Hoping to boost staffers' spirits, Liz takes TGS on the road, but Jack takes over for his own reasons, and the staff find reasons to blame Liz for all that's wrong in their lives.
Season 4's densest episode delivers 59 jokes across 43 minutes via character-driven absurdism.
Directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller · Written by Vali Chandrasekaran
WAR
62.2
Wins Above Replacement
“Winter Madness” ranks #112 of 138 30 Rock episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 80.9 — Elite. The episode packs 59 scored jokes at 2.4 per minute, averaging 7.3 on craft and 6.8 on impact, with Jack landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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Top Jokes
Jack: I have elaborate fantasies of her husband dying in a boat explosion.
Jack Dark/Subversive Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Pete: Cross promotional, Deal mechanics, Revenue streams, Jargon, Synergy.
Pete Absurdist Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Liz Misdirection Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Kenneth: My wife and I have disparate levels of attractiveness, because I am a successful inventor.
Kenneth Character Comedy Observational Liz: The creative process was that I saw that name, forgot that I saw it, and said it later.
Liz Meta/Self-Referential Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch All Jokes — 59 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Liz: You can do some serious subway flirting before you realize the guy is homeless.
Liz Observational Setup/Punchline ★ Rewatch Liz: Oh, is that where the word 'sad' comes from?
Liz Wordplay/Pun Absurdist ★ Rewatch Liz: I've been stuck inside playing online boggle. It's messing with my head. Star, rats, arts, tars.
Liz Character Comedy Observational Liz: How is female Larry Bird holding hands with a guy? What am I doing wrong?
Liz Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Jack: I'm telling Nancy that I'm with female Kevin McHale.
Jack Callback Wordplay/Pun Callback Jack: I have elaborate fantasies of her husband dying in a boat explosion.
Jack Dark/Subversive Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Liz: Stop. Pots. Tops. Opts. Post.
Liz Callback Character Comedy Callback Writers: Lutz, do the right thing. / It's Lutz's turn to pick where we eat today. / Oh, boy. Lutz, don't do this.
Lutz · Writer: Subway. / I hope you die!
Liz: Maybe some people won't be coming back next year.
Liz Meta/Self-Referential Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Jack · Nancy: Jonathan, why do I have an Indian assistant if my computer is always... Jack. I'm messing with you.
Nancy: I'm tired of waking up to a porch full of dead squirrels.
Nancy Absurdist Observational Nancy · Jack: I'm messing with you... Oh, very funny, Donna
Pete: He was pretty bad. Nutmeg. Rodeo, rodeo, rodeo.
Pete Absurdist Callback ★ Rewatch Pete: I can rent a convertible, You can complain about the heat with elderly people.
Pete Character Comedy Observational Pete: Cross promotional, Deal mechanics, Revenue streams, Jargon, Synergy.
Pete Absurdist Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Jack: That's the best presentation I've ever seen.
Jack Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy Pete: But I... I bought a parrot shirt.
Pete Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Liz: It is a city with an NBA team. And even though Will Smith never wrote any raps about it, the poet Robert Lowell lived there.
Liz Misdirection Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Writer · Writers: Well, not in Boston, but nearby. No, not tufts... Shut up. / Harvard.
Pete: Also, there is no Spectravision or Internet in the hotel, So plan ahead, gentlemen, porn-wise.
Pete Observational Cringe/Discomfort Frank: You think I like sharing a room with Toofer? Dude is still playing that Obama song.
Frank Character Comedy Observational Frank · Lutz: Maybe because one of us still hasn't read the other's screenplay. / I read it. I just didn't like it.
Cerie: Usually designers just make clothes for me, But when I do buy stuff, I'm a child's medium.
Cerie Character Comedy Absurdist Jenna: These are Jamie Foxx for assfarm.
Jenna Absurdist Wordplay/Pun Cerie · Jenna: I was making my thing up. You bitch! / What did you tell her, you vondruke?
