As cancellation looms for "TGS", Liz snoops with Kenneth to find a missing Tracy. Meanwhile, Jack works his magic to ensure the financial success of Jenna's newest endeavor; and an emasculated Pete organizes a manly contest for the writers and crew.
Connecticut small-town absurdism sustains 74 jokes across 41 minutes with escalating character chaos.
Written by Vali Chandrasekaran
WAR
153.1
Wins Above Replacement
“I Heart Connecticut” ranks #18 of 138 30 Rock episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 100.0 — Elite. The episode packs 83 scored jokes at 3.5 per minute, averaging 7.9 on craft and 7.8 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
Liz · Tracy: I'm waiving the $60,000 you owe me in appearance fees. Did you really think I wouldn't recognize my college futon with its trademark absence of sex stains?
Liz Tracy Character Comedy Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Liz: I ended up eating a swordfish dinner at a strip club and Kenneth grabbed a cop's gun and shot a blimp.
Liz Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Liz: Hulk Hogan called you a dirtbag. The NAACP once hired someone to kill you. You wore a penis hat to Princess Diana's funeral!
Liz Escalation Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Kenneth · Deliveryman: Large cheese pizza with one slice taken out so I can pretend I'm eating Pac-Man, like my hero Blinky the ghost.
Tracy: I'm not strong enough for the pain and the human misery of a 3-hour plane ride with Sean Penn.
Tracy Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch All Jokes — 83 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Tracy's Entourage/Staff: Do you know how much our COBRA payments are? And he's the only one that knows the combination to the candy safe. The worst part is being able to see the candy!
Jack · Walter: All right. But if I find out you're holding out on me, I will no longer allow you to use my office for your History Club. That's ironic, because next week's topic is fascism.
Liz · Jack: Tracy only contacts Kenneth on special occasions, like Bastille Day. I'm going to go ahead and assume that Bastille is a stripper.
Liz Jack Misdirection Character Comedy Jack Deadpan/Understatement Reaction Beat Jack · Liz: And this morning I figured out how to fix NBC. We will only do shows that work. That's nonsense.
Jack Liz Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy Jack: We produce more failed pilots than the French Air Force.
Jack Wordplay/Pun Observational ★ Rewatch Jack: Who Nose? — About an investigative reporter who can't smell and has to get the story using only his eyes, ears and other senses.
Jack Absurdist Wordplay/Pun Actor in Who Nose? clip: Who Nose? clip: 'You underestimated me, Congressman, because I can't smell. But you made one mistake: You let me see the documents.'
Jack · Robot Dad actor: Dad 2.0 clip: 'Your father may be gone, but before he died he programmed me to take his place... No! Shut it down! This is terrible.'
Reggie (TGS writer) · Pete: What do you even do? — I'm the producer of the show. — Right. That's what your wife told me in the shower this morning.
Pete: Yes, Reggie, I am bald. I lost my hair at a very early age when I hit that gypsy's kid with my car...
Pete Dark/Subversive Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Jenna: Listen up, fives, a ten is speaking.
Jenna Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Jenna: The JennaBabies dolls that I've been selling on QVC have been recalled. Apparently, they were just being used to smuggle cocaine into the country from Mexico.
Jenna Absurdist Character Comedy Cocaine-smuggling children (implied): Let's just go to soccer practice now! I mean right now! Yes! It's 4:00 in the morning! Let's do it! We own this town!
Jenna: It's called 'Take My Hand.' It's kind of an artsy character study about a young woman who has a lot of holes drilled into her head by a deranged veterinarian named Slaughterface.
Jenna Misdirection Dark/Subversive Frank · Jenna: Oh, so you're doing a torture porn thing, like 'Saw'? Exactly. In fact, the producers of this movie rented 'Saw' and watched it.
Jenna: On an unrelated matter, does anyone know where I can get intimate bleaching done in Stamford, Connecticut?
Jenna Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Jenna · Pete: I'm leaving to do a movie, Pete. What? No, you can't do that! That's what your wife told me in the shower this morning.
Jenna Pete Callback Running Gag ★ Rewatch Callback TGS Writer: Can we order lunch from IKEA?
Liz · Jack · Federicci's owner: Pizza Academy rivalry: 'New York Pizza Academy vs. Pizza Academy of New York — I hate you!'
