Liz Lemon meets her mother's old flame, while Jack Donaghy's mother, Colleen, gets tangled in his relationships with Avery Jessup and high school love, Nancy Donovan. Jenna's mother, Verna returns, while Tracy learns a lesson from his "mom".
Mother-centric episode sustains 85-point pace through character escalation, delivering 77 jokes across 40 minutes.
Directed by John Riggi · Written by Kay Cannon, Robert Carlock
WAR
83.9
Wins Above Replacement
“The Moms” ranks #70 of 138 30 Rock episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 85.0 — Elite. The episode packs 77 scored jokes at 3.3 per minute, averaging 7.2 on craft and 7.0 on impact, with Colleen landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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Top Jokes
Buzz Aldrin: I own you! You dumb moon! I walked on your face! Don't you know it's day? Idiot!
Liz's mother: Not even when I watched ed aldrin walk on the moon.
Liz's mother: I sexually assaulted scottie pippen in 1997.
Buzz Aldrin: I see you. I see what you're doing. Return to the night. You've no business here.
Jack: Like a cantaloupe and a ziploc bag of mushroom soup.
All Jokes — 77 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Unknown: Could I get your lucretia mott on this?
Unknown: after their ill-fated decision to re-air the pilot of bitch hunter
Unknown Absurdist Meta/Self-Referential Callback Unknown: Put the mimosas down! Bitch.
Colleen: Necktie. Too late, Jackie.
Colleen Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Frank's mother: It's little Frankie in the bathtub, getting ready for the senior prom
Liz's mother · Liz: You remember that when a man buys you an expensive meal.
Liz: Yeah, that's happening a lot.
Liz Irony/Sarcasm Deadpan/Understatement Liz's mother: I sexually assaulted scottie pippen in 1997.
Kenneth: Her name might be Cheryl, and she was wearing a red shirt in 1984.
Tracy: Like when they was looking for John McCain's running mate.
Tracy: I'm kidding. This needs to be taken seriously.
Tracy Misdirection Character Comedy Colleen: our lady of reluctant integration in waltham
Colleen Wordplay/Pun Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Colleen: who pours scotch like a woman
Colleen Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Kenneth: ♪ Oh, the fiddle's in the creek ♪ ♪ and the frog's in the kitchen ♪ I apologize, ma'am. That is not a song.
Kenneth: You make me very nervous. Oh, my God.
Kenneth Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Lutz: What? Thanks a lot, lutz.
Lutz Reaction Beat Cringe/Discomfort Unknown · Mother: Wrong tree, mom. Gotcha.
Mother: I made us both rompers to wear.
Mother Visual Gag Cringe/Discomfort Unknown: My...Friend has to go strangle her anxiety pillow.
Mrs. Lutz: It's bad luck for a married woman to be a bridesmaid. It brings fever and disease.
Mrs. Lutz: How do you get credit at a mattress store?
Mrs. Lutz: That's what feminism does. It makes smart girls with nice birthing shapes believe in fairytales.
Liz: I'm waiting for astronaut Mike Dexter.
Liz Character Comedy Absurdist Liz: Who turns out to be the secret king of Monaco.
Verna: It's not an implant. It's just a little yank up, you know? I mean, I got the meat, Jack.
Verna Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Jack: Like a cantaloupe and a ziploc bag of mushroom soup.
Tracy: Oh, wait, is she aquaman's girlfriend?
Tracy Absurdist Character Comedy Tracy: That could be anyone! We all look the same to me.
Tracy Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy Commercial: Ugh, these overalls are chafing. I can't wear these pajamas fishing! Pajamaralls. Pajamaralways.
Unknown: I think she's good enough for the star of sherlock homie.
Unknown Callback Wordplay/Pun Callback Colleen: Two women, Jack, at the same time. What are you, Italian?
Jack: I know it's gay, but it's my gay problem, and I'm handling it.
Colleen: Just bring my son one of everything. That way, he doesn't have to choose.
Colleen Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy Verna: In Florida, everybody's always asking me, 'where did you get that? You made it? Holy crap! Where do I commission one?'
Verna: Because of the trampoline accident.
Verna Absurdist Character Comedy Verna: That is quality stitching.
Verna Irony/Sarcasm Reaction Beat Verna: Damn the tiny, brown hands that made this.
Verna Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Liz's mother: A computer is a great big thing with a green screen.
Liz's mother: I remember someone who got a three on her history ap test.
Liz's mother: while Waldo, the town perv, watched from the bushes.
Liz's mother: I got a job at sterling Cooper.
Liz's mother: Different times. Octomom.
Liz's mother: Not even when I watched ed aldrin walk on the moon.
Liz's mother: Yeah, but I always called him ed, because our town had, like, five buzzes.
Liz: Laura linney could have played you in the hbo original movie moon wives!
Jack: drive around with one headlight out
Tracy: I am a movie star, a television actor, and a guinness book of world record holder for most car accidents in a single year.
Tracy Escalation Character Comedy Tracy: whose resume has 'black judge' on it nine times.
Tracy Observational Character Comedy Novella · Tracy: who recorded an anti-condom psa? I saved a lot of kids from lame sex!
Unknown: I can't say Nicaragua.
Kenneth · Colleen: Mrs. Donaghy keeps tricking me and running away, but not anymore. Carl, they need you out in the hall. Yes, ma'am!
Colleen: because chest-wise you have the measurements of an altar boy.
Colleen · Kenneth: I've got to get back to calling Kenneth 'carl' to see if he ever corrects me. Carl! Yes, ma'am?
Liz: Or I would have been born Peter aldrin. And I'd wait for a woman with the right stuff.
Liz Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy Liz: Now, remember, in this scenario, I'm a man and my father is an astronaut.
Liz Absurdist Character Comedy Jack: I saw him last night at Rupert Murdoch's twister party. I mean, uh, regular party.
Jack Visual Gag Character Comedy Tracy: Because you're talking in the ear that I didn't lose a button in.
Tracy Absurdist Character Comedy Jenna: Thank God Terry's dead, or we'd be fighting over him again too.
Jenna Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Tracy: And she is a good actress. I bought those pajamaralls.
Tracy Callback Character Comedy Callback Jenna: Sometimes I sing too beautifully.
Jack: Then you skip the part where you yell at me. And then we both move on to the, uh, make-up sex.
Jack Character Comedy Awkward Silence Avery Reaction Beat Deadpan/Understatement Avery: But these tactics have worked on stupider women.
Buzz Aldrin: I don't believe in barriers, because I always break them.
Buzz Aldrin: I see you. I see what you're doing. Return to the night. You've no business here.
Buzz Aldrin: I once woke up in the air and space museum with a revolver in the waistband of my Jean shorts.
Buzz Aldrin: I own you! You dumb moon! I walked on your face! Don't you know it's day? Idiot!
Verna: even though it was Margarita Monday at dockside Joe's.
Jenna · Verna: Why does your chest feel weird? Uh, because I love you so much.
Tracy: I think I'm ready for the sex talk.
Tracy Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy Liz's mother: before my hereditary dementia sets in?
Colleen: I'll be circling the globe in my coffin rocket. Something I saw on tv. It's very expensive.
Kenneth: Carl would never let you down. Carl, that does not sound right. Kevin--no. Who am I? Is it Keith? No, that's not-- yes, I'm Keith.
Kenneth Running Gag Escalation Callback Cast: ♪ Don't go to sleep with a frown in your pocket ♪ ♪ take it to the yard and tie it to a rocket ♪ ♪ shoot it to the moon ♪ ♪ you'll feel better soon ♪
