TGS Hates Women
Encyclopedia
"TGS Hates Women" is the sixteenth episode of the fifth season
of the American television comedy series 30 Rock
, and the 96th overall episode of the series. It was written by co-executive producer Ron Weiner
and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller
. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company
(NBC) network in the United States on February 24, 2011. Guest stars in this episode include Cristin Milioti
and Chloë Moretz
.
In the episode, The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan (TGS) is accused of being misogynistic, so Liz Lemon
(Tina Fey
) hires a female writer, Abby Flynn (Cristin Milioti
) in order to prove that it isn't. However, she becomes frustrated when it turns out that Abby is provocative and extremely stereotypical. At the same time, Jack Donaghy
(Alec Baldwin
) formulates a plan to one day become the CEO of Kabletown, but to do that he needs to eliminate his competition, the current CEO's granddaughter, Kaylee Hooper (Chloë Moretz
).
This episode of 30 Rock received mixed reviews from television critics. According to Nielsen Media Research
, "TGS Hates Women" was watched by 4.501 million viewers during its original broadcast, and received a 2.3 rating/6 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.
" accuses The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan (TGS) of being misogynistic due to their lack of female writers and detracting, stereotypical portrayal of female characters. Liz Lemon
(Tina Fey
) takes the accusation to heart, and begins to wonder if it is true, when she remembers that the last show, in the absence of Tracy Jordan
(Tracy Morgan
), had focused entirely on Jenna Maroney
(Jane Krakowski
) getting her period
in different guises, including those of Amelia Earhart
and Hillary Clinton
. In order to address the criticism, Liz decides to hire an up and coming comedienne named Abby Flynn (Cristin Milioti
), but becomes frustrated when she turns out to be an embarrassing female stereotype
, and so seeks to uncover her real personality.
Meanwhile, Jack Donaghy
(Alec Baldwin
) plots to someday become the CEO of Kabletown, but in order to do that he must first eliminate the competition, the current CEO's granddaughter, Kaylee Hooper (Chloë Moretz
). He decides to meet Kaylee, whereupon he discovers that she has little interest in following in her Grandfather's footsteps and instead wants to become a marine biologist
. Jack further encourages her along this career path, even introducing her to Robert Ballard
, the man who discovered the wreck of the Titanic. However, his efforts begin to work against him, as he yearns for his own childhood dreams, which were also of marine biology.
Both Liz and Jack's respective plans backfire. Liz discovers that Abby Flynn's real name is Abby Grossman, and that the real reason she is hiding her identity is because her psychopathic ex-husband is hunting her down. This revelation causes a panicked Abby to rush out of the TGS writers room, screaming that Liz is a Judas
to women everywhere. Meanwhile, Jack discovers that Kaylee has no interest in marine biology. She had, in fact, found out about his own interest by reading his book, Jack Attack, and was attempting to use it against him in the same way he was her.
and The Daily Show
over the hiring of model and former G4 TV co-host Olivia Munn
as a correspondent.
The character of Abby Flynn/Abby Grossman may refer to comedians Sarah Silverman
(SNL Season 19) and Janeane Garofalo
(SNL Season 20), who quit Saturday Night Live
after a year due to its sexist and misogynistic treatment of its female talent. Abby Flynn acts like a caricature of Silverman's outre onstage persona and the clip of Abby Grossman performing standup resembles Garofalo's cadence and body language.
Abby Flynn/Abby Grossman says that her ex-boyfriend tried to run her over with her car after being electrocuted while watching Sleeping with the Enemy
, to which Jenna says that she was cut out of it. Afterwards, Abby receives a box in which her ex suggests putting her head and also saying that he was electrocuted again while watching Se7en
.
and directed by Beth McCarthy Miller. This was Weiner's eighth writing credit, and McCarthy-Miller's twelfth directed episode. "TGS Hates Women" originally aired in the United States on February 24, 2011, on NBC as the sixteenth episode of the show's fifth season and the 96th overall episode of the series.
