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Rosemary's Baby (30 Rock)
Encyclopedia
"Rosemary's Baby" is the fourth episode of the second season of 30 Rock
, and the twenty-fifth episode overall. It was written by Jack Burditt
and was directed by Michael Engler
. The episode first aired on October 25, 2007 on the NBC
network in the United States. Guest stars in this episode include Elijah Cook, Carrie Fisher
, Marcella Roy, Paul Scheer
, Megan Blake Stevenson, Jean Villepique and Stuart Zagnit
.
The episode focuses on Liz Lemon
's (Tina Fey
) escapade with her idol, Rosemary Howard (Carrie Fisher
); Tracy Jordan
's (Tracy Morgan
) family problems; and Jenna Maroney
's (Jane Krakowski
) attempt to replace Kenneth Parcell
's (Jack McBrayer
) burnt page jacket. The episode was praised by critics, with Alec Baldwin
winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
(Alec Baldwin) announces that Liz Lemon is the winner of the "G.E. Followship Award", a prize awarded to the G.E. employee who best exemplifies a follower, which also includes $10,000. Liz takes Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit
) to a book signing to meet Rosemary Howard, her idol when she was a girl, and invites her to be a guest writer on "The Girlie Show". Rosemary pitches several controversial ideas to Jack, who orders Liz to fire her, but when Liz refuses, Jack fires them both. Liz goes to Rosemary's house, and once she realizes that Rosemary is crazy, she flees. Liz goes back to Jack's office and begs for her job back, and he happily rehires her. Jack promises to help Liz invest her prize money, and she swears that she will send Rosemary $400 a month for the rest of her life.
When Tracy causes a stir at a public event, Jack assures him that as a movie star, he can do anything he wants, except for dog fighting
. Jack finds Tracy disobeying his order, but Tracy shouts that Jack is not his dad. Jack and Tracy meet with an NBC shrink
, and Jack role-plays Tracy's father, Tracy, and Tracy's mom, among several other people from Tracy's childhood, conveying the message that even though Tracy's parents may have divorced, they still loved him. This comforts Tracy, and affirms that while he loves his family, they are crazy, and he needs to stay away from them. Tracy hugs Jack, and tells him that he is the only family he needs.
Jenna accidentally burns Kenneth's page jacket on a hot plate, and Kenneth worries that head page Donny Lawson (Paul Scheer) will punish him. Jenna finds Donny backstage at the studio, who is ecstatic that he finally has a reason to send Kenneth to CNBC in New Jersey. Donny offers Kenneth a choice: go to New Jersey, or compete in a "page off", a contest of physical stamina and NBC trivia; Jenna agrees to the page off. Before the event starts, Pete comes in and yells at the pages to get back to work. He forces Donny to give Kenneth a new jacket, but Donny swears to Jenna and Kenneth that he will get back at them.
is frequently referenced in 30 Rock, beginning with the pilot episode
where Tracy Jordan is seen shouting that he is a Jedi
. Liz Lemon admits to being a huge fan of Star Wars, saying that she had watched it many times with Pete Hornberger, and dressed up as the Star Wars character Princess Leia
during four recent Halloweens. Star Wars is also referenced when Tracy Jordan 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". Fey 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". Fey attributed most of the references to Robert Carlock
, who she described as "the resident expert". Prior to the airing of the episode, fans were "raving" about the much awaited guest appearance of Fisher. Fisher's last line in the episode, "Help me, Liz Lemon! You're my only hope!", was a spoof from her past role in the original Star Wars trilogy, in which she played Princess Leia.
According to the Nielsen ratings
system, "Rosemary's Baby" was viewed by an average of 6.5 million American viewers. The episode achieved a 3.1/8 in key 18–49 demographic. The 3.1 rating refers to 3.1% of all 18–49 year olds in the U.S., and the 8 share refers to 8% of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. In the U.S., "Rosemary's Baby" was up by 19% in the rating demographic compared to the previous episode, "The Collection," receiving its highest result since the second season premiere episode, "SeinfeldVision
," on October 4, 2007.
