Believe in the Stars
Encyclopedia
"Believe in the Stars" is the second episode of the third season
of the American television comedy series 30 Rock
, and the 38th overall episode of the series. It was written by executive producer Robert Carlock
and directed by series producer Don Scardino
. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company
(NBC) network in the United States on November 6, 2008. Guest stars in this episode include Remy Auberjonois, Todd Buonopane, Raven Goodwin, and Oprah Winfrey
.
The episode's plot concerns a feud between Tracy Jordan
(Tracy Morgan
) and Jenna Maroney
(Jane Krakowski
) over royalties from Tracy's pornographic video game Gorgasm: The Legend of Dong Slayer. Liz Lemon
(Tina Fey
) attempts to settle the fight with the help of Oprah Winfrey, whom she meets on a return flight from Chicago. Meanwhile, NBC page
Kenneth Parcell
(Jack McBrayer
) is stung by the revelation that most events from the 2008 Summer Olympics
were staged to boost America's image and NBC's ratings. Jack Donaghy
(Alec Baldwin
) attempts to break Kenneth of his moral absolutism
.
"Believe in the Stars" received generally positive reception from television critics, with Neal Justin of the Star Tribune
concluding it was "the most brilliant episode in the series' history". According to the Nielsen ratings
system, the episode was watched by 8.0 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 3.9 rating/9 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.
(Tina Fey
) announcing to her boss, Jack Donaghy
(Alec Baldwin
), that she needs to go to Chicago
for jury duty
because she is still registered to vote there. Jack gives Liz a powerful sedative
for the trip. Later, NBC page
Kenneth Parcell
(Jack McBrayer
) walks in on a meeting between Jack and the American silver medalist in tetherball
, Tyler Brody (Remy Auberjonois). Tyler is angry at Jack for not selecting him as the gold medalist, and is threatening to go public with the revelation that there was no Olympic tetherball competition during the 2008 Summer Olympics
, as it was staged to boost NBC's ratings. To keep him quiet, Jack tells him that he can "be the voice of Knight Rider" in a film adaptation, which Tyler considers. Afterwards, Kenneth tells Jack that he "lost two heroes today", as he looked up to both Jack and Tyler. As a result, Jack wants to be in Kenneth's good side, but wants to break his moral absolutism
, after Kenneth did not hesitate to attempt to kill himself when he believed the air in a stalled elevator was about to run out. Jack finally succeeds when he supplies Kenneth with a big screen television, but no cable hookup. Kenneth steals cable and later confesses to Jack, asking if SpongeBob SquarePants
"is supposed to be terrifying".
Meanwhile, Jenna Maroney
(Jane Krakowski
) demands compensation for her voice work
in Tracy Jordan
's (Tracy Morgan
) pornographic video game, Gorgasm: The Legend of Dong Slayer. The argument escalates and Liz orders them to stop their bickering. After Liz leaves for Chicago, Jenna and Tracy decide to conduct a social experiment to see whether Tracy can survive better as a white woman better than Jenna can as a black man, after arguing respectively that black men and white women have it harder in society. Later, while on her flight, Liz takes Jack's sedative. Liz realizes that the woman sitting next to her is Oprah Winfrey
. When Liz arrives back at the 30 Rock studios, Tracy is dressed in female drag
with his body covered in white makeup and soon after, Jenna enters in blackface
and male drag. Jack worries that the situation has gone out of control, but Liz assures him that Oprah, who is coming to the studios, will be able to make them come to terms. As it turns out, her inflight conversation with Oprah was a hallucination
. The person who Liz thought was Oprah is actually a 12-year-old girl named Pam (Raven Goodwin). Even so, Pam engages Tracy and Jenna in a heart-to-heart, and manages to settle their differences.
and directed by series producer Don Scardino
. This episode was Carlock's ninth writing credit, and was Scardino's fifteenth directed episode. "Believe in the Stars" originally aired in the United States on November 6, 2008 on NBC as the second episode of the show's third season
and the 38th overall episode of the series.
