Hey, Baby, What's Wrong
"Hey, Baby, What's Wrong" is the sixth and seventh episode of the sixth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 109th and 110th overall episode of the series. It was directed by Michael Engler and written by Kay Cannon. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on February 9, 2012. Guest stars in this episode include James Marsden, Mary Steenburgen, and Kristen Schaal.
In this hour-long episode, Liz Lemon tries to have the first good Valentine's Day of her life with boyfriend Criss ; Jack Donaghy and his mother-in-law go to the United Nations to attempt getting his wife out of North Korea; Pete Hornberger tries to help Jenna Maroney have a successful live singing performance; Kenneth Parcell trains his page replacement ; and Tracy Jordan and Frank Rossitano try to show how Lutz can find a date despite his undesirability.
Plot
Criss wants to cook Liz Lemon a great Valentine's Day dinner. The two head to an IKEA to buy a dining room table together. In the store, they join other couples arguing over the furniture as metaphors for their respective relationships. Jack Donaghy and his mother-in-law, Diana, go to the United Nations to try getting Avery back from North Korea. Throughout the day, the two bond over the things they have in common and battle sexual tension due to their mutual attraction.Pete Hornberger tries to prepare Jenna Maroney for her first live singing performance on America's Kidz Got Singing, where everyone is hoping that she will crash and burn following her cruel comments as a judge. Jenna can't sing well due to "the yips" that Pete, a former archer, diagnoses her with. She eventually has a solid performance, as Pete realizes she needs pain to distract her from the pressure to sing well. He shoots her with an arrow from a cupid prop to help her perform successfully. Meanwhile, Kenneth Parcell trains his page replacement, Hazel, who is horrified upon realizing how rude the people who work at TGS are. She is discouraged until she sees how amazing Liz's life is, which makes her feel ready to work as a page at the show.
Tracy Jordan and Frank Rossitano decide to teach Lutz "jerk"-esque ways to pick up emotionally vulnerable women. He tries them all out, but fails. Lutz realizes he still had a great time hanging out with Tracy and Frank all day, while they discover they have neglected their own respective partners. Liz resigns herself to the notion that she has lost another boyfriend, only to return home and find that Criss has cooked her an amazing Valentine's Day dinner. He tells her that he wasn't upset about their argument and that he does not mind when they disagree. Finally, Jack and Diana find a way to deal with their sexual tension by vigorously hitting the driving range together.
Reception
According to the Nielsen Media Research, this episode of 30 Rock was watched by 3.88 million households in its original American broadcast. It earned a 1.6 rating/4 share in the 18–49 demographic. This means that it was seen by 1.6 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 4 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast.Overall, the episode received mixed reviews from critics. Alan Sepinwall of HitFix opined that "Double-length comedy episodes are hard to pull off, particularly on a show as joke-driven as 30 Rock is and while there were funny moments because it's 30 Rock and they're talented and it's almost always funny at some point, on the whole, dragged." However, he complimented the performances of Mary Steenburgen and Alec Baldwin, and commended their United Nations plot line as "the kind of broad, clever satire 30 Rock does so well." Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club was particularly negative toward the episode, calling it a "disconcertingly dreadful Valentine’s Day episode of 30 Rock that luxuriates in a bubble bath of sour misanthropy for an interminable hour." He awarded it a C−.