Actresses Cristin Milioti
and Chloë Moretz
guest starred in the episode, the latter playing Kaylee Hooper, the granddaughter of Hank Hooper. Actor Tracy Morgan
was absent from the episode, his second absence after the previous episode "It's Never Too Late for Now". Morgan had undergone a kidney transplantation
, and would miss several episodes of the series whilst recovering. Some of the exterior shots of Chloe Moretz's character's school were filmed outside the Museum of the City of New York
, the same location formerly used by CW TV show Gossip Girl
, "TGS Hates Women" was watched by 4.501 million viewers in its original American broadcast. It earned a 2.3 rating/6 share in the 18–49 demographic. This means that it was seen by 2.3 percent of all 18–49 year olds, and 6 percent of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This was an increase from the previous episode, "It's Never Too Late for Now", which was watched by 4.072 million American viewers.
The episode received mixed reviews from television critics. Alan Sepinwall of HitFix
praised Moretz's performance, describing Kaylee Hooper as "wonderfully played" and opining that "Alec Baldwin is often at his funniest in this role when Jack is going up against a completely ridiculous foe or obstacle, and I think a 14-year-old schemer makes a better foil for him than, say, Devon Banks has been". Ian McDonald of TV Overmind agreed, calling Jack's plot the "saving grace of the episode", and describing Liz's plot as "a chore to sit through, mostly because Milioti played the role of the female gross-out comic so believably that it became grating on [his] nerves."
Kelsea Stahler of Hollywood.com remarked: "the plot resembled a little spat between The Daily Show
and feminist blog Jezebel
a while back when the blog railed on The Daily Show for being anti-feminist for hiring hottie correspondent Olivia Munn
". However, she concluded that the episode was a "downward shift" and that, despite the interesting subject matter, it ultimately had not accomplished anything.
Rebecca Traister at Salon.com
said: "To dig deeply – and wittily – into these ultimately unsolvable but real issues, especially with direct tributes to places like Jezebel and more broadly the feminist critique of media powerhouses like Stewart
's Daily Show or of Fey herself, is to pay them the honor of taking them seriously – seriously comedically." Traister characterized the episode as "Fey's clever, direct admission that she's been paying attention.".
30 Rock (season 5)
The fifth season of 30 Rock, an American television comedy series on the NBC network in the United States, began airing on September 23, 2010. NBC announced on March 5, 2010 that 30 Rock would be returning for a fifth season in the 2010–2011 television season...
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 96th overall episode of the series. It was written by co-executive producer Ron Weiner
Ron Weiner
Ron Weiner is an American television writer. He has written for several shows, including 30 Rock, NewsRadio, Futurama, Arrested Development, Father of the Pride, and Help Me Help You....
and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller
Beth McCarthy-Miller
Beth McCarthy or Beth McCarthy-Miller was the director of NBCs Saturday Night Live starting in 1995. She left SNL in 2006 at the end of season 31, replaced as director by Don Roy King...
. 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 February 24, 2011. Guest stars in this episode include Cristin Milioti
Cristin Milioti
Cristin Milioti is an American actress who has worked primarily in Broadway theatre. She is the 2010 star of That Face.-Biography:...
and Chloë Moretz
Chloe Moretz
Chloë Grace Moretz is an American actress, known for her role as Hit-Girl in the 2010 superhero film Kick-Ass. She also appeared in The Amityville Horror, Days of Summer, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Hugo, and portrayed Abby, the child vampire, in Let Me In.-Personal life:Moretz was born in Atlanta,...
.
In the episode, The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan (TGS) is accused of being misogynistic, so 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...
) hires a female writer, Abby Flynn (Cristin Milioti
Cristin Milioti
Cristin Milioti is an American actress who has worked primarily in Broadway theatre. She is the 2010 star of That Face.-Biography:...
) in order to prove that it isn't. However, she becomes frustrated when it turns out that Abby is provocative and extremely stereotypical. At the same time, 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...
) formulates a plan to one day become the CEO of Kabletown, but to do that he needs to eliminate his competition, the current CEO's granddaughter, Kaylee Hooper (Chloë Moretz
Chloe Moretz
Chloë Grace Moretz is an American actress, known for her role as Hit-Girl in the 2010 superhero film Kick-Ass. She also appeared in The Amityville Horror, Days of Summer, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Hugo, and portrayed Abby, the child vampire, in Let Me In.-Personal life:Moretz was born in Atlanta,...
).
This episode of 30 Rock received mixed reviews from television critics. According to Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
, "TGS Hates Women" was watched by 4.501 million viewers during its original broadcast, and received a 2.3 rating/6 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.
Plot
A feminist blog entitled "Joan of SnarkJezebel (website)
Jezebel is a blog aimed at women's interests, under the tagline "Celebrity, Sex, Fashion. Without Airbrushing". It is one of several blogs owned by Gawker Media.Jezebel was launched on May 21, 2007, as the 14th Gawker blog...
