30 Rock (season 4) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This article is about the fourth season of 30 Rock. For the episode entitled "Season 4", see Season 4 (30 Rock)
Season 4 (30 Rock)
"Season 4" is the first episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 59th 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 the...

The fourth season of 30 Rock
30 Rock
30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...

, an American television comedy

Television comedy

Television comedy had a presence from the earliest days of broadcasting. Among the earliest BBC television programmes in the 1930s was Starlight, which offered a series of guests from the music hall era — singers and comedians amongst them...

series, consists of 23 episodes and began airing on October 15, 2009, on the National Broadcasting Company

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

(NBC) network in the United States. The season was produced by Broadway Video

Broadway Video

Broadway Video is a media production and distribution company located within the Brill Building on Broadway, New York, United States. Founded in 1979 as a production house tasked with post-production work on Saturday Night Live, Broadway Video has since become one of the largest independent...

, Little Stranger, and NBC Universal; the executive producers were series creator Tina Fey

Tina Fey

Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live , the NBC comedy series 30 Rock, and films such as Mean Girls and Baby Mama .Fey first broke into comedy as a featured player in the...

, Lorne Michaels

Lorne Michaels

Lorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...

, Marci Klein

Marci Klein

Marci Klein is a four-time Emmy Award-winning American television producer who is best known for her work on 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live...

, David Miner

David Miner (television producer)

David Miner is an Emmy Award-winning American film and television producer who is best known for his work as an executive producer on NBC's 30 Rock and MTV's Human Giant. Miner is the manager of Tina Fey, 30 Rock's star and creator.-External links:...

, and Robert Carlock

Robert Carlock

Robert Carlock is an American television producer and screenwriter most widely known for his work as a writer for several NBC television comedies, particularly his work with Tina Fey as show runners for 30 Rock.-Early years:...

.

30 Rock is centered on The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan (TGS), a fictional sketch comedy

Sketch comedy

A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...

series, and its head writer

Head writer

A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...

Liz Lemon

Elizabeth Miervaldis "Liz" Lemon is the main character of the American television series 30 Rock. She is portrayed by Tina Fey, who is also the creator of the series and its showrunner.-Personal history:...

, portrayed by Fey. The series follows Lemon as she juggles her job and her personal life. Early in the season Jack Donaghy

Jack Donaghy

John Francis "Jack" Donaghy is a fictional character on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock. He is the Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming for General Electric and later Kabletown....

(Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin

Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...

) and Liz work to find a new cast member for TGS. The season also sees NBC being purchased by the fictional company Kabletown, a reference to the real-life acquisition of NBC Universal

NBC Universal

NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...

by cable company Comcast

Comcast

Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...

. Additionally, Liz has an ongoing relationship with a man she thought might be her "Future Husband" later in the season.

During the 2009–2010 upfront

Upfront

In the North American television industry, an upfront is a meeting hosted at the start of important advertising sales periods by television network executives, attended by the press and major advertisers...

presentation on May 19, 2009, NBC announced that the show's fourth season, following the precedent set by its third season, would premiere several weeks behind the rest of the network's Thursday night lineup following a multi-week run of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...

Weekend Update Thursday specials. On June 25, NBC released its full fall premiere schedule, with 30 Rock returning on October 15, 2009. The fourth season aired under NBC's promotional banner "Comedy Night Done Right" on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Eastern Time Zone

The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...

. The season drew 15 Primetime Emmy Award

Primetime Emmy Award

The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...

nominations, down from its previous record breaking totals of 17 and 22 in the second

30 Rock (season 2)

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. 30 Rock takes place behind the scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy series depicted as airing on NBC; the name refers to 30 Rockefeller...

and third

30 Rock (season 3)

The third season of 30 Rock, an American television comedy series, consists of 22 episodes and began airing on October 30, 2008 on the NBC network in the United States...

seasons, respectively. The season was released on DVD in the United States on September 21, 2010, as a three-disc set.

