page_title: Reunion (30 Rock)
section_title: Reception
hierarchical_section_title: Reunion (30 Rock) / Reception
caption_attribution_description: English: Tina Fey at the 2010 Comic Con in San Diego
context_page_description: "Reunion" is the fifth episode of the third season of American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 41st episode of the series overall. It was written by supervising producer Matt Hubbard and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company network in the United States on December 4, 2008. Guest stars in this episode include Susan Barrett, Marceline Hugot, Robyn Lively, Janel Moloney, Diane Neal, Rip Torn, and Steve Witting.
  In the episode, Liz Lemon is opposed to going to her high school reunion, but her boss, Jack Donaghy, manages to convince her otherwise. Meanwhile, Don Geiss wakes up from his coma only to inform Jack of his decision to remain CEO of General Electric. At the same time, Tracy Jordan and Jenna Maroney feel threatened by NBC page Kenneth Parcell when he gets more laughs than they do in the elevator.
  "Reunion" has received generally positive reception from television critics. According to the Nielsen ratings system, it was watched by 7.2 million households during its original broadcast.
context_section_description: In its original American broadcast, "Reunion" was watched by 7.2 million households, according to the Nielsen ratings system. It received a 3.4 rating/8 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic, meaning that 3.4 percent of all people in that group, and 8 percent of all people from that group watching television at the time, watched the episode. "Reunion" finished in ninth place in the weekly ratings for the week of December 1–7, 2008. Matt Hubbard won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, while Beth McCarthy-Miller received a nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards. This episode was submitted for consideration on the behalf of Tina Fey for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at the same awards show, but lost it to actress Toni Collette. Hubbard was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for "Reunion", but lost it in a tie to fellow 30 Rock writer Robert Carlock for the episode "Apollo, Apollo" and Modern Family's Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd for the pilot episode.
  IGN contributor Robert Canning gave the episode an 8.9 rating out of 10 and wrote "...the real reason to watch, as always, was Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin and their fantastic comedic performances." Canning responded favorably to the episode with the exception of the Tracy, Jenna, and Kenneth storyline, calling it "silly". Television columnist Alan Sepinwall for The Star-Ledger wrote that Jack taking on the Larry Braverman persona "gave Baldwin a chance to play a delightfully goofy strain of those occasional glimpses we get of a happy Jack." Like Sepinwall, Bob Sassone of AOL's TV Squad was favorable to Jack going to the reunion, but most enjoyed the character impersonating Larry Braverman, observing it was a "well-used plot device" as Baldwin "made it believable". TV Guide's Matt Mitovich was positive about "Reunion", calling it a "nice" episode. Jeff Labrecque for Entertainment Weekly enjoyed the episode, and said that "Reunion" was the first episode of the season that "I think the show benefited from the refocused attention on its core characters. The reunion plot was so strong, and the Carrie finale so inspired, that I hope the viewership ratings reflect positively and encourage a continuance of this creative trend." The A.V. Club's Nathan Rabin wrote that he was "much more amused" by Rob Sussman's "still-simmering rage" against Liz, because he "scored many of the show's biggest laughs." He said that he found the second plot "a little underwhelming though I thought there was a neat meta-textual element to it", but wrote that it "scored some nice shots at the vapid narcissism of actors but it promised more than it could deliver." Rick Porter of Zap2it said that despite the "super-capital-A-list guest stars" that guest starred at the beginning of the season, "Reunion" got back "to the show's core cast ... [and] the show gave us probably the best episode of the season." Time contributor James Poniewozik opined that this episode was "pretty good" and "funny in most of the usual 30 Rock ways."
  Not all reviews were positive. Jeremy Medina of Paste wrote that "Reunion" was "essentially unremarkable (especially in its portrayal of Liz)". Medina disliked that Tina Fey's Liz was portrayed in "unlikable light", and after insulting her former classmates at the high school reunion it "seemed a bit uncharacteristic and unflattering to her character."
caption: Tina Fey received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in this episode.
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