Liz discovers that the TGS staff have been excluding her from their weekly hangouts, and strives to prove that she can be fun. Jack must choose between janitors and the shift time they both want, and Kenneth aids Tracy Jordan in being a good husband.
Escalation comedy hits peak density with 2.89 jokes per minute across absurdist character bits.
Directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller · Written by Vali Chandrasekaran
WAR
109.3
Wins Above Replacement
“Khonani” ranks #129 of 138 30 Rock episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 92.2 — Elite. The episode packs 81 scored jokes at 3.4 per minute, averaging 7.4 on craft and 7.3 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
Jack Donaghy: Jack explains his signature on the contract: 'In my defense, every April 22nd I honor Richard Nixon's death by getting drunk and making some unpopular decisions.'
Liz Lemon: Liz raps: '* And there ain't no party / Like a Liz Lemon party / 'Cause a Liz Lemon party is mandatory *'
Liz Lemon Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Tracy Jordan: Tracy gets through the fence and announces: 'I'm free. I can go anywhere I want... like Liz's party. Or one of those places where you skydive over a huge fan.'
Tracy Jordan: Tracy delivers the frisbee/quarry metaphor: 'Parties are like frisbees. If you throw them the wrong way, they'll veer off in a bad direction, and then your kid will fall into a quarry.'
Tracy Jordan: 'Well, I yelled "baba booey" at Walter Cronkite's funeral, so I actually have no idea what's rude or not.'
All Jokes — 81 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Liz Lemon: Did you know that everybody here went out last night without us? Oh, nerds!
Tracy Jordan: 'Well, I yelled "baba booey" at Walter Cronkite's funeral, so I actually have no idea what's rude or not.'
Tracy Jordan · Liz Lemon: Tracy asks Liz to take care of Angie 'like a husband until this whole ass-ache blows over'
Liz Lemon · Jack Donaghy: 'I haven't seen your brow that furrowed since you saw that picture of Helen Mirren in a bikini. How is it possible? Is she a wizard?'
Jack Donaghy · Liz Lemon: I was about to say 'oh, Nancy' but stopped myself — 'Oh, Nan... Na... Nana. Have I not told you about my grandmother fetish?'
Jack Donaghy · Liz Lemon: Avery put mothballs behind her ears and fed Jack peppermints to lean into the grandmother fetish
Jack Donaghy: Jack lists past 'tough decisions': switching Sheinhardt's wig production to 100% Chinese cadaver hair, turning down Dick Cheney's offer to become King of Iraq, and selecting the new NBC logo
Jack Donaghy: [NBC chime plays] followed by Jack saying 'It's fresh.'
Liz Lemon · Jack Donaghy: Liz says 'sometimes when you try so hard to find love, you can't see that it's been standing in front of you the whole time' — implying she and Jack should be together — and Jack says 'Oh, good God' and starts laughing
Kenneth Parcell · Jack Donaghy: Kenneth tells Jack he's going to Mr. Jordan's house and will 'call when he gets there so you know I'm safe' — Jack snaps 'No! I don't care if you're safe! I love you!'
Jack Donaghy · Liz Lemon: Jack offers Liz a drink as a 'fellow manager' — she accepts — then immediately drops her glass
Jack Donaghy · Liz Lemon: 'Is that supposed to be a broom? Anchor the handle. / Yeah. / There it is.'
Tracy Jordan: Tracy answers his phone: 'This better be important. I'm in a meeting.'
Tracy Jordan · Kenneth Parcell: Tracy says he couldn't understand his wedding vows because 'Rick James was officiating and I couldn't really understand anything Rick James was saying'
Tracy Jordan: Tracy offers Kenneth free food from the fridge and then says 'once I'm there, I'll determine how much to charge you'
Liz Lemon · Frank: Frank claims he had a 'doctor's appointment' instead of admitting he went to Thursday Night Thunder — then immediately screams about the underside of an octopus
Jenna Maroney · Liz Lemon: Jenna asks to speak to Liz in 'the office where everyone clips their toenails' — Liz says 'Not cool, guys.'
Cerie · Liz Lemon · Jenna Maroney: Cerie's fiancé was captured by pirates on his dad's yacht but was rescued 'thanks to the A-Team' — and 'he has a different energy now. He's quieter.'
Cerie: 'He has a different energy now. He's quieter.' — Cerie describing her post-pirate-captivity fiancé as if he's had a mild personality shift
Cerie Deadpan/Understatement Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Jenna Maroney · Liz Lemon: 'You're gonna be so out of place, Liz.'