" accuses The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan (TGS) of being misogynistic due to their lack of female writers and detracting, stereotypical portrayal of female characters. 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...
) takes the accusation to heart, and begins to wonder if it is true, when she remembers that the last show, in the absence of 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:...
), had focused entirely on 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...
) getting her period
Menstruation
Menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining . It occurs on a regular basis in sexually reproductive-age females of certain mammal species. This article focuses on human menstruation.-Overview:...
in different guises, including those of Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
and Hillary Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
. In order to address the criticism, Liz decides to hire an up and coming comedienne named Abby Flynn (Cristin Milioti
Cristin Milioti
Cristin Milioti is an American actress who has worked primarily in Broadway theatre. She is the 2010 star of That Face.-Biography:...
), but becomes frustrated when she turns out to be an embarrassing female stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
, and so seeks to uncover her real personality.
Meanwhile, 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...
) plots to someday become the CEO of Kabletown, but in order to do that he must first eliminate the competition, the current CEO's granddaughter, Kaylee Hooper (Chloë Moretz
Chloe Moretz
Chloë Grace Moretz is an American actress, known for her role as Hit-Girl in the 2010 superhero film Kick-Ass. She also appeared in The Amityville Horror, Days of Summer, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Hugo, and portrayed Abby, the child vampire, in Let Me In.-Personal life:Moretz was born in Atlanta,...
). He decides to meet Kaylee, whereupon he discovers that she has little interest in following in her Grandfather's footsteps and instead wants to become a marine biologist
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
. Jack further encourages her along this career path, even introducing her to Robert Ballard
Robert Ballard
Robert Duane Ballard is a former United States Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology. He is most famous for the discoveries of the wrecks of the RMS Titanic in 1985, the battleship Bismarck in 1989,...
, the man who discovered the wreck of the Titanic. However, his efforts begin to work against him, as he yearns for his own childhood dreams, which were also of marine biology.
Both Liz and Jack's respective plans backfire. Liz discovers that Abby Flynn's real name is Abby Grossman, and that the real reason she is hiding her identity is because her psychopathic ex-husband is hunting her down. This revelation causes a panicked Abby to rush out of the TGS writers room, screaming that Liz is a Judas
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
to women everywhere. Meanwhile, Jack discovers that Kaylee has no interest in marine biology. She had, in fact, found out about his own interest by reading his book, Jack Attack, and was attempting to use it against him in the same way he was her.
Cultural references
The blog "Joan of Snark" and its criticism of The Girly Show (TGS) refers to a spat between the blog JezebelJezebel (website)
Jezebel is a blog aimed at women's interests, under the tagline "Celebrity, Sex, Fashion. Without Airbrushing". It is one of several blogs owned by Gawker Media.Jezebel was launched on May 21, 2007, as the 14th Gawker blog...
and The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
over the hiring of model and former G4 TV co-host Olivia Munn
Olivia Munn
Lisa Olivia Munn is an American comedic actress, model, television personality and author. She began her career being credited as Lisa Munn. Since 2006, she has been using the name Olivia Munn personally and professionally....
as a correspondent.
The character of Abby Flynn/Abby Grossman may refer to comedians Sarah Silverman
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Kate Silverman is a Jewish American comedian, writer, actress, singer and musician. Her satirical comedy addresses social taboos and controversial topics such as racism, sexism, and religion....
(SNL Season 19) and Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist and writer. She is the former co-host on the now defunct Air America Radio's The Majority Report. Garofalo continues to circulate regularly within New York City's local comedy and performance art scene.-Early...
(SNL Season 20), who quit 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...
after a year due to its sexist and misogynistic treatment of its female talent. Abby Flynn acts like a caricature of Silverman's outre onstage persona and the clip of Abby Grossman performing standup resembles Garofalo's cadence and body language.
Abby Flynn/Abby Grossman says that her ex-boyfriend tried to run her over with her car after being electrocuted while watching Sleeping with the Enemy
Sleeping with the Enemy (1991 film)
Sleeping with the Enemy is a 1991 psychological thriller film directed by Joseph Ruben and starring Julia Roberts. The film is based on Nancy Price's 1987 novel of the same name...
