Jack helps his brother Eddie land a job at 'TGS', Liz is forced to make desperate staff cutbacks, and Tracy seeks spiritual fulfillment with help from Kenneth.
Observational dark comedy sustains 89-point rating across 59 jokes in 22 minutes.
Directed by Dennie Gordon, Don Scardino · Written by Jack Burditt, Daisy Gardner, Robert Carlock
WAR
73.8
Wins Above Replacement
“The Fighting Irish” ranks #29 of 138 30 Rock episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 89.0 — Elite. The episode packs 59 scored jokes at 2.7 per minute, averaging 7.4 on craft and 7.1 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
Jack: Say hello to Bono and Sandra Day O'Connor!
Jack Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Tracy: I believe the moon doesn't exist. I believe that vampires are the world's greatest golfers, but their curse is that they'll never get to prove it. I believe that there are 31 letters in the white alphabet.
Tracy Absurdist Escalation ★ Rewatch Eddie: Juvie, Jonestown, that time I punched Goofy.
Eddie Escalation Absurdist ★ Rewatch Callback Jack Deadpan/Understatement Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Jack's Dad · Jack: Dad? Your brother Eddie's dead. He wanted you to have his watch.
All Jokes — 59 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Liz: Oh, anything that doesn't have the word 'strip,' 'salsa,' or 'beatz' with a Z in the name of it.
Liz Observational Wordplay/Pun ★ Rewatch Liz: I finally just threw them out this morning 'cause they got that really bad flower smell. I kind of couldn't stop smelling them.
Liz Character Comedy Observational ★ Rewatch Instructor: Don't give up, ponytail.
Jack: That is the cutest thing I've ever seen. Isn't that adorable? You have to fire 10% of your staff.
Jack Misdirection Setup/Punchline ★ Rewatch Jack: We're synergizing backward overflow.
Jack Absurdist Wordplay/Pun ★ Rewatch Jack: Now, there are 140 people on this show, so go out there and make 126 people very happy.
Jack Dark/Subversive Setup/Punchline ★ Rewatch Writers: Marco. Polo! Marco! Polo! Josh, you suck at this game, man.
Frank: Those big farm people hands crushin' my windpipe.
Frank Character Comedy Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Liz: You mean that you flat-out lied about getting a vasectomy? Don't tell me that backfired.
Liz Irony/Sarcasm Callback Callback Liz: How good, like Judaism good, or just like Unitarian?
Liz Observational Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Tracy: My attorney told me I should join a church preemptively. 'Cause juries are suspicious of celebrities who find religion after getting into trouble.
Tracy Dark/Subversive Observational ★ Rewatch Tracy: I believe the moon doesn't exist. I believe that vampires are the world's greatest golfers, but their curse is that they'll never get to prove it. I believe that there are 31 letters in the white alphabet.
Tracy Absurdist Escalation ★ Rewatch Liz: Mm, I pretty much just do whatever Oprah tells me to.
Liz Character Comedy Observational ★ Rewatch Eddie: You know, you could be pretty if you didn't scowl so much.
Eddie Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Jack · Eddie: That's Dona-gee, not Dona-hee!
Jack Eddie Running Gag Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Jack: What'd you two dirtbags do now? Fix the Cotton Bowl?
Jack Character Comedy Callback Jack: I haven't seen Eddie since I bailed him out of Disney jail.
Jack Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Jack: My dad and Eddie are a blotch on the Dona-hee name-- Dona-gee name.
Jack Running Gag Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Kenneth · Congregation member: We haven't been Presbyterian for months. And y'all always meet on Wednesday nights? Yeah, we lose half the congregation every time American Idol starts up.
Tracy · Congregation: He pointed right at me! He sure did!
Writer · Liz: Banana walnut, your favorite. Uh, that's not correct, but okay.
Writer Liz Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Writer: You make smart sexy.
Writer Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Eddie: I talk homeless people into joining the Army.
Eddie Dark/Subversive Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Eddie: Juvie, Jonestown, that time I punched Goofy.
Eddie Escalation Absurdist ★ Rewatch Callback Jack Deadpan/Understatement Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Liz: No, it's... it's only inappropriate when it's ugly people.
Liz Dark/Subversive Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Liz: I know who I can fire!
Liz Character Comedy Setup/Punchline Liz: Ugh, you can just tell she is by her stupid face!
Liz Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort ★ Rewatch Frank: You look like that lady astronaut who tried to kidnap that other woman.
Frank Observational Callback ★ Rewatch Liz: Diapers, Mace, Houston to Orlando in nine hours? Blammo.
Liz Escalation Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Liz: For the first time ever, things are lining up for old Liz Lemon.
Liz Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Eddie: But you had to go to the bathroom, so Dad missed seeing Meredith Vieira!
Eddie Absurdist Character Comedy Eddie: They never once said anything about the racist stuff towards the end.
Eddie Dark/Subversive Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Jack: Oh, come on, we're Irish. We're a forgiving people.
Jack Irony/Sarcasm Observational ★ Rewatch Tracy: Kabbalah is a wonderful religion that mixes the fun part of Judaism with magic.
Tracy Observational Absurdist ★ Rewatch Eddie: This one sounds really expensive and gay.
Eddie Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Eddie: You know, because of The Da Vinci Code.
Eddie Observational Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Eddie: I bet Pops is looking down right now and saying, 'If I could come back and do any broad, it'd be that one right there.'
Eddie Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Jack: That's Patrick, this is Patricia, this is Katherine Catherine, and her husband Bobby, and this is, uh, Margaret. We just found out about her today.
Jack Absurdist Escalation ★ Rewatch Patrick: Come here, you magnificent douche bag!
Patrick Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun Patrick: Stop showing off and have a drink.
Patrick Character Comedy Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Family member: Stop showing off and have a drink.
Liz · Other Liz: What would you say are your weaknesses? Some people say I'm too nice.
Liz: You're fired! I'm the decider!
Liz Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Liz: You're fired! You're all fired! Clean out your desks! Fired!
Liz Escalation Physical/Slapstick Jack: And you still think our next President should be a woman?
Jack Dark/Subversive Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Jack: Lemon, you've gone chicken killer on me over a guy whose name you don't know?
Jack Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Liz: Eddie just said to write the initials on the check. C... A... S... H.
Liz Setup/Punchline Misdirection ★ Rewatch Jack's Dad · Jack: Dad? Your brother Eddie's dead. He wanted you to have his watch.
Jack's Dad: It's pronounced Dona-fee, you lace curtain half-an-Englishman!
Jack's Dad Running Gag Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Jack: Say hello to Bono and Sandra Day O'Connor!
Jack Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Jack: Say hello to Bono and Sandra Day O'Connor!
Jack Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Liz: I want you...to punch your sister in the face.
Liz Dark/Subversive Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Jack: To know that they'll be there after I'm dead, fighting over my corpse before it's cryogenically frozen.
Jack Character Comedy Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Liz: It seems that things are lining up once again for old Liz Lemon.
Liz Callback Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Callback Lutz · Flower guy: I should've just gotten a vasectomy! Let me explain.
Frank: I should've just gotten a vasectomy!
Frank Callback Irony/Sarcasm Callback Tracy: I'm IrisCatholic now. Like you, Regis, and the Pope.
Tracy Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Jack: Whether things are good, or bad, or you're simply eating tacos in the park. There is always the crushing guilt.
Jack Escalation Observational ★ Rewatch 