A curse strikes TGS. Liz dares to be different after realizing that the same things happen every year, and Jack vows to wow Hank Hooper.

Liz’s scripted version of Jack and Avery’s love story leaves Jack confused and frustrated by his feelings for Diana. Meanwhile, Jenna and Tracy attempt to beat Weird Al Yankovic at his own game, and Kenneth gets an unexpected new job at NBC.

Liz struggles in her new role as mentor to Hazel. Kenneth has a difficult time letting go of his page duties and takes drastic measures to make sure Tracy is taken care of. Meanwhile, Jack and Jenna come up with a plan to get Avery back in the headlines.

Jack feels unworthy of his latest award and attempts to redeem himself by taking on the writers in a strategic board game. Liz believes she’s cursed on St. Patrick’s Day when her ex-boyfriend Dennis shows up to derail her relationship with Criss. Meanwhile, Hazel struggles to keep the peace between Tracy and Jenna.

Jenna hatches a surprising new plan to get publicity, while Jack finds himself begrudgingly playing parent to his teenage nemesis, Kaylie Hooper. Liz rejects the new authority Kenneth has over “TGS” with his new job in Standards.

In order to hide his relationship with Lynn, Frank convinces his mother that he is dating Liz. Tracy and Jenna team up to try to solve the case of Pete’s missing whisky. Meanwhile, Jack teaches Kenneth how to take down his first business nemesis.

Jack learns to appreciate Leap Day while Tracy takes the writers to a restaurant to spend an almost-expired gift card. Liz helps Jenna seduce a billionaire online.

Fed up with New York City after being mugged, Jack sets out to protect the safety of the city’s elite by announcing his run for mayor. Meanwhile, Liz revels in sacrificing the good of the city to look out for her own interests, and Jenna and Paul are thrilled by the perversion of acting like a normal couple.

Criss and Liz decide to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but they need to buy a dining room table first. Jack entertains his mother-in-law, Diana, as Jenna frantically looks to Pete to fill in last-minute as the producer of her first live performance on “America’s Kidz Got Singing.” Back at the office, Tracy and Frank try to help Lutz find someone to spend Valentine’s with.

Criss and Liz decide to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but they need to buy a dining room table first. Jack entertains his mother-in-law, Diana, as Jenna frantically looks to Pete to fill in last-minute as the producer of her first live performance on “America’s Kidz Got Singing.” Back at the office, Tracy and Frank try to help Lutz find someone to spend Valentine’s with.

Liz looks for a new best friend after discovering that Jenna has traded their friendship for fame. Tracy contemplates mortality as Dotcom and Grizz scramble to show him that life is still worth living. Meanwhile, Jack decides to end the page program in order to impress Hank Hooper.

Tracy Jordan challenges Liz by leading his own protest in defense of idiots everywhere. Jack faces off with Devin Banks yet again, but still finds time to interfere with Liz’s relationship by giving Criss an ultimatum, and Liz tries to get rid of Jenna’s new assistant.

An offensive rant by Tracy is leaked online. Jack disapproves of Liz’s new boyfriend, and the Best Friends Gang is reunited when Kenneth and Jenna call for the help of Kelsey Grammer.

Tracy becomes frustrated in his attempts to anger Liz. Jack questions the family value of the network’s new talent competition and Kenneth awaits the Rapture.

Tracy interrupts Liz’s summer vacation. Meanwhile Jack feels lonely and turns to Kenneth, while Jenna must choose between being the Wool Council spokeswoman and her relationship with Paul.

Liz realizes that she needs to take control of her personal life by fixing up her dream apartment, but she encounters an obstacle along the way. Meanwhile, Jack has his own problems to deal with when Avery is held hostage. Elsewhere, Tracy finds out that Kenneth, Dotcom and Grizz have bonded in his absence.

With TGS facing imminent cancellation, Jack asks Hank Hooper to allow them to do their 100th episode as a final chance to prove they deserve a place on the air. Meanwhile, Jack questions a life decision of his and Jenna wonders if motherhood is for her.

