Okay, fine, I admit it. Maybe I’ve been a little too judgmental of Jenna. She was good in this episode. She isn’t a complete waste of space. Though she is significantly more palatable when she’s on adventures with Tracy. I think that’s mostly because Tracy’s hilarious.
Let me just say Brian Williams is a man among men. His cameos where he makes fun of himself are probably my favorite cameos, second only to Matthew Broderick as one of Dubya’s unhappy hacks, Chris Parnell’s Dr. Spaceman (pronounced “shah-CHE-mun”) and Diana Ross as the queen of soul herself.
I really love the cameos of NBC players because it makes the whole backdrop of TGS being an NBC show all the more believable. And now the breaking-the-fourth-wall bits make more sense to me — it’s just a show about a show! I don’t know why that never occurred to me.
I wish Hornberger had more shows where he were as central as this episode. He’s one of my favorite people on TGS, and whenever he’s around, he’s hilarious. I love his tirade at Liz when she allows Dotcom to audition, thereby ruining “the Hornberger System”:
Liz: Come on, it’s just Dotcom!
Pete: It won’t be! Because THIS is what you’re doing! [moving hands in a circle parallel to the ground]
Liz: I’m driving a bus?
Pete: No, you…you’re opening the floodgates!
Liz: With a horizontal wheel?
Pete [jumping around crazily]: FLOODGATE WHEELS ARE HORIZONTAL!
I like Jack’s little forays into the “bottom of the pyramid.” The last one I remember him doing is when he got fired and worked his way back up from a mail room clerk. It’s always funny to see him way out of his element, although I’m a little tired of him being so central — I watch the show for TGS and all that it entails, not for Jack. You can definitely see that the show since the beginning has shifted from being Liz-centric to a much more ensemble cast. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing.
There wasn’t much I didn’t like about this episode. They’ve done a good job of moving the season plot along at a decent pace, not rushing, but not dwelling too much.
On an unrelated note, I loved Grizz’s seagull he made for Dotcom. How touching.
I’ll leave you with this gem:
Jenna: Pete and Liz want to hire this guy, Jaden. He’s evil Tracy!
Tracy: [afraid] He’s Evil Tracy?
Jenna: [puzzled]
Tracy: Ooooohhhh! He’s evil COMMA Tracy! Go on.
Look at me! I’m quoting Jenna! It’s a Day-After-Guy-Fawkes Day MIRACLE!
