Liz schedules a root canal to avoid feeling lonely on Valentine's Day; Jack woos an attractive and successful TV host; Jenna's stalker loses interest.
Liz's feminist holiday spirals into 209 seconds of pure character-driven cringe.
Directed by Ken Whittingham · Written by Matt Hubbard
WAR
135.7
Wins Above Replacement
“Anna Howard Shaw Day” ranks #94 of 138 30 Rock episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 96.1 — Elite. The episode packs 89 scored jokes at 3.6 per minute, averaging 7.6 on craft and 7.4 on impact, with Liz Lemon landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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Top Jokes
Jenna Maroney: 'I always knew this would end someday. I just thought it would be with me in the trunk of a rental car.'
Tracy Jordan: Tracy's Valentine's Day: 'Angie and I rent a room with a heart-shaped hot tub and cook chili in it. Then we take it to a soup kitchen. And that's where it starts to get sexy.'
Jon Bon Jovi · Liz Lemon: The release continues: '"Jane Sadwoman" release Dr. Kaplan's office... Will likely die alone, eaten by house cats.'
Liz: Because my boyfriend, Astronaut Mike Dexter, will be picking me up. On his motorcycle.
Liz Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Jack Donaghy: 'Wow, that is inspired. You are truly the Picasso of loneliness.'
All Jokes — 89 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Liz Lemon · Evelyn: 'Valentine's Day is a sham created by card companies to reinforce and exploit gender stereotypes.' — immediately followed by 'Tommy Reticker gave me a card. I like Valentine's Day.'
Liz Lemon: 'Learn from my sexual misadventures, Evelyn.'
Liz Lemon Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Liz Lemon: 'Last Valentine's Day, I watched my boyfriend, Drew's, mother/grandmother die.'
Liz Lemon: 'I met Floyd on Valentine's Day, but he left me for the city of Cleveland.'
Liz Lemon: 'And forget about Dennis. That pervert would always just try to get me drunk.'
Liz Lemon: Liz buys cookies but reframes them as celebrating 'the February 14th birthday of Anna Howard Shaw, famed American suffragette'
Liz Lemon: 'Happy Anna Howard Shaw Day to us all!' — Liz says triumphantly to the hall
Liz Lemon Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Callback Jack Donaghy · Liz Lemon: Jack asks Liz which tie is more attractive for a TV appearance — the red — 'Thank you. I've got to look camera ready tonight.'
Liz Lemon: 'No, C.N.B.C. gives me a headache. I get all my money advice from P.B.S. — Where should I put my money? In tech stocks? Or the housing market? — Tech stocks, Foxy Moneybags! Tech stocks!'
Liz · PBS Advisor (TV): No, C.N.B.C. gives me a headache. I get all my money advice from P.B.S. / Where should I put my money? In tech stocks? Or the housing market? / Tech stocks, Foxy Moneybags! Tech stocks!
Jack Donaghy · Jonathan: Jack's assistant Jonathan asks 'are you and I exchanging...' — Jack cuts him off with 'No.'
Jack Donaghy · Liz Lemon: Jack's description of the intensity of Nancy: 'Like when you think there's one more stair, but there isn't. And all of a sudden, you're like "Whoa!"'
Jack Donaghy · Liz Lemon: 'Frankly, I could use a win.' / 'A win? What's with the euphemisms, Jack? Why don't you just say you want some...' / 'Is that sex, Lemon?' / 'It's the way I do it.'
Jack Donaghy · Liz Lemon: Jack's date system: Jonathan calls with a fake 'conference call with the Geneva office'; if Jack likes the date, he 'loudly tells Jonathan' he's doing something more important, the woman is 'suitably impressed,' and Jack is 'guaranteed to see some underwear. Perhaps a bra with a front clasp.'
Liz Lemon: Liz: 'I scheduled a root canal for February 14th, Jack. I will spend half the day in twilight sleep. Then I will go home and watch the Lifetime original movie, My Stepson is My Cyber-Husband.'
