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Succession (30 Rock)
Encyclopedia
"Succession" is the thirteenth episode of NBC
's second season
of 30 Rock
and the thirty-fourth episode overall. It was written by Andrew Guest
and one of the seasons' co-executive producers, John Riggi
; it was directed by Gail Mancuso
. It first aired on April 24, 2008 in the United States. Guest stars in this episode include Will Arnett
, Marceline Hugot, Chris Parnell
, Brian Stack
, Tom Toner and Rip Torn
.
In this episode Jack Donaghy
(Alec Baldwin
) and Devon Banks' (Will Arnett) race to be the new CEO of General Electric
comes to an end; in a satire of Amadeus
, Tracy Jordan
(Tracy Morgan
) gets the idea to make a pornographic video game, and Liz Lemon
(Tina Fey
) prepares to become the new Head of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming. In line with the Amadeus parody, the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(a favorite of Jeff Richmond
, the show's regular composer) is used to score much of the episode.
), who discloses that he has chosen Jack over his soon-to-be son-in-law Devon to run the company. Jack is overjoyed and chooses Liz to replace himself as Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming. Liz accepts when she learns of the higher salary and tells her staff "Suck it monkeys, I'm going corporate." Meanwhile, Devon returns with intent to sabotage Jack, but Liz attempts to make Devon look bad by forcibly making out
with him in front of a security camera.
At this time, Tracy begins to feel he is an embarrassment to his son. Hoping to make his family proud, Tracy searches for a legacy and decides to produce the world's first pornographic video game
. Despite Frank's skepticism, Tracy has some success in designing the game by conquering the uncanny valley
, a scale on which the strangeness of special effects are measured.
A depressed Devon becomes resigned to the fact that Jack will receive the promotion. Don Geiss, however, goes into a diabetic coma
, despite the efforts of Dr. Spaceman (Chris Parnell), before he can announce his decision. Devon denies knowing that Geiss had chosen Jack as his successor. The next day, Devon appears in Jack's office, revealing he has convinced the board to put Cathy Geiss (Marceline Hugot), his fiancée, in charge, with Devon acting as the power behind the throne
. He then kicks Jack out of his office.
"Succession" was viewed by an average of 5.5 million American viewers upon its original broadcast. The episode also achieved a 2.8/7 in the key 18–49 year old demographic. The 2.8 refers to 2.8% of all 18–49 years olds, and the 7 refers to 7% of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. The episode also ranked first place among males aged 18–34 against episodes of CSI
and Grey's Anatomy
.
The episode received some positive feedback from critics. Bob Sassone
of AOL
's TV Squad described "Succession" as "a great episode" with "a lot of great lines". Sassone compared the episode to a soap opera
, and hoped that the pornographic video game storyline would be continued. Robert Canning of IGN
complimented Devon's appearances on 30 Rock, and felt that "Succession" would be the first episode in a new story arc
, which was a good thing. He rated the episode an 8 out of 10. Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger
praised the episode as "fabulous". Sepinwall noted that "Succession" included an "inspired riff on Amadeus", and compared Tracy and Frank when they were working on a pornographic video game to Mozart and Salieri
. Less positively, he commented on the "one-note-ness of Will Arnett as Devon Banks", and did not like the Baby Mama
ad that was displayed on screen during the "Mozart montage".
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...
's second season
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...
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...
and the thirty-fourth episode overall. It was written by Andrew Guest
Andrew Guest
Andrew Guest is an American television writer. Guest's most notable works are episodes of Hope & Faith and 30 Rock . Guest was also a member of the production staff on Hope & Faith and writes episodes for Community...
and one of the seasons' co-executive producers, 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...
; it was directed by Gail Mancuso
Gail Mancuso
Gail Mancuso is an American television director.- Select TV work :* Modern Family * $h*! My Dad Says * 30 Rock * Scrubs...
. It first aired on April 24, 2008 in the United States. Guest stars in this episode include 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...
, Marceline Hugot, 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...
, Brian Stack
Brian Stack
Brian Stack is an American actor, writer and comedian best known for his sketch comedy work on all three Conan O'Brien late-night talk shows, previously working on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, and currently on O'Brien's newest show, Conan on TBS.-Early...