Synopsis

Season 4 continues with Liz's love advices proving to be a disaster for most of her male co-workers, while she meets someone who could be her love interest (Michael Sheen

Michael Sheen

Michael Christopher Sheen, OBE , is a Welsh stage and screen actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England and made his professional debut opposite Vanessa Redgrave in When She Danced at the Globe Theatre in 1991...

), despite being reluctant about it. She also attempts to buy an apartment located above hers. Meanwhile, Jack falls for two women and is forced to choose one of them - his high school sweetheart (Julianne Moore

Julianne Moore

Julianne Moore is an American actress and a children's book author. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for four Oscars, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards....

), or someone who is similarly successful as him (Elizabeth Banks

Elizabeth Banks

Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell , known professionally as Elizabeth Banks, is an American actress. Banks had her film debut in the low-budget independent film Surrender Dorothy...

) while trying to impress the Kabletown executives.
Tracy, yearning to be taken more seriously, tries to earn an EGOT while starring in the movie Hard to Watch and Jenna meets a new love interest who is also a straight

Heterosexuality

Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...

drag queen

Drag queen

A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...

(Will Forte

Will Forte

Orville Willis Forte IV, better known as Will Forte , is an American actor, voice actor, comedian and writer best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2002–2010 and for starring in the SNL spin-off film MacGruber.-Early life:Forte was born in Alameda County, California, the son of...

) and meets her mother, Verna (Jan Hooks

Jan Hooks

Janet V. "Jan" Hooks is an American actress and comedienne best known for her work on NBC's Saturday Night Live , on which she appeared from 1986 to 1991...

). However, things don't go well for Kenneth as certain events lead to endangering his job as an NBC page.

Select season-long arcs include NBC

NBC

being purchased by the fictional company Kabletown, a reference to the real-life acquisition of NBC Universal

NBC Universal

NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...

by Comcast

Comcast

. It is also revealed that fictional GE CEO, Don Geiss (Rip Torn

Rip Torn

Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn, Jr. , is an American actor of stage, screen and television.Torn received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1983 film Cross Creek. His work includes the role of Artie, the producer, on The Larry Sanders Show, for which he was nominated...

) had died. Jack also assigns the TGS crew to search for a new cast member. This prompts Josh Girard (Lonny Ross

Lonny Ross

Lonny Ross is a comedy actor and writer. He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work as Josh Girard on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock...

) to quit but eventually try, and fail to come back. Ultimately, the new cast member is Jack "Danny" Baker (Cheyenne Jackson

Cheyenne Jackson

Cheyenne Jackson is an American actor and singer. He started in regional theater when he moved to Seattle, and after moving to New York City, made his 2002 Broadway theatre debut understudying both male leads in the Tony Award-winning musical Thoroughly Modern Millie...

).

The season culminates in the wedding of Cerie and, still unseen character, Aris.

Crew

The fourth season was produced by Broadway Video

Broadway Video

, Little Stranger, and NBC Universal

NBC Universal

NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...

and was aired on the NBC network. The executive producers were series creator Tina Fey

Tina Fey

, Lorne Michaels

Lorne Michaels

, Marci Klein

Marci Klein

Marci Klein is a four-time Emmy Award-winning American television producer who is best known for her work on 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live...

, David Miner

David Miner (television producer)

, and Robert Carlock

Robert Carlock

. Jack Burditt

Jack Burditt

Jack Burditt is an American producer and screenwriter who has worked on many television shows.He has worked as a writer on the NBC comedy series 30 Rock...

, Matt Hubbard

Matt Hubbard

Matt Hubbard is an American television writer and screenwriter who has worked on many television shows. He graduated from Beverly High School, in Beverly, Massachusetts in the class of 1996, where he excelled in the English Department. He later went on to attend Harvard University where he was an...

, Jeff Richmond

Jeff Richmond

Jeffrey "Jeff" Wayne Richmond is an American composer, actor and television producer. Richmond currently produces and composes the music for 30 Rock, a sitcom created by and starring his wife Tina Fey.-Career:...

