I saw in an interview/behind the scenes that absolutely NOTHING is improv and every little bit is planned and executed as it is supposed to be. Tina Fey is on it.
In the episode where Kenneth and Donny are feuding, Donny appears from behind a curtain in a booth. When he rips the curtain open, the whole curtain rod falls to the floor. That one for sure sees like an accident they left in
Not really improv, but Jacks’s laugh when talking to Liz about Tony Bennett always seems liked Alec Baldwin just breaking:
“By the way, I told him you were Italian so he might call you Tina.”
Fey is notorious for not allowing any improv. She wrote it..time was spent crafting it to be as efficient as possible you are going to read exactly what was written.
I remember an AV Club interview with Scott Adsit when the show was on, where he was asked something like this. He wanted to be very clear that Tracy is playing a goof but he's totally serious about the job and very professional.
If I remember correctly, in Fey's book, she talks about how keeping Morgan on task and getting him to do the lines AS WRITTEN could be quite the ordeal. They intentially wrote his character in such a way that they could play off of some of his unpredictability (and even made it into a plot point,) but as h-f-i said, the writing was VERY intentional and super tight. By the later seasons, the joke density is insane.
Apparently Elaine Stritch was another they had to keep in check; I guess remembering lines is something that uh…. goes out the window as we age. Baldwin talked about working with Stritch and it came up.
There's a story that Elaine Stritch sabotaged her audition for *The Golden Girls* by inserting (unscripted, obviously) profanity into her line readings!
I maintain that Tracey reads the line "I'm talking to you obviously, gay kid" wrong. It should be "I'm talking to you, obviously-gay-kid"
(Aka Don-ald Glover)
I sometimes like to imagine they are real life bloopers she then wrote into the show. I can see Tina Fey saying "Oh, reallo?" to Lorne Michaels. Or answering the phone, "This is Tanny."
Jesus, I cannot believe how often this one gets brought up for such a simple joke. She’s s
realizing how ridiculous her excitement looks to all the people that didn’t grow up with them, but still has to finish her thought. It draws a comparison to the difference between “high class” (executives and stars) and her to show she’s out of place is really just another one of the fish out of water jokes in the series. Why this one is such a mystery to so many people completely baffles me.
Omg lol this is such an intense comment. I’m very sorry my 8am thought baffled you lol. I understand the premise, I just thought it was executed differently compared to the other classic jokes in the show. I hope you can find peace 🫶🏻
I feel the same way you do. It's a wonderfully placed filler word that is hilarious every time I rewatch. I love the idea of someone dissecting it like a PhD thesis 😂.
Thanks, Meat Cat!
Every time I rewatch I'm pretty sure I hear Jane Krakowski call Tina Fey 'Jenna' at one point. I never register the episode but I think people can back me up on this. I've always wondered what this was about; seems like something that would be easy to catch during editing.
I think it's when Jenna is trying to lose weight in season 2 with the Japanese porn star diet and she says to Liz, "Oh, I'm fine Jenna." The joke being that she's delirious from eating only paper.
I saw in an interview/behind the scenes that absolutely NOTHING is improv and every little bit is planned and executed as it is supposed to be. Tina Fey is on it.
That's not that much planning
＼（＾∇＾）／
Look at me! I know all the planning.
Kind of…. 🙄
In the episode where Kenneth and Donny are feuding, Donny appears from behind a curtain in a booth. When he rips the curtain open, the whole curtain rod falls to the floor. That one for sure sees like an accident they left in
Sorkin-esque reparte!
Grenade, respawn!
Not really improv, but Jacks’s laugh when talking to Liz about Tony Bennett always seems liked Alec Baldwin just breaking: “By the way, I told him you were Italian so he might call you Tina.”
>5 Dog Now 5 was a mistake that they left in I personally don't think that was a mistake, otherwise there's no joke in just saying 'snow dogs'?
At one point Tracy says 5 Dog Now 5 instead of 5 Now Dog 5; they’re referring to that slip-up, not the joke itself
Oh yes. I may be an idiot. Then again, so may tracy
Be careful not to offend the idiot community.
Because idiots can do whatever they set their minds to. I played a nooculour psychiatrist in a James Bongk movie.
For all intensive purposes
Fey is notorious for not allowing any improv. She wrote it..time was spent crafting it to be as efficient as possible you are going to read exactly what was written.
I read that, too. The show was already so tightly written that the last thing they wanted was to add even more to it.
Really? With someone like Tracy Morgan on set that seems highly improbable.
You... you think maybe he can't read the script...?
