Jack recommends that Liz start seeing a therapist when she worries that Carol is getting bored with their relationship. In an attempt to take Jack's advice, Liz begins talking to Kenneth about her problems. Jack also finds himself caught up in one of Tracy's schemes when Tracy tries to convince him to invest in his son's theme restaurant in Times Square. Meanwhile, Jenna and Paul celebrate their six month anniversary.
Absurdist escalation sustains 84-point score across 71 jokes in 23 minutes.
Directed by Ken Whittingham · Written by Kay Cannon
WAR
115.6
Wins Above Replacement
“Chain Reaction Of Mental Anguish” ranks #46 of 138 30 Rock episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 99.0 — Elite. The episode packs 62 scored jokes at 2.7 per minute, averaging 8.0 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
Jack · Tracy: 'What about Brown and Folderson?' 'That's what I call my wallet!'
Jack Tracy Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Kenneth: Kenneth on the pig-eating contest: 'I knew I could win that contest. Why, I once ate an entire witch. A pig was nothing.'
Kenneth Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Announcer: 'Witness the primeval might that is Godzila, with one L, for trademark reasons!'
Announcer Absurdist Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Jack: Jack's attempt to console Kenneth: 'Or you gave his death meaning. His sacrifice made you what you are today, which is... the lowest-level employee at the last-place network in America.'
Jack Dark/Subversive Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Kenneth: Kenneth: 'Miss Lemon, there's a reason God gave us two ears and only one mouth. Listening is twice as important as talking. But He gave us ten fingers. He must really want us to poke things! Poke, poke, poke!'
Kenneth Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch All Jokes — 62 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Tracy · Donald · Jack: The 'knock knock' bit — Tracy's son Donald enters without knocking, Tracy says 'It was opportunity knocking,' Jack points out no one actually knocked, then Donald literally knocks and re-enters so the metaphor is retroactively 'correct.'
Tracy: Tracy introduces Donald as 'my son who's two years older than me.'
Tracy Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Donald: 'You wouldn't believe this, but that business failed. I blame Obama.'
Donald Irony/Sarcasm Deadpan/Understatement Jack: 'NASCAR's Fat Load Café is a gold mine.'
Jack Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Tracy · Jack: 'Brown and Folderson' — Tracy's fake investor name revealed to actually be the name of his wallet.
Tracy Jack Misdirection Setup/Punchline ★ Rewatch Tracy: 'What is Señor Mexico saying? Stop keeping me out of the loop!'
Tracy Character Comedy Absurdist Paul: 'Jenna and I are mirroring until we achieve touchless orgasm.'
Paul Absurdist Character Comedy Paul · Jenna: Paul and Jenna immediately declare 'And... finished.' right after Liz walks in on their 'mirroring.'
Jenna: 'My new manager is making us wear name tags. I might as well be working at a roller-skating drag-queen restaurant under Taliban rule!'
Jenna Character Comedy Escalation Liz · Jenna: Liz assumes Jenna is excited about a marriage proposal; Jenna reveals she means Paul will propose they make a sex tape.
Jenna: 'No, relationships are like sharks, Liz. If you're not left with several bite marks after intercourse, then something's wrong.'
Jenna Absurdist Character Comedy Jenna: 'We are not sharks. We are legless turtles rotting on the beach.'
Jenna Deadpan/Understatement Dark/Subversive Callback Jack: 'That's an excellent question. The answer is questions like that.'
Jack Setup/Punchline Character Comedy Jack: Jack on therapy: 'No. I believe that, when you have a problem, you talk it over with your priest or your tailor or the mute elevator porter at your men's club. Then you take that problem and crush it with your mind vise.'
Jack Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Jack: 'But for lesser beings, like curly-haired men and people who need glasses, therapy can help.'
Jack Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Jack: 'Because, and I mean this, I'm tired of talking this much to a woman I'm not having sex with.'
Jack Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Donald · Jack: The restaurant is named 'Staples' — which is also a giant office-supply chain. Donald insists 'We'll see who's still in business 200 years from now.'
Jack · Donald: Jack surveys the restaurant and asks if the theme is 'Not Enough Tables.' Donald says no — there's a monster fight.
Donald: Donald explains the business model: 'I took Medieval Times and replaced the knights with unlicensed versions of Japanese monsters.'
Donald Absurdist Character Comedy Announcer: The Godzilla show announcer: 'Are we paying the price for our hubris of science?'
Announcer: 'Witness the primeval might that is Godzila, with one L, for trademark reasons!'
Announcer Absurdist Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Donald · Godzilla actor: 'Donald, George punched my crotch!' / 'You liked it!'
Kenneth · Liz: Liz's assistant relays Carol's message: he has no cell service because he's on layover in Daytona Beach — but 'he's fine and having a great time with his flight crew, Stewart, Brenda, Amber, Crystal. Also, in the background, I heard lady giggles and the sound of a beautiful sunset.'
Liz: Liz's backstory of trust issues: 'Everyone I ever dated in high school turned out to be either gay or a girl dressed as a guy to get a journalism scholarship.'
Liz Setup/Punchline Character Comedy Liz: Seven-year-old Liz asked for a CB radio for Christmas 'so I could track gas prices around the state for a cool chart I was making.'
Liz Character Comedy Observational Liz (as child): Young Liz confronts Santa: 'You're a bigger disappointment than our current president, Jimmy Carter!'
Mall Santa: The mall Santa breaks character and confesses: 'I am a fraud, little boy! My wife still thinks I work at the bank!'