Jack · Pizza Owner's Son: What fraternity are you pledging? — I'm not. There are no fraternities at New York Pizza Academy. — That's right. You correctly answered my trick question. Now I am bound by Pizza Academy tradition to grant you any request.
Liz · Jack: Well, this is obviously a dead end. [Beat as they look at the delivery receipts that clearly reveal Tracy's location]
Pete: Yeah! Eat your weakness! [Pete winning the arm wrestling contest]
Pete Character Comedy Physical/Slapstick Pete: Congratulations. According to the transitive property, you just defeated Muammar Qaddafi in arm wrestling.
Pete Absurdist Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Reggie: This would have bothered me in my 20s.
Reggie Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Pete (hallucinating or remembering): Help, Paula, here comes the big girl! She's got a clarinet!
Pete · TGS Writers: Takeout from Hooters! What? That makes no sense! We'll know they touched it!
Dana (actress in Slaughterface film): But I turned down 'Carousel' at the Goodspeed for this.
Shawn (producer): We're spending taxpayer money saying there's a veterinarian running around Connecticut trying to make a house out of breasts for the Governor to live in.
Jenna · Shawn: 'If you're a woman in Connecticut, Slaughterface will kill you.' — But there's a positive message at the end of it.
Kenneth · Deliveryman: Large cheese pizza with one slice taken out so I can pretend I'm eating Pac-Man, like my hero Blinky the ghost.
Tracy: Well, well, well. You found me... after I ordered Thai food and gave you this address.
Tracy Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy Kenneth: Oh, is this awkward, because I'm your best friend but you're not my best friend?
Kenneth Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Kenneth: A copy of 'Black Yachts' magazine and a Rubik's Cube that's been smashed out of anger.
Kenneth Character Comedy Visual Gag ★ Rewatch Liz: Can I work here? I'll do anything. I'll get in my bra, and you can throw nails at me! I'll dance for you.
Liz Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Kenneth: Mr. Jordan, where are you? Come back! For the love of God, come back or we'll die!
Jenna · Jack: Jack, can we talk, one ten to another? I'm an eleven, but continue.
Jenna Jack Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Callback Jenna: No. Reese Witherspoon is just a likeable version of me.
Jenna Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Jack: Three years, millions on rewrites, $20,000 in first-class flights for the drill.
Jack Absurdist Escalation ★ Rewatch Callback Jenna · Jack: Okay, we just need to hire some of those ugly people who have the paper and change the shapes on it. — Writers? No. We'll do the work ourselves.
Jenna Jack Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Jenna · Jack: I'll get a computer from one of the ugly people. And I'll bring the world's greatest encyclopedia, my mind.
Reggie: Hey, is that a to-do list? 'Cause if your wife's on there, I already taken care of her.
Reggie Running Gag Callback Callback Reggie · Pete: I challenge you to the wrestling of arms! — Arm wrestling. On the stage. Midnight. In front of everyone. — How about tomorrow? It seems like it'd be more convenient for people. — I'll meet you anytime, anywhere. I just have to work around a PTA meeting at 5:00 that I can't miss 'cause this week I'm snack dad.
Liz: I ended up eating a swordfish dinner at a strip club and Kenneth grabbed a cop's gun and shot a blimp.
Liz Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Jack: Did you make sure that Tracy wasn't pretending to be his own wax figure at Madame Tussaud's?
Jack Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Liz: Yes. There was some confusion, and I ended up punching the real LeVar Burton.
Liz Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Liz: I'm gonna go get Jeremy. I hope he's not still in heat. He has gotten my top off before.
Liz Character Comedy Misdirection Jack · Jenna: Did you know that Connecticut is home to the oldest public library in the United States? — Huh. Could you use that to motivate Slaughterface sewing the sheriff's mouth to his own anus?
Jack Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Jenna: Should 'Vaginatorium' be capitalized?
Jenna Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Pete: Yeah, I am. Last night I had sex with Paula, and neither of us was wearing a Walkman.
Pete Character Comedy Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Stephanie (Pete's ex): Shane wanted to come home, 'cause his dad's a loser.
Stephanie: David's taking us all to Outback Steakhouse. And we're getting appetizers, 'cause David can afford them.
