Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land
Encyclopedia
"Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" is the twenty-first episode of the fourth season
of the American television comedy series 30 Rock
, and the 79th overall episode of the series. It was written by supervising producer Matt Hubbard
and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller
. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company
(NBC) network in the United States on May 13, 2010. Guest stars in this episode include John Anderson, Elizabeth Banks
, Jon Hamm, Kristin McGee, Julianne Moore
, Michael Sheen
, Jason Sudeikis
, and Dean Winters
.
In the episode, Jack Donaghy
(Alec Baldwin
) becomes even more entangled in his love triangle between Avery Jessup (Banks) and Nancy Donovan (Moore), and he turns for advice to Liz Lemon
(Tina Fey
), who is focusing on her own romantic problems. When Liz cannot find a date to her ex-boyfriend's (Sudeikis) wedding, she revisits her old boyfriends (Hamm and Winters) in hope that a spark will reignite. Meanwhile, Tracy Jordan
(Tracy Morgan
) continues his journey to earn his EGOT.
"Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" received generally positive reviews from television critics. According to the Nielsen Media Research
, the episode was watched by 4.996 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 2.5 rating/7 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic. For his performance in this episode, Jon Hamm received a Primetime Emmy Award
nomination in the category for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.
(Tina Fey
) is dateless for ex-boyfriend Floyd DeBarber's (Jason Sudeikis
) wedding, and does not want to be alone. She revisits her old boyfriends—Drew Baird (Jon Hamm) and Dennis Duffy (Dean Winters
)—but the visits do not go well. Later, at a party, Liz learns from Cerie Xerox (Katrina Bowden
), her office assistant, that she will be seated next to Wesley Snipes (Michael Sheen
)—a man who Liz despises—at Cerie's wedding. As a result of this, Liz invites Wesley as her date to Floyd's wedding. At the wedding, Wesley reveals that he has lost his job, and needs Liz to get him U.S. residency, and proposes marriage to her. After an unsuccessful conversation with Mike (John Anderson), a friend of Floyd's, Liz agrees to marry Wesley.
Meanwhile, Jack Donaghy
(Alec Baldwin
) is still in a dilemma in who to choose from between CNBC
host Avery Jessup (Elizabeth Banks
) and his high school sweetheart Nancy Donovan (Julianne Moore
). Avery decides not to be Jack's date to Cerie's wedding, and that while she is gone, Jack should think about whether or not he wants to be with her. As soon as Avery leaves, Nancy shows up at the 30 Rock building unannounced, and decides to spend the weekend with Jack. Liz tries to talk him out of going on a date with Nancy, after he asked her for advice. He decides to keep things platonic with Nancy, so that no problem ensues in his decision to choose between them, but Jack ends up sleeping with Nancy. The next morning, Nancy admits that the two spending the night together was a big deal, as Jack was the first man she slept with after her divorce. At Floyd's wedding, Jack tells Nancy about Avery, and as a result, Nancy threatens to leave him forever once the ceremony is over. While Liz gives a reading, Jack texts her to stall, resulting in Liz reading inappropriate scripture recitations at the wedding.
Finally, Tracy Jordan
(Tracy Morgan
) informs "Dot Com" Slattery (Kevin Brown
) and NBC page
Kenneth Parcell
(Jack McBrayer
) that he wishes to be part of the film Garfield 3: Feline Groovy. Dot Com and Kenneth tell Tracy that he should instead focus on his chances of getting an Oscar, as part of his EGOT quest. The two encourage him to audition for Hard To Watch, a story of an inner-city boy living in the ghetto, something that Tracy can directly relate to. Tracy decides to audition for Hard To Watch, but realizes that playing the role may bring up too many repressed memories. Dot Com and Kenneth, along with Tracy, visit all the places from Tracy's childhood in order to prepare him for the role, but this backfires when Tracy is brought to tears because of his past.