, John Riggi

John Riggi

John Riggi is an American television writer, producer, director, and actor who has worked on various television shows.He has worked as a writer on the NBC comedy series 30 Rock...

, and Ron Weiner

Ron Weiner

Ron Weiner is an American television writer. He has written for several shows, including 30 Rock, NewsRadio, Futurama, Arrested Development, Father of the Pride, and Help Me Help You....

acted as co-executive producers. The producers for the season were Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin

, Jerry Kupfer

Jerry Kupfer

Jerry Kupfer is an American television producer who has worked on shows such as 30 Rock and Strangers with Candy.-External links:...

, Paula Pell, and Don Scardino

Don Scardino

Don Scardino is an American television director and producer and a former actor.-Acting:Born in New York City, Scardino began his career as an actor. His first Broadway credit was as an understudy in The Playroom in 1965. Additional Broadway acting credits include Johnny No-Trump, Godspell, and...

with Diana Schmidt, Irene Burns, and Kay Cannon

Kay Cannon

Kay Cannon is an American television writer and actress who is best known for her work as an Emmy nominated writer and producer for the NBC series 30 Rock.-Biography:...

as co-producers.

There were eight directors through the season, two of which—series producer Scardino and Beth McCarthy-Miller

Beth McCarthy-Miller

Beth McCarthy or Beth McCarthy-Miller was the director of NBCs Saturday Night Live starting in 1995. She left SNL in 2006 at the end of season 31, replaced as director by Don Roy King...

—directed multiple episodes. There were six directors who each directed a single episode of the season: Riggi, Gail Mancuso

Gail Mancuso

Gail Mancuso is an American television director.- Select TV work :* Modern Family * $h*! My Dad Says * 30 Rock * Scrubs...

, Ken Whittingham

Ken Whittingham

Ken Whittingham is an American television director.His most notable directorial work includes a number of episodes from each of the television series 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Suburgatory, The Middle, Parenthood, The Bernie Mac Show, Scrubs, Everybody Hates Chris, The Office, My Name Is Earl,...

, Stephen Lee Davis, Millicent Shelton

Millicent Shelton

Millicent B. Shelton is an American music video, television and film director.Shelton has directed over a hundred music videos for artists such as Mary J. Blige, R...

, and Richmond. Writers credited with episodes in the fourth season included Fey, Carlock, Riggi, Hubbard, Weiner, Dylan Morgan & Josh Siegal, Jon Haller & Tracey Wigfield, Burditt, and Pell.

Cast

Tina Fey portrayed Liz Lemon

Liz Lemon

, the head writer

Head writer

of a fictitious live-sketch-comedy television series TGS. The TGS cast consists of two main actors. The lead actor is the loose cannon movie star Tracy Jordan

Tracy Jordan

Ogbert Jordan, better known by his stage name, Tracy, is a fictional character on the American television series 30 Rock, based on and played by Tracy Morgan.-Brief overview:...

, portrayed by Tracy Morgan

Tracy Morgan

Tracy Morgan is an American comedian who is best known for his eight seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and currently known for playing the role of Tracy Jordan on the NBC series 30 Rock.-Early life:...

. His co-star is the extremely narcissistic Jenna Maroney

Jenna Maroney

Jenna Maroney is a fictional character on the American television series 30 Rock, played by Jane Krakowski.-Fictional biography:Jenna was born Ystrepa Grokovitz on February 24, 1969 and grew up in Bakersfield...

, portrayed by Jane Krakowski

Jane Krakowski

Jane Krakowski is an American actress and singer. She is most well known for her performance of Elaine Vassal on Ally McBeal, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and for her current role as Jenna Maroney on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, for which she has been nominated for three Emmy...

. Josh Girard, portrayed by Lonny Ross

Lonny Ross

Lonny Ross is a comedy actor and writer. He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work as Josh Girard on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock...

