MILF Island
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox television episode
| photographer =
| season_article = 30 Rock season 2
| episode_list = List of 30 Rock episodes
| series = 30 Rock
| caption =
| season = 2
| episode = 11
| airdate = {{Start date|2008|04|10}}
| production = 212{{cite web |url=http://nbcumv.com/entertainment/program_photography.nbc/30rock.html |title=30 Rock; Thursdays on NBC |access-date=2008-03-21 |work=Photo Summaries |publisher=NBC Universal Media Village}} {{Dead link|date=April 2012|bot=H3llBot}}
| writer = Tina Fey
Matt Hubbard
| director = Kevin Rodney Sullivan
| guests =
- Timothy Adams as NY Post Guy
- Rob Huebel as MILF Island Host
- John Lutz as J.D. Lutz
- Maulik Pancholy as Jonathan
| prev = Episode 210
| next = Subway Hero
}}
"MILF Island" is the eleventh episode of NBC's second season of 30 Rock and thirty-second episode overall.{{cite press release|title=30 Rock "MILF Island" 04-10-2008 8:30PM |publisher=NBC Universal Media Village |date=2008-03-20 |url=http://nbcumv.com/listing_detail.nbc/nbc-20080410203000.html |access-date=2008-03-20 }}{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} It was written by the series' creator, executive producer and lead actress Tina Fey, and producer Matt Hubbard. The director of the episode was Kevin Rodney Sullivan.{{cite episode |title=MILF Island |series=30 Rock |series-link=30 Rock |credits=Kevin Rodney Sullivan (director); Tina Fey & Matt Hubbard (writers) |network=NBC Universal |station=NBC |airdate=2008-04-10 |season=2 |number=11}} It aired on April 10, 2008 on the NBC network in the United States. Guest stars in this episode include Timothy Adams, Rob Huebel, John Lutz and Maulik Pancholy.
The episode revolves around the season finale of Jack Donaghy's (Alec Baldwin) reality television show hit, MILF Island, which parallels the "real world" incidents happening in the office. Someone tells a reporter for The New York Post that Jack is a "Class A Moron" and that he can "eat my poo." The writers of TGS with Tracy Jordan argue as they suspect one of them made the comment.
Plot
The cast and crew of TGS with Tracy Jordan gather to watch the season finale of Jack's summer reality show hit MILF Island, a series the plot of which is described as "25 Super-Hot Moms, 50 eighth grade boys, no rules." The staff soon discover that one of them told a reporter for The New York Post that Jack was a "Class A Moron" and that "He can eat my poo." They then spiral into an argument as they try to find out who made the statement. Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer) later recalls that he heard Liz, in an elevator, making the statement to the journalist. Liz makes a false promise that she will tell Jack that it was her to avoid him hearing the truth from Kenneth. Liz finally reveals the truth to Jack only to find out that he already knew it was she who said it, and he's not going to fire her—instead, she has to put together a new TV series for MILF Island's manipulative competitor Deborah.
Meanwhile, as he is planning to watch the season finale of MILF Island alone in his office, Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit) gets stuck in a vending machine while trying to steal a candy bar. Pete's many attempts to break free from the machine end in failure when the machine ends up falling on him.
Production
"MILF Island" was filmed in early March 2008.{{cite web|url=http://images.nbcmv.com/photos/thumb/30rock/NUP_130018_0151.JPG |title=30 Rock - "MILF Island" Episode 212 - Pictured: Tina Fey as Liz Lemon |access-date=2008-04-01 |last=Rivelli |first=Nicole |date=2008-03-20 |work=Set Photos |publisher=NBC Universal Media Village }}{{dead link|date=January 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Save Picture as → Right click file → Properties → Summary → Advanced → Date Picture Taken The episode of 30 Rock which aired the following week, "Subway Hero,"{{cite press release|title=30 Rock "Subway Hero" 04-17-2008 8:30PM |publisher=NBC Universal Media Village |date=2008-03-20 |url=http://www.nbcumv.com/listing_detail.nbc/nbc-20080417203000.html |access-date=2008-04-01 }}{{dead link|date=January 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} was originally expected to air on April 10, 2008{{cite news |first=Justin |last=Ravitz |title=Bloomberg Films 30 Rock Cameo |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/17/bloomberg-films-30-rock_n_91827.html |work=The Huffington Post |date=2008-03-17 |access-date=2008-03-25}} in place of this episode, but for unknown reasons "MILF Island" aired on that date instead. This marked the only time in the series' first four seasons that completed episodes were not broadcast in the same order as they were produced.
Image:Wga rally - ave stars - crossing street.JPG was on strike for 100 days causing production of 30 Rock to go on hiatus for four months.{{cite news |author=The New York Times Staff |title=The 100-Day Writers' Strike: A Timeline |url=http://tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/the-100-day-writers-strike-a-timeline |newspaper=The New York Times |date=2008-02-12 |access-date=2008-02-24}}]]
Confusion was caused prior to the broadcast of this episode when many critics speculated about how the episode would tackle the use of the word MILF without actually explaining that it is an acronym for "Mother I'd Like to Fuck", as that would have broken Federal Communications Commission rules.{{cite news |first=Lisa |last=de Moraes |author-link=Lisa de Moraes |title=The Naughty Broadcasting Company |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/24/AR2008032402993.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2008-03-25 |access-date=2008-03-31}}{{cite news |first=Bob |last=Sassone |author-link=Bob Sassone |title=30 Rock is heading to MILF Island |url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/03/25/30-rock-is-heading-to-milf-island/ |work=TV Squad |date=2008-03-25 |access-date=2008-03-31}} The situation was compared to the episode of Seinfeld called "The Contest" which features the subject of masturbation but the characters could never actually say the word "masturbation" and did so via metaphors.
