St. Valentine's Day (30 Rock)

Guest stars in "St. Valentine's Day" include Marylouise Burke, Jon Hamm, Salma Hayek, Zak Orth, Laila Robins, Maria Thayer, and Allie Trimm.

In the episode, Liz Lemon (Fey) insists that she and Dr. Drew Baird (Hamm) have their first official date on Valentine's Day, while Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) prepares himself for an unconventional Valentine's Day spent at church with his girlfriend Elisa (Hayek).

According to the Nielsen Media Research, the episode was watched by 7.6 million households during its original broadcast, and received a 3.8 rating among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.

Liz (Tina Fey) invites her neighbor, Dr. Drew Baird (Jon Hamm), on their first date, accidentally scheduling it for Valentine's Day.

Meanwhile, Jack's Valentine's dinner plans with his girlfriend Elisa (Salma Hayek) are postponed when they have to attend church.

Jack calls his office assistant, Jonathan (Maulik Pancholy), telling him to hold his dinner reservations.

After finding a McFlurry coupon in the collection plate, she believes it is a sign from God because both she and Jack love the McDonald's dessert.

Finally, Kenneth (Jack McBrayer) falls for a new staffer, a blind woman named Jennifer (Maria Thayer).

[8] Hamm later appeared in the season four episodes "Anna Howard Shaw Day" and "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land".

[9][10] In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Fey said when the writing staff is developing a script, "We'll have an actor in mind and we'll keep referring to them.

Jack intrigued with what has happened during church is ready to leave, though, Elisa tells him that the sermon is almost over, but that the service is about to begin.

[18] According to the Nielsen Media Research, "St. Valentine's Day" was watched by 7.6 million households in its original American broadcast.

[20] Robert Canning of IGN reported that the Valentine's Day theme in the episode "was exactly what you would expect from a series that thrives on uncomfortable romantic situations."

He added that there was a lot to enjoy from "St. Valentine's Day," opining that it was a "very funny episode" and that it had "plenty of get moments and memorable lines to make the weak endings a minor factor."

Nonetheless, Sepinwall enjoyed the story between Liz and Drew in "St. Valentine's Day" writing that it was a "better effort" than shown in the previous episode, "Generalissimo".

"[26] TV Squad's Bob Sassone hoped that the storyline involving Jack and Elisa would be over, "because we all know the relationship isn't going anywhere.

"[27] He, however, noted that it was not a "bad subplot" with the pairing of Kenneth and Tracy, but that his "favorite part" of "St. Valentine's Day" was Jenna Maroney's (Jane Krakowski) impersonation of singer Michael McDonald.