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Cooter (30 Rock)

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"Cooter (30 Rock)"

"Cooter" is the fifteenth episode of the second season of 30 Rock and thirty-sixth episode of the series. It was written by series' creator Tina Fey and was directed by one of the season's producers, Don Scardino.[1] The episode first aired on May 8, 2008 on the NBC network in the United States.[2] "Cooter" follows Jack Donaghy's (Alec Baldwin) attempt to get fired from his new job in politics; Liz Lemon's (Fey) pregnancy scare and decision to adopt a baby; Tracy Jordan's (Tracy Morgan) creation of a pornographic video game; and Kenneth Parcell's (Jack McBrayer) aspiration to be an NBC page at the Beijing Olympics.

Career

"Cooter" received positive review from critics, and several considered it to be among the series' best episodes. Those who gave a negative review felt that the series was declining in creative quality. Several critics noted that Liz had a pregnancy scare the same week that Fey's film Baby Mama was released, possibly used as cross promotion. The episode was watched by 5.61 million American viewers on its original broadcast, and was nominated for two awards, winning one.

Plot

Jack gets a job in politics as the "Homeland Security Director for Crisis and Weather Management", however it is not what he expected. When he learns that Don Geiss (Rip Torn), the CEO of General Electric, said "Jackie Boy" while in his coma, he schemes with another government employee, Cooter (Matthew Broderick), to get fired. Jack also enlists the help of Celeste "C.C." Cunningham (Edie Falco), his Congresswoman (D-VT) ex-girlfriend, to approve research into a "gay bomb". Jack hopes that the bomb, an old Pentagon project that is expensive, inefficient and offensive to "both the red states and the gayer, blue states" will ultimately result in their dismissal. Meanwhile, Liz thinks she may be pregnant and is horrified when she discovers it is most likely the baby of her ex-boyfriend, Dennis Duffy (Dean Winters). After several pregnancy tests, she tells a visiting Jack that the positive tests are a result of her eating cheese puffs, which contains bull semen. Nevertheless, she tells Jack that she is ready to have a child and wants to adopt. Kenneth learns of an opportunity to be an NBC page at the Beijing Olympics, however head page Donny Lawson (Paul Scheer) tries to make sure that he does not submit his essay on time. Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) helps him complete his essay, but Donny stalls Kenneth by forcing him to deliver paper. Pete shoots Donny in the leg with an arrow and Kenneth delivers his essay in time. Tracy's invention, the world's first pornographic video game, is nearly complete. He gives Frank, who has helped him, the prototype copy of the game.

The episode shows what happens three months later, in August 2008. Jack and Cooter present their "gay bomb" to the Pentagon, which only works in closed areas. Cooter accidentally breaks the vial, causing everybody in the room, including General David Petraeus and Vice-president Dick Cheney to "feel funny". Frank emerges from his office after playing Tracy's game non-stop for three months, not realizing the amount of time that has passed. While in Beijing, Kenneth gets involved with a Chinese lady who wants his kidneys. The last point was said in Mandarin without subtitles, leaving the English-speaking audience unaware of the trouble Kenneth is in.

Production

Edie Falco enjoyed working with the cast of 30 Rock.

The title of the episode is one of Fey's favorite words, which she used multiple times when she appeared as an anchor on the Saturday Night Live sketch Weekend Update. Fey explains that she likes the word because "it's one of the least graphic ways to describe the female genitals".[3] This episode marks the final appearance of Edie Falco, who was hired for a three episode arc. Falco made her debut in the episode "Somebody to Love" as Celeste Cunningham, a Congresswoman and romantic interest of Jack. The pair break up in "Secrets and Lies", when they realize their careers prevent them from staying together. Falco said that she was "thrilled for the opportunity to work with such great comic actors", and expressed her enjoyment of watching the series. Fey was "thrilled to have such an amazing actress come join us", and joked that "a lot of guys on our crew want The Sopranos ending explained to them", in which Falco was a series regular.[4]

Reception

"Cooter" was watched by 5.61 million viewers, and received a 2.6 rating and 7 share in the 18-49 demographic. The 2.6 refers to 2.6% of all 18–49 years olds in the U.S., and the 7 refers to 7% of all 18–49 year olds watching television in the U.S. at the time of the broadcast. By comparison CBS's CSI was viewed by 17.82 million viewers, ABC's Grey's Anatomy received 15.60 million viewers, Fox's Don't Forget the Lyrics! received 6.22 million viewers, and The CW's Supernatural received 2.53 million viewers.[5] The finale was watched by 206,000 more viewers than the previous episode.[6] The episode was nominated for two awards, Fey won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series,[7] and Ken Eluto was nominated for a Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Comedy Series (Single Or Multi-Camera).[8]