Cerie: Cerie says the schedule is filling up 'now that Aris is finally getting over his Stockholm syndrome'
Cerie Dark/Subversive Deadpan/Understatement Callback Cerie: 'You guys may have to walk down the aisle with some pirates.'
Cerie Absurdist Deadpan/Understatement Callback Liz Lemon: Liz says she's too grouchy from a juice fast to plan the party — then immediately announces she'll throw the party tonight to prove she's fun
Liz Lemon: Liz raps: '* And there ain't no party / Like a Liz Lemon party / 'Cause a Liz Lemon party is mandatory *'
Liz Lemon Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Jack Donaghy: Jack reads from a self-help book: 'Hard Equations and Rational Thinking' — pauses — then says 'Damn you, heart.'
Jonathan · Jack Donaghy: Jack apologizes for letting 'a Kashmiri into your office' — the janitor Khonani — as if it's a security breach
Jack Donaghy: Jack suddenly decides the janitor situation is the right time to 'stay deeply involved with subordinates' — immediately abandoning the Nancy/Avery decision
Jack Donaghy · Liz Lemon: Jack admits he promised Khonani the night shift because 'these immigrants have a tough life, no health care, and I kind of just thought he'd die before it became a thing'
Jack Donaghy: Jack explains his signature on the contract: 'In my defense, every April 22nd I honor Richard Nixon's death by getting drunk and making some unpopular decisions.'
Jack Donaghy: [NBC chime plays] 'The Biggest Loser Network'
Jack Donaghy Running Gag Irony/Sarcasm Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Callback Tracy Jordan · Kenneth Parcell: Tracy has trained his dog Tracy Senior 'to hate white people because, not to profile, but most ghosts are white'
Tracy Jordan: Angie put up an invisible fence to keep Tracy's dog home because he 'would run away and cause car accidents and impregnate neighbors' horses'
Tracy Jordan: Tracy says his dog is trapped by the invisible fence 'just like me!' — drawing a parallel between his dog's captivity and his own marriage obligations
Tracy Jordan · Kenneth Parcell: Kenneth tells Tracy his wife wants a PB&J sandwich. Tracy responds: 'No, we're not supposed to do any sex stuff while she's on bed rest. / Oh! Like a real one!'
Tracy Jordan: 'Nope! I'm in a strip club! My bad!'
Jenna Maroney · Liz Lemon: Jenna thinks 'ice' means drugs because 'it's caused a lot of ODs in the porn community'
Liz Lemon · Jack Donaghy: Liz says she's dating Subhas the janitor — Jack says 'Lemon, please.' — Liz corrects him: 'No, it's not that. We're dating.'
Liz Lemon · Jack Donaghy: Liz scrolls for Subhas's phone number and Jack says 'I know you know it by heart' — Liz immediately rattles off '917...'
Khonani: Khonani claims Subhas will want to leave to pursue his hobby of collecting 'classic car...' [coughs] 'cardboard. Classic cardboard.'
Khonani Dark/Subversive Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Tracy Jordan: Tracy says: 'I'm like a chameleon, always a lizard.'
Liz Lemon · Tracy Jordan: Liz wants Tracy to show 'the behavior that got you kicked out of the inaugural ball'
Tracy Jordan: 'The secret service never gave me back my T-shirt cannon'
Tracy Jordan: Tracy tells Liz 'People don't say that anymore. They say "surf party, USA."'
Tracy Jordan: Tracy delivers the frisbee/quarry metaphor: 'Parties are like frisbees. If you throw them the wrong way, they'll veer off in a bad direction, and then your kid will fall into a quarry.'
Tracy Jordan · Kenneth Parcell: Tracy says his body 'is gonna take him to Liz Lemon's' despite his mind knowing he should stay — and the dog whines as if agreeing
Tracy Jordan · Kenneth Parcell: Tracy puts the electric dog collar on himself and Kenneth says 'It would be my honor'
Jack Donaghy · Subhas: Subhas shows Jack his 'special book' — 'more men in it than I would have expected. Book is book.'
Jack Donaghy: Jack announces he is 'innoventing' — 'a word that I just innovented'
Jack Donaghy: [NBC chime plays] again — third instance, now after 'innoventing' solution
Kenneth Parcell · Tracy Jordan: Tracy Senior the dog 'took off fast. He did not want to live here.'
Tracy Jordan: Tracy's kids keep him out of the liquor cabinet by pouring glue in the lock
Tracy Jordan · Kenneth Parcell: Tracy tells Kenneth 'You're Tracy Jordan now.' — Kenneth responds 'Yes, sir! / Wait. I don't walk that well.'