"Rosemary's Baby" was named as one of the "Top 11 TV Episodes of 2007" by UGO
, and ranked thirteenth on The Futon Critic' s list of "the 50 Best Episodes of 2007"; both citing the Baldwin and Morgan therapy scene as the reason. Matt Webb Mitovich of TV Guide
declared it as "one of 30 Rock's best episodes ever." Webb Mitovich praised Carrie Fisher's guest appearance, but felt that Baldwin's role-playing during Morgan's therapy session stole the show. Bob Sassone of TV Squad felt that even though the plot was "insane", the episode still managed "to have a heart at its core". Sassone called the therapy scene "one of the funniest scenes ... on TV this season". Robert Canning of IGN
felt that the episode has "great storylines to great guest stars", making it "one of the best the series has produced so far". Canning called the therapy scene "the best moment of the episode". Entertainment Weekly
put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, " Between Carrie Fisher's delightfully bonkers guest role and Jack Donaghy's hijacking of Tracy Jordan's therapy session, this 2007 episode was so wrong. And so good."
Michael Engler, the director of this episode, was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award in the category of Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series. Engler lost to Barry Sonnenfeld
of Pushing Daisies
. This episode earned Carrie Fisher a Primetime Emmy Award
nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
, and earned Jack Burditt an Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
.
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...
, and the twenty-fifth episode overall. It was written by Jack Burditt
Jack Burditt
Jack Burditt is an American producer and screenwriter who has worked on many television shows.He has worked as a writer on the NBC comedy series 30 Rock...
and was directed by Michael Engler
Michael Engler
Michael Engler is an American theatre director, and television director and producer. His Broadway credits include Eastern Standard and I Hate Hamlet...
. The episode first aired on October 25, 2007 on the NBC
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...
network in the United States. Guest stars in this episode include Elijah Cook, Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her...
, Marcella Roy, Paul Scheer
Paul Scheer
Paul Christian Scheer is an American comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He co-created and starred in MTV's sketch comedy series Human Giant and currently co-stars as Andre on the FX comedy The League. He also currently stars as Trent Hauser on the Adult Swim show NTSF:SD:SUV:: which he created...
, Megan Blake Stevenson, Jean Villepique and Stuart Zagnit
Stuart Zagnit
Stuart Zagnit is an American character actor. He has worked in all areas including Broadway, Off-Broadway, Regional, National Tours,television, films, commercials and voice-overs.-Theatre:*2011: The Merry Wives of Windsor - Brooklyn, NY - Sir John Falstaff*2009: How The Grinch Stole...
.
The episode focuses 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 (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...
) escapade with her idol, Rosemary Howard (Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her...
); 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:...
) family problems; 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...
's (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...
) attempt to replace 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...
's (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"...
) burnt page jacket. The episode was praised by critics, with 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...
winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
Plotlines
Jack DonaghyJack 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) announces that Liz Lemon is the winner of the "G.E. Followship Award", a prize awarded to the G.E. employee who best exemplifies a follower, which also includes $10,000. Liz takes 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,...
) to a book signing to meet Rosemary Howard, her idol when she was a girl, and invites her to be a guest writer on "The Girlie Show". Rosemary pitches several controversial ideas to Jack, who orders Liz to fire her, but when Liz refuses, Jack fires them both. Liz goes to Rosemary's house, and once she realizes that Rosemary is crazy, she flees. Liz goes back to Jack's office and begs for her job back, and he happily rehires her. Jack promises to help Liz invest her prize money, and she swears that she will send Rosemary $400 a month for the rest of her life.
When Tracy causes a stir at a public event, Jack assures him that as a movie star, he can do anything he wants, except for dog fighting
Dog fighting
Dog fighting is a form of blood sport in which game dogs are made to fight, sometimes to the death. It is illegal in most developed countries. Dog fighting is used for entertainment and may also generate revenue from stud fees, admission fees and gambling....
. Jack finds Tracy disobeying his order, but Tracy shouts that Jack is not his dad. Jack and Tracy meet with an NBC shrink
Mental health professional
A mental health professional is a health care practitioner who offers services for the purpose of improving an individual's mental health or to treat mental illness. This broad category includes psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, mental health...