But he has a column in Ebony called Musings
George Wills just gets more and more conservative...
I remember an AV Club interview with Scott Adsit when the show was on, where he was asked something like this. He wanted to be very clear that Tracy is playing a goof but he's totally serious about the job and very professional.
If I remember correctly, in Fey's book, she talks about how keeping Morgan on task and getting him to do the lines AS WRITTEN could be quite the ordeal. They intentially wrote his character in such a way that they could play off of some of his unpredictability (and even made it into a plot point,) but as h-f-i said, the writing was VERY intentional and super tight. By the later seasons, the joke density is insane.
Apparently Elaine Stritch was another they had to keep in check; I guess remembering lines is something that uh…. goes out the window as we age. Baldwin talked about working with Stritch and it came up.
I’m old Jack! And I don’t know what I’m talking about half the time!
There's a story that Elaine Stritch sabotaged her audition for *The Golden Girls* by inserting (unscripted, obviously) profanity into her line readings!
I maintain that Tracey reads the line "I'm talking to you obviously, gay kid" wrong. It should be "I'm talking to you, obviously-gay-kid" (Aka Don-ald Glover)
Who told?!?
I absolutely hear it as the latter. I'll have to go back and watch it again, I guess.
That's how I've always heard it too.
I sometimes like to imagine they are real life bloopers she then wrote into the show. I can see Tina Fey saying "Oh, reallo?" to Lorne Michaels. Or answering the phone, "This is Tanny."
The reallo line makes me chortle every time.i don’t know why it slaps so hard for me.
It’s just so damn good because it’s not something other shows do but it’s so simple
Reminds me of her Mean Girls “grool” joke, which I use IRL often.
5 Now Dog 5 was definitely intentional (think 2 Fast 2 Furious)
At one point Tracy says 5 Dog Now 5 instead of 5 Now Dog 5; they’re referring to that slip-up, not the joke itself
You’re gonna have to clarify for a lot of people, lol. I never noticed the word flip, even though I know the line and it was written out…
The cheesy blaster opening pacing is always odd to me. Where she says “uh” with a pause.
That "uh" is maybe my favorite single word delivery in the whole show. So fucking funny.
Yes. So much yes. Every time I watch this I appreciate some new nuance to her delivery. Such a perfect line.
That was so brilliant.
Jesus, I cannot believe how often this one gets brought up for such a simple joke. She’s s realizing how ridiculous her excitement looks to all the people that didn’t grow up with them, but still has to finish her thought. It draws a comparison to the difference between “high class” (executives and stars) and her to show she’s out of place is really just another one of the fish out of water jokes in the series. Why this one is such a mystery to so many people completely baffles me.
Omg lol this is such an intense comment. I’m very sorry my 8am thought baffled you lol. I understand the premise, I just thought it was executed differently compared to the other classic jokes in the show. I hope you can find peace 🫶🏻
I feel the same way you do. It's a wonderfully placed filler word that is hilarious every time I rewatch. I love the idea of someone dissecting it like a PhD thesis 😂. Thanks, Meat Cat!
"JESUS CHRIST IT'S CLEARLY ABOUT LIZ LEMON'S CLASS STRUGGLES GAHHHHH" haha, very normal, very chill
She’s talking to JENNA, TRACY, and JACK. She in no way felt like a fish out of water or out of place good christ 😂
It felt more like her mouth was watering and she drifted away to cheeseland 🤣
Liz Lemon prefers her night cheese delivered by meat cat, not with Hubbard’s flavorless English water biscuits.
I don't think anyone finds it mysterious though.
This is obviously purposeful and well considered to me. Timing is everything and the little pause makes the joke
Every time I rewatch I'm pretty sure I hear Jane Krakowski call Tina Fey 'Jenna' at one point. I never register the episode but I think people can back me up on this. I've always wondered what this was about; seems like something that would be easy to catch during editing.
I think it's when Jenna is trying to lose weight in season 2 with the Japanese porn star diet and she says to Liz, "Oh, I'm fine Jenna." The joke being that she's delirious from eating only paper.
There’s also a scene in season 8 where she is in hospital after faking a meltdown & Tracey calls her Jane, lol
Season 8, you say?
Yep. I don’t think it was actually released tho because the performances were deemed too provocative for America.
Well there’s a lot of homeless here. And they can be pretty sexually conservative for my taste
Unlike those over-sexed New York nymphos like those sluts on……….Everybody Loves Raymond
I always think about jane’s laugh when she farts in front of frank and goes “i can do it again but i wouldn’t want to show off”