, was a cast member in previous seasons but quit TGS in "Season 4

Season 4 (30 Rock)

"Season 4" is the first episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 59th 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 the...

". Jack "Danny" Baker (Cheyenne Jackson

Cheyenne Jackson

) is a new cast member hired during the season to replace Girard. Jack McBrayer

Jack McBrayer

Jack McBrayer is an American actor and comedian. He gained national exposure for his characters on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien"...

played the naïve NBC page

NBC page

An NBC page is a person usually in his or her early twenties working in various departments of the NBC television network during a one-year period as a training ground for careers in television broadcasting and entertainment...

Kenneth Parcell

Kenneth Ellen Parcell is a fictional character in the comedy television series 30 Rock. He is portrayed by actor Jack McBrayer and first appeared on television in the 30 Rock episode "Pilot" on October 10, 2006...

. Scott Adsit

Scott Adsit

Scott Adsit is an American actor, writer and improvisational comedian. He is currently co-starring as Pete Hornberger in the hit NBC comedy 30 Rock and worked in the Adult Swim stop-motion animation programs Moral Orel and Mary Shelley's Frankenhole.-1990s:After attending Columbia College Chicago,...

acted as the witty and wise TGS producer, Pete Hornberger. Judah Friedlander

Judah Friedlander

Judah Friedlander is an American actor and comedian, known for his trademark trucker hats, oversized glasses and unkempt appearance, which he retains in many of his screen roles.-Early life:...

portrayed trucker hat

Trucker hat

A trucker hat or mesh hat is a type of baseball cap. It is also sometimes known as a "gimme cap" or a "feed cap" because this style of hat originated as a promotional give-away from feed or farming supply companies to farmers, truck drivers, or other rural workers.The design of a trucker hat is...

-wearing staff writer Frank Rossitano. Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin

played the NBC network executive Jack Donaghy

Jack Donaghy

. Donaghy's full corporate title for the majority of the season is "Head of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming". Keith Powell

Keith Powell

Keith Powell is an American television actor who is best known for his role as James "Toofer" Spurlock on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock.-Career:Powell was the Producing Artistic Director of Contemporary Stage Company, a summer theater in Wilmington, Delaware...

played the Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

alumnus and TGS staff writer James "Toofer" Spurlock. Katrina Bowden

Katrina Bowden

Katrina Bowden is an American actress. She is known for her short role as Britney Jennings on One Life to Live and for her role as Cerie in 30 Rock .- Education :...

acted as writers' assistant Cerie Xerox. The cast featured recurring characters, including Maulik Pancholy

Maulik Pancholy

Maulik Pancholy is an American actor. He is best known for his recurring role as Sanjay on Weeds from 2005 to present, and his role as Jonathan on 30 Rock, which he has played since the show began in 2006....

as Jonathan, Grizz Chapman

Grizz Chapman

Grizzwald "Grizz" Chapman is an American television actor best known for his recurring role as Grizz on the NBC series 30 Rock. A June 2007 interview with rollingout.com lists Chapman's height as 6'10". In his commentary for the episode "Tracy Does Conan," Tracy Morgan revealed that they met when...

as Grizz Griswold, Kevin Brown

Kevin Brown (actor)

Kevin 'Dot Com' Brown is an American comedian, film and television actor, best known for his role on the series 30 Rock as "Dot Com".Brown also appeared as the lead in Marq Overton's one-man play Die Laughing in 2008 at the Diversity Players of Harlem and as an actor and executive producer of the...

as "Dot Com" Slattery, and John Lutz

John Lutz (television writer)

John Lutz is an American actor, writer and comedian.-Biography:The son of a Lutheran minister, Lutz grew up in suburban Chicago and Detroit. He attended Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana, where he was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, majoring in psychology and minoring in...

as J.D. Lutz.

