Like most shows, 30 Rock used its first season to find its footing and decide what it was going to be as a show. The actors were feeling out their characters, and the writers were feeling out their stories, trying to find the perfect rhythm that would make their show so hilarious and popular for years to come.
Though they were still working on creating what would become the 30 Rock we now know and love, the seeds were already there in season one. Some of the jokes that the audience totally missed show just how good 30 Rock has been since day one.
10. “Jack Donaghy is gonna kill me, and then he’s gonna kill you, and then he’s gonna fold us up in a pizza and eat us.” — Liz Lemon
Liz Lemon is known for her spinning of wild scenarios as much as she’s known for her push and pull with her boss and mentor, Jack Donaghy. When she thinks she’s possibly upset Jack, she immediately spirals into a fatalistic crisis: Jack will absolutely cannibalize his mentee as a punishment.
In all honesty, she’s probably right. Jack proves throughout the show that he is merciless if he has been wronged in any way. It’s not surprising that Liz’s mind is on pizza, either, since she’s infamously relatable for her love of junk food.
9. “No, Tracy took advantage of my white guilt, which is supposed to be used only for good, like over-tipping and supporting Barack Obama.” — Liz Lemon
Tina Fey has never shied away from a difficult topic, as a creator, writer, or actress, so it’s not surprising that she’d be diving into the topic of white guilt in the very first season of 30 Rock. It’s easy to miss this joke since it goes by so quickly, but it’s hilarious when you go back and rewatch the show, which you should definitely do if you haven’t recently. Tina Fey has countless one-liners just like this one that can slip right by if you’re not paying close enough attention.
8. “Those shoes are definitely bi-curious.” — Jack Donaghy
The first season of a show is typically the season where the foundations are laid for each of the characters, which means the groundwork sometimes needs to be explicitly stated.
In this case, Liz has just discovered that Jack thinks she’s a lesbian, and so sought to not only tell him that she’s straight but also to find out why he thought she was gay, at which point he drops the bomb on her that her shoes are bi-curious.
7. Liz Lemon: “Why are you wearing a tux?” Jack Donaghy: “It’s after six. What am I, a farmer?”
When Liz Lemon goes to Jack Donaghy’s office after six o’clock in the evening to find him in a tuxedo she is, understandably, surprised. However, just like the joke about Liz’s shoes from the previous entry, this is a joke setting up who Jack is as a person, when Liz asks him why, exactly, he’s wearing a tux, which is what prompts Jack to point out that it’s after six. “What am I, a farmer?” Jack’s understanding of class distinctions continues to be hilarious throughout the show, akin to Lucille Bluth’s, “It’s one banana, Michael. What could it cost? Ten dollars?”
6. “Dress every day like you’re going to get murdered in those clothes.” — Tracy Jordan
Tracy Jordan, for all his total madness and abject chaos, does manage to sneak in some pretty valuable life lessons in the very first season of 30 Rock. While the writers are still trying to find a groove with Tracy in this first season, there are a few jokes just like this one that not only hint at Tracy’s overall worldview, but at who he is as a person, to make him think (and then proceed to say) such a thing. Regardless, it’s pretty solid advice that people should probably take on a daily basis.
5. “So, here’s some advice I wish I woulda got when I was your age: Live every week like it’s Shark Week.” — Tracy Jordan
In the same spirit as the previous joke, this one sees Tracy imparting another bit of sage wisdom. However, unlike the last joke, it’s not just pretty solid advice wrapped up in a glimpse at Tracy’s worldview.
No, this joke hits a little bit deeper, like the philosophers of old. In this joke, Tracy harkens back to the Roman poet Horace, reminding us of that old Latin aphorism: carpe diem! Seize the day! Tracy is reminding us of our own mortality, and that we should strive to feel the same joy and bone-deep contentment that we feel during Shark Week year-round.
4. “Boy, it’s crazy to think we used to settle questions of paternity by dunking a woman in water until she admitted she made it all up. Different time, the 60s.” — Dr. Leo Spaceman
Dr. Leo Spaceman is possibly the most underrated character in the history of television. Every time he appears on 30 Rock, my fiancé and I cheer his name and settle in for what’s no doubt going to be a hilarious scene. Portrayed by the ever-funny and effervescent Chris Parnell, Dr. Leo Spaceman is a “doctor” with questionable credentials and even more questionably outdated viewpoints of medicine. This season 1 joke from Dr. Leo Spaceman can go by so easily without the audience noticing, but it’s easily one of the funniest jokes in the entire season.
3. “I believe that the moon does not exist. I believe that vampires are the world’s greatest golfers but their curse is they never get a chance to prove it. I believe that there are 31 letters in the white alphabet. Wait… what was the question?” — Tracy Jordan
Every part of this joke is funnier than the last, and Tracy leaves the audience with a lot to unpack. He begins with the simple belief that the moon does not exist. While crazy for a normal person, this is normal for Tracy. Continuing into vampires being the world’s greatest golfers —an intriguing concept in itself—Tracy adds their curse, their true curse, being they can never prove it because night golfing is surely more absurd than vampire golfers.
Also, there are thirty-one letters in the alphabet. Not just the alphabet—the white alphabet. All this because Tracy was asked a completely unrelated question. Comedy gold, and so easy to miss any and every part of this roller coaster as it goes by.
2. “I’m going to be your bottom, Kenneth, and I want you to ride me as hard as you can.” — Jack Donaghy
When Alec Baldwin and Jack McBrayer, as Jack Donaghy and Kenneth Parcell, respectively, are in a scene together, it’s sure to be hilarious. The two of them play off each other in amazing ways, even from the beginning of the show, when Jack tells Kenneth all about the corporate Bottoms-Up Day, the one day a year when senior vice presidents do the job of one of their lowest-level employees, prompting Jack to be a page for a day while Kenneth is the boss.
Jack assures Kenneth that this is exactly how the Bottoms-Up program is supposed to work, explaining in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it joke that he’s going to be Kenneth’s bottom, and he wants him to ride him as hard as he can. Maybe Jack could learn a thing or two from Liz’s shoes.
1. Tracy Jordan: “I’m gonna make you a mixtape. You like Phil Collins?” Jack Donaghy: “I’ve got two ears and a heart, don’t I?”
The greatest joke everyone completely missed from the first season of 30 Rock is so easy to miss because it’s simply true. When Tracy decides he’s going to make Jack a mixtape, it’s just a matter of time before he asks about some hilarious artist or song.
Instead, he asks about Genesismember Phil Collins, who gave us not only hits like “In the Air Tonight,” “Against All Odds,” and “Sussudio,” but also the Tarzan soundtrack. Jack shoots back a joke that’s also not a joke, simply because it’s so accurate: he’s got two ears and a heart, doesn’t he? Anyone with two ears and a heart likes Phil Collins because that’s simply who we are as a society. Bravo, Jack. Bravo.