With TGS facing imminent cancellation, Jack asks Hank Hooper to allow them to do their 100th episode as a final chance to prove they deserve a place on the air. Amidst the chaos of show preparation, Jack starts doubting a key decision in his life, and Jenna contemplates motherhood.

Liz and Kenneth try to find Tracy’s whereabouts before “TGS” can be canceled. Meanwhile Pete, feeling emasculated, challenges the writers and crew to a contest of strength.

“Plan B” is the eighteenth episode of the fifth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 98th overall episode of the series. It was directed by the show’s composer and producer Jeff Richmond, and written by Josh Siegal & Dylan Morgan. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company network in the United States on March 24, 2011. Guest stars include Ken Howard, Aaron Sorkin and Will Arnett.

In the episode, Liz Lemon discovers that without Tracy Jordan, NBC is putting TGS on a forced hiatus. However, when she passes on the news to the cast and crew, they all assume that the show will be cancelled and turn to their backup plans, leading Liz to wonder about her own. Meanwhile, Jack Donaghy is forced to hire his nemesis Devon Banks in order to turn around his disastrous acquisition of TWINKS, a network for gay men.

According to Nielsen Media Research, “Plan B” was watched by 4.359 million viewers during its original broadcast and received a 1.9 rating/5 share among adults aged 18–49.

“Queen of Jordan” is the seventeenth episode of the fifth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 97th overall episode of the series. It was written by Tracey Wigfield and directed by Ken Whittingham. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company network in the United States on March 17, 2011. The episode follows a reality show format, and often parallels the events of the Real Housewives franchise. Guest stars in this episode include Sherri Shepherd, Susan Sarandon and Tituss Burgess.

This episode aired as an episode of Queen of Jordan, a fictional reality series that started sometime during the events of “Mrs. Donaghy”. In this episode, Jack Donaghy convinces Liz to convince Angie to convince Tracy to come back from Africa. Meanwhile, Frank is found by his lost love. Throughout the episode, Jack gets into embarrassing situations and Jenna tries to be the focus of the reality show’s cameras.

This episode of 30 Rock received generally positive reviews from television critics. According to Nielsen Media Research, “Queen of Jordan” was watched by 4.192 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 1.7 rating/5 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.

“TGS Hates Women” is the sixteenth episode of the fifth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 96th overall episode of the series. It was written by co-executive producer Ron Weiner and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company network in the United States on February 24, 2011. Guest stars in this episode include Cristin Milioti and Chloë Grace Moretz.

In the episode, The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan is accused of being misogynistic, so Liz Lemon hires a female writer, Abby Flynn in order to prove that it isn’t. However, she becomes frustrated when it turns out that Abby is provocative and extremely stereotypical. At the same time, Jack Donaghy formulates a plan to one day become the CEO of Kabletown, but to do that he needs to eliminate his competition, the current CEO’s granddaughter, Kaylee Hooper.

This episode of 30 Rock received mixed reviews from television critics. According to Nielsen Media Research, “TGS Hates Women” was watched by 4.501 million viewers during its original broadcast, and received a 2.3 rating/6 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.

“It’s Never Too Late For Now” is the fifteenth episode of the fifth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 95th overall episode of the series. It was directed by John Riggi, and written by Vali Chandrasekaran. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company network in the United States on February 15, 2011. Guest stars in this episode include Eion Bailey, Adriane Lenox, and Sue Galloway.

In the episode, Liz Lemon decides to give up on love and tries being a spinster but eventually meets a man named Anders. However, there is more going on than there first seems. Meanwhile, Jack Donaghy finds it hard to negotiate a proper salary with his night nurse, Sherry since she has some sort of leverage on him; and Pete Hornberger and Frank Rossitano form a band and write a song.

“Double-Edged Sword” is the fourteenth episode of the fifth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 94th overall episode of the series. It was directed by Don Scardino, and written by Kay Cannon & Tom Ceraulo. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company network in the United States on February 10, 2011. Guest stars in this episode include Elizabeth Banks, John Cho, and Matt Damon.

