Recap / 30 Rock S1 E3 "Blind Date"

Jack sets Liz up on a date... with a lesbian plastics engineer named Gretchen Thomas. Meanwhile, Jack horns in on the writers' poker night, where he seems to meet his match in Kenneth of all people.

What with "Pilot" and "The Aftermath" being essentially a two-part episode, this is, for all intents and purposes, the first "regular" episode of the series.

Tropes present in this episode:

• Chroma Key: Seen in-universe when technicians test out a green-screen effect that makes it look like Tracy and Josh are skiing.
• Dying Alone: After Jack puts the idea in her head, Liz becomes scared of choking to death alone in her apartment. It turns out Gretchen has the same fear, and they bond over it.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: Liz's apartment is different than in later episodes, despite the exterior of the building being the same.
• Embarrassing Middle Name: It's revealed that Kenneth's middle name is Ellen.
• Fallback Marriage Pact: Liz proposes one of sorts with Gretchen:
  Liz: Um, what if we made a pact? What if we say that in, like, twenty-five years, if neither of us has someone, we'll move in together and be roommates. And even though I am... not into the sex stuff, if it helps you, I would let you do stuff to me.
• Gender-Concealing Writing: Jack refers to Gretchen Thomas as "Thomas" and, prior to the reveal, his dialogue about her is written to avoid pronouns.
• Incompatible Orientation: At the end of the episode, Gretchen calls off her platonic friendship with Liz because she's becoming attracted to her.
• Lost Wedding Ring: Pete loses his wedding ring in the first poker match, and later admits he still had money!
• Mistaken for Gay: Jack mistook Liz for a lesbian on account of her shoes.
  Liz: Well, I'm straight!
  Jack: Those shoes are definitely bi-curious.
• Samus Is a Girl: Turns out "Thomas" is Gretchen Thomas
• Shipper on Deck: Frank and Pete ship Liz/Gretchen
  Liz: So what are you saying, Pete? I should just be a lesbian?
  Pete: Well, I'm not saying it'll be easy. You know, get drunk first.
• Shout-Out: The speech Jack gives to Kenneth during the climactic poker game is a parody of the Hannibal Lecture from The Silence of the Lambs.
• Worthy Opponent: Jack regards Kenneth as one, much to the latter's confusion.