

64:17Oti: Yeah. There's, like, videos from ages ago when show up in the background. Yeah. It was literally The Shining, like, in this.

64:25KT: One of the sequences was when Liz and Pete were trying to figure out how old well, of all, Toofer and also how old Tracy Morgan was. So they were they were trying to figure out if Tracy knew any songs because apparently they grew up at around the same time. And they were singing the song It Takes Two. Right? So they started rapping and Tracy didn't know it. And then Kenneth comes in the hallway and he starts singing the song. So good.

64:57KT: So it's just like, oh, you can write a show or you can immortalize your legacy. I said it. Pow pow. Come for me. I'm the sheriff in daddy Wood, my friends. But, yeah, Kenneth the page. And then there was this whole segment about, like, the page program. Donnie, who was the head of the pages, is actually our guy in Black Monday. It is. Yeah. He he has, like, a Nickelodeon cartoon face. Right?

65:27KT: Actually, so does Jack McBrayer. So there you go. And Jack McBrayer is also in the Touch My Body Mariah Carey music video, which I always get a kick out of as well. Let's talk about Tootha Toofer, Frank Rossitano, Lutz.

65:42Oti: Yeah. There's three stooges if you have them. Yeah. Pretty much.

65:47KT: Pretty much.

65:49Oti: So Toofer is this what what's the term?

65:53KT: He's a Toofer. He's a what's the prestigious is it Harvard? Yeah. He's a Harvard graduate, and he's also black. So is it Toofer?

66:02Oti: Two for one. He's a diversity double whammy. Yeah.

66:08KT: He is. And apparently, it kind of modeled what SNL is. So you have, like, really smart, like, Harvard sort of graduates, so like a Colin Jost. And then you also have, like, you know, on the ground sort of comedians, like Michael Che, for example. Right? So that was Frank and Toofer, and they shared that office. Right? Lutz is kinda deplorable. I do appreciate that Kellan Lutz is his nephew. Hey, Twilight fans. Because that's literally all Kellan Lutz has done. Notable, The

66:44KT: lady that plays Sue is actually married to Lutz in real life. Yeah. You told me that. So that's quite cute as well. Cerie. She's fun. Lot. Yeah. No. But she's fun. Like, she like, she she'll she'll make backhand comments, she obviously, there's no malice in it as well. Obviously, she's sexualized on the show. One of the moments that I like is when Liz Lemon's character is trying to instill, you know, some some of her values, because I'm not gonna say, sorry, he didn't have values. Right? And she's like, you need to wear a brassiere.

67:24KT: And Cerie's, like, bouncing up and down. She's like, no. Don't. Look. Shout outs to the titty owners that can do that because my swing low sweet chariots have no chance. They'll be in two different postcodes. It's just not gonna happen.

67:24Oti: Oh, that's why I'm there, mate.

67:24KT: Exactly. Goodness me. Can we talk about doctor Leo Spaceman? Yeah. Chris Parnell. Figgis. Yeah. Cyril Figgis and also Jerry from Rick and Morty. And he's also an s n r SNL alumni as well. But there's there's so many quotable quotes for doctor Leo Spaceman.

68:04KT: And, you know, one one of the ones where Don Geiss' character passes out, and Jack's like, can you help? Can you help? And he's like, I can't find the heart. It's different for every person. He's just it's so good. And then when he sees Angie about to give birth, he's like, oh, I'm not really sure what to do. Usually, my experience is actually getting women pregnant, putting babies in women.

68:33Oti: It's weird because I think I didn't like the over the top characters in this. Like, Spaceman was same with Tina Fey's agent. I just didn't resonate with them enough to like them You're as a

68:47KT: a whole. A whole that will be unblemished.

68:52Oti: The best kind.

68:54KT: But the most unloved, unfortunately. There you go. There's a sound bite. But I I really enjoyed doctor Leo Spaceman and how on the live episodes, he was singing songs from his intercourse album as well. Just so good. Just so good. And let let's continue because we have other characters we need to mention. Subhas, the janitor, was actually a genuine employee of Silvercup Studios, which is where they film. Hot ass. Yeah. And then they had a whole little arc for him. Yeah. It was quite cute as well. Let's talk about Liz Lemon's love interests.

69:38KT: Oh. Because there's quite a lot. You can choose.

69:42Oti: Wesley Snipes.

69:43KT: My luscious plum. Anyone that calls Tina Fey a luscious plum is going to heaven in my book.

