Reaganing
In the episode, Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) is succeeding at all of his tasks, and as a result of having a good day, as he is on a roll, he decides to help Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) figure out her relationship status with Carol (Matt Damon).
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was watched by 5.182 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 2.2 rating/7 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.
For his work in this episode, Matt Hubbard received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in the category for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series.
Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) agrees to give sketch show TGS with Tracy Jordan head writer Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) a ride to Newark Liberty International Airport to meet her boyfriend Carol (Matt Damon).
Meanwhile, TGS star Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) receives a card from Carvel that entitles her to free ice cream cakes for life.
Jenna and Kenneth submit a sketch to TGS producer Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit) in Liz's name that requires dozens of cakes.
[5] Co-showrunner and executive producer Robert Carlock said that the upcoming season would address Liz Lemon's sexual problems, explaining that "[we] finally get to the bottom of where [her] sextual [sic] dysfunction comes from.
[3] Actor Kelsey Grammer played himself in "Reaganing" in which he helps Jenna Maroney and Kenneth Parcell scam Carvel, an ice cream franchise.
[9] In the beginning of the episode, Jack tells Liz that he has entered "a magic zone of error-free living" which he calls "Reaganing"—named after former United States President Ronald Reagan—and that the only people to accomplish this besides Reagan have been businessman Lee Iacocca, former General Electric Chairman and CEO Jack Welch, and former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein.
[3] Tracy tells Kenneth that he turned down the opportunity to host the MTV International Awards to film a commercial for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America instead.
[12] Liz says that after her mother found her under a Tom Jones poster with her underpants around her ankles her mother removed all her posters from her room which included Grizzly Adams, Larry Wilcox as his television character Officer Jon Baker from CHiPs, Harrison Ford as Han Solo from Star Wars, Philadelphia Phillies players Tug McGraw and Mike Schmidt, Kermit the Frog, and Gunther Gebel-Williams.
[10][13] After learning of Jenna's scheme to con Carvel, Kenneth says that it is wrong and illegal, and says that if Cookie Puss knew about this "he'd tear us apart with his fangs."
[19] Television columnist Alan Sepinwall for HitFix reported that despite "Reaganing" not being a perfect episode it was still "a very good one in what's so far ... been a very strong rebound season for 30 Rock.
[21] Meredith Blake of the Los Angeles Times enjoyed Tracy's plot here, noting that his attempts to deliver a single line was highly entertaining.
[23] Samantha Urban of The Dallas Morning News said that the best part of the episode was Jack McBrayer's Kenneth "actually [having] some funny lines for the first time in awhile [sic].
"[24] The Fordham Ram's Celeste Kmiotek said that the episode was "perhaps more awkward than normal ... but it was nonetheless hilarious, and was tempered by its ability to throw cultural references into everything until you almost forget what is actually being discussed.