In this episode, Jack Donaghy heads to Toronto with his wife, Avery. When she goes into labor, they try their best to get back to the United States with the help of a meth smuggler, Lorne. Meanwhile, Liz Lemon boards a plane with her boyfriend, Carol, as the pilot. Things do not go well when the plane has not flown yet and Carol keeps telling them that they will leave “in about half an hour” several times. Elsewhere, Tracy Jordan deals with the pressure of having won an EGOT and the formal expectations that he has to meet.

“¡Qué Sorpresa!” is the thirteenth episode of the fifth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 93rd overall episode of the series. It was directed by John Riggi, and written by Matt Hubbard. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company network in the United States on February 3, 2011. Guest stars include Ken Howard, Vanessa Minnillo, Brian Williams, Richard Belzer, Ice-T, and Elizabeth Banks.

In the episode, Jack Donaghy meets with Kabletown’s boss, Hank Hooper. Jack doesn’t like Hank’s tactics of being a friendly boss and, in order to impress him, steals Kenneth Parcell’s idea. Liz Lemon keeps Avery Jessup’s pregnancy from relentless reporter Carmen Chao. Meanwhile, Tracy Jordan and Jenna Maroney fight over a sweatshirt.

According to Nielsen Media Research, “¡Qué Sorpresa!” was watched by 4.784 million viewers during its original broadcast and received a 2.4 rating/6 share among adults aged 18–49.

“Operation Righteous Cowboy Lightning” is the twelfth episode of the fifth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock. It was written by executive producer Robert Carlock. The director of this episode was Beth McCarthy-Miller. It originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company in the United States on January 27, 2011. Guest stars in this episode include Robert De Niro, Lester Holt, Sherri Shepherd, and Dean Winters.

In the episode, Jack Donaghy decides to pre-tape a celebrity benefit for a natural disaster, but his plan goes terribly wrong. Meanwhile, Tracy Jordan continues to drive Liz Lemon crazy with his irresponsibility. However, when a reality show camera crew starts to follow Tracy around, Liz tries to use it to her advantage.

“Operation Righteous Cowboy Lightning” was universally well received and praised by television critics. According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was watched by 4.922 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 2.4 rating/7 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.

“Mrs. Donaghy” is the eleventh episode of the fifth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 91st overall episode of the series. It was written by co-executive producer Jack Burditt and directed by Tricia Brock. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company network in the United States on January 20, 2011. Guest stars in this episode include Meng Ai, Jean Brassard, Todd Buonopane, Tituss Burgess, Cheyenne Jackson, Chris Parnell and Sherri Shepherd.

In the episode, the fictitious show The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan staff are affected by budget cuts at NBC. Meanwhile, Jack Donaghy married his girlfriend Avery Jessup but following the wedding he learns that the minister did not marry the two of them. At the same time, TGS star Jenna Maroney shares a dressing room with her co-star Danny Baker, and Tracy Jordan has a health scare.

Before the airing, NBC moved the program to a new timeslot at 10:00 p.m., moving it from its 8:30 p.m. slot that began in the beginning of the fifth season. This episode of 30 Rock was generally, though not universally, well received among television critics. According to Nielsen Media Research, “Mrs. Donaghy” was watched by 5.338 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 2.7 rating/7 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.

“Christmas Attack Zone” is the tenth episode of the fifth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 90th overall episode of the series. It was written by show story editor Tracey Wigfield and directed by co-executive producer John Riggi. It originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company network in the United States on December 9, 2010. Guest stars in this episode include Alan Alda, Elizabeth Banks, Will Forte, and Elaine Stritch.

In the episode, Liz Lemon and Avery Jessup convince Jack Donaghy to confide in and grow closer to his visiting mother Colleen Donaghy at Christmas time. At the same time, actor Tracy Jordan tries to stop the release of his new film before it ruins his new serious persona, and Liz also tries to fix Jenna Maroney’s relationship with her former boyfriend Paul L’Astname.

