TV Review: ’30 Rock’ Episode:’Cutbacks’

Twofer is thinking about breaking his empty bottle of wine over Frank's head.

It would seem not even the amazing minds behind the show TGS with Tracy Jordan are immune to the corporate layoffs that plague are very existence at this time in our lives. This episode of 30 Rock delves into the heartbreaking reality that many people are now facing, with utter brilliant comic timing throughout of course. After celebrating their fiftieth show there is little time for the drunken shenanigans that would have invariably ensued when Jack comes by and tells Liz that they are hiring a consulting firm to trim the fat around the building. He even gives them bottles of wine in commemoration but they happen to be empty decorative wine bottles. So Liz, being the trooper that she is, decides to find any way that she can to keep her whole staff and not have to fire anyone. She even tries to trim down the excessive amount of straws her staff uses but to no avail as the straws will be essential since they find rats crawling all over their sodas. There’s even a great routine that she does as she dresses and mimics the mannerisms of Steve Jobs as she presents how important the show is and how funny it is as well. Of course as she shows some clips she shows ones that would not exactly inspire confidence in anyone, such as Jenna as the “Me Want Food† lady.

Jack on the other hand was forced to fire his faithful assistant Jonathan, who has I guess had a gay crush on Jack this whole time or maybe it was just a bromance, and he left broken hearted and with a tune still in his mouth. So he decides to get Kenneth to take over as his secretary as I’m guessing that he can get him to do it for no extra money and the fact that Kenneth can be duped into anything. Kenneth utterly fails though in his innocent man child way and can’t get anything right from answering the phones to knowing if it’s the right time to let someone into Jack’s office or not. Also he is constantly spilling the beans to those in the waiting area that the long line of people coming through are getting tossed out on the street.

Then there’s an odd side story that has Tracy and Jenna thinking that Kenneth is hiding dead bodies in his bedroom because Kenneth told Tracy to go get something from his apartment but to not go into the bedroom at all costs. Tracy and Jenna can go on this whacky side adventure because it’s been made clear, mostly by them, that the talent has nothing to worry about the layoffs. So they trudge over to Kenneth’s apartment and open his bedroom and a can of bug spray or something goes off and kills Kenneth’s parrot. They try to apologize, in the most absurd way possible of course, and Kenneth becomes infuriated and tells them what’s what. They learn their lesson though and make it all right in the end.

Liz on the other hand has barely any chance to make it right in the end as she is being forced to cut something from her budget and her whole staff s clamoring for her to do something to save whoever she can. That’s when it becomes clear that sleeping with the leader of the consultants in exchange for no one getting fired is the best course of action to take. So she takes him out to dinner and then back to her place but the next day he’s firing people anyway and it turns out the man’s wife just died and he actually thought Liz was interested in him. Oh Liz, breaking hearts and totally not getting what’s going on is why we love you so much, don’t ever change kid. So, as usual, the episode ends with no one getting canned and Liz making a big ass out of herself in front of everyone, as it always should now and forever be.