, to which Jenna says that she was cut out of it. Afterwards, Abby receives a box in which her ex suggests putting her head and also saying that he was electrocuted again while watching Se7en
Seven (film)
Seven is a 1995 American thriller film, which also contains horror and neo-noir elements, directed by David Fincher and written by Andrew Kevin Walker. It was distributed by New Line Cinema and stars Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, R...
.
Production
This episode of 30 Rock was written by co-executive producer Ron WeinerRon Weiner
Ron Weiner is an American television writer. He has written for several shows, including 30 Rock, NewsRadio, Futurama, Arrested Development, Father of the Pride, and Help Me Help You....
and directed by Beth McCarthy Miller. This was Weiner's eighth writing credit, and McCarthy-Miller's twelfth directed episode. "TGS Hates Women" originally aired in the United States on February 24, 2011, on NBC as the sixteenth episode of the show's fifth season and the 96th overall episode of the series.
Actresses Cristin Milioti
Cristin Milioti
Cristin Milioti is an American actress who has worked primarily in Broadway theatre. She is the 2010 star of That Face.-Biography:...
and Chloë Moretz
Chloe Moretz
Chloë Grace Moretz is an American actress, known for her role as Hit-Girl in the 2010 superhero film Kick-Ass. She also appeared in The Amityville Horror, Days of Summer, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Hugo, and portrayed Abby, the child vampire, in Let Me In.-Personal life:Moretz was born in Atlanta,...
guest starred in the episode, the latter playing Kaylee Hooper, the granddaughter of Hank Hooper. Actor 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:...
was absent from the episode, his second absence after the previous episode "It's Never Too Late for Now". Morgan had undergone a kidney transplantation
Kidney transplantation
Kidney transplantation or renal transplantation is the organ transplant of a kidney into a patient with end-stage renal disease. Kidney transplantation is typically classified as deceased-donor or living-donor transplantation depending on the source of the donor organ...
, and would miss several episodes of the series whilst recovering. Some of the exterior shots of Chloe Moretz's character's school were filmed outside the Museum of the City of New York
Museum of the City of New York
The Museum of the City of New York is an art gallery and history museum founded in 1923 to present the history of New York City, USA and its people...
, the same location formerly used by CW TV show Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
Reception
According to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
, "TGS Hates Women" was watched by 4.501 million viewers in its original American broadcast. It earned a 2.3 rating/6 share in the 18–49 demographic. This means that it was seen by 2.3 percent of all 18–49 year olds, and 6 percent of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This was an increase from the previous episode, "It's Never Too Late for Now", which was watched by 4.072 million American viewers.
The episode received mixed reviews from television critics. Alan Sepinwall of HitFix
HitFix
HitFix, or the HitFix.com is an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information and providing reviews and critiques of film, music and television...
praised Moretz's performance, describing Kaylee Hooper as "wonderfully played" and opining that "Alec Baldwin is often at his funniest in this role when Jack is going up against a completely ridiculous foe or obstacle, and I think a 14-year-old schemer makes a better foil for him than, say, Devon Banks has been". Ian McDonald of TV Overmind agreed, calling Jack's plot the "saving grace of the episode", and describing Liz's plot as "a chore to sit through, mostly because Milioti played the role of the female gross-out comic so believably that it became grating on [his] nerves."
Kelsea Stahler of Hollywood.com remarked: "the plot resembled a little spat between The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
and feminist blog Jezebel
Jezebel (website)
Jezebel is a blog aimed at women's interests, under the tagline "Celebrity, Sex, Fashion. Without Airbrushing". It is one of several blogs owned by Gawker Media.Jezebel was launched on May 21, 2007, as the 14th Gawker blog...
a while back when the blog railed on The Daily Show for being anti-feminist for hiring hottie correspondent Olivia Munn
Olivia Munn
Lisa Olivia Munn is an American comedic actress, model, television personality and author. She began her career being credited as Lisa Munn. Since 2006, she has been using the name Olivia Munn personally and professionally....
". However, she concluded that the episode was a "downward shift" and that, despite the interesting subject matter, it ultimately had not accomplished anything.
Rebecca Traister at Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
said: "To dig deeply – and wittily – into these ultimately unsolvable but real issues, especially with direct tributes to places like Jezebel and more broadly the feminist critique of media powerhouses like Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
's Daily Show or of Fey herself, is to pay them the honor of taking them seriously – seriously comedically." Traister characterized the episode as "Fey's clever, direct admission that she's been paying attention.".