The show regularly features guest stars. Steve Buscemi

Steve Buscemi

Steven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi is an American actor, writer and film director. An associate member of the renowned experimental theater company The Wooster Group, Buscemi has starred and supported in successful Hollywood and indie films including New York Stories, Mystery Train, Reservoir Dogs,...

plays private investigator Lenny Wosniak, while Will Arnett

Will Arnett

William Emerson "Will" Arnett is a Canadian actor and comedian best known for his role as George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II on the Fox comedy Arrested Development. He is also known for his role as Devon Banks on the NBC comedy 30 Rock. Since his success on Arrested Development, Arnett has landed major...

acts as Devon Banks, Jack's enemy. Cheyenne Jackson guest starred in this season as Danny Baker, the new cast member on TGS. Fey had seen Jackson in the Broadway musicals Xanadu
Xanadu (musical)
Xanadu is a musical comedy with a book by Douglas Carter Beane, music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, based on the 1980 cult classic film of the same name which was, in turn, inspired by the 1947 Rita Hayworth film Down to Earth. The title is a reference to the poem, Kubla Khan, or A...

and Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League...

, the latter starred Jane Krakowski. Fey set up a meeting with Jackson to interest him in a role on the program with him accepting. Bobb'e J. Thompson and Sherri Shepherd

Sherri Shepherd

Sherri Evonne Shepherd is an American comedienne, actress, and television personality. She is one of five co-hosts on the ABC daytime talkshow, The View, as well as being the current host of the Newlywed Game and having a recurring role as Angie Jordan on the NBC series 30 Rock...

returned as Tracy Jr. and Angie Jordan, respectively, the son and wife of Tracy Jordan. Dr. Leo Spaceman was played by Chris Parnell

Chris Parnell

Thomas Christopher "Chris" Parnell is an American comic actor best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1998–2006 and currently for his recurring role as Dr. Leo Spaceman on NBC's Emmy Award-winning comedy series 30 Rock. Parnell also voices Cyril Figgis on the FX animated comedy...

. Julianne Moore

Julianne Moore

and Elizabeth Banks

Elizabeth Banks

Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell , known professionally as Elizabeth Banks, is an American actress. Banks had her film debut in the low-budget independent film Surrender Dorothy...

appeared as Nancy Donovan and Avery Jessup, respectively, as love interests for Jack. Jan Hooks

Jan Hooks

Janet V. "Jan" Hooks is an American actress and comedienne best known for her work on NBC's Saturday Night Live , on which she appeared from 1986 to 1991...

acts as Verna Maroney, Jenna's mother. Jon Hamm, Jason Sudeikis

Jason Sudeikis

Daniel Jason Sudeikis is an American actor and comedian currently starring as a cast member on Saturday Night Live.-Early life:Sudeikis was born Daniel Jason Sudeikis in Fairfax, Virginia, the son of Kathryn , a travel agent who was president of the American Society of Travel Agents, and Dan...

, and Dean Winters

Dean Winters

Dean Winters is an American actor, who has portrayed Ryan O'Reily on HBO's Oz, Johnny Gavin on FX Network's Rescue Me, and Dennis Duffy on NBC's 30 Rock...

reprised their roles as Drew Baird, Floyd DeBarber, and Dennis Duffy, respectively, as former boyfriends of Liz. Michael Sheen

Michael Sheen

portrays Wesley Snipes, a man who believes that he and Liz are destined for each other. Anita Gillette

Anita Gillette

Anita Gillette is an American actress, most notable for her work on Broadway and as a celebrity guest on various game shows....

, Patti LuPone

Patti LuPone

Patti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les...

, and Elaine Stritch

Elaine Stritch

Elaine Stritch is an American actress and vocalist. She has appeared in numerous stage plays and musicals, feature films, and many television programs...

played Margaret Lemon, Sylvia Rossitano, and Colleen Donaghy, respectively, the mothers of Liz, Frank, and Jack, respectively. Matt Damon

Matt Damon

Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...

's character Carol is introduced as a love interest in the season finale.

