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Winter Madness

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"Winter Madness"
30 Rockepisode
Episodeno.Season 4
Episode 11
Directed byBeth McCarthy-Miller
Written byTom Ceraulo
Vali Chandrasekaran
Production code411
Original air dateJanuary 21, 2010(2010-01-21)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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"Winter Madness"is theeleventh episodeof thefourth seasonof the American television comedy series30 Rock,and the 69th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Tom Ceraulo and Vali Chandrasekaran, and directed byBeth McCarthy-Miller.It originally aired onNBCin the United States on January 21, 2010. Guest stars in this episode include Ray Bokhour,Cheyenne Jackson,Kevin Meaney,andJulianne Moore.

In the episode, when head writerLiz Lemon(Tina Fey) decides to take the fictitious showThe Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan(TGS) on the road to cure the staff's case of the winter madness, the anticipated trip does not exactly go as planned. Her Boss,Jack Donaghy(Alec Baldwin), chooses Boston as the destination and travels with the show in order to visit Nancy Donovan (Moore), and while away from New York, theTGScrew blames Liz for all of their misfortunes. This episode also continued a story arc involving Nancy as a love interest for Jack, which began in the episode "Secret Santa"that aired in December 2009.

"Winter Madness" received generally mixed reception from television critics. According to theNielsen Media Research,it was watched by 5.585 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 2.8 rating/7 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.

Plot

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TGShead writerLiz Lemon(Tina Fey), along with producerPete Hornberger(Scott Adsit), decides to take the show's staff to Miami for a week, due to Liz's hate of the cold weather and the staff's case of "winter madness". Her Boss,Jack Donaghy(Alec Baldwin), decides to take them to Boston instead, so he can seeNancy Donovan(Julianne Moore), a woman Jack ponders having a possible romance with. He learns that Nancy's husband has left her as a way of getting her to ask for a divorce, but Nancy refuses to do so, fearing what others might think. Jack admits his true feelings to Nancy and insists that the two talk. She suggests that they should say four words to each other as a way of putting their relationship on hold; Jack says to her "I'll wait. Not forever", while Nancy tells him "I'll try. Wicked hard."

Meanwhile, theTGSstaff—Jenna Maroney(Jane Krakowski),Frank Rossitano(Judah Friedlander),James "Toofer" Spurlock(Keith Powell),J. D. Lutz(John Lutz),Sue Laroche-Van der Hout(Sue Galloway),Kenneth Parcell(Jack McBrayer),Cerie Xerox(Katrina Bowden), andDanny Baker(Cheyenne Jackson)—vent their anger at Liz; they complain that Boston is colder than New York, and they do not like sharing an office with the all-male staff ofBoston Bruinsfans who write for theBruins Beat.Liz gets a tip from Jack to find a common enemy in the Boston affiliate of NBC. Liz comes up with the name "Dale Snitterman", and tells the staff that Snitterman is causing all of their problems, not realizing until later that she had seen the name somewhere and did not make it up. At that point, the staff finds Snitterman (Ray Bokhour) and harass him.

At the same time,Tracy Jordan(Tracy Morgan) goes on Boston'sFreedom Trail.He tells the actor playingJohn Hancock(Kevin Meaney) that his character did not actually set all Americans free. When he tells him "Patriots suck!", he inadvertently says it near a group ofNew England Patriotsfans. At the end of the episode, Hancock brings in theCrispus Attuckscharacter and tells Tracy he does have black friends. When Hancock says he met Attucks in 1775, Tracy is able to one up him as he knows that Attucks was killed in theBoston Massacrein 1770.

Production

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Julianne Moore made her second appearance as Nancy Donovan in this episode.

"Winter Madness" was written by script co-coordinator Tom Ceraulo and co-producer Vali Chandrasekaran, and directed byBeth McCarthy-Miller.[1]This episode was Ceraulo's second writing credit, having co-writtenseason threeepisode "The Funcooker,[2]and the first written episode by Chandrasekaran. This was McCarthy-Miller's tenth directed episode. "Winter Madness" originally aired in the United States on January 21, 2010, on NBC as the eleventh episode of the show'sfourth seasonand the 69th overall episode of the series.