, making it his tenth writing credit after "The Rural Juror
", "Hard Ball", "The Collection
", "MILF Island
", "Reunion
", "Larry King
", "Cutbacks", "Audition Day
", and "Anna Howard Shaw Day
". The episode was directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller
, making it her twelfth for the series. "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" originally aired in the United States on May 13, 2010, on NBC as the twenty-first episode of the show's fourth season
and the 79th overall episode of the series.
This episode was filmed on March 10, 2010. Saint Cecilia's Catholic Church in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
served as the church for Floyd and Kaitlin's (Kristin McGee) wedding. This episode of 30 Rock was actress Julianne Moore's fourth appearance as Nancy Donovan on the show, and was actress Elizabeth Banks' sixth guest spot. Comedian actor Jason Sudeikis, who played Floyd DeBarber in this episode, has appeared in the main cast of Saturday Night Live
(SNL), a weekly sketch comedy
series which airs on NBC in the United States. Tina Fey, the series creator of 30 Rock, was the head writer
on SNL from 1999 until 2006. This was Sudeikis's eleventh appearance on the show. Actor Michael Sheen made his third appearance as Wesley Snipes. In addition, actors Jon Hamm and Dean Winters reprised their roles as Drew Baird and Dennis Duffy, respectively, as former boyfriends of Liz Lemon.
This was the third time the show referenced Tracy Jordan trying to get his EGOT. This plot first began in the December 3, 2009, episode "Dealbreakers Talk Show
" in which Tracy finds a diamond encrusted "EGOT" necklace and sets a new life goal to achieve EGOT status by winning four major awards: an Emmy
, a Grammy
, an Oscar, and a Tony
. In "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land", Tracy decides to do the movie Hard To Watch, in hopes that he can get an Oscar for his performance.
character—an orange tabby cat
—in an upcoming film Garfield 3: Feline Groovy. When Liz visits Drew, in hopes that he can be her date to Floyd's wedding, Drew is surprised to see Liz, but tells her that he was thinking about her when he saw "this gorgeous woman ... putting glasses on her daughter's Mr. Potato Head
." This is a reference to a toy consisting of a plastic model of a potato which can be decorated with a variety of attachable plastic parts such as ears and eyes to make a face. Later, at a park, Liz visits Dennis, in which she sees that he is building a strange contraption. Dennis tells her that he is trying to recreate and improve on the Balloon boy incident, a reference to the October 2009 hoax in which two parents claimed their son was on board a helium balloon that had floated away, but later turned out to be a publicity stunt. At Floyd's wedding, Wesley, who is English, tells Liz that he does not want to go back to England, as he does not want to witness the 2012 Summer Olympics
, which is scheduled to take place in London, explaining "Did you see the Beijing opening ceremonies
? We don't have control over our people like that."
, "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" was watched by 4.996 million households in its original American broadcast. It earned a 2.5 rating/7 share in the 18–49 demographic. This means that it was seen by 2.5 percent of all 18–49 year olds, and 7 percent of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This was a decrease from the previous episode, "The Moms
", which was watched by 5.420 million American viewers. During its original broadcast, "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" ranked fourth in its 9:30 p.m. slot, behind ABC
's Grey's Anatomy
, CBS
' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
, and Fox
's Fringe
. Jon Hamm received a Primetime Emmy Award
nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards
for his work in this episode, but lost it to actor Neil Patrick Harris
for his guest appearance on Glee
. "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" received generally positive reviews from television critics.
Bob Sassone
of AOL
's TV Squad liked the episode because of its "non-stop one liners and great guest cameos." Sassone's only complaint was that the Jack, Nancy, and Avery love triangle be over, pointing out that he was sick of seeing Jack running around trying to keep Avery and Nancy from seeing each other. IGN
contributor Robert Canning said that "we got one of the best episode titles of any show this year", and was favorable to the guest spots from Jon Hamm, Dean Winters, and Michael Sheen, observing "[t]he episode joyfully gave us three great pairings for Liz to deal with, each presenting their own unique set of laughs." In conclusion, Canning gave the episode a 9 out of 10 rating. Linda Holmes for National Public Radio said that "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" was "very funny", and commented that her favorite scene was when Liz visited Drew in hopes that the two can get back together.