Reception

Robert Canning of IGN

IGN

IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

scored this season an 8.4 out of 10 rating, noting it was "impressive" and that 30 Rock "is no longer a fresh new series and a bit of the Season 4 doldrums could be felt mid season. But the great start and fantastic finish proved that there's still a lot of great comedy to be found on the stages of 30 Rock." Aaron Barnhart of The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star is a McClatchy newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes...

deemed the first episode of the season, "Season 4" as "one of the weakest" episodes from 30 Rock that he has ever seen, and found the episode boring. In his review of the third episode, "Stone Mountain

Stone Mountain (30 Rock)

"Stone Mountain" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 61st overall episode of the series. The episode was written by co-executive producer John Riggi and directed by series producer Don Scardino. It originally aired on the National...

", Leonard Pierce of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...

called it a terrible episode, and not entirely favorable to the first two episodes, Pierce commented that 30 Rock "needs to give us something fast to get rid of the worst-season-ever stink that's starting to gather."

DVD Talk

DVD Talk

DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...

's Ryan Keefer opined that the fourth season was a "drop in form" from the show's previous seasons. IGN contributor Dan Iverson, reviewing the DVD release, wrote "There aren't many shows on television that are as consistently funny as 30 Rock [...] Not content to rest on silly characters and smart gags ... the show brought in new characters and created story arcs which made the season worth watching from beginning to the end." Iverson deemed the premiere and "Into the Crevasse" as "two excellent episodes" from the season. Metacritic

Metacritic

Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...

, which gives a score based on critical reviews, gave this season of 30 Rock a rating of 74% from 17 reviews, signifying "generally favorable."

Ratings

During the fourth season, 30 Rock showed some decline in the ratings, when compared to the previous season

30 Rock (season 3)

The third season of 30 Rock, an American television comedy series, consists of 22 episodes and began airing on October 30, 2008 on the NBC network in the United States...

. The season premiere, "Season 4

Season 4 (30 Rock)

", attracted 6.4 million American viewers, down from the 8.7 million that viewed the third season premiere

Do-Over

"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...

. However, the second episode, "Into the Crevasse

Into the Crevasse

"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...

", showed some improvement, garnering 6.7 million viewers. By the sixth episode of the season, "Sun Tea", viewership had dropped to 5.7 million viewers, until the season's festive episode, "Secret Santa

Secret Santa (30 Rock)

"Secret Santa" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 66th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by series' creator Tina Fey and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller. It originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company ...

", which managed 6.7 million. Later on in the season, the episode "Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter

Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter

"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...

" became the lowest-rated episode of the series in the United States, with 4.0 million viewers watching. Until that point, the first season

30 Rock (season 1)

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...

episodes "Jack the Writer

Jack the Writer

"Jack the Writer" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American situation comedy 30 Rock, which aired on November 1, 2006 on the NBC network in the United States, and on November 1, 2007 in the United Kingdom. The episode was written by Robert Carlock and was directed by Gail Mancuso...

" and "Hard Ball

Hard Ball

"Hard Ball" is the fifteenth episode of NBC's first season of 30 Rock. It was written by one of the season's co-producers, Matt Hubbard, and directed by one of the season's supervising producers, Don Scardino. It aired on February 22, 2007 in the United States...

" had been the lowest-rated episodes, having both drawn 4.6 million. Finally, the season finale "I Do Do

I Do Do

"I Do Do" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 80th overall episode of the series. It was directed by series producer Don Scardino, and written by series creator, executive producer and lead actress Tina Fey...

" was seen by 5.5 million viewers, a slight decrease on the third season finale, "Kidney Now!

Kidney Now!

"Kidney Now!" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the third season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 58th overall episode of the series. It was directed by series producer Don Scardino, and written by show producers Jack Burditt and Robert Carlock...

", which had been seen by 5.7 million. Overall, the season averaged 5.9 million viewers, ranking eighty-sixth for the year, according to Nielsen Media Research

Nielsen Media Research

Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...

