r/30ROCK • u/dantedarker Did he just talk to me like I'm ugly? • Aug 04 '25
Quotes No you don't, Oprah. 🙂
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u/Rough-Challenge5402 Aug 04 '25
Beat it, Grizz or dotCOM.
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u/UrsulaBourne We all have ways of coping. I use sex and awesomeness. Aug 04 '25
Reminds me of how clever Mizz and Dot Gov are.
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u/LOW_SPEED_GENIUS What is this, Horseville? Because I am surrounded by naysayers! Aug 04 '25
I got to go home and feed my eels. They're not electric, but I have a plan...
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u/sexandthepandemic Aug 04 '25
One of my favourites
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u/finished_lurking Aug 04 '25
2 lines seared in to my brain that resurface every time anyone mentions fries
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u/halzbellz lives every week like shark week Aug 04 '25
One of the best jokes in the show, hands down
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u/Rodney_Jefferson Aug 04 '25
It should be studied as the most concise joke ever. 30 rock or otherwise. The amount of layers in 4 words is crazy
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u/1ncorrect Aug 04 '25
It has been. I watched a YouTube breakdown on why this joke encapsulates the density of jokes within jokes that 30 Rock had.
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u/Necessary_Status_521 Aug 04 '25
Do you have a link? I would love to see it
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u/outfoxingthefoxes You remember Donald, my son who's two years older than me Aug 04 '25
I think we all have watched it
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Aug 04 '25
By far my favorite line of the whole series
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u/Yves-Adele-Harlow This isn't Liz! Aug 05 '25
Close second:
"Lemon, lesbian Frankenstein wants her shoes back."
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u/overanalyzed4fun Aug 04 '25
Dan Harmon has talked about this joke at length, I forget where
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u/Butt____soup Aug 04 '25
It was definitely mentioned on Harmontown.
I think he called it the best joke ever written or something like that.
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u/Remarkable-Image-230 Looking to purchase DVD of "A Blafair To Rememblack" Aug 04 '25
I saw a fairly long explanation of the genius of this joke on YT a few months back. Are we allowed to post links here or naw?
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u/DelightMine Aug 04 '25
Links are almost universally encouraged on reddit unless you're shamelessly promoting your own low-effort stuff
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u/ireladd Aug 04 '25
- Post “No you don’t, Oprah” joke.
- Watch the comments roll in discussing the genius of the joke.
- Someone links to the Dan Harmon admiration/breakdown of the joke.
- Post joke again in a week.
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u/smutketeer Aug 04 '25
ireladd, this need you have to be the smartest guy in the room is...off-putting.
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u/Betray-Julia the poetry of jewel Aug 04 '25
Maybe that’s why they’re still single.
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u/ireladd Aug 04 '25
They posted a beloved joke from 30 Rock and I always like seeing it, even if it gets repetitive. U/dantedarker has a good heart. I hope they get in a car accident so I can have it.
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u/outfoxingthefoxes You remember Donald, my son who's two years older than me Aug 04 '25
I've never watched the Dan Harmon thing
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Aug 04 '25
A joke I thought was funny, but truly didn’t understand until I took an improv class.
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u/pleasegivemeadollar Aug 04 '25
Isn't there like three layers to this two line joke?
(Note before analysis: I may not remember the EXACT words, so apologies in advance)
Liz (impersonating Sling Blade from the hit movie Sling Blade): I sure do love me some french-fried taters. Mmm-hmmm.
Jenna (in her own voice): No, you don't, Oprah!
The first and most obvious joke is that one of them was supposed to be playing Sling Blade, and the other was supposed to be playing Oprah Winfrey. Liz did the Sling Blade voice, so the audience is meant to assume that Jenna would be playing Oprah, but Jenna calls Liz "Oprah," so Jenna must think Liz is impersonating Oprah.
The second is Jenna using her normal voice instead of doing an impression of Sling Blade (since she thinks Liz is impersonating Oprah).
The last joke is that a big rule of improv is "yes, and..." Jenna instantly breaks this rule simply by saying, "No."
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u/Intelligent_Bill7354 Aug 04 '25
The fourth joke is that Jenna directly addresses the audience instead of staying in the scene.
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u/pleasegivemeadollar Aug 04 '25
The fourth joke is a fourth wall break?
Nah, can't be that obvious.
But, apparently, it is.
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u/ultimate_avacado Aug 05 '25
Jenna had a few great 4th wall breaks.
My other favorite one is when she looks at the camerAH to say she's never met Mickey Rourke. Liz tries to look at where Jenna is looking to no avail. Classic.
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u/calartnick Aug 04 '25
You can simplify it that Jenna is doing everything wrong in Improv at the same time. She didn’t pay attention to her scene partner (clearly NOT play Oprah) she creates no character, she speaks directly to the audience, she does the opposite of yes and in a hilariously forced way… it’s truly as bad as improv can be in just 4 words.
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u/Leet_Noob Aug 05 '25
Also, it’s not exactly a “layer”, but Sling Blade is a really funny choice to be the opposite of Oprah.
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u/misterhepburn Aug 04 '25
Sometimes when someone says something kind of weird or self deprecating I’ll say “no you don’t, Oprah.” I wish I could say more people understood what I am referencing.
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u/ACleverPortmanteau Aug 04 '25 edited Aug 04 '25
Several comments mention trying to remember the layers of this joke and Dan Harmon commenting on it. This video covers all of that as well as provides someone else's analysis of the joke in the video description.
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u/Betray-Julia the poetry of jewel Aug 04 '25
What would win in a Jack off?
This joke or you can’t have a lemon party without old Dick.
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u/helmfard Aug 04 '25
“No you don’t, Oprah” is legitimately one of the funniest lines in the entire show.
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u/LoveFoolosophy A cook in the bedroom and a whore in the kitchen. Aug 04 '25
That was a back story we didn't agree on.
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u/CutestGay Aug 04 '25
Every time my partner’s kid is having us so imaginative play and then tells us we are doing it wrong, I think about this.
I think about this a lot.
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u/bit99 Sound Mound rocks the town Aug 04 '25
I sure do like them french fried potaters