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30 Rock: Best Personal Finance Show on TV

30rock2.jpgSo last night’s episode of 30 Rock (epsiode 204 if you’d like to watch it now) was the usual grab-bag of hilarity (dog fighting, guest-appearance by Princess Leia, “The honkies shot me!”).

But one of the subplots had us sit bolt upright in our nightshirts. It occured about two minutes into the show, when liberal-arts-college sex-symbol Tina Fey and world’s-greatest-drinking-buddy Alec Baldwin had a conversation about personal finance. Fey’s character, Liz Lemon, had just won a $10,000 GE Followship Award (”for mindless following”), presented by Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy:

Jack: So Liz, what are you going to do with all that money? Put it in your 401(k)?

Liz: Yeah, um… I gotta get one of those.

Jack: Where do you invest your money?

Liz: I’ve got 12 grand in checking.

Jack: Are you an immigrant?

Fast forward to the last scene of the show and Liz, after a harrowing and eye-opening experience with Carrie Fisher, realizes she needs to master her money. She turns to Jack for advice:

Liz: I’ve got to make money and save it and do that thing that rich people do where they take money and turn it into more money. Can you teach me how to do that?

Jack: With my eyes closed.

Thank God for Jack Donaghy. Honestly, if you had to take personal-finance advice from someone on television who would you choose: Suze Orman, or the man who offered up this little-discussed but absolutely vital spending tip?

Liz: Rosemary says that women become obsolete in this business when there’s no one left that wants to see them naked.

Jack: You make enough money, you can pay people to look at you naked.

It’s no contest.

Sam Grobart

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(3) Comments

perfect.

narnia
10/26/07 @ 4:59 pm

i watched the episode and thought it was very refreshing. i cut the two scenes and put them on my blog.
http://unstoppablex.com/video/investing-101-with-nbcs-30-rock/

10/28/07 @ 3:22 am

I caught the pilot and haven’t seen an episode of 30 Rock since until the other night when I saw about half of the one you’re talking about.

Carrie Fisher was crazy/great and the show’s writing was non-stop funny. As smart as The Office, but more accessible.

@unstoppablex Putting the 2 scenes on your blog for reference: nicely done.

11/01/07 @ 8:34 am

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