Flu Shot (30 Rock)
Encyclopedia
"Flu Shot" is the eighth episode of the third season
of the American television comedy series 30 Rock
. It was written by Jon Pollack
, and directed by series producer Don Scardino
. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company
(NBC) in the United States on January 15, 2009. Guest stars in this episode include George Bartenieff, Scott Bryce
, Salma Hayek
, and Chris Parnell
.
In the episode, Liz Lemon
(Tina Fey
) campaigns for her staff's right to get flu shots from Dr. Leo Spaceman (Parnell), but Jack Donaghy
(Alec Baldwin
) will not allow it due to a limited supply. Meanwhile, Jack tries to think of creative ways to spend time with his girlfriend, Elisa (Hayek), as she works seven days a week. At the same time, Jenna Maroney
(Jane Krakowski
) and Tracy Jordan
(Tracy Morgan
) try to do something nice for the crew.
"Flu Shot" was not well-received by television critics, with Robert Canning of IGN
concluding that the episode fell below 30 Rock standards. According to the Nielsen ratings
system, it was watched by 6.6 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 3.2 rating/8 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.
(Tina Fey
) is excited about her vacation week, until she gets a text message from her assistant, Cerie Xerox (Katrina Bowden
), that the hotel she had planned to stay at was overbooked. Liz goes to see Dr. Leo Spaceman (Chris Parnell
) who is giving out flu shots at the 30 Rock studios. She learns that the shots are given to select few employees. Her boss, Jack Donaghy
(Alec Baldwin
), asks her to let him know about the most important individuals in her staff that should receive flu shots. Liz does not agree with Jack that he should ration out health care, which results in Liz not getting a shot. Jack considers giving the show's page, Kenneth Parcell
(Jack McBrayer
), one of the remaining shots, as he is very ill with the flu, though Kenneth refuses. Later, Jack continuously asks Liz, but still refuses. This time, she displays her solidarity in front of the The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan (TGS) crew who show her their appreciation. However, as she sees the crew getting sicker, as days go by, she panics and gets the shot.
Meanwhile, Jack wants to spend time with his girlfriend, Elisa (Salma Hayek
), but her job as a nurse does not allow it. While taking care of an elderly man named Mr. Templeton (George Bartenieff), who suffers from dementia
, Jack persuades her to spend time with him, to which Elisa gives in to, and results in the two bringing Mr. Templeton along on their dates. One day, as they prepare to go out again, Jack and Elisa are shocked when Mr. Templeton's son, Michael (Scott Bryce
), visits unexpectedly. The elderly man tells his son about the late night escapades, though Elisa tells the son that his story is not true. As Elisa distracts the son, Jack tries to leave the apartment, until Mr. Templeton sees him. Jack explains his situation with Elisa to Mr. Templeton, which he understands, and promises Jack he will not tell his son anything more of the late nights.
At the 30 Rock studios, Jenna Maroney
(Jane Krakowski
) and Tracy Jordan
(Tracy Morgan
), the stars of TGS, decide they want to help the sick crew. They think about getting the crew soup but are too lazy to do it; instead they decide that laughter is the best medicine. Jenna and Tracy, dressed as clowns, put on a very unsuccessful show at the TGS stage where they end up throwing a pie on Liz's face. The crew stands up for Liz until they see the red dot where she received the shot. She confesses that she chose the vacation over the crew, as she later was told by Cerie that the hotel had rooms available, which results in the crew hating her for it.
and directed by Don Scardino
. This was Pollack's second writing credit, having written season two
episode "Greenzo
". This was Scardino's seventeenth directed episode. "Flu Shot" originally aired on NBC as the eighth episode of the show's third season
in the United States on January 15, 2009.
This episode was actress Salma Hayek
's second appearance on 30 Rock as the character, Elisa. She first appeared in the episode "Señor Macho Solo
" as a nurse for Jack Donaghy
's mother and love interest for Jack. In this episode, composer Jeff Richmond
wrote a theme for the Elisa character. Actor Chris Parnell
, who played Dr. Leo Spaceman in "Flu Shot", has appeared in the main cast of Saturday Night Live
(SNL), a weekly sketch comedy
series which airs on NBC in the United States. Series' creator, executive producer and lead actress Tina Fey
was the head writer
on SNL from 1999 until 2006. Fey and Tracy Morgan
have both been part of the main cast of SNL. Alec Baldwin
, who plays Jack, has also hosted SNL fifteen times. This was Parnell's eighth appearance on the show. Actor Scott Bryce
guest starred as Michael Templeton, the son of Mr. Templeton (George Bartenieff). Though, Bryce would make an appearance on the show's fourth season
episode "Don Geiss, America and Hope
" as Dave Hess, a former colleague of Jack's.
