Jenna anticipates the opening of her independent movie “The Rural Juror”, but the title proves to be a mighty tongue twister for the gang. Meanwhile, cash-challenged Tracy endorses his own celebrity product in an effort to get out of debt.
Dense absurdist hour hits 92.2: Liz's phonetic nightmare sustains the entire episode.
Directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller, Michael Engler · Written by Jack Burditt, Matt Hubbard
WAR
112.6
Wins Above Replacement
“The Rural Juror” ranks #120 of 138 30 Rock episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 93.0 — Elite. The episode packs 79 scored jokes at 3.4 per minute, averaging 7.5 on craft and 7.4 on impact, with Liz landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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Top Jokes
Jenna · Courtroom Actor: The Rural Juror courtroom scene playing: 'Your father Werner was a burger server in suburban Santa Barbara... When he spurned your mother Verna for a curly-haired server named Roberta, did that hurt her?'
Jack: Jack: 'I've got two ears and a heart, don't I?' (in response to being asked if he likes Phil Collins)
Jack Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Leo Spaceman: Leo: 'We have no way of knowing because the powerful bread lobby keeps stopping my research!'
Liz: Liz's 'one nice thing' about Jenna's wedding: 'Oh, my God! You looked so beautiful.' Then a long pause before 'The lighting was really neat.' Then another pause: 'Ethan and I both thought the programs were really easy to read.'
Liz Cringe/Discomfort Escalation Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Tracy · Jack: Tracy: 'I gave the Meat Machine to Whoopi.' Jack: 'Goldberg or Billingham?'
Tracy Jack Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback All Jokes — 79 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Jack · Tracy: Jack on the phone with Maureen Dowd while Tracy interrupts him — Jack saying 'I miss you too' and 'You're breaking up' while Tracy is standing right there demanding money
Jack · Tracy: Tracy: 'I need $60,000, or I'm gonna lose my house.' Jack: 'Which house?' Tracy: 'I need $100,000, or I'm gonna lose both my houses!'
Jack · Tracy · Grizz: Jack: 'Who's your money manager?' Tracy: 'Grizz.' Grizz: 'Worldcom, man. Worldcom.'
Jack · Tracy: Jack: 'You must know Arsenio. Hall or Billingham?' Tracy: 'You know someone named Arsenio Billingham?'
Jack: Because of Arsenio's 'woof-woof' catchphrase, they settled on dog food, which was a runaway success
Jack Absurdist Character Comedy Jack: Jack: 'I forgot about that Worldcom mess. Why you gotta be so obsessed with telecommunications?'
Jack Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Callback Liz · Jenna: Liz to Jenna: 'For the first time in your life, you'll be in a room full of women and you'll be the least crazy one.'
Jenna · Liz: Jenna refers to her movie as 'The Rurr-Jurr' and Liz almost says the title before catching herself — 'I didn't know they had a release date for The Rurr-- For that movie.'
Jenna Liz Running Gag Wordplay/Pun ★ Rewatch Writer 1 · Writer 2: Cut to two writers trying to figure out the title: 'No, it's awesome! I love that we can work while we're on cocaine!'
Writer 1 · Writer 2: Writers trying to decode the title: 'Could it be Roar Her, Gem Her?' / 'No, that doesn't make sense. It's got to be Oral Germ Whore.'
Pete Hornberger · Frank: Pete asks to see a comic book with 'pregnant zombie nuns' and immediately says 'Yes, I do' without hesitation.
Pete: Pete pronounces the title correctly: 'The Rural Juror! That is something.'
Pete Running Gag Deadpan/Understatement Callback Liz · Pete: Liz: 'It's hard to go wrong with a Kevin Grisham novel.' Pete: 'You mean John Grisham?' Liz: 'Oh, no. Kevin, John's brother.'
Pete · Liz: Pete: 'He just finished writing a sequel. It's called Urban Fervor.' Liz: 'Boy, these titles — they really make you think.'
Pete Liz Wordplay/Pun Running Gag Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Callback Jenna · Liz: Jenna and Liz reminiscing about the neighborhood festival in Little Armenia 'where they killed a goat in the street' — 'But we did have really good luck that year.'