69:52Oti: Did you know of Wesley Snipes when you watched this?

69:55KT: I know who Wesley Snipes is. I know who Wesley Snipes is. But just like his character, when you hear the name Wesley Snipes, do you imagine the movie star, or do you imagine a pasty Englishman? And I love how he refers to his bike as a footcycle and how he mentioned that they have the equivalent of friends. I'll be there for you when the rain's fall in Wales. Chums. So good. And he also

70:32KT: you know, it it gets to a point where Liz Lemon is trying to figure out what to do with her life, and he coins it as settling soulmates Yeah. Which is very grim.

70:40Oti: It is grim, but they were not compatible.

70:45KT: I don't know, but Michael Sheen is kind of everything. Wouldn't your soul wanna settle and mate with him?

70:52Oti: Not at the expense of my sanity. Right? Yeah.

70:57KT: But he is great. Let's talk about my best friend for life, Dean Winters.

71:04Oti: He is that bad smell that just won't go.

71:08KT: Rude.

71:09Oti: He is.

71:11KT: He's the he's the rat king. He's the beeper king. He comes with the territory. You know what I love? One of the favorite moments that I love about Dennis and Liz is when he's at her place, and he also brings his cousin with his dog with a Great Dane or his brother. And she's trying to kick him out. And he's like, I love you. She's like, get out. He's like, I claim squatters' rights. And Liz is like, which one? Do you love me or are you claiming squatters' rights?

71:42KT: He's just a great he's just a great character. I fucking love Dean Winters. And aside from the core cast, Dean Winters is one of the only people that appeared in every season.

71:53Oti: Oh.

71:53KT: You're welcome.

71:53Oti: That's a really nice nitpick. But then, I'd like to say this.

71:58KT: Okay.

72:00Oti: You gave me grief for liking Lawrence in Insecure.

72:00KT: Okay.

72:00Oti: Don't you think Lawrence and Dean Winters in this are a bit similar?

72:00KT: How?

72:00Oti: They're both bums.

72:11KT: Yeah. But he wasn't pretending to be anything else. You know, one of okay. Let's let's continue just to make sure we can mention all the other characters. One of my favorite lines from Dennis Duffy is and it pretty much encapsulates him as a character. Right? Because they're talking about beepers. And Liz is like, you know, beepers are being phased out. And he's like, no. That's just it. Technology is cyclical.

72:38Oti: It comes back.

72:42KT: It doesn't work that way. It just doesn't work that way. Oh, but fucking hell. Love Jason Sudeikis is Floyd.

72:42Oti: Nah. He's crap, man.

72:42KT: Got that old leather pumpkin?

72:42Oti: Yeah. He's crappy.

72:42KT: He Yeah. To bring his wife back just to pay for the wedding. Yeah. Yeah. That's dodgy. That's dodgy. We talked about Jon Hamm a little bit.

73:03KT: I love how progressively we realize how dumb he is, but it's not necessarily that he's dumb. It's more you know, good looking people don't have to work as hard because he's in the bubble, right, where he pretends to speak French, and it's the same as Jack Donaghy. It's just indecipherable Yeah. Non French. Right? But, you know, one of the funny sort of anecdotes is he thought he saw one of his sports coaches in Africa. Yeah. And he lost both of his hands.

73:37Oti: Yeah. Yeah. He's dumb. I don't know why he backpedalled on that. He's dumbass.

73:43KT: Just amazing. Just amazing. Matt Damon plays Carol. That was The quite emotional pilot. The emotional pilot. No. No. Don't cry. It'd be okay. That's Liz Lemon. But, yeah, they they had quite an interesting sort of dynamic. And I guess the way it fizzled is they were too similar and they were too stubborn. Yeah. I also wanna mention Peter Dinklage. Oh. Because we fucking love him, and I'm glad he was on the show. But, yeah, she mistakes him as a child

74:14KT: Mhmm. Which is quite funny in its own sort of story. And she ends up with James Marsden. Yeah. He has such a nice, handsome, Disney ish face. True. The first time I saw him was in Enchanted, I think. I can't remember what I first saw him in, but he's been around. Yeah. And it's nice. It was nice. And his character was Criss Chros, and he had his hot dog van. Full circle. Full circle. But, yeah, let let let's leave it there in regards to her love interest. But what an amazing show. And,

74:52KT: you know, I I will continue to watch this in amongst the garbage. It's like a palette cleanser. You know? The garbage that you make me watch, I can I can weave in between my 30 Rock? Definitely. But let's just do a rapid fire on all of the guest stars on 30 Rock. So we have Jerry Seinfeld for SeinfeldVision. That was one of the funniest things because NBC had so many hours of footage of him on Seinfeld. They were just gonna insert him

75:22KT: into random shows. One of the funniest one is when he was inserted into MILF Island. Yeah. It was so good. We also had Queen Latifah as Regina Bookman, and she would she would start to grandstand. And when I start talking like this, I don't know where I'm going with it.