According to Fey, in the DVD commentary for this episode, the show was not allowed to "say or imply" that the United States government had truly run out of flu shots, as many jokes in the original script were cut out. In addition, there were "a lot of meetings" in regards to where the red dot on Liz Lemon
's arm would be. In the commentary, Fey revealed that the show had to ask Disney permission to "imply" that Jack and Elisa, while on their date, were in attendance at The Lion King
musical, which was granted. The romantic scenes between Jack and Elisa, which showed them at a park at night, were filmed in front of a green screen
. The show's producers initially wanted to go to different locations around New York, but believed it would be too hard to shoot. In addition, Liz's scenes at the beach were also shot in front of a green screen.
Canadian singer-songwriter Michael Bublé
performed the song "Mr. Templeton" that was featured in this episode. In a January 2009 interview, the singer said he was notified by his manager that both Alec Baldwin and Salma Hayek—fans of the singer—hoped he could write a "funny little tune" to the "Flu Shot" episode, to which he agreed. Bublé was referenced in the previous episode, "Señor Macho Solo
", as Hayek's character teases Baldwin's Jack over his many album collections of the singer. Bublé, a fan of 30 Rock, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly
, said he was asked by the show to perform the song, and as a result, Bublé went to Canadian singer Bryan Adams
' studio in Vancouver and recorded "Mr. Templeton" there.
According to the Nielsen ratings
system, "Flu Shot" was watched by 6.6 million households in its original American broadcast. It earned a 3.2 rating/8 share in the 18–49 demographic. This means that it was seen by 3.2% of all 18–49 years olds, and 8% of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This was an increase from the previous episode, "Señor Macho Solo
", which was watched by 5.4 million American viewers.
Since airing, the episode was not well-received by television critics. IGN
contributor Robert Canning said "Flu Shot" had a number of aspects that he enjoyed, but "as a whole" the episode was not completely satisfying, and reasoned that this episode fell below 30 Rock standards. He said that he personally did not buy the idea of Liz taking a tropical vacation, "[t]hat's just not the Liz I know. But even ignoring this, the bits involved, especially the flashes to Liz on the beach, weren't all that inspired." Canning also was critical of Jack and Elisa's story as he felt it was weak. Overall, he rated the episode a 7.6 out of 10. Bob Sassone
of AOL
's TV Squad wrote, "Is it just me or was this one of the more lacking episodes of 30 Rock? It's not that it was terrible ... but this one just seemed to meander. It wasn't as funny as other episodes ... and that whole crew-as-zombies-with-the-flu stuff was a little bit too surreal, even for this show." Further in his review, Sassone wrote that the Tracy
and Jenna
subplot started funny, but ended "in a lame, predictable manner." Television columnist Alan Sepinwall for The Star-Ledger
, also disliked "Flu Shot", opining that it was a disappointment. Sepinwall further added that the Jack and Elisa story "felt like something out of a bad '80s sitcom – and not even the 30 Rock take on a bad '80s sitcom episode." Sepinwall, however, wrote that the episode did have a good moment with Kenneth
suggesting to Tracy that he and Jenna get soup for the sick crew themselves, and with Tracy replying "With what? My arms?".
Not all reviews were negative. Claire Zulkey for The A.V. Club
wrote, "For me, there are two types of episodes of 30 Rock: the really really good ones, where all the parts come together to make a wonderful whole, and the pretty good ones, where there memorable jokes and lines are all there, but put all together create a kind of uneven episode. That struck me as tonight's type of episode." Though, Zulkey felt that the zombies scene "didn't really work" except for when Liz smashed a picture frame over Pete Hornberger's (Scott Adsit
) head. She said that the "funniest part" from "Flu Shot" was the look on Jack and Elisa's faces "as the animals from The Lion King walked through the audience." The Palm Beach Post
' s Kevin D. Thompson, in his review of "Flu Shot", said it featured many funny lines.
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...
. It was written by Jon Pollack
Jon Pollack
Jonathan Pollack is an American television producer and writer.Pollack has worked on shows such as Spin City, Just Shoot Me!, Father of the Pride, Joey, Andy Barker, P.I., Home Improvement and 30 Rock...
, 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) in the United States on January 15, 2009. Guest stars in this episode include George Bartenieff, Scott Bryce
Scott Bryce
Scott Macalister Bryce , sometimes credited as Scott M. Bryce, is an American film and television actor. Bryce is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Craig Montgomery on As the World Turns....
, Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek
Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez de Pinault is a Mexican film actress, director and producer. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Frida Kahlo in the film Frida.-Early life:...
, and 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...
.
In the episode, 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...
) campaigns for her staff's right to get flu shots from Dr. Leo Spaceman (Parnell), but 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...