Jack Donaghy: 'Wow, that is inspired. You are truly the Picasso of loneliness.'
Liz Lemon: Liz's comeback: 'Or I am that painting elephant of being awesome.'
Liz Lemon Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Callback Jenna Maroney · Kenneth: Jenna reveals her stalker sends her Valentine's Day gifts and is concerned because she hasn't heard from him
Jenna Maroney: 'It's a real problem in the celebrity community. But if Beyonce simply answered one of my letters, I'd stop trying to break into her house.'
Jenna Maroney: 'Maynard's debilitating devotion validates how wonderful I am.'
Jenna: But what does it say about me if he's moved on? Maybe to one of my peers, like Julia Roberts.
Jenna Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Frank · Lutz: Frank casually asks the writers' room if they know any 'cool, new sex positions' for his 'girlfriend' Karen's Valentine's visit
Lutz · Frank: 'Oh, my God, Lutz. Are you still pretending Karen exists?' / 'She's real. Would a fake woman have a personal website at JDLutz.com/karen/proof?'
Writers' Room: Another writer: 'My cousin set me up on a blind date for Valentine's, and I just found out the girl is... well, urban.' — 'Are you saying she's black?'
Frank · Toofer: Toofer's Valentine's Day solution: go out with Frank and a janitor with 'messed-up teeth' who 'will only go out with me if she can bring her ugly sister'
Liz: Wow, I can't believe you guys are letting Valentine's Day win. Not me. One word. Oral. / Two words. Oral surgery. I'm having oral surgery and skipping Valentine's Day. Doctor's orders.
Liz Misdirection Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Liz Lemon: 'Wow, I can't believe you guys are letting Valentine's Day win.' / 'Not me. One word. Oral.' / 'Two words. Oral surgery. I'm having oral surgery and skipping Valentine's Day. Doctor's orders.'
Pete: Doctor's rules: someone must pick Liz up after anesthesia. Pete shares: 'When I had my wisdom teeth out, I tried to get in the bath with my mom.'
Pete Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Pete: Pete's Valentine's Day tradition: 'Every year, Paula and I rent this big suite up at Niagara. Then she takes the kids there and I stay home and get wasted in my garage. It's what keeps the magic alive.'
Pete Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Avery Jessup: Avery Jessup's immediate skewering of Walter Stein: 'Also joining me, Walter Stein, whose bow tie tells us he works for some liberal think tank. And the food in his beard tells us that he purchased a snack pack on the train from New Haven.'
Avery Jessup · Jack Donaghy · Walter Stein: The Hot Box rapid-fire Q&A: 'Who will be the next President?' / 'Mitt Romney's oldest son, Jezba.' / 'Dennis Kucinich.' / 'Okay, that's sad, Walter. Just sad.'
Jack Donaghy: Jack: 'Blackberry, Warren Buffett. iPhone, Jimmy Buffett.' — speed dial answers
Jack Donaghy: Jack's favorite movie: 'Tie, The Fountainhead or Uncle Buck.'
Walter Stein · Avery Jessup: Walter volunteers his movie: 'My wife and I just saw The Yellow Handkerchief.' / Avery: 'Just sit a couple out, Stein, god.'
Jack Donaghy · Avery Jessup: Jack and Avery bond over karaoke: Jack does Nitty Gritty Dirt Band; Avery 'rocks the brothers Halen' — 'Let's grab a drink after this.' / 'You read my mind.'
Tracy Jordan: Tracy's Valentine's Day: 'Angie and I rent a room with a heart-shaped hot tub and cook chili in it. Then we take it to a soup kitchen. And that's where it starts to get sexy.'
Jenna: Can't talk, Liz. I just got my stalker's work address from his parole officer, and I'm going to confront him about why he's ignoring me.
Jenna Character Comedy Absurdist Callback Kenneth Parcell: Kenneth's Valentine's Day plans: 'I will be attending an all-day abstinence rally. You're welcome to come. I think I've got an extra gender-neutralizing hood.'
Liz Lemon: Liz passes someone in the hall: 'Hey, Liz!' / 'Hey.' / 'The answer's no.'