The A.V. Club
' s Nathan Rabin commented that this episode might have been the "best Tracy [Jordan] episode of the season" explaining that Tracy Morgan "delivered one genius non sequitur after another describing the comically over-the-top horrors of his childhood. [...] The insane, eminently quotable one-liners were flying so fast and so furious that I could barely keep up with them." In regards to Jack's love triangle, Rabin opined that this arc "could easily have worn out its welcome long ago" but that Alec Baldwin, Julianne Moore, and Elizabeth Banks "have kept lively and vibrant." In conclusion, he gave it an A− grade rating. Meredith Blake, writing for the Los Angeles Times
, was positive about Liz getting engaged, noting that she has become a woman, and concluded that "it will no doubt be one of television's most memorable weddings" if Liz and Wesley get married. Nick Catucci of New York
magazine said that "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" was good, "[m]aybe the best episode ever." TV Guide
' s Adam Mersel said that Banks played her role "perfectly", but that he was still not convinced that Sheen's Wesley is the right man for Liz.
30 Rock (season 4)
The fourth season of 30 Rock, an American television comedy series, consists of 23 episodes and began airing on October 15, 2009, on the National Broadcasting Company network in the United States...
of the American television comedy series 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...
, and the 79th overall episode of the series. It was written by supervising producer 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...
and directed by 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...
. The episode originally aired 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 on May 13, 2010. Guest stars in this episode include John Anderson, 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...
, Jon Hamm, Kristin McGee, 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....
, 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...
, 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...
.
In the episode, 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...
) becomes even more entangled in his love triangle between Avery Jessup (Banks) and Nancy Donovan (Moore), and he turns for advice to Liz Lemon
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:...
(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...
), who is focusing on her own romantic problems. When Liz cannot find a date to her ex-boyfriend's (Sudeikis) wedding, she revisits her old boyfriends (Hamm and Winters) in hope that a spark will reignite. Meanwhile, 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:...
(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:...
) continues his journey to earn his EGOT.
"Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" received generally positive reviews from television critics. According to the Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
, the episode was watched by 4.996 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 2.5 rating/7 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic. For his performance in this episode, Jon Hamm received a 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...
nomination in the category for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.
Plot
Liz LemonLiz 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:...
(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...
) is dateless for ex-boyfriend Floyd DeBarber's (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...
) wedding, and does not want to be alone. She revisits her old boyfriends—Drew Baird (Jon Hamm) and Dennis Duffy (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...
)—but the visits do not go well. Later, at a party, Liz learns from Cerie Xerox (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 :...
), her office assistant, that she will be seated next to Wesley Snipes (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...
)—a man who Liz despises—at Cerie's wedding. As a result of this, Liz invites Wesley as her date to Floyd's wedding. At the wedding, Wesley reveals that he has lost his job, and needs Liz to get him U.S. residency, and proposes marriage to her. After an unsuccessful conversation with Mike (John Anderson), a friend of Floyd's, Liz agrees to marry Wesley.
Meanwhile, 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...
) is still in a dilemma in who to choose from between CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
host Avery Jessup (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...
) and his high school sweetheart Nancy Donovan (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....
). Avery decides not to be Jack's date to Cerie's wedding, and that while she is gone, Jack should think about whether or not he wants to be with her. As soon as Avery leaves, Nancy shows up at the 30 Rock building unannounced, and decides to spend the weekend with Jack. Liz tries to talk him out of going on a date with Nancy, after he asked her for advice. He decides to keep things platonic with Nancy, so that no problem ensues in his decision to choose between them, but Jack ends up sleeping with Nancy. The next morning, Nancy admits that the two spending the night together was a big deal, as Jack was the first man she slept with after her divorce. At Floyd's wedding, Jack tells Nancy about Avery, and as a result, Nancy threatens to leave him forever once the ceremony is over. While Liz gives a reading, Jack texts her to stall, resulting in Liz reading inappropriate scripture recitations at the wedding.
Finally, 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:...
(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:...
) informs "Dot Com" Slattery (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...
) and 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 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...
(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"...