Jenna Liz Dark/Subversive Deadpan/Understatement Kenneth · Tracy: Kenneth: 'I know a gentleman who had a lot of crazy ideas. He was a carpenter. He wanted everyone to love one another.' Tracy: 'Oh, you mean Jesus?' Kenneth: 'No — Miguel from set design. He's over there.'
Tracy: Tracy exclaims 'Eurek-o!' after talking to Miguel
Tracy Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun Liz: Liz: 'I guess it's no surprise that Tony Hawk can't play blind.'
Liz Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Pete · Liz: Pete tries to say the title: 'The Rrr--' / Liz: 'Rural.' / 'The Ruh--' / 'Rural.' / Pete gives up with a defeated 'Eh.'
Pete Liz Running Gag Physical/Slapstick ★ Rewatch Callback Liz: Liz's 'one nice thing' about Jenna's wedding: 'Oh, my God! You looked so beautiful.' Then a long pause before 'The lighting was really neat.' Then another pause: 'Ethan and I both thought the programs were really easy to read.'
Liz Cringe/Discomfort Escalation Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Pete: Pete: 'So what nice thing are you going to say about The Roaring Junior?'
Pete Running Gag Wordplay/Pun Callback Jack: Jack interrupting the meeting: 'No, you've got to tell them that when Paris Hilton tries to make out with the bear, the bear has to act like he's into it.'
Jack Absurdist Character Comedy Tracy: The Tracy Jordan Meat Machine infomercial: 'Tired of your sandwich making you angry? Then behold the Tracy Jordan Meat Machine!'
Tracy Character Comedy Absurdist Tracy: 'Never again will you have to suffer through the bread part of your sandwich.'
Tracy Absurdist Character Comedy Tracy · Ensemble: The Meat Machine chorus: '(all) Meat is the new bread! Uh-huh!'
Jack · Whoopi Goldberg: Jack: 'Well, it's certainly not the worst celebrity product idea I've ever heard.' Cut to: 'Hi, I'm Whoopi Goldberg. And you're Working Out With Whoopi.'
Jack: Jack explains GE's corporate ownership chain: GE owns KitchenAll of Colorado, which owns JMI of Stanford, which owns Pokerfastlane.com, which owns the Sheinhardt Wig Company, which owns NBC outright. NBC owns Winnipeg Iron Works which owns Ahp Chanagi Party Meats of Pyongyang, North Korea — 'And they will make the Meat Machine.'
Jack Character Comedy Absurdist Escalation ★ Rewatch Jack: Jack: 'I've got two ears and a heart, don't I?' (in response to being asked if he likes Phil Collins)
Jack Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch The View Host · Liz: The View host: 'And coming up, I'll be talking to The Girlie Show star Jenna Maroney about her upcoming project, The Rrr-Jrr.' Liz: 'That is not helpful.'
Liz · Frank: Tracy announces Jenna's character name: 'Jenna plays a southern lawyer named Constance Justice.' Frank: 'Constance Justice. Justice has been served. Good stuff.'
Liz · Jenna: Liz struggles to find something nice to say about the movie: 'Oh, my God, Jenna! The soundtrack was so moody.' Then: 'Your face was very expressive. And another cool part was...the trees.'
Liz Jenna Callback Cringe/Discomfort Escalation ★ Rewatch Callback Liz: Liz: 'I wasn't kidding about how cool those trees were, though. What were they? Oaks?'
Liz Callback Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Callback Leo Spaceman: Dr. Leo Spaceman: 'I'll do it! What is it?' (agreeing before hearing what he's endorsing)
Leo Spaceman: Dr. Leo Spaceman: 'If it's giving people meat, then I'm onboard. I've always said humans need more animal blood. It keeps the spine straight.'
Jack: Jack: 'Well, it would be rude not to take... one or two.'
Jack Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement View Host · Liz: The View segment about the movie: 'Now The Rrr Jrr is the true story of Rory Jerner, whose pure furor ensures a terrible murder--' Jenna's face cut: 'Excuse me. I feel like I'm getting further away from it.'