) will not allow it due to a limited supply. Meanwhile, Jack tries to think of creative ways to spend time with his girlfriend, Elisa (Hayek), as she works seven days a week. At the same time, 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...
) and 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:...
) try to do something nice for the crew.
"Flu Shot" was not well-received by television critics, with 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...
concluding that the episode fell below 30 Rock standards. 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, it was watched by 6.6 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 3.2 rating/8 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.
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 excited about her vacation week, until she gets a text message from her assistant, 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 :...
), that the hotel she had planned to stay at was overbooked. Liz goes to see Dr. Leo Spaceman (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...
) who is giving out flu shots at the 30 Rock studios. She learns that the shots are given to select few employees. 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...
), asks her to let him know about the most important individuals in her staff that should receive flu shots. Liz does not agree with Jack that he should ration out health care, which results in Liz not getting a shot. Jack considers giving the show's page, 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"...
), one of the remaining shots, as he is very ill with the flu, though Kenneth refuses. Later, Jack continuously asks Liz, but still refuses. This time, she displays her solidarity in front of the The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan (TGS) crew who show her their appreciation. However, as she sees the crew getting sicker, as days go by, she panics and gets the shot.
Meanwhile, Jack wants to spend time with his girlfriend, Elisa (Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek
Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez de Pinault is a Mexican film actress, director and producer. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Frida Kahlo in the film Frida.-Early life:...
), but her job as a nurse does not allow it. While taking care of an elderly man named Mr. Templeton (George Bartenieff), who suffers from dementia
Dementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
, Jack persuades her to spend time with him, to which Elisa gives in to, and results in the two bringing Mr. Templeton along on their dates. One day, as they prepare to go out again, Jack and Elisa are shocked when Mr. Templeton's son, Michael (Scott Bryce
Scott Bryce
Scott Macalister Bryce , sometimes credited as Scott M. Bryce, is an American film and television actor. Bryce is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Craig Montgomery on As the World Turns....
), visits unexpectedly. The elderly man tells his son about the late night escapades, though Elisa tells the son that his story is not true. As Elisa distracts the son, Jack tries to leave the apartment, until Mr. Templeton sees him. Jack explains his situation with Elisa to Mr. Templeton, which he understands, and promises Jack he will not tell his son anything more of the late nights.
At the 30 Rock studios, 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...
) and 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:...
), the stars of TGS, decide they want to help the sick crew. They think about getting the crew soup but are too lazy to do it; instead they decide that laughter is the best medicine. Jenna and Tracy, dressed as clowns, put on a very unsuccessful show at the TGS stage where they end up throwing a pie on Liz's face. The crew stands up for Liz until they see the red dot where she received the shot. She confesses that she chose the vacation over the crew, as she later was told by Cerie that the hotel had rooms available, which results in the crew hating her for it.
Production
"Flu Shot" was written by Jon PollackJon Pollack
Jonathan Pollack is an American television producer and writer.Pollack has worked on shows such as Spin City, Just Shoot Me!, Father of the Pride, Joey, Andy Barker, P.I., Home Improvement and 30 Rock...
and directed by 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 was Pollack's second writing credit, having written season two
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...
episode "Greenzo
Greenzo
"Greenzo" is the fifth episode of NBC's second season of 30 Rock and twenty-sixth episode overall. It was written by Jon Pollack and directed by series producer Don Scardino. It aired on November 8, 2007 in the United States...
". This was Scardino's seventeenth directed episode. "Flu Shot" originally aired on NBC as the eighth 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...
in the United States on January 15, 2009.
This episode was actress Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek
Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez de Pinault is a Mexican film actress, director and producer. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Frida Kahlo in the film Frida.-Early life:...
's second appearance on 30 Rock as the character, Elisa. She first appeared in the episode "Señor Macho Solo
Señor Macho Solo
"Señor Macho Solo" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 43rd overall episode of the series. It was written by co-executive producer Ron Weiner and directed by Beth McCarthy. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting...
" as a nurse for 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....
's mother and love interest for Jack. In this episode, composer 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:...
wrote a theme for the Elisa character. Actor 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...
, who played Dr. Leo Spaceman in "Flu Shot", 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. Series' creator, executive producer and lead actress 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...
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. Fey and 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:...
have both been part of the main cast of SNL. 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...
, who plays Jack, has also hosted SNL fifteen times. This was Parnell's eighth appearance on the show. Actor Scott Bryce
Scott Bryce
Scott Macalister Bryce , sometimes credited as Scott M. Bryce, is an American film and television actor. Bryce is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Craig Montgomery on As the World Turns....
guest starred as Michael Templeton, the son of Mr. Templeton (George Bartenieff). Though, Bryce would make an appearance on 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...
episode "Don Geiss, America and Hope
Don Geiss, America and Hope
"Don Geiss, America and Hope" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 73rd overall episode of the series. It was directed by Stephen Lee Davis, and written by Jack Burditt and Tracey Wigfield. The episode originally aired on the...
