30 Rock – “Sandwich Day”

“Sandwich Day”

May 1^st, 2008

If there was something that I was missing in the first batch of post-strike episodes of 30 Rock, it was whimsy: while there was plenty of humour, there were few instances where the show was moving at the same pace that it had in the past. It hasn’t been poor, not at all, but this was the first time that things were moving at the same speed as we’ve seen before.

This week, everything just felt lighter: Liz felt more silly (in a good way), Jack felt more panicked, and the storylines felt like they were on a level that matched the usual madness of the storylines. To this point, it felt like the plots didn’t match the tone, and here we are with an episode that seems right.

That’s not to say it’s better than what we’ve seen: Floyd’s return pales in comparison to Dennis’, there was nothing close to last week’s expanded Amadeus metaphor, and the drinking contest storyline was fairly slight compared to some of the others we’ve seen. However, it was a breezy and enjoyable half hour nonetheless.

First off, there was some great stuff here: whether it’s Floyd using Ghostbusters for evil, Tracy’s ankle bracelet (Which Morgan has in real life), or that Floyd is the Michael Clayton of Cleveland, the episode was more chock full of jokes than the last few episodes. The plot might have been a bit all over the place, but the jokes were flying at full speed.

Bringing Floyd back to the equation was an inevitability, as Jason Sudeikis is always going to be around New York and her character is always susceptible to these types of flashes from her past. The only problem is that it was only two weeks ago that Dennis returned, and we saw Liz in a similar storyline: maybe it’s post-strike laziness, but they’re turning to Liz’s romantic side a bit too often for my taste.

I liked that, though, this time Liz was trying way too hard: with Dennis it was happening to her, but this time she had time to react, and Floyd is a very different presence and impact in her life. If Dennis makes her life too easy, Floyd makes her life too hard – nothing that needs wind machines is worth having, one could say. There was some great moments here, including strong continued use of Jenna as advice-giver (Her solution to get a guy to notice you: walk out of the bathroom and then give them your underwear), so it’s hard to necessarily complain.

The eponymous storyline, meanwhile, is very simple: much like Pretzel Day on The Office, it’s a day where people eat good food. Here, it’s Teamsters and a secret sandwich shop, but it is largely the same basic concept. Here, being 30 Rock and not the Office, things get a little more weird: there’s a drinking contest, there’s Liz being more than a little bit crazy when her sandwich gets eaten, and there’s comedy to be mined.

The storyline was decent on its own, mainly for moments like Tracy Jordan’s real-life ankle bracelet making an appearance or Kenneth discovering that he’s had alcohol (As Hill juice or some other name) since he was a baby, but it really came full circle when Liz had to make the final decision: does she throw away her sandwich in order to make sure she catches Floyd at his gate, or does she risk missing him and enjoy its monumental tastiness?

It’s a great ending for the episode, indulging in Fey’s ability to eat on camera and the importance of food to the episode as a whole. Between this and her slow-walk/Sundae eating on the treadmill, Fey had a great episode when it comes to physical comedy – she says she’s not an actor, but this all says otherwise.

I think part of the reason it didn’t quite click, though, was that Jack’s side of the storyline was not fully realized: with Geiss in a coma, and a Mark Wahlberg-loving Cathy in his office, Jack’s move to the 12^th Floor should have been comedy gold…and it just kind of sat there. His trajectory, to accepting a position with Homeland Security in the Bush Administration (Which is even worse than American Car Companies, so I guess Ford turned him down), sets things up for the future but was fairly flat as the half hour went on despite opening strong (With the introduction of the 12^th floor, Jonathan’s serenade/decopage poster, etc.)

Admittedly the episode could have done a bit more with some areas, such as Jack’s story, but it was certainly up to the show’s standards of being funny, witty and just a little bit off the wall. And, perhaps more than any other episode post-strike, I really felt like the pacing was where we expect it. I’m not sure if I prefer this pacing or the somewhat more delightfully haphazard stuff we’ve been seeing the last few episodes, but I’ll accept both for now.

Cultural Observations

• I don’t quite understand why, if Cathy is CEO, she is in Jack’s office as opposed to her father’s. I guess it could make sense in that he is not yet dead, and as a result that might be disrespectful, but I think the episode only briefly alluded to the reasoning being Devon using it as a tactic to drive Jack away, that should have been used more…but unfortunately, Will Arnett isn’t quite that available.
• Can we discuss how hot Tina Fey was during her seductress scenes? It was absolutely stunning, she should do that more often (And it was great to see it compared to her at her absolute worst, too).