Kenneth: Kenneth: 'Miss Lemon, there's a reason God gave us two ears and only one mouth. Listening is twice as important as talking. But He gave us ten fingers. He must really want us to poke things! Poke, poke, poke!'
Kenneth Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Paul · Jenna: Paul proposes Jenna meet his parents over Christmas. She reacts with horror.
Passerby: Passerby reacts to Paul and Jenna's romantic moment: 'Hey, get a room... whatever that is!'
Jack · Tracy: 'What about Brown and Folderson?' 'That's what I call my wallet!'
Jack Tracy Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Jack: Jack: 'Not everyone is cut out to be a businessman. For example, curly-haired men and people who need glasses.'
Jack Running Gag Character Comedy Callback Tracy: Tracy says he 'bankrolled' his son's wing-flying experiment, adding: 'Thank God we tested it with a monkey first!'
Tracy Absurdist Character Comedy Kenneth: Kenneth reports the softball sign-up results: '8 nos and 25 shove it up your goon-holes.'
Kenneth Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Aunt Linda (voice): 'Here's a fun game! Put on Harry's cologne and give me a back rub in the bath!'
Liz: Liz has a breakthrough: 'My trust issues and my food issues are connected! Uncle Harold is the reason eggs make me gag!'
Liz Character Comedy Setup/Punchline Kenneth: Kenneth, alone after Liz leaves, whispers: 'Why did she have to say Harold?'
Kenneth Setup/Punchline Misdirection ★ Rewatch Jenna: 'Call me old-fashioned, but I think that's the man's job.' — Jenna, about proposing a sex tape.
Jenna Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy Liz · Jack: Liz announces she's eating eggs again as a breakthrough. Jack: 'I know it means this conversation is disgusting.'
Liz Jack Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Donald: Donald's new idea: 'A microbrewery that also serves frozen yogurt. I'm gonna call it Microsoft.'
Donald Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Liz: Liz begins describing a dream: 'Actually, is it recurring if you wake yourself up with a... and then return to it?'
Liz Character Comedy Dark/Subversive Jack: Jack diagnoses Kenneth: 'Look at his head shape. He has no brain pan!'
Jack Character Comedy Absurdist Jack: Jack to Kenneth: 'Put your mental burden in my mind vise, and I will crush it.'
Jack Callback Character Comedy Callback Jack: 'Put your mental burden in my mind vise, and I will crush it.'
Jack Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Jack · Kenneth: Jack: 'Kenneth, who is Harold?' / Jack (internal): 'Please let Harold be human.' / Kenneth: 'Harold was a pig.'
Kenneth: Kenneth needed $300 for the 'river ferry-train-oxcart-train-bus ticket' to New York.
Kenneth: Kenneth on the pig-eating contest: 'I knew I could win that contest. Why, I once ate an entire witch. A pig was nothing.'
Kenneth Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Kenneth: Kenneth recognizes the pig's eyes: 'I would have recognized those eyes anywhere.' Then: 'It was Harold, and I ate all of him... even the face, in case of a tie.'
Kenneth Dark/Subversive Escalation ★ Rewatch Jack: Jack's attempt to console Kenneth: 'Or you gave his death meaning. His sacrifice made you what you are today, which is... the lowest-level employee at the last-place network in America.'
Jack Dark/Subversive Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Paul: Paul enters and casually announces: 'The restaurant was crazy today. During Nude Hour, I got custard all over my penis.'
Paul Absurdist Character Comedy Paul: Paul: 'I'm saying adopting a dog so it can watch us make love and then returning it, claiming that it bit our imaginary child, is everything that I need.'
Paul Absurdist Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Paul: Jenna and Paul break up over the sex tape disagreement; Paul: 'I'll trust you to fairly divide up our panties.'
Paul Character Comedy Absurdist Donald · Tracy: Donald returns with Tracy's 'share of the profits' from the restaurant — a single item found in coat check.
Tracy: Tracy: 'Too late. Look how we're positioned.' — responding to the instruction to not turn his back on Donald.
Tracy Deadpan/Understatement Physical/Slapstick Jack (as child): Jack's childhood science play flashback: young Jack forgets 'protein' and says 'protoin,' then says 'all living orgasms... I mean orgasms!' repeatedly.
Jack: Jack's inspiring speech ends with: '...thinks they're smart even when they go to Arizona State.'
Jack Irony/Sarcasm Deadpan/Understatement Jack: Jack, inspired by his own speech, dramatically declares: 'I am a protein!' and delivers the full science monologue correctly.
Jack Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Jack: The protein speech includes '...to heroes who turn in Communists.'
Jack Absurdist Character Comedy Donald: Donald's new business idea after being inspired: 'Daddy, can I have $50,000 to start a business where people can call in and get air-quality reports from all across the United States? I'm gonna call it... American Airlines!'
Donald Running Gag Absurdist ★ Rewatch Callback Liz: Liz, happy and eating her egg salad sandwich at the Staples restaurant: 'This is what happens when you work at being happy. Godzilla sits next to you while you're eating an egg-salad sandwich. What a world!'
Liz Absurdist Character Comedy Callback Godzilla actor: The Godzilla actor — clearly not okay — breaks down to Liz: 'I moved here to make it on Broadway. Now look at me. I'm pathetic! I've got no real skills, a degree in Theater Tech, so you move back to Pennsylvania, live with your parents...'
Liz: Liz, snapping out of her Godzilla-induced sympathy spiral, shouts: 'Damn you, Gojira!'
Liz Callback Absurdist Callback