) that he wishes to be part of the film Garfield 3: Feline Groovy. Dot Com and Kenneth tell Tracy that he should instead focus on his chances of getting an Oscar, as part of his EGOT quest. The two encourage him to audition for Hard To Watch, a story of an inner-city boy living in the ghetto, something that Tracy can directly relate to. Tracy decides to audition for Hard To Watch, but realizes that playing the role may bring up too many repressed memories. Dot Com and Kenneth, along with Tracy, visit all the places from Tracy's childhood in order to prepare him for the role, but this backfires when Tracy is brought to tears because of his past.
Production
"Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" was written by series supervising producer Matt HubbardMatt 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...
, making it his tenth writing credit after "The Rural Juror
The Rural Juror
"The Rural Juror" is the tenth episode of the first season of 30 Rock and tenth episode of the series. It was written by Matt Hubbard and was directed by Beth McCarthy. The episode first aired on January 11, 2007, on the NBC network in the United States and December 13, 2007, on Five in the United...
", "Hard Ball", "The Collection
The Collection (30 Rock)
"The Collection" is the third episode of NBC's second season of 30 Rock, and the twenty-fourth episode overall. It was written by producer Matt Hubbard and directed by producer Don Scardino, and first aired on October 18, 2007 in the United States...
", "MILF Island
MILF Island
"MILF Island" is the eleventh episode of NBC's second season of 30 Rock and thirty-second episode overall. It was written by the series' creator, executive producer and lead actress Tina Fey and producer Matt Hubbard. The director of the episode was Kevin Rodney Sullivan. It aired on April 10, 2008...
", "Reunion
Reunion (30 Rock)
"Reunion" is the fifth episode of the third season of American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 41st episode of the series overall. It was written by supervising producer Matt Hubbard and directed by Beth McCarthy. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company network...
", "Larry King
Larry King (30 Rock)
"Larry King" is the twelfth episode of the third season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 48th overall episode of the series. It was written by supervising producer Matt Hubbard and directed by Constantine Makris. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting...
", "Cutbacks", "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...
", and "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...
". The episode was directed by 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...
, making it her twelfth for the series. "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" originally aired in the United States on May 13, 2010, on NBC as the twenty-first episode of the show's fourth season
30 Rock (season 4)
The fourth season of 30 Rock, an American television comedy series, consists of 23 episodes and began airing on October 15, 2009, on the National Broadcasting Company network in the United States...
and the 79th overall episode of the series.
This episode was filmed on March 10, 2010. Saint Cecilia's Catholic Church in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bordered on the southwest by Williamsburg at the Bushwick inlet, on the southeast by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and East Williamsburg, on the north by Newtown Creek and Long Island City, Queens at the...
served as the church for Floyd and Kaitlin's (Kristin McGee) wedding. This episode of 30 Rock was actress Julianne Moore's fourth appearance as Nancy Donovan on the show, and was actress Elizabeth Banks' sixth guest spot. Comedian actor Jason Sudeikis, who played Floyd DeBarber in this episode, has appeared in the main cast 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...
(SNL), a weekly 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 which airs on NBC in the United States. Tina Fey, the series creator of 30 Rock, was the 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...
on SNL from 1999 until 2006. This was Sudeikis's eleventh appearance on the show. Actor Michael Sheen made his third appearance as Wesley Snipes. In addition, actors Jon Hamm and Dean Winters reprised their roles as Drew Baird and Dennis Duffy, respectively, as former boyfriends of Liz Lemon.
This was the third time the show referenced Tracy Jordan trying to get his EGOT. This plot first began in the December 3, 2009, episode "Dealbreakers Talk Show
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...
" in which Tracy finds a diamond encrusted "EGOT" necklace and sets a new life goal to achieve EGOT status by winning four major awards: an Emmy
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...
, a Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
, an Oscar, and a Tony
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
. In "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land", Tracy decides to do the movie Hard To Watch, in hopes that he can get an Oscar for his performance.
