30 rock
jack-tor (5/21)

Continuing tonight is the Golden Globe- and Emmy award-winning sitcom following the fortunes of long-suffering TV comedy writer Liz Lemon (Tina Fey). In tonight’s show, Liz suspects that her star actor Tracy might be illiterate; Jack pushes the writers to include product placement in their sketches; and Jenna hears a rumour that one of the actors might be fired.

Tracy is finding the grind of a weekly live television show eating up his time and ruining his social life, so he tries to sneak out of rehearsals – only to be caught by Liz. “You’re part of a team now, okay?” she tells the movie star. “You have to be in the show and you have to rehearse.” The other actors are also complaining that Tracy refuses to read his cue cards. “He never reads them, Liz,” Jenna tells her. “I’m starting to think he can’t read!”

Liz at first dismisses Jenna’s concerns, until she realises that nobody can recall seeing Tracy read anything. When she discovers that he has filled out a crossword entirely with smiley faces, she confronts him about his literacy. Tracy is initially appalled by the suggestion that he cannot read, until Liz assures him he can have time off to take reading classes. “So, I can, like, leave work early if I need a tutor?” Tracy asks. With a scheme forming in his mind, the wily star tearfully proclaims his illiteracy, before leaving the building to seek help for his ‘problem’.

However, Tracy’s deception is revealed when Liz catches him reading a newspaper in the lift, so she hatches a plan to expose the lie. But who will win the battle of wits between star and producer?

Elsewhere, the writers are made to watch a corporate video starring Jack in which he urges them to include product placement in the show. Jack is keen to see positive mentions – or “posmens” – of General Electric goods incorporated into the sketches. “You want us to use the show to sell stuff?” asks an incredulous Liz.

Bowing to Jack’s demands, Liz writes a sketch about General Electric – and asks Jack to play himself. The excitable executive is nervous about appearing on live TV, but consents to take part. However, Liz soon realises she has made a terrible mistake when Jack’s assistant shows her the outtakes from Jack’s video. She watches in horror as Jack flubs take after take and forgets his lines. Later, she finds him on the set having a crisis of confidence. “I don’t know how to do this!” Jack confesses. “There’s something about performing that I can’t wrap my brain around.” Liz has only a few hours to help her boss pull himself together in time for the show.

Also this week, Jenna informs Liz of a rumour that has reached her ears. “I got inside information that Jack is going to fire one of the actors to cut costs,” she says. Jenna vows to use her “sexuality” to woo Jack into keeping her on the show, much to Liz’s dismay. But Jenna’s allout sexual offensive goes awry when she switches her attention to the man she assumes is Jack’s boss – little realising that he is nothing more than a hapless extra.