In September 2008, it was announced that television host Oprah Winfrey would guest star on the show. She filmed her appearance on September 13, 2008. When Winfrey interviewed series creator Tina Fey on her show
in November, Fey revealed that they shot their scene together on a Saturday, a day that the show normally does not film on. Actress Raven Goodwin played Pam, a 12-year-old girl that, while hallucinating, Liz Lemon believed was Oprah. Actor Remy Auberjonois played Olympic medalist Tyler Brody in this episode. This was actor Todd Buonopane's debut as the character Jeffrey Weinerslav, an NBC Human Resource mediator. In "Believe in the Stars", Jeffrey tries to mediate the disagreement that Jenna and Tracy are having over the video game. Buonopane later guest starred in the episodes "Cutbacks" and "Jackie Jormp-Jomp
".
Star Wars
is frequently referenced in 30 Rock, beginning with the pilot episode
in 2006 where Tracy Jordan is seen shouting that he is a Jedi
. Liz admits to being a huge fan of Star Wars, saying that she had watched it many times with Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit
), and dressed up as the Star Wars character Princess Leia
during four recent Halloweens, and in this episode while trying to get out of jury duty in Chicago. Star Wars is also referenced when Tracy takes on the identity of the character Chewbacca
. Fey, a fan of Star Wars herself, said that the weekly Star Wars joke or reference "started happening organically" when the crew realized that they had a Star Wars reference "in almost every show". She said that from then on "it became a thing where [they] tried to keep it going", and that even though they could not include one in every episode, they still had a "pretty high batting average". She attributed most of the references to Carlock, whom she described as "the resident expert".
system, "Believe in the Stars" was watched by 8.0 million households in its original American broadcast. It earned a 3.9 rating/9 share in the 18–49 demographic. This means that it was seen by 3.9 percent of all 18–49 years olds, and 9 percent of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This was a decrease from the season premiere episode, "Do-Over
", which was watched by 8.7 million American viewers. Nonetheless, this episode was the eighth highest-rated show on the NBC network during the week of November 3–9, 2008. Since airing, "Believe in the Stars" has received good reception from television critics.
IGN
contributor Robert Canning praised the episode, saying that it was "an absolutely perfect episode with not a moment wasted [and] equally hilarious were the storylines between Jack and Kenneth, and Tracy and Jenna. The episode had everything that makes 30 Rock great." Canning opined that Liz's admissions to Oprah Winfrey were "painfully funny", and that Tracy "was on fire" following his actions in this episode. In conclusion, Canning gave it a 10 out of 10 rating. Jeremy Medina of Paste
was complimentary towards the episode, reporting that it had "madcap humor tirelessly delivered one joke after another at a lightning fast speed, adding up to one of the funniest episodes in the series." Medina enjoyed the social experiment between Jenna and Tracy, noting that it was "hilarious". TV Guide
' s Matt Mitovich commented that the episode was "Rock-solid", while Neal Justin of the Star Tribune
believed it was "the most brilliant episode in the series' history". Television columnist Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger
wrote that "Believe in the Stars" belonged to Tina Fey "who has grown by leaps and bounds as an actress over the past few years. The Princess Leia voice, her drunken panic on the plane [...] and the religious fervor at the knowledge that Oprah would be coming to the studio were all hilarious, and played with the sort of confidence I don't know that she would have had at the start of the series."
The A.V. Club
' s Nathan Rabin said that the Jenna and Tracy subplot was not the most inspired idea, but admitted it introduced one of his "favorite gags in 30 Rock history" regarding two make-up artists giving Tracy a monster claw to use as a white hand when they ran out of white powder. Rabin called it a "brilliant gag." He was less enthusiastic with Winfrey in the episode, noting that her appearance "was treated as such a seismic cultural event that tonight's episode couldn't help but feel like a letdown." Bob Sassone
of AOL
's TV Squad wrote that "the least effective plot" in this episode was Jenna and Tracy's.
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...
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 38th overall episode of the series. It was written by executive producer 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:...
and directed by series producer 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...
. 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 November 6, 2008. Guest stars in this episode include Remy Auberjonois, Todd Buonopane, Raven Goodwin, and Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
.
The episode's plot concerns a feud between 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:...
) and 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...
(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...
) over royalties from Tracy's pornographic video game Gorgasm: The Legend of Dong Slayer. 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...
) attempts to settle the fight with the help of Oprah Winfrey, whom she meets on a return flight from Chicago. Meanwhile, 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"...