Jenna Maroney · Maynard: Jenna confronts her stalker Maynard: 'Has the dog who gives you your orders died?' / 'No, Brandon's fine.'
Maynard: Maynard tells Jenna he's quitting stalking her: 'I have a new therapist. I'm taking my meds. I can't even see electricity shooting out of your head anymore.'
Jenna Maroney: 'I always knew this would end someday. I just thought it would be with me in the trunk of a rental car.'
Jack Donaghy · Date: Jack's date: 'Choate, then Yale, then two years in Africa with the Peace Corp.' / 'The Peace Corps, that's surprising.' / 'Oh, no, The Peace Corp. Lawrence Peace's corporation. We drilled for oil in gorilla habitats.'
Jack Donaghy: Jack casually mentions he 'learned to talk to gorillas when I worked for G.E. Medical. We are going to test poisons on you.'
Jack Donaghy · Date: Jack's date: 'I think it started when I walked in on my parents doing it the day Reagan was shot.' / Jack: 'I wouldn't over-analyze that.'
Date: One time, I ran over an old lady in Arizona and just kept driving.
Date Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Avery Jessup: Avery sees through the conference call move: 'It's 3:30 in the morning in Geneva, Jack. Who's your call with? The hooker working the corner outside Raiffeisenbank?'
Jack Donaghy: Jack's recovery: 'Well, it is February. And in Switzerland, that is, uh, "Night Business Month".'
Avery Jessup: Avery: 'Look at me, Jack. Look how my body goes with this dress. I don't need to be dealing with amateurs.'
Frank: Frank's Valentine's plans: 'That cleaning lady finally agreed to go out with me. We're going to pick up some pierogies and then eat them at her husband's grave.'
Frank Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Frank: Frank's taunt: 'You thought you were so much smarter than us, didn't you? But now, you're in the exact same crappy Valentine's Day boat everyone else is in.'
Frank Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Frank: 'In fact, yours is worse. If you don't get that tooth fixed, the infection will probably move to your brain and kill you.'
Frank Dark/Subversive Escalation Liz Lemon · Frank: Liz: 'Yeah, well, if I die, my ghost is going to haunt you.' / Frank: 'Then your ghost is going to see some disgusting stuff.'
Jack Donaghy · Liz Lemon: Avery sent Jack a watch set to Geneva time as a 'next move'; the note reads 'hopefully you won't make the same mistake again, mon se poivre' — 'That means "my salt and pepper" in Swiss French.'
Liz Lemon: 'She was on Maxim's "I'd Rape That 100"'
Liz Lemon: 'The male escort that I hired to take me home from surgery has had a chlamydia flare-up'
Grizz · Dotcom: Grizz and Dotcom are asked to 'pretend to be bouncers' for the TGS VIP room. Dotcom: 'Maybe someday we'll live in a world where you ask us to pretend to be scientists.'
Grizz Dotcom Character Comedy Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Liz · Jack: Ooh, she's getting the Jack Donaghy 'A' game. I hope she can keep her clothes on. / Lemon, your hair looks very nice today. You should wear it like that more often. / Oh, my. Well, I... never, uh...
Liz Jack Character Comedy Reaction Beat ★ Rewatch Jenna Maroney · Kenneth: Jenna holding Maynard's first letter: 'Jenna, I was in your bedroom last night. I left a gift in your toilet. You will be my bride someday.'
Kenneth Parcell: Kenneth: 'Oh, how can you be upset about losing a guy like this, Miss Maroney?'
Jenna Maroney · Kenneth: 'He's the longest relationship I've ever had. Except, of course, for Doug.' / 'Please do not say what Doug is.' / 'Doug is my vibrator.'
Liz Lemon: Liz calls the doctor's office: 'I don't have anyone to pick me up. And I will be leaving alone.' / 'Ma'am, you really need someone.' / 'No, I don't. I don't need anyone. Because I can do every single thing that a person in a relationship can. Everything. Even zip up my own dress.'