Cultural references
Tracy decides to play the GarfieldGarfield (character)
Garfield is a fictional character and the title protagonist from the comic strip Garfield created by Jim Davis.-Personality:Garfield is an anthropomorphic ginger cat. He loves eating , and sleeping. He is teased about being overweight. He is also selfish...
character—an orange tabby cat
Tabby cat
A tabby is any cat that has a distinctive coat that features stripes, dots, lines or swirling patterns, usually together with an "M" mark on its forehead. Tabbies are sometimes erroneously assumed to be a cat breed. In fact, the tabby pattern is found in many breeds of cat, as well as among the...
—in an upcoming film Garfield 3: Feline Groovy. When Liz visits Drew, in hopes that he can be her date to Floyd's wedding, Drew is surprised to see Liz, but tells her that he was thinking about her when he saw "this gorgeous woman ... putting glasses on her daughter's Mr. Potato Head
Mr. Potato Head
Mr. Potato Head! is an American toy consisting of a plastic model of a potato which can be decorated with a variety of plastic parts that can attach to the main body. These parts usually include ears, eyes, shoes, a hat, a nose, and a mouth. The toy was invented and developed by George Lerner in...
." This is a reference to a toy consisting of a plastic model of a potato which can be decorated with a variety of attachable plastic parts such as ears and eyes to make a face. Later, at a park, Liz visits Dennis, in which she sees that he is building a strange contraption. Dennis tells her that he is trying to recreate and improve on the Balloon boy incident, a reference to the October 2009 hoax in which two parents claimed their son was on board a helium balloon that had floated away, but later turned out to be a publicity stunt. At Floyd's wedding, Wesley, who is English, tells Liz that he does not want to go back to England, as he does not want to witness the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
, which is scheduled to take place in London, explaining "Did you see the Beijing opening ceremonies
2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
The 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It began at 8:00 pm China Standard Time on August 8, 2008, as 8 is considered to be a lucky number. The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture...
? We don't have control over our people like that."
Reception
According to the Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
, "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" was watched by 4.996 million households in its original American broadcast. It earned a 2.5 rating/7 share in the 18–49 demographic. This means that it was seen by 2.5 percent of all 18–49 year olds, and 7 percent of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This was a decrease from the previous episode, "The Moms
The Moms
"The Moms" is the twentieth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 78th overall episode of the series. It was written by co-producer Kay Cannon and co-show runner and executive producer Robert Carlock. The episode was directed by co-executive producer...
", which was watched by 5.420 million American viewers. During its original broadcast, "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" ranked fourth in its 9:30 p.m. slot, behind ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
, and Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
's Fringe
Fringe (TV series)
Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
. Jon Hamm received a 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...
nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards
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...
for his work in this episode, but lost it to actor Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris is an American actor, singer, director, and magician.Prominent roles of his career include the title role in Doogie Howser, M.D., Colonel Carl Jenkins in Starship Troopers, the womanizing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, a fictionalized version of himself in the Harold...
for his guest appearance on Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
. "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" received generally positive reviews from television critics.
Bob Sassone
Bob Sassone
Bob Sassone is an American writer. He was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, to Italian and Portuguese parents. He is the youngest of seven children....
of AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
's TV Squad liked the episode because of its "non-stop one liners and great guest cameos." Sassone's only complaint was that the Jack, Nancy, and Avery love triangle be over, pointing out that he was sick of seeing Jack running around trying to keep Avery and Nancy from seeing each other. 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...
contributor Robert Canning said that "we got one of the best episode titles of any show this year", and was favorable to the guest spots from Jon Hamm, Dean Winters, and Michael Sheen, observing "[t]he episode joyfully gave us three great pairings for Liz to deal with, each presenting their own unique set of laughs." In conclusion, Canning gave the episode a 9 out of 10 rating. Linda Holmes for National Public Radio said that "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" was "very funny", and commented that her favorite scene was when Liz visited Drew in hopes that the two can get back together.
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...
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, was positive about Liz getting engaged, noting that she has become a woman, and concluded that "it will no doubt be one of television's most memorable weddings" if Liz and Wesley get married. Nick Catucci of New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
magazine said that "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" was good, "[m]aybe the best episode ever." TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...