Episode 13 - Sucession
6 January 2009
Review
Synopsis: Don Geiss names Jack the new chairman of GE. Jack thinks Liz should replace him and so he brings her to his corporate meetings. But Devon Banks is in town for his bachelor party and when Geiss slips into a diabetic coma, Banks seizes control of the company. Meanwhile Tracy wants to find a project to make his children proud of him. He decides on creating a porn video game.
The Good: Jack and Liz’ relationship has become pretty convincing over the last two years. By virtue of always being wrong, Liz has slowly become converted to Jack’s wealth and power orientated way of living. So here their affection for one another is plausible and pleasant.
They both look more real and likeable than they often do as a result. Jack shows relatable emotions when he cries upon being told of his promotion and feeling sorry for Devon’s impending loveless marriage. He even slips in some nice jokes along the way: “When will this be made public sir? I want my mother to know before she dies so she goes to her grave a defeated woman.”
Meanwhile Liz leaps to Jack’s defence when Banks threatens him and hugs him when she hears of his promotion. Her own joy at the prospect of being promoted is fun to watch (See Comic Highlight) and it wouldn’t be 30 Rock if she didn’t screw it all up somehow. So while drunk literally and metaphorically with her own success, she allows Geiss to slip into his coma. It’s actually a nice lesson for her to learn, she was so giddy about the prospect of success that she allowed it all to come crashing down.
The Bad: Tracy’s porn video game is an odd story though we shall see where it goes. It doesn’t seem realistic but the lack of good jokes is what really lets it down.
And the episode as a whole too. Much of the humour is typically obvious (“the head of the stress ball division hanged himself”) or stupid (Geiss’ hunting dogs being on the board of directors). But then they bring in Dr Spacemen to drag the whole thing down several notches. He is a very poorly written character because he is so incompetent that it isn’t credible that he is a doctor. “We have no way of knowing where the heart is. See every human is different” is one line, soon followed by “Is it 411 or 911?” He ruins the credibility of any scene he is in.
The scenes with Liz joining Jack’s corporate meetings are strange. Partly because all the other executives act as if they know her and like her well. I know the joke is that corporate life is not as difficult as you might think, but it is pretty unconvincing. But then Liz “pioneers” the button classic idea which Geiss and Jack both act like is a huge deal (despite being a swift drunken decision over lunch). Again I think it is meant to be corporate irony humour but it is so flippant that I feel it misses its target.
Comic Highlight: Jack writes down the starting salary which Liz would get if she accepts his job. She takes one look and slaps him across the face. Later on when drunk, Pete begs her not to leave him alone at TGS. She says he will become an executive too and shows him the starting salary. He of course looks shocked and slaps her across the face. She just looks back with a drunken smile and mouths “I know!”
The Bottom Line: This looks like the first in a three part season finale and as such it does a good job of setting up the next two parts. The writers have done a good job fostering a genuine, convincing friendship between Liz and Jack. It makes you wonder what they could achieve if they worked as hard on some of the other characters.
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