) is stung by the revelation that most events from the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
were staged to boost America's image and NBC's ratings. 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...
) attempts to break Kenneth of his moral absolutism
Moral absolutism
Moral absolutism is an ethical view that certain actions are absolutely right or wrong, regardless of other contexts such as their consequences or the intentions behind them. Thus stealing, for instance, might be considered to be always immoral, even if done to promote some other good , and even if...
.
"Believe in the Stars" received generally positive reception from television critics, with Neal Justin of the Star Tribune
Star Tribune
The Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is published seven days each week in an edition for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. A statewide version is also available across Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The...
concluding it was "the most brilliant episode in the series' history". According to the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
system, the episode was watched by 8.0 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 3.9 rating/9 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.
Plot
The episode starts with 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...
) announcing to her boss, 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...
), that she needs to go to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
for jury duty
Jury duty
Jury duty is service as a juror in a legal proceeding. When a person is called for jury duty in the United States, that service is usually not optional: one must attend or face strict penalties. Employers are not allowed to fire an employee simply for being called to jury duty...
because she is still registered to vote there. Jack gives Liz a powerful sedative
Sedative
A sedative or tranquilizer is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement....
for the trip. Later, 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"...
) walks in on a meeting between Jack and the American silver medalist in tetherball
Tetherball
Tetherball is a North American game for two opposing players. The equipment consists of a stationary metal pole, from which is hung a volleyball from a rope, or tether. The two players stand on opposite sides of the pole. Each player tries to hit the ball one way; one clockwise, and one...
, Tyler Brody (Remy Auberjonois). Tyler is angry at Jack for not selecting him as the gold medalist, and is threatening to go public with the revelation that there was no Olympic tetherball competition during the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, as it was staged to boost NBC's ratings. To keep him quiet, Jack tells him that he can "be the voice of Knight Rider" in a film adaptation, which Tyler considers. Afterwards, Kenneth tells Jack that he "lost two heroes today", as he looked up to both Jack and Tyler. As a result, Jack wants to be in Kenneth's good side, but wants to break his moral absolutism
Moral absolutism
Moral absolutism is an ethical view that certain actions are absolutely right or wrong, regardless of other contexts such as their consequences or the intentions behind them. Thus stealing, for instance, might be considered to be always immoral, even if done to promote some other good , and even if...
, after Kenneth did not hesitate to attempt to kill himself when he believed the air in a stalled elevator was about to run out. Jack finally succeeds when he supplies Kenneth with a big screen television, but no cable hookup. Kenneth steals cable and later confesses to Jack, asking if SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom"...
"is supposed to be terrifying".
Meanwhile, 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...
(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...
) demands compensation for her voice work
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
in 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:...
's (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:...
) pornographic video game, Gorgasm: The Legend of Dong Slayer. The argument escalates and Liz orders them to stop their bickering. After Liz leaves for Chicago, Jenna and Tracy decide to conduct a social experiment to see whether Tracy can survive better as a white woman better than Jenna can as a black man, after arguing respectively that black men and white women have it harder in society. Later, while on her flight, Liz takes Jack's sedative. Liz realizes that the woman sitting next to her is Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
. When Liz arrives back at the 30 Rock studios, Tracy is dressed in female drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
with his body covered in white makeup and soon after, Jenna enters in blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
and male drag. Jack worries that the situation has gone out of control, but Liz assures him that Oprah, who is coming to the studios, will be able to make them come to terms. As it turns out, her inflight conversation with Oprah was a hallucination
Hallucination
A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid,...
. The person who Liz thought was Oprah is actually a 12-year-old girl named Pam (Raven Goodwin). Even so, Pam engages Tracy and Jenna in a heart-to-heart, and manages to settle their differences.
Production
"Believe in the Stars" was written by executive producer Robert CarlockRobert 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:...
and directed by series producer 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...
. This episode was Carlock's ninth writing credit, and was Scardino's fifteenth directed episode. "Believe in the Stars" originally aired in the United States on November 6, 2008 on NBC as the second episode of the show's third 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...
and the 38th overall episode of the series.
