25 Days of Christmas #10a: "Secret Santa"

Hey, it's my favorite 30 Rock Christmas episode. It's "Secret Santa"!

Kenneth is once again doing his Secret Santa gift-exchanging game (I love the scene where he explains the rules, calling back to last Christmas's game of "murder"), and Frank, Toofer, and Lutz are about to be roped in. Thinking on their feet, they invent their own new religion, Verdukianism, which precludes their involvement in Kenneth's game. They make up ridiculous rules and demands, and Tracy calls them on it. (Since when is Tracy Jordan the moral center of any story?) Kenneth is so upset at the idea that men can just invent religion that he loses, for the first time ever, his Christmas spirit.

Meanwhile, Jack's high school crush, Nancy Donovan, is in town, and they reconnect quickly, considering she's still still sorta married. And, at the same time, Liz is desperately trying to find Jack an appropriate Christmas gift. After she makes an expensive goof, Jack suggests they should instead give each other no-cost gifts. Liz makes a living being creative, so that should be right up her alley, right? Well...

Oh, and Pete has a story in this Christmas episode too. Jenna never chips in for the janitorial staff's gift, and he's upset about it. When he hears Danny, the new cast member, sing ("New dude is as good at singing as Tracy Jordan is at everything!"), he immediately drafts him to take over Jenna's traditional Christmas solo. Jenna... doesn't take it well.

In the end, Danny botches the song to mend Jenna's feelings, and Jack gives Liz a memento of her ridiculous school play, and also a date with Larry Wilcox, from CHIPS. Liz's gift to Jack is a terrorist threat which:
A) Strands Nancy in New York an extra day, so she and Jack can share a kiss, and
B) Gets the Verdukian writers arrested and/or tazed in front of Kenneth, restoring his faith in his angry, vengeful God.

The Simpsons is a show wherein God takes part in human affairs a LOT -- usually to punish someone, and that someone's usually Homer. 30 Rock isn't often a show where events show the hand of God, but in this episode, good intentions lead to good rewards, and bad intentions lead to punishment. Even though Liz does a terrible thing for Jack's gift, her intentions were pure, and her punishment goes to the selfish writers. Pete's insistence on Christmas vengeance not only backfires, but (if he still cares) it makes his decision to let Danny sing on-air look foolish.

As an episode of 30 Rock, I rate this 9/10. Every cast member has something to do in this episode, all the stories are well-connected, and the jokes are spot-on. Plus, they produce a show that week!
As a Christmas show, I rate this 10/10. Generosity is rewarded, selfishness is punished, and Kenneth gets to keep his faith. There's a loving duet sung, and music is important in Christmas episodes.

Secret Santa  30 Rock: Season 4