Terry Morrow of the Knoxville News Sentinel said that although 30 Rock is struggling to find viewers, this "tiny show...shines with absolute brilliance", and declared "Cooter" one of its best episodes. He speculated that the lack of viewers may be because the show has failed to create an emotional bond with its audience, and is "happy to be a very witty sitcom". He felt the entire cast was "spot on", but singled out Jane Krakowski for her "scene-stealing" moments when she revealed the art of back door compliments.[9] Verne Gay of Newsday praised Jenna and Kenneth's storylines, and liked the cameo by Broderick, stating his "comic chops [were] on full display."[10] Robert Canning of IGN praised Kenneth and Tracy's storylines, and described Tracy's voice recording session for his porn video game as "thank-goodness-this-is-airing-later-than-8:30".[11] Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger felt the "nearly-perfect" episode was marred by Kenneth's page rivalry which "didn't work."[12] Time called "Cooter" the eighth best episode of 2008.[13]

Mark A. Perigard of the Boston Herald felt "Cooter" was one of the best episodes of 30 Rock's shortened season, with something for everyone in the ensemble cast to do. He noted that Fey's character Liz has a pregnancy scare the same week that Fey's film Baby Mama was in theaters, asking "how much mama drama does Tina Fey think viewers want"?[14] Bob Sassone of TV Squad originally thought the episode might have been secretly cross promoting Baby Mama, but ultimately decided against his judgment.[15] Jeff Labrecque of Entertainment Weekly was disappointed that Liz was not actually pregnant, and hoped that her former boyfriend Dennis would continue to reappear in the next season.[16] Oscar Dahl of BuddyTV speculated that the episode may have been hinting at Alec Baldwin's real life political plans, who was considering running for office.[17] Robert Bianco of USA Today gave the episode an unfavorable review. He felt that "Cooter" and the series in general had "lost its way creatively, ditching plot and character in a desperate, scattershot search for laughs, as if its new goal were to become a live-action version of Family Guy." He conjectured that 30 Rock was trying to avoid the mistakes of canceled Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which took the work of making a comedy too seriously. Bianco thought the show went too far in the other direction, which "may explain why a show that used to perform well in the ratings is now struggling to be third on the night".[18]

References

  1. ^ "30 Rock - "Cooter"". Yahoo. Retrieved 2008-10-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ "30 Rock "Cooter" 05-08-2008 9:31PM" (Press release). NBC Universal Media Village. May 8, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-26. {{cite press release}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ Spitznagel, Eric (November 2003). "Interview with Tina Fey". The Believer. Retrieved 2008-07-04. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ "People: Thousands say farewell to Pavarotti". The Denver Post. September 7, 2007. Retrieved 25 November 2008. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ Seidman, Robert (May 9, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings May 8, 2008: Trouble in Shonda-land?". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
  6. ^ Levine, Stuart (2008-05-09). "ABC wins tight Thursday race". Variety. Retrieved 2008-05-09. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ "Academy of Television Arts and Sciences 60th Primetime Emmy Awards" (PDF) (Press release). Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. 2008-09-21. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
  8. ^ "The 60th Primetime Emmy® Awards and Creative Arts Emmy® Awards Nominees are..." Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 2008-07-17. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  9. ^ Morrow, Terry (May 8, 2008). "Morrow: 30 Rock rolls into brilliant finale". Knoxville News Sentinel'. Retrieved 2008-06-05. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ Gay, Verne (May 8, 2008). "Last laughs (for now) on '30 Rock'". Newsday. Retrieved 2008-06-05. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ Canning, Robert (May 7, 2008). "30 Rock: "Cooter" Review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
  12. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (May 8, 2008). "30 Rock, "Cooter": The pen is mightier than the ketchup". NJ.com. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
  13. ^ Poniewozik, James. "8. 30 Rock, "Cooter"". Time. Retrieved 12 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ Perigard, Mark A. (May 8, 2008). "Rock delivers". Boston Herald. Retrieved 2008-06-05. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ Sassone, Bob (May 8, 2008). "30 Rock: Cooter (season finale) - Video". TV Squad. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
  16. ^ Labrecque, Jeff (May 9, 2008). "'30 Rock': Knocked Up and Down". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-06-05. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ Dahl, Oscar (May 9, 2008). "Did 30 Rock's Finale Hint at Alec Baldwin's Political Future?". BuddyTV. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
  18. ^ Bianco, Robert (May 9, 2008). "Review: Quirky '30 Rock' on a downhill roll at season's end". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-06-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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