, Tom Toner and 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...
.
In this 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...
) and Devon Banks' (Will Arnett) race to be the new CEO of General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
comes to an end; in a satire of Amadeus
Amadeus (film)
Amadeus is a 1984 period drama film directed by Miloš Forman and written by Peter Shaffer. Adapted from Shaffer's stage play Amadeus, the story is based loosely on the lives of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, two composers who lived in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the...
, 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:...
) gets the idea to make a pornographic video game, and 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...
) prepares to become the new Head of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming. In line with the Amadeus parody, the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
(a favorite of 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:...
, the show's regular composer) is used to score much of the episode.
Plot
Jack meets with retiring corporate head Don Geiss (Rip TornRip 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...
), who discloses that he has chosen Jack over his soon-to-be son-in-law Devon to run the company. Jack is overjoyed and chooses Liz to replace himself as Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming. Liz accepts when she learns of the higher salary and tells her staff "Suck it monkeys, I'm going corporate." Meanwhile, Devon returns with intent to sabotage Jack, but Liz attempts to make Devon look bad by forcibly making out
Making out
In human sexuality, making out is a sexual euphemism of American origin dating back to at least 1949, and is used synonymously with the terms necking, heavy petting, and hooking up to refer to non-penetrative sex, though "hooking up" is also used in some cultures to imply casual sex.-History:The...
with him in front of a security camera.
At this time, Tracy begins to feel he is an embarrassment to his son. Hoping to make his family proud, Tracy searches for a legacy and decides to produce the world's first pornographic video game
Adult video game
An adult video game is a video game which has significant sexual content , and are therefore intended for an adult audience. Adult games can fall into many genres and have diverse gameplay.-PC and console:...
. Despite Frank's skepticism, Tracy has some success in designing the game by conquering the uncanny valley
Uncanny Valley
The uncanny valley is a hypothesis in the field of robotics and 3D computer animation, which holds that when human replicas look and act almost, but not perfectly, like actual human beings, it causes a response of revulsion among human observers...
, a scale on which the strangeness of special effects are measured.
A depressed Devon becomes resigned to the fact that Jack will receive the promotion. Don Geiss, however, goes into a diabetic coma
Diabetic coma
Diabetic coma is a reversible form of coma found in people with diabetes mellitus. It is a medical emergency.Three different types of diabetic coma are identified:#Severe diabetic hypoglycemia...
, despite the efforts of Dr. Spaceman (Chris Parnell), before he can announce his decision. Devon denies knowing that Geiss had chosen Jack as his successor. The next day, Devon appears in Jack's office, revealing he has convinced the board to put Cathy Geiss (Marceline Hugot), his fiancée, in charge, with Devon acting as the power behind the throne
Power behind the throne
The phrase power behind the throne refers to a person or group that informally exercises the real power of an office. In politics, it most commonly refers to a spouse, aide, or advisor of a political leader who serves as de facto leader, setting policy through influence or manipulation.The...
. He then kicks Jack out of his office.
Reception
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 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...
.
The episode received some positive feedback from 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 described "Succession" as "a great episode" with "a lot of great lines". Sassone compared the episode to a soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, and hoped that the pornographic video game storyline would be continued. 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...
complimented Devon's appearances on 30 Rock, and felt that "Succession" would be the first episode in a new story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
, which was a good thing. He rated the episode an 8 out of 10. Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
praised the episode as "fabulous". Sepinwall noted that "Succession" included an "inspired riff on Amadeus", and compared Tracy and Frank when they were working on a pornographic video game to Mozart and Salieri
Antonio Salieri
Antonio Salieri was a Venetian classical composer, conductor and teacher born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, but who spent his adult life and career as a faithful subject of the Habsburg monarchy....
. Less positively, he commented on the "one-note-ness of Will Arnett as Devon Banks", and did not like the Baby Mama
Baby Mama (film)
Baby Mama is a 2008 comedy film from Universal Pictures written and directed by Michael McCullers and starring Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Sigourney Weaver, Greg Kinnear, and Dax Shepard.-Plot:...
ad that was displayed on screen during the "Mozart montage".
External links
- "Succession," at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
- "Succession," at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...