Josh · Kenneth: Kenneth's Google searches on Liz's computer: 'Her last two Google searches were for singles yoga and scalp pain.' Josh: 'That is grim.'
Josh: 'Man, that's disappointing. I had to let Tony watch me pee to get that tape.'
Josh Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Frank: Frank: 'The Rural Juror? Man, that's disappointing. I had to let Tony watch me pee to get that tape.'
Frank Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Jenna · Liz: Jenna says the Paris Hilton sketch is 'a train wreck.' Liz: 'Oh, I see. We're not talking about the nose. We're talking about the movie.'
Jenna: Jenna: 'Teenmoviescene.com gave it five out of five iPods.'
Jenna Character Comedy Absurdist Jenna · Liz: Jenna and Liz's 'Really?/Really.' exchange escalating to five rounds before Liz says 'Well, Jenna, I'm sorry you feel that way.'
Liz · Josh: Liz accidentally knocks into someone in the Paris Hilton costume: 'Ow! What the hell?' / 'Oh, God, I'm sorry! I didn't know there was a person in there!'
Liz Josh Physical/Slapstick Visual Gag Jenna · Liz · Pete: Jenna and Liz communicating through Pete: 'Pete, could you tell Liz Lemon not to stand in my eyeline while I'm rehearsing, please?' / 'Pete, could you tell Jenna she smells like a stripper?'
Liz: Liz: 'To retaliate, I'm writing impressions for her that she can't do.' Cut to: Liz in her office doing a Clinton impression: 'I did not have sexual relations with that woman.'
Liz Character Comedy Visual Gag Jack · Liz · Kenneth: Jack: 'I can barely keep a lid on the feud going on between Kenneth and Dougie from props.' Long pause as Jack and Liz stare at the monitor showing Kenneth and Dougie — Kenneth hiding behind a cart, Dougie menacing.
Tracy: Second Meat Machine infomercial: 'Audience, let me ask you a question. How many times has this happened to you?' [pause for visual gag of someone struggling with a sandwich]
Tracy Visual Gag Character Comedy Callback Leo Spaceman: Infomercial: 'That's delicious! And it's healthy.' Leo Spaceman: 'Hi, I'm Doctor Leo Spaceman. I'm a working physician with a degree from the Ho Chi Minh City School of Medicine.'
Dr. Leo Spaceman: Dr. Leo Spaceman: 'Hi, I'm Doctor Leo Spaceman. I'm a working physician with a degree from the Ho Chi Minh City School of Medicine.'
Leo Spaceman: Leo: 'We have no way of knowing because the powerful bread lobby keeps stopping my research!'
Tracy · Ensemble: Infomercial button: 'Bread will never maybe attack your brain again! Because with the Tracy Jordan Meat Machine — Say it with me now! (all) Meat is the new bread!'
Frank · Liz: Liz confronts the writers about watching the movie: Frank admits they all liked it. Liz: 'I can't believe you like this movie!' Frank: 'Fine, dismiss me. I guess because I look weird, I can't be perceptive.'
Kenneth · Cerie: Kenneth: 'Jeez, I hope those two work it out.' Cerie: 'Relax, man. As long as they're yapping at each other, we're not working. Enjoy it.'
Tracy · Kenneth · Jack: Multiple Meat Machines exploding grease, injuring Kenneth: 'Ow, ah! Cheese and crackers, that smarts!' / 'The grease burned me, Mr. Jordan.' / 'That one must be defective.' / 'They ALL must be like that!'
Liz · Jenna: Liz's apology: 'I am sorry that I assumed other people would hate the movie just because I hate it. That was wrong.' Jenna: 'That's it? That's your apology?'
Jenna · Liz: Jenna: 'So do I have to wear the nose tonight?' Liz: 'Yes you do.' Jenna: 'Okay, well then I hope you get bird flu and die.'
Jenna · Liz: Jenna: 'She doesn't even need those glasses.' Liz, turning back: 'Really, I'm a fake, blondie? I'm a fake?'