Jack Donaghy · Khonani: Jack discovering there's no trash because Subhas takes it all — 'No trash left for Khonani'
Jack Donaghy: Jack breaks down: 'I'm the trash shift, Khonani. I'm the trash.'
Khonani: Khonani says he has a job at 'Fox...' [cough] 'Woods. Foxwoods casino. My cousin is head janitor there.'
Khonani Callback Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Callback Jack Donaghy: 'You ought to get that cough checked out.'
Tracy Jordan: Tracy answers phone: 'This better be meetment, I'm importing.'
Kenneth Parcell: Kenneth forgot to get Angie's blood pressure medicine — 'I just didn't want to go outside! It's chilly!'
Tracy Jordan: Tracy tells Kenneth his dog may be hunting him and suggests: 'I suggest you cut off a finger and throw it in the river.'
Jenna Maroney: Liz's party setup is described as looking like 'the post-coital suite at the NBA All-Star game'
Liz Lemon: Someone starts singing '* Jimmy Crack Corn and I Don't Care *' into the microphone — Liz: 'What are you doing?' — 'Juice fast delirium, Liz.'
Liz Lemon: Liz's toast devolves into revealing she knows about Thursday Night Thunder and demanding everyone go around the room and apologize to her
Liz Lemon Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort ★ Rewatch Jenna Maroney: Jenna says Liz is 'going wide' and tells everyone to 'go out the window. Save yourselves.'
Liz Lemon: Liz: 'I may not have a real family, but I thought at least I had one at work, which is not what I wanted for myself, by the way.'
Liz Lemon Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Liz Lemon: Liz: 'You think when I was a kid I dreamed of someday paying $1,200 for a karaoke machine to impress a bunch of pasty losers? And a professional singer, who's beautiful, but doesn't know it.'
Kenneth Parcell: Dog bursts into the party during the breakdown — chaos erupts — '[whimpering] I had nowhere else to go!'
Tracy Jordan: Tracy (in collar) tries to leave for the party — gets shocked — 'Oh, my neck! My swan-like neck! Aah!'
Tracy Jordan Physical/Slapstick Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Tracy Jordan: Tracy gets through the fence and announces: 'I'm free. I can go anywhere I want... like Liz's party. Or one of those places where you skydive over a huge fan.'
Tracy Jordan: Tracy emerges on the other side of the fence: 'I'm free. I can go anywhere I want... like Liz's party or one of those places where you skydive over a huge fan.'
Tracy Jordan: Tracy reaches Liz's building, tests the fence — seems to not work — 'Maybe it doesn't work on people any...' — gets shocked again — 'Aah! It still does!'
TGS Staff · Liz Lemon: Party guests trapped by dog: 'You make us show up, you start yelling, and then we get attacked by a dog!' / 'And Cerie didn't even come. That's just a cardboard cutout of her.'
TGS Staff: 'There's no fire escape in this room! Why are we even here? You make us show up, you start yelling, and then we get attacked by a dog!'
TGS Staff Character Comedy Escalation Cringe/Discomfort TGS Staff: 'And Cerie didn't even come. That's just a cardboard cutout of her.'
TGS Staff Setup/Punchline Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Liz Lemon: Liz takes charge of the dog situation: 'Oh, really? Now I'm a part of the group?'
TGS Staff: 'You know who's fun at parties? Paris Hilton, Andy Dick, Tracy — and they're all gonna burn in hell.'
TGS Staff: Someone prays: 'If you deliver me from this, I promise every Sunday for the rest of my life I'll go to... Pizza Hut. I'll go to Pizza Hut.'
TGS Staff · Liz Lemon: 'Look, if this is a family, that makes you the mom. And you don't want to go out drinking with your mom. You want mommy to make the monsters go away.'
Liz Lemon: Liz faces down the dog — dramatic music — then gets attacked — 'Run! Run, my losers!'
Liz Lemon Physical/Slapstick Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Tracy Jordan: 'Great party, Liz. Everybody take some cupcakes!'
Jenna Maroney · Subhas: Jenna offers Jack one of her extra headshots to throw out — Subhas recoils: 'No! You're not book!' / Jenna: 'Why? What am I doing wrong?' / Subhas: 'Wanting to be book is not book.'
Liz Lemon · Jack Donaghy: 'So you solved your janitor thing. Now back to Nancy and Avery?' / 'Top Gun high-five for courage?' / 'Only because you look like you need it so badly. / I'm fine with that.'