Tracy: Thank you, thank you. It's great to be here, Cleveland. / You suck. / I suck? The rock and roll hall of fame sucks!
Tracy Escalation Character Comedy Sue: What did you tell her, you vondruke?
Sue Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun Kenneth: These gentlemen are the writers for Bruins Beat, Whose offices we'll be sharing. They are all named Sean. They are mean, and I hate it here.
Kenneth Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Jack: Seven items are different. See if you can spot which ones.
Jack Absurdist Meta/Self-Referential Jack: Oh, that'll really disappoint your key demographic of drunken 11-year-olds.
Jack Irony/Sarcasm Observational ★ Rewatch Jack: What keeps people polite on airplanes? A shared hatred of the CBS sitcoms They're forced to watch.
Jack Observational Meta/Self-Referential Jack: I find that news anchors and breasts are always smaller than they look on TV.
Jack Observational Wordplay/Pun Nancy: Tonight's top story, A Worcester man accused of trading his foster son for gasoline. And later in the hour, Ten tips on how to make your cat's birthday go purr-fectly.
Nancy Absurdist Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Nancy: Apparently Brad Pitt and Sharon Stone did a crap job rebuilding those Katrina homes, and Mark thinks he can make a fortune down there.
Nancy Observational Irony/Sarcasm Nancy: neither one of us know what to do about the dog, 'cause we both hate it.
Nancy Dark/Subversive Deadpan/Understatement Nancy: Yeah, we talked to Dr. Phil, and then we made a collage in our dream journals.
Nancy Irony/Sarcasm Absurdist Nancy: They just run off to New Orleans And jump on that B.S. Saints bandwagon. Go pats.
Nancy Character Comedy Observational Jack: I do if you can resuscitate an electrocuted person.
Jack Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Nancy: Can you wire the doorbell to the dog?
Nancy Dark/Subversive Callback ★ Rewatch Callback Tracy: You lying, white devil! The only people you set free were rich, white dudes like yourself!
Tracy Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Tracy: For a dude that has the most hilarious last name I ever heard, you blow.
Tracy Wordplay/Pun Observational Tracy: We didn't land on Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock landed on Mars!
Tracy Absurdist Misdirection ★ Rewatch Lutz: Because it's my birthday. And thanks for remembering. I'm 45. It's kind of a big deal.
Lutz Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Writer · Lutz: Who orders food from a gas station? / The Shell by me has good hot dogs.
Liz Misdirection Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Liz: Snitterman is the one Who cancelled taco night in the commissary. Snitterman is the one who okayed that cast photo where your hair looks green.
Liz Escalation Character Comedy Jenna Callback Absurdist ★ Rewatch Callback Jack: The Salem witch trials, the red scare, global warming.
Jack Observational Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Jack: Silas Marymount-Peppercorn
Jack Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Liz: The creative process was that I saw that name, forgot that I saw it, and said it later.
Liz Meta/Self-Referential Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Tracy · Bostonians: Then patriots are overrated. / Hey! What'd you say about the patriots? / I said they suck!
Kenneth: I am Silas Marymount-Peppercorn, And this is my first wife... Moronica.
Kenneth Absurdist Wordplay/Pun ★ Rewatch Callback Kenneth: My wife and I have disparate levels of attractiveness, because I am a successful inventor.
Kenneth Character Comedy Observational Frank: You little bitch. Look at you. You're just a suit. You're nobody!
Frank Escalation Character Comedy Lutz · Writers: Truffle shuffle! Truffle shuffle!
Jack: Your neighbors named their daughter Belichick!
Jack Observational Character Comedy Jack: let's get divorced. you marry the butler, And I'll be a gay octomom.
Jack Absurdist Observational ★ Rewatch Tracy · Crispus: Really? So five years after Crispus Attucks was killed in the Boston massacre? / Run, Crispus. He... he's on to us!