" as Dave Hess, a former colleague of Jack's.
According to Fey, in the DVD commentary for this episode, the show was not allowed to "say or imply" that the United States government had truly run out of flu shots, as many jokes in the original script were cut out. In addition, there were "a lot of meetings" in regards to where the red dot on 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:...
's arm would be. In the commentary, Fey revealed that the show had to ask Disney permission to "imply" that Jack and Elisa, while on their date, were in attendance at The Lion King
The Lion King (musical)
The Lion King is a musical based on the 1994 Disney animated film of the same name with music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice along with the musical score created by Hans Zimmer with choral arrangements by Lebo M. Directed by Julie Taymor, the musical features actors in animal costumes as well...
musical, which was granted. The romantic scenes between Jack and Elisa, which showed them at a park at night, were filmed in front of a green screen
Chroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
. The show's producers initially wanted to go to different locations around New York, but believed it would be too hard to shoot. In addition, Liz's scenes at the beach were also shot in front of a green screen.
Canadian singer-songwriter Michael Bublé
Michael Bublé
Michael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...
performed the song "Mr. Templeton" that was featured in this episode. In a January 2009 interview, the singer said he was notified by his manager that both Alec Baldwin and Salma Hayek—fans of the singer—hoped he could write a "funny little tune" to the "Flu Shot" episode, to which he agreed. Bublé was referenced in the previous episode, "Señor Macho Solo
Señor Macho Solo
"Señor Macho Solo" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 43rd overall episode of the series. It was written by co-executive producer Ron Weiner and directed by Beth McCarthy. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting...
", as Hayek's character teases Baldwin's Jack over his many album collections of the singer. Bublé, a fan of 30 Rock, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, said he was asked by the show to perform the song, and as a result, Bublé went to Canadian singer Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
' studio in Vancouver and recorded "Mr. Templeton" there.
Reception
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, "Flu Shot" was watched by 6.6 million households in its original American broadcast. It earned a 3.2 rating/8 share in the 18–49 demographic. This means that it was seen by 3.2% of all 18–49 years olds, and 8% of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This was an increase from the previous episode, "Señor Macho Solo
Señor Macho Solo
"Señor Macho Solo" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 43rd overall episode of the series. It was written by co-executive producer Ron Weiner and directed by Beth McCarthy. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting...
", which was watched by 5.4 million American viewers.
Since airing, the episode was not well-received by 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 said "Flu Shot" had a number of aspects that he enjoyed, but "as a whole" the episode was not completely satisfying, and reasoned that this episode fell below 30 Rock standards. He said that he personally did not buy the idea of Liz taking a tropical vacation, "[t]hat's just not the Liz I know. But even ignoring this, the bits involved, especially the flashes to Liz on the beach, weren't all that inspired." Canning also was critical of Jack and Elisa's story as he felt it was weak. Overall, he rated the episode a 7.6 out of 10. 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 wrote, "Is it just me or was this one of the more lacking episodes of 30 Rock? It's not that it was terrible ... but this one just seemed to meander. It wasn't as funny as other episodes ... and that whole crew-as-zombies-with-the-flu stuff was a little bit too surreal, even for this show." Further in his review, Sassone wrote that the Tracy
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:...
and Jenna
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...
subplot started funny, but ended "in a lame, predictable manner." Television columnist Alan Sepinwall for 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...
, also disliked "Flu Shot", opining that it was a disappointment. Sepinwall further added that the Jack and Elisa story "felt like something out of a bad '80s sitcom – and not even the 30 Rock take on a bad '80s sitcom episode." Sepinwall, however, wrote that the episode did have a good moment with Kenneth
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...
suggesting to Tracy that he and Jenna get soup for the sick crew themselves, and with Tracy replying "With what? My arms?".
Not all reviews were negative. Claire Zulkey for 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...
wrote, "For me, there are two types of episodes of 30 Rock: the really really good ones, where all the parts come together to make a wonderful whole, and the pretty good ones, where there memorable jokes and lines are all there, but put all together create a kind of uneven episode. That struck me as tonight's type of episode." Though, Zulkey felt that the zombies scene "didn't really work" except for when Liz smashed a picture frame over Pete Hornberger's (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,...
) head. She said that the "funniest part" from "Flu Shot" was the look on Jack and Elisa's faces "as the animals from The Lion King walked through the audience." The Palm Beach Post
The Palm Beach Post
The Palm Beach Post is a major daily newspaper in Florida, serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and the Treasure Coast area. It is the 72nd largest daily newspaper in the United States and the sixth largest in Florida.-History:...