30 Rock: "Apollo Apollo"
At the end of it all, "Apollo Apollo" is clearly a standalone episode. What this means is there is no plot progression (or development for that matter), no significant character shifts or any other big change for the TGS crew.
But there is a belly full of laughs to be had.
In this episode we find the return of Dennis Duffy, Liz Lemon's worst boyfriend. We also discover that he slept with TGS star and Liz's best friend, Jenna. Hijinks ensue.
While it was nice to see Dennis again, this conflict was a bit forced, especially considering that Liz refused to get mad at Jenna because she hates Dennis so much. Yet, when she fails to warn Jenna later in the episode of a failed buckle during a stunt test, sweet revenge comes.
Dean Winters is very funny as Dennis and it is always a good time when he is ruffling Liz's hair or claiming to be the love of Liz's life.
Jack Donaghy gets the best story of the episode, which sort of bleeds into Tracy Jordan's. Jack wishes for his childhood happiness to return after his mother sends him videotapes of his birthday when he was a child. So Jack embarks on a quest to find out what birthday present made him so happy he threw up.
This quest actually sets up one of the funniest scenes I've seen in a few episodes on 30 Rock, which is saying a lot. Under the pretext of a job interview, Jack invites the boy who gave him the gift, now a man, who tells him to figure out what Jack is saying in the video. So Jack invites a deaf person, once again under the pretext of a job interview, to read his lips. She reveals that he was screaming "Apollo Apollo!" then herself freaks out from seeing little Jack vomiting.
That scene literally made me laugh out loud for a solid 30 seconds.
Tying into Jack's childhood happiness wish was Tracy Jordan, who wants to fly into outer space. In order to accomplish this, the TGS crew pulls together to trick him into thinking he is on his way.
The whole scene is a throwaway plot point, but it is nice to see Tracy happy and all of the crew working toward satisfying yet another of Tracy's diva antics.
This episode also reveals the world through the eyes of several characters: Kenneth the Page sees everyone as muppets who sing; Tracy sees everyone as Tracy; and Jack sees everyone in terms of dollar worth.
Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable episode with a lot of laughs. Although it is not necessary in the big picture, it adds to the show's personality and should make fans of the show happy to watch.