, and Jack role-plays Tracy's father, Tracy, and Tracy's mom, among several other people from Tracy's childhood, conveying the message that even though Tracy's parents may have divorced, they still loved him. This comforts Tracy, and affirms that while he loves his family, they are crazy, and he needs to stay away from them. Tracy hugs Jack, and tells him that he is the only family he needs.
Jenna accidentally burns Kenneth's page jacket on a hot plate, and Kenneth worries that head page Donny Lawson (Paul Scheer) will punish him. Jenna finds Donny backstage at the studio, who is ecstatic that he finally has a reason to send Kenneth to CNBC in New Jersey. Donny offers Kenneth a choice: go to New Jersey, or compete in a "page off", a contest of physical stamina and NBC trivia; Jenna agrees to the page off. Before the event starts, Pete comes in and yells at the pages to get back to work. He forces Donny to give Kenneth a new jacket, but Donny swears to Jenna and Kenneth that he will get back at them.
Production
"Rosemary's Baby" was mainly filmed on September 11, 2007, while Fisher's scenes were filmed the next day on September 12, 2007. Star WarsStar 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...
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 Lemon admits to being a huge fan of Star Wars, saying that she had watched it many times with Pete Hornberger, 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. Star Wars is also referenced when Tracy Jordan 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". Fey 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". Fey attributed most of the references to 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:...
, who she described as "the resident expert". Prior to the airing of the episode, fans were "raving" about the much awaited guest appearance of Fisher. Fisher's last line in the episode, "Help me, Liz Lemon! You're my only hope!", was a spoof from her past role in the original Star Wars trilogy, in which she played Princess Leia.
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, "Rosemary's Baby" was viewed by an average of 6.5 million American viewers. The episode achieved a 3.1/8 in key 18–49 demographic. The 3.1 rating refers to 3.1% of all 18–49 year olds in the U.S., and the 8 share refers to 8% of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. In the U.S., "Rosemary's Baby" was up by 19% in the rating demographic compared to the previous episode, "The Collection," receiving its highest result since the second season premiere episode, "SeinfeldVision
SeinfeldVision
"SeinfeldVision" is the first episode of the second season of 30 Rock and the twenty-second episode of the series. It was written by the series' creator, executive producer and lead actress, Tina Fey and directed by producer Don Scardino...
," on October 4, 2007.
"Rosemary's Baby" was named as one of the "Top 11 TV Episodes of 2007" by UGO
UGO
UGO Entertainment, Inc. is a website providing coverage of online media in entertainment targeting males age 18–34. The company is currently based in New York, New York, United States. On July 24, 2007 it was announced that Hearst Corporation would acquire UGO Entertainment...
, and ranked thirteenth on The Futon Critic
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...
declared it as "one of 30 Rock's best episodes ever." Webb Mitovich praised Carrie Fisher's guest appearance, but felt that Baldwin's role-playing during Morgan's therapy session stole the show. Bob Sassone of TV Squad felt that even though the plot was "insane", the episode still managed "to have a heart at its core". Sassone called the therapy scene "one of the funniest scenes ... on TV this season". 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...
felt that the episode has "great storylines to great guest stars", making it "one of the best the series has produced so far". Canning called the therapy scene "the best moment of the episode". 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...
put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, " Between Carrie Fisher's delightfully bonkers guest role and Jack Donaghy's hijacking of Tracy Jordan's therapy session, this 2007 episode was so wrong. And so good."
Michael Engler, the director of this episode, was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award in the category of Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series. Engler lost to Barry Sonnenfeld
Barry Sonnenfeld
Barry Sonnenfeld is an American filmmaker and television director. He worked as cinematographer for the Coen brothers, then later he directed and produced big budget films such as Men in Black.-Life and career:...
of Pushing Daisies
Pushing Daisies
Pushing Daisies is an American comedy-drama television series created by Bryan Fuller that aired on ABC from October 3, 2007 to June 13, 2009. The series stars Lee Pace as Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to life with his touch, an ability that comes with stipulations...
. This episode earned Carrie Fisher a Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress - Comedy Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.-1970s:Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series...
, and earned Jack Burditt an Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series is an annual award presented as part of the Primetime Emmy Awards. It recognizes writing excellence in regular comedic series, most of which can generally be described as situation comedies.Though this category is the dominant one...
.