Doctor's Office: The doctor's response: 'You know, there are some things that are actually harder to do with two people. Such as monologues.'
Jon Bon Jovi: Jon Bon Jovi asking 'Arena rock anthem, power ballad?' when Jack says he needs a favor for a date
Jon Bon Jovi: Bon Jovi's response to being used as a prop: 'Oh, sure. That sounds like an appropriate use of my time and talent.'
Jon Bon Jovi · Liz Lemon: Jon Bon Jovi reading the liability release aloud: 'I, the undersigned, henceforth known as "The Alone," hereby state that on February 14th, I have absolutely no one in my life.'
Jon Bon Jovi · Liz Lemon: The release continues: '"Jane Sadwoman" release Dr. Kaplan's office... Will likely die alone, eaten by house cats.'
Liz Lemon: Liz's plan after refusing to sign: 'I just tell them that my boyfriend is going to pick me up. And then, after the surgery, I'll make a run for it.'
Jon Bon Jovi: Jon Bon Jovi's karaoke commercial: 'I'm Tyke Myson, baby boxer. I wrote that.'
Liz: Because my boyfriend, Astronaut Mike Dexter, will be picking me up. On his motorcycle.
Liz Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Liz Lemon · Maynard: Post-anesthesia Liz singing 'I Will Remember You' in the waiting room while Maynard — Jenna's stalker — is also there
Liz Lemon: 'I don't think the "anastacia" actually "affectored" me.' — Liz's post-anesthesia speech
Liz Lemon Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun ★ Rewatch Liz · Floyd: Oh, my God. What are you doing here? / We knew you'd need a ride home. / What do you mean, 'we'?
Liz Floyd Misdirection Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Liz Lemon: Post-anesthesia Liz to Drew: 'So handsome. So, so stupid.'
Liz Lemon Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Liz Lemon: 'I am a sailor on the sea of the human heart.'
Jack Donaghy · Dennis · Floyd: Jack: 'Okay, this bitch is tripping her ass off.' / 'What do we do with her?' / 'I got a date tonight. I say we order her some pizza.' / 'Yes!' / 'and lock her in here for the weekend.'
Liz Lemon: Liz, still drugged, to Bon Jovi on the phone: 'What's that, Bon Jovi? You love me too?'
Liz Lemon Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Callback Jack · Avery Jessup: Hey, do you want to grab breakfast? / You're sweet, Jack. But let's not pretend this is anything more than it is.
Jack Donaghy: Jack: 'A son I can throw a ball to and, when he's older, have power struggles with.'
Jack Donaghy · Avery Jessup: Jack on the phone: 'I need to go.' / Avery: 'Jack, the phone trick again?' / 'This isn't a trick. I have to pick up a hallucinating employee of mine from the oral surgeon's office.' / 'Well, that's at least creative.'
Jack Donaghy: Jack: 'Cancel your walk of shame. Come with me on a car ride of proof.'
Jenna Maroney · Kenneth Parcell: Jenna finds the 'gift' of having her car vandalized: 'Oh, my God! Who did this?' / Kenneth: 'I don't know. I guess some weirdo out there loves you.'
Jenna · Kenneth: Thank you, Kenneth. / I don't know what you're talking about. / Happy Valentine's Day.
Liz (post-anesthesia) · Jack · Avery: What hotel is this? / Would you just keep an eye on her? I'm going to turn down her bed. / I was sure he was making this up.
Liz Lemon: Liz, still drugged in bed, talking to Avery: 'Yes, you're a very pretty doggie.'
Jack: No, no, no, no, no, no. Lemon, it's time for bed. It's time for bed.
Jack Character Comedy Reaction Beat ★ Rewatch Shanice · Friend: The final scene: two women at a restaurant, one says 'Don Cheadle on a bed of rice.' The other: 'No, she didn't. She didn't.'
Shanice: Final line to camera: 'Happy Valentine's Day, no one.'
Shanice Deadpan/Understatement Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch TV character: You see how she try to act like she don't want one? Uh-huh. You know she going to come back in here crying when she can't kill a water bug.