Jenna Liz Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Jack · Pete: Jack: 'Burning jets of grease, huh? Were any of our people hurt?' / Pete: '—Only Kenneth.' / Jack: 'Good.'
Jack Pete Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Jack · Tracy: Jack: 'We can't sell this... in the United States.' / Tracy: 'What?' / Jack: 'We simply have to find a market with lax safety regulations.'
Jack · Tracy: Jack: 'How about the Ukraine?' Tracy: 'Not the Ukraine.' Jack: 'I own some property on the Dnieper River.' Tracy: 'In Volyn?' Jack: 'Closer to Cherkasy.'
Tracy · Jack: Tracy: 'I can't put my name on a product that's gonna hurt people.' Jack: 'That's disappointing. Although I admire your integrity.'
Jenna: Jenna: 'I am so glad I studied voice at Northwestern so I could do raps about Suri Cruise.'
Jenna Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Liz: Liz: 'If it wasn't for me, you'd still be slutting it up for car dealership owners so they'd put you in their commercial.'
Liz Character Comedy Dark/Subversive Jenna · Liz: Jenna: 'This slut slept with your brother!' Liz: 'Mitch?' Jenna: 'Yeah, and let me tell you something about Mitch. He is disgusting in bed.' Liz: 'You know he's not right. He was in a really bad skiing accident!'
Jenna Liz Character Comedy Escalation Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Jack · Jenna · Liz: Jack arrives on the TGS stage where Jenna and Liz are fighting: 'Ladies.' Long beat as they freeze, staring at him. 'Sit down.'
Jack Jenna Liz Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Reaction Beat Jack: Jack: 'They've adapted The Rural Juror? I'm a huge Kevin Grisham fan.'
Jack Running Gag Callback ★ Rewatch Callback Jack · Liz: Jack: 'Even when I wanted you out of here, she wouldn't give in. I've never seen her so worked up. She came at me with that angry little badger face of hers.' Jack looks at Liz making the badger face. 'There it is right now.'
Jack Liz Character Comedy Visual Gag ★ Rewatch Jack Donaghy · Liz Lemon: Jack: 'Even when I wanted you out of here, she wouldn't give in. I've never seen her so worked up. She came at me with that angry little badger face of hers--' / Jack: 'There it is right now.'
Jack: Jack: 'The one time I try to take your side, Lemon, and you sandbag me.'
Jack Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Jenna: Jenna: 'I smelled crazy in here and I assumed it was you.'
Jenna Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Liz · Jenna: Liz shares her insecurity about wanting to be Jenna: 'That wants to be you, I guess.' Jenna: 'This is boring. I'm bored now.'
Jenna · Liz: After Liz's emotional confession that she wants Jenna's life, Jenna asks: 'So you really think I'm beautiful?' Liz: 'I never said that.' Jenna: 'Oh, I'm sorry.'
Jenna Liz Character Comedy Misdirection Callback Jenna Maroney: Jenna to Liz: '...you couldn't have been serious about acting for a living. You have brown hair.'
Russian Commercial Cast: Russian Meat Machine commercial: a man instructing a woman in Russian 'Feed me, Whoopi!' and everyone chanting 'Whoopi!'
Tracy · Jack: Tracy: 'I gave the Meat Machine to Whoopi.' Jack: 'Goldberg or Billingham?'
Tracy Jack Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Narrator/Jack: Cutaway to the Ukrainian Whoopi Goldberg/Meat Machine commercial with 'grivka' mentioned: 'Looks like Whoopi's made herself another billion grivka.'
Tracy: Cut to: Tracy eating from a Meat Machine and saying 'Food ball?'
Tracy Callback Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Callback Jenna · Courtroom Actor: The Rural Juror courtroom scene playing: 'Your father Werner was a burger server in suburban Santa Barbara... When he spurned your mother Verna for a curly-haired server named Roberta, did that hurt her?'
Jenna: Jenna's character in the film: 'It was hard on all of us, yes.' Then after a pause: 'I'll always be his little girl.'
Jenna Running Gag Wordplay/Pun ★ Rewatch Callback