75:43Oti: So Say it every black person ever.

75:48KT: And we also have Kelsey Grammer as Frasier. So him, Jenna, and Kenneth's character run a short grift and the long con with the cakes. That was that was hilarious on its own little story. Right? We also have Al Gore. There's a whale in trouble. Also, in the same episode, your best friend David Schwimmer as Greenzo Mhmm. Is in there. I also wanna give some accolades to Steve Buscemi. Oh. Yes.

76:20KT: He plays Lenny. Oh, dear lord. And I don't know if in his other roles, he he denotes to how lizard ish he looks. But he talks about his wet eyes, and he, like, blinks.

76:33Oti: And he also oh, I can't in Boardwalk Empire. So

76:37KT: He's yeah. He's all ass. And he he dresses up as a teacher, he wears a wig. I can't remember what that lady's name is, but I'll look it up. I was on that cover as a kid, as as a teenager. Yeah. How do you do, fellow kids? So good. Michael Keaton was also in, I think, just one episode. And the the funniest thing was he was like, oh, this is my last day. This is my last day. He ends up getting shot. That was also the same episode where they had the gas leak,

77:06KT: where Dennis kept turning it on so Liz Lemon would come back to him. You'll be back, Liz, with balloon boy. We also have Megan Mullally playing Bev, who's the adoption. So that was quite good as well. Weird Al, Balpo, otherwise known as Oprah. We talked about Margaret Cho. Will Ferrell as Bitch Hunter, which is also another one of the shows. We had Sean Hayes as Jack McBrayer, Kenneth's cousin. We also had Matthew Broderick, who was called Cooter Burger. When Jack Donaghy was in, like, a government sort of role, we have pens.

77:47KT: But there were pen lids, unfortunately. Conan O'Brien, Aaron Sorkin also makes an appearance. I'm not sure if you remember that. And Carrie Fisher, which is one of my favorite lines that Jack says to Liz, never follow a hippie to a second location.

78:04Oti: Truer words. I've never been spoken.

78:07KT: But thank you so much, guys. As you can hear, I definitely could have kept going. And my love will continue to go on for 30 Rock. So let's get into For Your Reference.

78:25Oti: Dare you?

78:27KT: Yeah. Shant you? Shall you?

78:31Oti: I'll recommend Last O.G. It's obvious.

78:31KT: Nice.

78:31Oti: Tracy Morgan is there. It's hilarious. If you get Tracy Morgan comedy, this is the epitome of everything that he's pretty much is. So it's amazing. It's funny. I think the two seasons out already. Just binge watch it like we did.

78:53KT: And that comes out of the mind grapes of Jordan Peele who understands, you know, the humor.

78:57Oti: And how to write for him for sure.

79:01KT: So good. Plus Tiffany Haddish as well. And and and it also has Kenneth McBrayer. Kenneth McBrayer. Jack McBrayer for, like, one episode, which is quite nice as well.

79:01Oti: Nice.

79:01KT: Yeah. Thank you for coming to the table. Appreciate it.

79:01Oti: I'll bring the table, mate. I'll bring the ass for the table.

79:01KT: I will recommend two shows, Arrested Development and Community.

79:01Oti: Oh, nice.

79:01KT: If you've if you loved 30 Rock and you're looking for shows that have substance and layered writing with relatable, lovable, laughable characters, these are the shows you definitely need to check out.

79:43KT: And here is a payoff. Thank you so much, Oti, in particular, for letting us do this episode on 30 Rock. If you wanna follow us on a day to day sort of basis on Twitter and Instagram, we are @ForYourRefPod. If you wanna send us an email. It's hello@fyrpodcast.com. We also have a YouTube, guys.

79:43Oti: Sure do.

79:43KT: So make sure you definitely check that out. And if you'll be so kind, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.

79:43Oti: Yeah. Thank you.

79:43KT: And see you.

80:15Oti: Bye.