Awards and nominations

At the 67th Golden Globe Awards

67th Golden Globe Awards

The 67th Golden Globe Awards was telecasted live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 17, 2010 by NBC, from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM and 8:00PM – 11:00 PM . The ceremonies were hosted by Ricky Gervais, and were broadcast live for the first time.Nominations were...

in January 2010, Alec Baldwin won his second Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Comedy or Musical), for his portrayal of Jack Donaghy. Both Baldwin and Tina Fey won the Screen Actors Guild Awards

Screen Actors Guild Awards

A Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"...

in the categories of Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series, respectively.

This season of 30 Rock received 15 Emmy Award

Emmy Award

An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

nominations, including the series' fourth consecutive nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series

The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series is an Emmy given to the best television comedy series of the year.-Winners and nominees:...

, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Baldwin), and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Fey). This total was down from the 17 nominations for season 2

30 Rock (season 2)

and 22 for season 3

30 Rock (season 3)

The third season of 30 Rock, an American television comedy series, consists of 22 episodes and began airing on October 30, 2008 on the NBC network in the United States...

. Guest appearances by Jon Hamm, Will Arnett, and Elaine Strich all also drew nominations in their respective categories. The ceremony

62nd Primetime Emmy Awards

The 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, took place on August 29, 2010, at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PDT...

saw the series fail to win any of the awards for which it had been nominated.

Distribution

The series is broadcast in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, in addition to the United States. It was simulcast in Canada on Citytv

Citytv

Citytv is a Canadian English language television system owned and operated by Rogers Communications under its Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. division...

. This season of 30 Rock was shown in Australia on the Seven Network

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

at 11:30 p.m. local time starting February 1, 2010. The fourth season began in the UK on April 19, 2010, on Comedy Central

Comedy Central (UK)

Comedy Central in the United Kingdom and Ireland is a localised version of Comedy Central which first began in the United States in the 1990s. The television channel is available through the Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk TV in the United Kingdom, Sky Ireland, UPC Ireland and Magnet Networks in the...

.

The season was released on DVD by Universal Studios on September 21, 2010, in the United States after it had completed an initial broadcast run on NBC. The three-disc set of 22 episodes has a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Surround

Dolby Surround

Dolby Surround was the earliest consumer version of Dolby's multichannel analog film sound decoding format Dolby Stereo introduced to the public in 1982 during the time home video recording formats were introducing Stereo and HiFi capability...

2.0 and 5.1, and English and Spanish subtitles. In addition to the episodes, the DVD set special features included unaired scenes, featurettes, and audio commentary on the select episodes, "Stone Mountain", "Audition Day

Audition Day

"Audition Day" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 62nd overall episode of the series. The episode was written by supervising producer Matt Hubbard and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller. It originally aired on the National Broadcasting...

", "The Problem Solvers

The Problem Solvers

"The Problem Solvers" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 63rd overall episode of the series. It was written by co-executive producer Ron Weiner and directed by co-executive producer John Riggi. It originally aired on the National...

", "Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001

Dealbreakers Talk Show

"Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 65th overall episode of the series. It was written by co-producer Kay Cannon and directed by series producer Don Scardino. It originally aired on the National...

", "Black Light Attack", "Verna

Verna (30 Rock)

"Verna" is the twelfth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 70th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by co-executive producer Ron Weiner and directed by series producer Don Scardino. It originally aired on the National...

", "Anna Howard Shaw Day

Anna Howard Shaw Day

"Anna Howard Shaw Day" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 71st episode of the series overall. It was written by supervising producer Matt Hubbard and directed by Ken Whittingham. The episode originally aired on the National...

", and "Don Geiss, America and Hope

Don Geiss, America and Hope

"Don Geiss, America and Hope" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 73rd overall episode of the series. It was directed by Stephen Lee Davis, and written by Jack Burditt and Tracey Wigfield. The episode originally aired on the...

Episodes

Series episode	Season episode	Title	Directed by	Written by	U.S. viewers (million)	Original air date	Production code

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