In November 2009, it was announced that actressJulianne Moorewould guest star on30 Rockas a love interest for Jack Donaghy,Alec Baldwin's character.[3]She made her debut as the character Nancy Donovan in the December 10, 2009, episode "Secret Santa".[4]This episode was Moore's second appearance on the show. "Winter Madness" was filmed on November 17, 2009.[5]ComedianKevin Meaneyguest starred as the actor portrayingJohn Hancock.[1][6]This was actorCheyenne Jackson's fourth appearance asDanny Bakerin the series. He made his debut in the November 12, 2009, episode "The Problem Solvers",[7]and would later guest star on the episodes "Secret Santa",[8]"Black Light Attack!",[9]"Floyd",[10]and "The Moms".[11]In "Winter Madness", while venting their anger towards Liz, Danny admits his refusal tohit onJenna.[12]

Cultural references

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In the beginning of the episode, Liz complains about the cold weather saying that she has been stuck inside her apartment playing onlineBoggle,a word game designed by using a plastic grid of lettered dice, in which players attempt to find words in sequences of adjacent letters.[13]Later, Jack tells Liz that she is the female version of formerBoston Celticsbasketball playerKevin McHale.[6]Jack's Boston office is a duplication of his New York one. When Liz enters, Jack asks her if she can tell which seven items are different, prompting the two to look into the camera and smile and thus breaking thefourth wall,a term used when a character in a television show, film or on stage directly addresses the audience.[14]In one scene, Jack says that many Boston residents have named their daughters "Belichick", afterNew England Patriotshead coachBill Belichick.[14]

During one scene of "Winter Madness", Toofer tells the writing staff that he went to college in Boston, "Well, not in Boston, but nearby", mocking a common stereotype of Harvard students that they will not mention that they attend the University, for fear of intimidating anyone, but will still strongly hint to it.[13]Later, Jack and Nancy imitate former Boston newscastersChet CurtisandNatalie Jacobson,who were the most-watched news team in Boston for twenty years.[13][15]Nancy tells Jack that her husband moved to New Orleans to rebuild houses that were affected byHurricane Katrinaas part of actorBrad Pitt'sMake It Right Foundation,an organization building affordable housing to help those families most in need following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.[6][16]

Reception

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In its original American broadcast, "Winter Madness" was watched by 5.585 million households, according to theNielsen Media Research.It received a 2.8 rating/7 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic,[17]meaning that 2.8 percent of all people in that group, and 7 percent of all people from that group watching television at the time, watched the episode. This was an increase from the previous episode, "Black Light Attack!",which was watched by 5.014 million American viewers.[18]"Winter Madness" ranked third in the timeslot and was the only episode getting more viewers, going up 22 percent from the previous week's episode rating.[17]

The episode received generally mixed reviews from television critics. Robert Canning ofIGNsaid the episode was great and gave it an 8.8 out 10 rating, saying that he was "impressed" with how the ending handled Jack and Nancy's "not-quite romance." Canning enjoyed the "platonic romance" between them saying, "A lesser series could have simply had the pair hook up, break up and move on, but30 Rockhas drawn out the relationship with flirtation, what-ifs and possible future ex-husbands. "[14]Meredith Blake, writing for theLos Angeles Times,found the episode "perfectly" and "well-timed".[19]Leonard Pierce forThe A.V. Clubsaid that the episode started "out wicked strong, with everyone in the cast getting great lines". In regards to the two plots, Pierce said that the Liz,TGS,and Dale Snitterman story was "stuffed with great comedic moments", while the Jack and Nancy angle just sat there and flopped "around like a dying fish."[20]Bob SassoneofAOL'sTV Squadenjoyed the Boston theme in "Winter Madness"; his only complaint was that the episode had nothing to do withTGS,the fictional show on30 Rock."I'm getting a little tired of that. I want more sketches and NBC network shenanigans."[13]

Entertainment Weekly’s Margaret Lyons reported that "Winter Madness" was "something of a letdown." She commented that Julianne Moore's Nancy was not "funny enough" as a "romantic foil for Jack", and that taking the show to Boston seemed off the mark.[21]Television columnist Alan Sepinwall forThe Star-Ledgerreported that "Winter Madness" fell into the category of an episode that featured "a lot of funny gags but aren't wholly satisfying" and added that it "just stopped, rather than building to a real conclusion".[22]Sean Gandert ofPasterated unfavorably the pairing of Alec Baldwin and Julianne Moore's characters, citing that they do not have "much rapport, so the scenes with the two of them together are a bit dead, as much as I usually enjoy seeing Julianne Moore in pretty much anything."[23]Amos Barshad forNew Yorkmagazine criticized Moore's Boston accent, citing that it was "atrocious",[24]whileTV Guide Magazine’s Bruce Fretts opined that the accent was "wicked bad". Regarding the episode itself, Fretts said that it was "weak".[6]

