I think 30 Rock broke my brain last week.

Maybe it was the sign over the little league backstop reading “Fun Accomplished.” It could have been watching Jenna (Jane Krakowski) fawning over a snot-nosed pre-teen, giving creepy new meaning to the term “boy toy.”

Nope, I’ve got it. It was Frank (Judah Friedlander) in a skin-tight tanktop, expressing his Jamie-specific man-love for Liz’s young paramour.

Turning comic observation into social commentary, Liz (Tina Fey) weighs in on the politics of sexual identity: You can’t be gay for one person. Unless you’re a woman, and you meet Ellen.

I’ve never been sure what I think of Frank. Is he funny or just goofy? I’m still not sure, but I’m relieved my name’s not Jamie.

And who’s brilliant idea was it to put the well-being of children in the hands of Tracy (Tracy Morgan)? In yet another nod to his real-life legal woes—I’d already forgotten he’s been wearing an alcohol monitor on his ankle all this time—Tracy explains little league coaching is his community service. Who better to relate to kids from Knuckle Beach, the toughest neighborhood in the city?

The Iraq War parallells, from the aforementioned banner to the sight of Jefferson Davis’s statue being pulled down by an angry peewee mob, only worked because the Fey touch is to put the funny ahead of the politics.

Tracy wants them to have fun; Jack (Alec Baldwin) wants them to win. He learned to win on his own youth team, the one that defeated that all-bl—- never mind. Makes you wonder about the neighborhood where he grew up. So of course the team turns on him, right after they nearly eat Kenneth alive.

Surreal’s the only word. 30 Rock on a bad night beats most shows on their best nights. Still, I didn’t need oxygen at the end of this one like I do a lot of episodes. Even “Somebody to Love” last week gave us Tracy’s conversation with a pigeon. There wasn’t that one moment I nearly fell off my recliner in laughter. Jamie was kind of annoying in a Felicity/Dawson’s Creek kind of way, and I hope he doesn’t come back.

Kenneth handing out iPod boxes full of homemade bacon gum? OK, that was pretty funny, but it was actually an American Express commercial snuck in like part of the show. And Jamie’s mom being a dead ringer for Liz was creepy funny. OK, there was more:

• Tracy saying he doesn’t want to go on a rant. And not.


• Jamie’s mom was named Beth. Get it? Liz, Beth…


• The Little League team couldn’t wear blue uniforms in that neighborhood.


• Kenneth thought “Kill Whitey” was a reference to his drunkard grandfather.


• Tracy’s book title (‘Betrayal: What really happened with my baseball team, Disaster at Knuckle Beach…?) reminded me of Dwight Schrute’s Michael Scott biography on The Office.

OK I loved this episode after all. I think I’m just in anticipatory mourning for a super sophomore season about to pre-empted by the writers’ strike. By most counts there should still two pre-strike-produced episodes left, which would be great because the de facto finale would be a Christmas episode titled “LudaChristmas.” That alone could carry me at least until March without new installments.

Here’s the official episode summaries. Next week promises an appearance from politico James Carville (hohum) followed the week after with turns by by Andy Barker, P.I. himself, Andy Richter (woohoo!)—as the brother Jenna slept with, Elaine Stritch and the great Buck Henry.

“Secrets and Lies”—C.C. (Edie Falco) wants to go public with her relationship with Jack, but Jack is still very reluctant. Meanwhile, Liz continues to appease both Tracy and Jenna as stars of “TGS with Tracy Jordan.â€? To pacify Tracy, Liz fakes a satellite transmission to accept an award from the Pacific Rim Emmys, and it infuriates Jane. She goes “divaâ€? on Liz by being late to rehearsals and hiring two personal assistants. Liz quells Jenna’s temper by pulling a few tricks to make her feel special as well.

“LudaChristmas”—It’s holiday time and the staff of “TGS with Tracy Jordanâ€? is having their annual “Ludachristmasâ€? party—complete with music, merriment, “The Human Table” and a Horny Santa. Unfortunately, Tracy can’t participate due to his newly court mandated alcohol monitoring bracelet. Since holidays mean special family time, Liz’s parents, Dick (Henry) and Margaret (Anita Gillette) Lemon, and her 40-year-old brother Mitch (Richter), who suffers from memory loss due to a skiing accident and thinks he is 17-year-old high school senior, come to gloat over their “beautiful geniusâ€? daughter. Jack’s jaded mother, Colleen (Stritch), even shows up unexpectedly from Florida. The Lemons and the Donaghys go to dinner together, where Colleen spends the night trying to break the eternal optimism of the Lemon family. Meanwhile, in the spirit of Christmas cheer, Kenneth (Jack McBrayer) decides to teach the writing staff a lesson on gratitude by inviting a priest to the party.

Meanwhile, good news on Tracy Morgan’s home front has him reconciling with his wife of 22 years, Sabina. According to online outlets, none of which quote the Morgans, the split was over his legal woes and drinking, and the thaw is contingent on his remaining clean and sober. That same article has Morgan voicing a guinea pig in Disney’s upcoming “G-Force” alongside Nicholas Cage, Bill Nighy and Will Arnett.

And did you happen to be three inches from your TV screen during “Somebody to Love” as Jack watched C.C. being interviewed live on MSNBC. Me neither. But if we were we’d have seen this message on the faux news crawl: NEWS CRAWL AFFECTED BY WRITERS STRIKE—USING REPEAT TEXT FROM PREVIOUS SEASON”. See for yourself at Variety.com.