"MILF Island" was the first episode of 30 Rock to be broadcast since "Episode 210," on January 10, 2008, due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike.{{cite press release|title=01-10-2008 08:30 PM 30 Rock — "Episode 210" (30 min) |publisher=NBC Universal Media Village |date=December 2007 |url=http://nbcumv.com/listing_detail.nbc/nbc-20080110203000.html |access-date=2008-01-18 }}{{dead link|date=January 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite news|first=Nellie |last=Andreeva |title=NBC renews series, announces premieres |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3if908f8e7990b715738fd1460067e3828 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=2008-02-14 |access-date=2008-02-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413172036/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3if908f8e7990b715738fd1460067e3828 |archive-date=2008-04-13 |url-status=dead }} The Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike at 12:01{{nbsp}}am Eastern Standard Time on November 5, 2007.{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Cieply |title=Writers Begin Strike as Talks Break Off |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/05/business/media/05strike.html?_r=1&oref=slogin |newspaper=The New York Times |date=2007-11-05 |access-date=2008-04-11}}{{cite magazine |url=https://variety.com/2007/scene/markets-festivals/wga-goes-on-strike-1117975364/ |title=WGA goes on strike |access-date=2008-01-19 |last=McNary |first=Dave |date=2007-11-04 |magazine=Variety}} Filming of 30 Rock
Reception
"MILF Island" brought in an average of 5.7 million American viewers,{{cite magazine |url=https://variety.com/2008/tv/news/fox-wins-competitive-thursday-1117983896/ |title=Fox wins competitive Thursday |access-date=2008-04-11 |last=Levine |first=Stuart |date=2007-10-07 |magazine=Variety}} performing similarly to previous episodes of the second season. This episode achieved a 2.7/7 in the key 18–49 demographic; the 2.7 refers to 2.7% of all 18- to 49-year-olds in the U.S. while the 7 refers to 7% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast in the U.S.
Jeff Labrecque of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "after three months of strike-enforced exile, [this episode of] 30 Rock generated the expectations and excitement normally reserved for a season premiere,"{{cite magazine |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20190608,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080412204802/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20190608,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 12, 2008 |title=30 Rock Recap: Got MILF? (Page 1)|access-date=2008-04-11 |last=Labrecque |first=Jeff |date=2008-04-11 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly}} also saying that "the show [is] in midseason form."{{cite magazine |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20190608_2,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080414194636/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20190608_2,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 14, 2008 |title=30 Rock Recap: Got MILF? (Page 2) |access-date=2008-04-11 |last=Labrecque |first=Jeff |date=2008-04-11 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly}} Matt Webb Mitovich of TV Guide said that he would "be lying if [he] said this was a super-great episode." Webb Mitovich went on to say that "[He] did like, though — and thought they should have done a lot more with — the "parallels" between the MILF events and the strategizing staff."{{cite magazine|url=http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TV-Show-Blog/30-Rock/Episode-Recap-Quotmilf/800037245 |title=Episode Recap: "MILF Island" |access-date=2008-04-11 |last=Webb Mitovich |first=Matt |date=2008-04-10 |magazine=TV Guide |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080414163004/http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TV-Show-Blog/30-Rock/Episode-Recap-Quotmilf/800037245 |archive-date=2008-04-14 }} Bob Sassone of AOL's TV Squad thought that "It's almost as if this was the season opener" and that this episode was "ambitious."{{cite web |url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/04/10/30-rock-milf-island/ |title=30 Rock: "MILF Island" - VIDEO |access-date=2008-04-11 |last=Sassone |first=Bob |author-link=Bob Sassone |date=2008-04-10 |publisher=AOL's TV Squad}} Michael N of Television Without Pity awarded the episode a grade of B.{{cite web|url=http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/30_rock/milf_island.php |title=MILF Island |access-date=2008-04-11 |last=N |first=Michael |date=2008-04-10 |publisher=Television Without Pity |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080412190620/http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/30_rock/milf_island.php |archive-date=2008-04-12 }} Robert Canning of IGN said that "the overall story arc was less than what we had anticipated from this critical favorite making its post-writers-strike return, the episode was still pretty damn funny." Canning also said that this was "an episode that was divided between a less-than-average story and many hilarious moments." Canning criticized how "30 Rock has never really given [Pete Hornberger and Scott Adsit] (the character or the actor) the showcase that he deserves."{{cite web |url=http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/865/865961p1.html |title=30 Rock: "MILF Island" Review |access-date=2008-04-11 |last=Canning |first=Robert |date=2008-04-11 |website=IGN}}
See also
- The Cougar (TV series)
- MILF Manor, a real television program that began airing on TLC in 2023
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb episode|1001575}}
- [https://archive.today/20130125151538/http://www.hulu.com/watch/16929/30-rock recap clip] at Hulu
- [http://www.fraccata.com "MILF AMATORIALI" at Fraccata.com]
{{30 Rock episodes}}
{{good article}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Milf Island}}
Category:2008 American television episodes