In September 2008, it was announced that television host Oprah Winfrey would guest star on the show. She filmed her appearance on September 13, 2008. When Winfrey interviewed series creator Tina Fey on her show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
in November, Fey revealed that they shot their scene together on a Saturday, a day that the show normally does not film on. Actress Raven Goodwin played Pam, a 12-year-old girl that, while hallucinating, Liz Lemon believed was Oprah. Actor Remy Auberjonois played Olympic medalist Tyler Brody in this episode. This was actor Todd Buonopane's debut as the character Jeffrey Weinerslav, an NBC Human Resource mediator. In "Believe in the Stars", Jeffrey tries to mediate the disagreement that Jenna and Tracy are having over the video game. Buonopane later guest starred in the episodes "Cutbacks" and "Jackie Jormp-Jomp
Jackie Jormp-Jomp
"Jackie Jormp-Jomp" is the eighteenth episode of the third season of the American television series 30 Rock. It was directed by series producer Don Scardino, and written by executive story editor Kay Cannon and script co-coordinator Tracey Wigfield. The episode originally aired on the National...
".
Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
is frequently referenced in 30 Rock, beginning with the pilot episode
Pilot (30 Rock)
The pilot episode of the American situation comedy series 30 Rock premiered on October 10, 2006 on the CTV Television Network in Canada, and October 11, 2006 on NBC in the United States...
in 2006 where Tracy Jordan is seen shouting that he is a Jedi
Jedi
The Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe and the series's main protagonists. The Jedi use a power called the Force and weapons called lightsabers, which emit a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, in order to serve and protect the Republic and the galaxy at large from conflict...
. Liz admits to being a huge fan of Star Wars, saying that she had watched it many times with Pete Hornberger (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,...
), and dressed up as the Star Wars character Princess Leia
Princess Leia Organa
Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe...
during four recent Halloweens, and in this episode while trying to get out of jury duty in Chicago. Star Wars is also referenced when Tracy takes on the identity of the character Chewbacca
Chewbacca
Chewbacca, also known as Chewie, is a character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Peter Mayhew. In the series' narrative chronology, he appears in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
. Fey, a fan of Star Wars herself, said that the weekly Star Wars joke or reference "started happening organically" when the crew realized that they had a Star Wars reference "in almost every show". She said that from then on "it became a thing where [they] tried to keep it going", and that even though they could not include one in every episode, they still had a "pretty high batting average". She attributed most of the references to Carlock, whom she described as "the resident expert".
Reception
According to the Nielsen ratingsNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
system, "Believe in the Stars" was watched by 8.0 million households in its original American broadcast. It earned a 3.9 rating/9 share in the 18–49 demographic. This means that it was seen by 3.9 percent of all 18–49 years olds, and 9 percent of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This was a decrease from the season premiere episode, "Do-Over
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...
", which was watched by 8.7 million American viewers. Nonetheless, this episode was the eighth highest-rated show on the NBC network during the week of November 3–9, 2008. Since airing, "Believe in the Stars" has received good reception from television critics.
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 praised the episode, saying that it was "an absolutely perfect episode with not a moment wasted [and] equally hilarious were the storylines between Jack and Kenneth, and Tracy and Jenna. The episode had everything that makes 30 Rock great." Canning opined that Liz's admissions to Oprah Winfrey were "painfully funny", and that Tracy "was on fire" following his actions in this episode. In conclusion, Canning gave it a 10 out of 10 rating. Jeremy Medina of Paste
Paste (magazine)
Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...
was complimentary towards the episode, reporting that it had "madcap humor tirelessly delivered one joke after another at a lightning fast speed, adding up to one of the funniest episodes in the series." Medina enjoyed the social experiment between Jenna and Tracy, noting that it was "hilarious". 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...
Star Tribune
The Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is published seven days each week in an edition for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. A statewide version is also available across Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The...
believed it was "the most brilliant episode in the series' history". Television columnist 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...
wrote that "Believe in the Stars" belonged to Tina Fey "who has grown by leaps and bounds as an actress over the past few years. The Princess Leia voice, her drunken panic on the plane [...] and the religious fervor at the knowledge that Oprah would be coming to the studio were all hilarious, and played with the sort of confidence I don't know that she would have had at the start of the series."
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...
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 wrote that "the least effective plot" in this episode was Jenna and Tracy's.