Jack starts sitting in on the writers' meetings and quickly ends up micromanaging them. Meanwhile, Kenneth runs some wacky errands for Tracy, and Cerie distracts the male writers with her revealing outfits.
Tropes present in this episode:
- Carpe Diem: Tracy believes one should "live every week like it's Shark Week" and "dress every day like you're gonna get murdered in those clothes."
- Catchphrase: Jack comes up with the idea of starting with the catchphrases and working backwards. These include, "Nuts to you, McGillicutty," "Who ordered the wieners?" and "Beep-beep, ribby-ribby!"
- Distracted by the Sexy: Cerie's sexy attire proves to be a major distraction for the male staff. Liz tries to put an end to it by convincing Cerie to cover up more.Liz: You need to dress like you have a job, and parents who raised you in some kind of shame-based American religious tradition.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Tracy's wife Angie is played by Sharon Wilkins rather than Sherri Shepherd.
- Exact Words: Liz told Cerie to wear a bra. In her next outfit, Cerie does wear one... under a see-through dress.
- First-Name Basis: After Liz embarrasses Jack in front of two GE executives, he keeps up appearances by haranguing her for speaking to him so casually, including her usage of this trope. He calls it his "Christian name" for extra stuffiness.
- Gold Digger: Cerie's career plan is to "marry rich and then design handbags."
- Literal Metaphor: Tracy doesn't believe in one-way streets, "not between people and not while I'm driving."
- Not Listening to Me, Are You?:Liz: I think we need to change this Donald Trump joke... [all the male writers are staring at Cerie] ...because Donald Trump was eaten by a lion this morning... on the International Space Station. Anyone listening? [no one is]
- Ordered Apology: Jonathan informs Liz that she is ordered to apologize for kicking Jack out of the writers' room, but she has to do it as though apologizing was her own idea.Jonathan: I've penciled you in for three o'clock. This conversation never happened.
- Timmy in a Well: Parodied. When Kenneth gets stuck on a fence, he turns to a nearby rat and says, "Go get help, girl!"
- Walk and Talk: Parodied when Liz and Pete do this and end up going in a circle. Pete even name-drops the trope afterwards. Due to this trope being associated with Aaron Sorkin, this was understood at the time as a subtle Take That! at the
dueling show Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