Despite the criticism towards Moore's Boston accent in the series, executive producerRobert Carlock,who is from Boston, defended Moore. In an interview withNew Yorkmagazine, Carlock said, "I grew up with people like that. Not everyone talks like that in Boston, but I think she's enough of an actress to pull it off." When asked if her accent "sounded realistic", he noted, "I'm going to go with that. I know people who sound like that."[25]In response to the accent, Moore explained "I went to school in Boston and worked with a lot of guys fromDorchester,so that's where [the accent] came from. We made it thick... for humor's sake, but then again, not really. There are folks with seriously heavy accents there, and they are proud of it. "[26]

References

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  1. ^ab"30 Rock — Winter Madness".Yahoo!TV.Retrieved2010-04-06.
  2. ^"30 Rock — The Funcooker".Yahoo!TV.Retrieved2010-04-15.
  3. ^Amanda Sidman and Carson Griffith (2009-11-16)."Julianne Moore to play Alec Baldwin's love interest on hit NBC show '30 Rock'".Daily News (New York).Retrieved2010-04-05.
  4. ^Graham, Mark (2009-12-11)."30 RockRecap: Who Are YouFacing? ".New York.Retrieved2010-04-05.
  5. ^"30 Rock --" Winter Madness "Episode 411 -- Pictured: (l-r) Sue Galloway as Sue, Keith Powell as Toofer, Judah Friedlander as Frank -- Photo by: Ali Goldstein/NBC".Set Photos.NBC UniversalMedia Village.Retrieved2010-04-06.Save Picture as → Right click file → Properties → Summary → Advanced → Date Picture Taken
  6. ^abcdFretts, Bruce (2010-01-22). "30 RockHits a Rough Patch ".TV Guide Magazine.
  7. ^Sepinwall, Alan (2009-11-12)."30 Rock," The Problem Solvers ": She's the one".The Star-Ledger.Retrieved2010-03-30.
  8. ^Fretts, Bruce (2009-12-11). "The Julianne Moore, the Merrier?".TV Guide Magazine.
  9. ^Canning, Robert (2010-01-16)."30 Rock:" Black Light Attack! "Review".IGN TV.Retrieved2010-04-13.
  10. ^Sassone, Bob (2010-03-26)."'30 Rock' - 'Floyd' Recap ".TV Squad.Retrieved2010-05-03.
  11. ^"30 RockEpisode: "The Moms"".TV Guide.Retrieved2010-06-11.
  12. ^Lady Lola (2010-01-21)."January Jones".Television without Pity. p. 3. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-01-29.Retrieved2010-04-13.
  13. ^abcdSassone, Bob (2010-01-22)."Review: 30 Rock — Winter Madness".TV Squad.Retrieved2010-04-06.
  14. ^abcCanning, Robert (2010-01-22)."30 Rock:" Winter Madness "Review".IGN TV.Retrieved2010-04-06.
  15. ^Lehr, Dick."Split screen".The Boston Globe Magazine.Retrieved2010-04-07.
  16. ^Reckdahl, Katy (2008-08-23)."Brad Pitt's foundation races clock in New Orleans".The Seattle Times.Retrieved2010-04-14.
  17. ^abGorman, Bill (2010-01-22)."TV Ratings Thursday:Deep EndUnderwater;BonesHigh;CSI,Mentalist,Grey's Series Lows ".TV by the Numbers. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-02-01.Retrieved2010-04-06.
  18. '^Gorman, Bill (2010-01-15)."TV Ratings:Private PracticeCrossover Boost;BonesHigh;Greys,CSI,30 Rock,LenoHit Lows ".TV by the Numbers. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-12-03.Retrieved2010-04-14.
  19. ^Blake, Meredith (2010-01-22)."'30 Rock': The Boston Tea Party ".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved2010-04-06.
  20. ^Price, Leonard (2010-01-22)."Winter Madness".The A.V. Club.Retrieved2010-04-06.
  21. ^Lyons, Margaret (2010-01-22)."'30 Rock': Boston backwards ".Entertainment Weekly.Retrieved2010-04-06.
  22. ^Sepinwall, Alan (2010-01-22)."30 Rock," Winter Madness ": TGS goes to Boston".The Star-Ledger.
  23. ^Gandert, Sean (2010-01-22)."30 Rock Review:" Winter Madness "(4.11)".Paste.Retrieved2010-04-06.
  24. ^Barshad, Amos (2010-01-22)."30 RockRecap: Julianne Moore, Welcome to the Bad Boston Accent Hall of Fame! ".New York.Retrieved2010-04-06.
  25. ^Yahalom, Tali (2010-01-30)."30 RockProducer Stands by Julianne Moore's Boston Accent ".New York.Retrieved2010-04-14.
  26. ^Ausiello, Michael (2010-06-23)."Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on 'House,' 'Vampire Diaries,' 'Weeds,' '30 Rock,' 'Bones,' and more!".Entertainment Weekly.Retrieved2010-09-28.
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