Black Tie (1 Feb. 2007)

Jack asks Liz to accompany him to a very classy event, which leads to the assumption that this will be a date. Jack first tells her it is not a date until they meet his ex-wife at the party... See full summary »

Director:

Don Scardino

Writers:

Tina Fey (creator), Kay Cannon,

Stars:

Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Tina Fey	...	Liz Lemon
Tracy Morgan	...	Tracy Jordan
Jane Krakowski	...	Jenna Maroney
Jack McBrayer	...	Kenneth Parcell
Scott Adsit	...	Pete Hornberger
Judah Friedlander	...	Frank Rossitano
Alec Baldwin	...	Jack Donaghy
Lonny Ross	...	Josh Girard
Will Forte	...	Tomas
Paul Reubens	...	Gerhardt
Isabella Rossellini	...	Bianca Donaghy
April L. Hernandez	...	Vikki (as April Lee Hernandez)
Quisha Freeman	...	Supersize
Tisa Howard	...	Tisa
April Kimm	...	Hi Jack

Storyline

Jack asks Liz to accompany him to a very classy event, which leads to the assumption that this will be a date. Jack first tells her it is not a date until they meet his ex-wife at the party and Jack introduces Liz as his girlfriend. Jenna sneaks herself into the party, because she wants to meet the Austrian Highness, whose birthday is celebrated at the party. Tracy uses the NBC office as a party spot and invites some female dancers over. One of the dancers tries to seduce Pete into cheating on his wife and he even thinks about doing so. Kenneth tries to stop him.

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Plot Keywords:

Sitcom

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

1 February 2007 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Grand Prospect Hall, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Broadway Video, Little Stranger, NBC Universal Television

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Liz answers "Yeah" in German, she actually says some random German words.

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Goofs

Even though the birthday party is stated taking place at the Pierre Hotel, the exteriors are all of the St. Regis Hotel.

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Quotes

Kenneth Parcell: [Kenneth finds Pete dancing with a very attractive woman at an impromptu party Tracy has thrown in the office] What are you doing? You are a married man!
Pete Hornberger: Hey, I'm not doing anything wrong. Just... I'm just dancing, Kenneth.
Kenneth Parcell: Do you remember the movie "Footloose," where those evil kids won in the end? You're going to make a mistake tonight.
Tracy Jordan: [sleazy] You're going to make a mistake tonight!
Kenneth Parcell: Remember the vows you and your wife took in that church.
Pete Hornberger: Botanical garden.
Kenneth Parcell: Botanical garden. You promised ...
[...]

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Connections

References Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Jenna mentions the film when speaking to Liz.

User Reviews

Baldwin vs. Rossellini

Black Tie, the twelfth episode of 30 Rock's first year, is yet another showcase of how actors can use bit parts on television to revive their careers. Specifically, this episode features one hell of an appearance by Isabella Rossellini, whose post-Lynch filmography has been pretty negligible, at least cinema-wise (on the small screen, one ought to watch her cameo in Friends or her recurring guest role in Alias).

The Blue Velvet star plays Bianca, a socialite who happens to be at the same big event as Jack and Liz. Since Bianca used to be his wife, the NBC executive tries to make her jealous by saying Liz is his new girlfriend (the ex-missus's remark: at least she's smarter than Beyoncé). While the battle of the Donaghys takes shape, Jenna tries to seduce Pricne Gerhardt (Paul Reubens), the extremely sickly monarch (there was a lot of in-breeding in his family, apparently) whose birthday is being celebrated. Back at the NBC building, Tracy invites some strippers over, and suggests Pete should cheat on his wife, something Kenneth vows to stop at all price.

Script-wise, the show just keeps getting funnier, and after granting people like Katrina Bowden and Jack McBrayer more space, this time it's Scott Adsit (Pete) who gets to take advantage of the extra minutes with masterful deadpan. More than in other episodes, though, the real driving force for most of the running time is provided by the guests, Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman) and Rossellini, both having a good time "lightening up" and combining their efforts in a most effective way. Exactly what happens is up to the audience to discover. Let's just say it has to be something special, considering the line "Somebody call Dr. Spaceman!" is involved.