30 Rock: Succession

30 Rock: Succession
NBC
April 24, 2008
Sitcom
DVD
B+

John Riggi's story, co-written with guest writer Andrew Guest (OK, he was script coordinator that season, but he didn't usually write scripts), is a great one, where actions rise and fall, against an Amadeus theme, musical and symbolic.  Although Devon Banks is engaged to Kathy Geiss (Marceline Hugot), Don Geiss chooses Jack as his successor, although he can't make the announcement until the board of directors approves.  Jack confides in Liz, promising to make her his successor.  She at first resists and then he shows her the salary.  The sequence of her reaction is hilarious: her mouth falls open and she slaps Jack, then she goes down to the writers' room and says, "Suck it, Monkeys!  I'm going corporate!"  When Pete worries about her abandoning him, she says he'll be promoted, too, and shows him the salary.  His mouth falls open and he slaps her.  She grins and says, "I know, right?"

However, although Liz quickly learns how to charm other executives, while "business drunk" and coming up with "Button Classic" for the microwave, Jack actually feels sorry for Banks, who looks miserable at the bachelor party.  And then Geiss goes into a diabetic coma, with a caped Dr. Spaceman called in to (mis)diagnose.  Banks maneuvers almost mute Kathy into her father's position as head of GE, so that Banks will be the puppetmaster.  And meanwhile, Tracy (we never learn how) conquers Uncanny Valley and invents a porn video game that is realistic without being disturbing, with Frank as his Salieri, and this is one of the best Tracy subplots I've seen.

Brian Stack again appears as human punching bag/punchline Howard Jorgensen.  This is the 2800th of my shows I've reviewed and I don't know if we'll hit 2900.  (Three thousand is very unlikely.)