Pete: Well, of course he can, Mr. Big Shot Pet Photographer! I hope you get sleep at night.
Pete Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Liz: I never thought I'd feel sorry for a guy with a tattoo of a leprechaun vomiting on a book.
Liz Character Comedy Observational ★ Rewatch Slaughterface actor · Victim actress: Because we're deep inside one of Connecticut's 30 beautiful state forests! — 30! — Please, don't kill me.
Victim actress: I still haven't tried the famous seafood pizza at Sally's in New Haven!
Director: Let's move on to the scene where Slaughterface centipedes Jenna to the docent of the Danbury Railway Museum.
Director Absurdist Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Wal-Mart executive: I can never find stuff to watch with my kids. Thank you, Wal-Mart!
Jack: It begins with the words!
Jack Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Pete · Reggie: You know what your wife told me in the shower this morning? — You're a good guy.
Pete Reggie Callback Running Gag Misdirection ★ Rewatch Callback Kenneth · Liz: 'Ello! I'm a baby! — What are you doing? — I don't know! You got in my head!
Tracy (voice on Skype): Jeremy, call me when you're alone.
Actor in Slaughterface reshoots: Merry Christmas! I practice abstinence! Connecticut!
Jack · Phil Rosenthal: Ladies and gentlemen, this is Phil Rosenthal, the creator of the acclaimed show Everybody Loves Raymond. The last great sitcom, still does a 3-4 share in syndication. I did okay. I have a refrigerator that's just for soda, so...
Jenna · Phil Rosenthal: I never heard back about my audition for Everybody Loves Raymond. I'd wondered if you'd made a decision. — Yeah, 15 years ago. We went with Doris Roberts. But thank you for tying your headshot around a brick and throwing it through my window.
Reggie · TGS Writers: Ha! I beat you! We're getting lunch from IKEA! IKEA! IKEA! IKEA!
Phil Rosenthal: That's fine. Don't offer your guest anything.
Kenneth · Liz: Wax statue! Darn it! I thought we had him!
Kenneth Liz Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Liz: Are you kidding me? You have been hiding in my apartment for the last 2 weeks?
Liz Setup/Punchline Character Comedy Liz · Tracy: I'm waiving the $60,000 you owe me in appearance fees. Did you really think I wouldn't recognize my college futon with its trademark absence of sex stains?
Liz Tracy Character Comedy Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Liz · Tracy: You're the one who wrote 'every kind of mustard' on my shopping list! — And yet you still don't have the one I'm thinking of! It's red, it says 'ketchup' on it...
Liz Tracy Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Liz: Uhp, I hear it. That's on me.
Liz Reaction Beat Character Comedy Callback Tracy · Kenneth · Liz: As a time saver, I will refer to the two of you as 'Klemon.' I wanted that next level, Klemon. Now, remember, to save time, you two are 'Klemon.' — It's a combination of... — Just keep going!
Tracy: I had everything I dreamed of: awards, respect, Justin Long's autograph.
Tracy Character Comedy Absurdist Tracy: Like the time I got stuck in Temple Grandin's hugging machine at the Golden Globes party.
Tracy Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Tracy: I'm not strong enough for the pain and the human misery of a 3-hour plane ride with Sean Penn.
Tracy Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Liz: Hulk Hogan called you a dirtbag. The NAACP once hired someone to kill you. You wore a penis hat to Princess Diana's funeral!
Liz Escalation Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Tracy: Because I had worn it to their wedding. It was special to the three of us!
Tracy Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Callback Liz: Go trash a hotel room. Expose yourself to Elmo. Visit O.J. in jail again. Attack the Lincoln Memorial with a hammer.
Liz Escalation Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Tracy (in the Slaughterface movie): I'm the hero cop and I'm here to say, don't do drugs is what I'm here to say!
Jack · Liz: To vote for Phil Rosenthal, text Phil to 62288. — Vote? For what? Isn't this supposed to be a movie? — Again, it doesn't matter. People will just do it, and we get 99 cents a text.
Jack Liz Absurdist Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Liz · Jack: Well I'm not letting Rosenthal win. I am voting for the Muppet. — To vote for Liz Lemon, text Liz to 62288.
Liz Jack Meta/Self-Referential Character Comedy ★ Rewatch 