30 Rock : The Collection
10.27.07 By Collin David“The guy with the weird hobby never gets the corner office.”
Such is the lesson that we are meant to take away from the third episode from the second season of 30 Rock, conveniently called ‘The Collection’. For those of us unfamiliar with 30 Rock, it’s the NBC comedic juggernaut helmed by Tina Fey and focused upon the backstage events of a sketch comedy show. And it’s awesome - not only because Tina Fey is the perfect woman, but because it’s pretty damned hilarious. You can currently watch episodes, in full, at NBC’s website.
So, when last week’s episode revolved around how damaging a secret ‘collection’ could be to one’s professional reputation, I sat up and took notice. CEO Jack Donaghy has no qualms about discussing his arrests or alcoholic family, but when the topic comes to his massive cookie jar collection, which he’d collected under a pseudonym, his true inner darkness is revealed… since collecting cookie jars was for “creepy little guys in bow ties”. Collectors are usually portrayed as hollow stereotypes throughout all media - 40 Year Old Virgins, selfishly deranged space aliens, loveless and obsessed and hygienically challenged, so it’s always good to see a high-powered, intelligent, successful collector on TV - even if that collection is portrayed as a weakness.
Of course, this was all done in jest and hyperbole, but I can’t say that the implications about the stigma of being a collector didn’t have a real ring of truth to it. Collectors understand collectors… and everyone else? Well, there’s no hope for them anyhow. They can keep their organic bicycles and solar-powered underwear. I have my one-sixth scale Batman. And about a thousand other Batmen in other shapes and sizes. If you have a vaguely Batman-shaped hole anywhere, I can probably fill it.
Jack Donaghy must get rid of his cookie jar collection, unless he wants it to interfere with his upward mobility inside his corporation, but when his accumulation of cookie jars (which are emotionally linked to a deep-seated set of mother issues - another odd collector stereotype) is boxed up and on their way to incineration, he can’t bear to part with them. As collectors, we sometimes have to ask ourselves, “will buying or keeping these items make other parts of my life less enjoyable?” - and I can’t say that the tradeoff is always even, or the justifications and compromises equitable. Any collector watching the episode would surely relate to the heartbreak of losing a portion of your collection.
In the end, Jack refuses to sell his multi-million dollar collection to just anyone, and instead gives it to a person who could genuinely care for and appreciate it. In a place of complete financial stability, wouldn’t any one of us prefer to see our cast-off things go to someone who could genuinely love them, instead of just trying to turn a few extra bucks? It is with a certain begrudging angst that I’ve brought in my action figures and comics to share with my art students, hoping to use them as lessons in drawing and narrative fiction, and knowing that they might derive some precious morsel of knowledge from between the plastic joints and printed pages is enough for me to turn off that certain part of my brain that wants to tell them to wash their hands and not overextend that ball-joint. And yeah, please stop making Black Panther molest Ant Man. Save that for health class. And a long talk with your parents.
So, 30 Rock intelligently portrays that fine line between the preciousness of an object versus an unhealthy attachment to it. I can only suspect that Tina Fey has a secret collection of something-or-others stashed secretly away somewhere. If she truly IS the perfect woman, as I objectively surmise, that something-or-other has everything to do with a certain bat-like superhero.
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Article Tags: 30 Rock, NBC, Tina Fey================
Gotta Collect? Then You Gotta Connect - Join our Collectors’ Community!
October 27th, 2007 at 6:12 am
I totally missed this episode traveling — and I mean ‘I missed it’ in the way of a huge loss… Sure there’s online and re-runs, but I wanted to see it the first time. (Sorta like buying it Mint In The Box lol)
October 27th, 2007 at 8:19 am
I was actually out at a birthday dinner all of Thursday evening, so I went the online route at about 5 AM the next day instead of waiting for reruns and DVD releases. And it was worth it.
October 27th, 2007 at 8:42 am
We got to watch it and just roared! It is one of the best, if not THE best, on TV! Anyone with a collection could relate, although our collection of multi-million dollar paintings are nothing to make fun of - HAAAA! Thanks for a fun article and please do NOT tell my hubby that I think Jack is the perfect man; rich, good looking and whacko. I would not mind dusting off his cookie jars at all.