This episode of 30 Rock received generally positive reviews from television critics. According to Nielsen Media Research, “Christmas Attack Zone” was watched by 4.759 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 2.9 rating/5 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.

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.

Jack worries that GE’s microwave sales have improved too much without his help and tries to find glitches in their newest design. Meanwhile, Liz partakes in a crew lottery despite Jenna and Tracy’s warning her not to do so. Elsewhere, the TGS writers discover that Jack is the voice of an online dictionary’s pronunciation guide.

“Brooklyn Without Limits” is the seventh episode of the fifth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 87th overall episode of the series. It was written by co-executive producer Ron Weiner and directed by Michael Engler. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company network in the United States on November 11, 2010.

In the episode, Liz Lemon finds a pair of jeans that make her look sexy, but which leave her with an unexpected moral dilemma; Jack Donaghy attempts to stop Regina Bookman being elected by endorsing her political rival Steven Austin; and a jealous Jenna Maroney attempts to sabotage the chances of the new Tracy Jordan film winning a Golden Globe Award.

“Gentleman’s Intermission” is the sixth episode of the fifth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 86th overall episode of the series. It was written by co-executive producer John Riggi and directed by series producer Don Scardino. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company network in the United States on November 4, 2010. Elizabeth Banks and Buck Henry guest star in this episode, and there are cameo appearances by Ann Curry, Lester Holt, and Meredith Vieira.

In the episode, Avery Jessup becomes suspicious of the relationship her fiancé Jack Donaghy has with his employee and friend Liz Lemon, so she orders Jack to set boundaries in their friendship. This proves a problem for Liz when her father, Dick Lemon arrives in town on a break from his marriage. Meanwhile, actor Tracy Jordan is upset when he discovers that his pre-recorded NBC obituary shows him to have done nothing worthwhile in his life, whilst Jenna Maroney learns of the video obituaries, she decides to make a video of her own.

The episode received generally good reviews from television critics, especially in regard to guest star Buck Henry. According to Nielsen Media Research, “Gentleman’s Intermission” was watched by 5.311 million viewers during its original broadcast and received a 2.4 rating/7 share among adults aged 18–49.

Jack’s determined to save Liz’s relationship with Carol and Tracy shoots a commercial.

On show night, Liz Lemon grows increasingly infuriated when no one seems to remember that it’s her 40th birthday. Just before the taping, Tracy Jordan becomes convinced that nothing is funnier than a performer laughing and breaking character, which he elects to do all night, much to Jenna Maroney’s chagrin. Meanwhile, Jack Donaghy struggles with the consequences of his promise to give up drinking while Avery is pregnant.

The episode was filmed twice. The East Coast version aired for the Eastern, Central and Mountain time zones. The West Coast version was aired in the western, Alaskan and Hawaiian time zones.

Jack must appear before Congress to discuss NBC’s merger with KableTown. He hopes that he will charm celebrity members, but one Congresswoman, Regina Bookman, demands more diversity in its programming lineup. Jack quickly enlists Tracy to come up with some new development ideas. Meanwhile, Liz is fed up with the flack her writing staff gives her, and Jenna helps Kenneth reapply to the extremely competitive Page Program.

Liz uses her newfound confidence to solve Pete’s problem with a difficult editor (Paul Giamatti); Jack tries to cheat mortality; Tracy vows to be present when his wife gives birth.

Jack begins to meddle in Liz’s new relationship with Carol.

Liz questions fate when she meets the man of her dreams, while Jack’s love triangle between high school love, Nancy Donovan, and CNBC anchor, Avery Jessup, comes to a head. Meanwhile, Jenna’s boyfriend is confronted with a similar dilemma when his desire for another woman threatens to ruin their relationship, and Kenneth, with the help of Tracy, tries to avoid a promotion that would land him in LA.

Jack becomes even more entangled in his love triangle between Avery Jessup and Nancy Donovan, and he turns for advice to Liz, who is focusing on her own romantic problems. When Liz can’t find a date to Floyd’s wedding, she revisits her old boyfriends in hope that a spark will reignite. Meanwhile, Tracy continues his journey to earn his egot.