Of all the characters on 30 Rock, Jack Donaghy probably has the best quotes of them all, which is saying something for a series that routinely had hilarious dialogue and interesting characters. His thoughts on business, love, wealth, relationships, and pretty much everything else imaginable make him one of the most insightful and hilarious characters on the series.>
Jack spent the series starting as something of a protagonist, but he quickly proved he was interested in mentoring Liz while ensuring her series remained despite any of the issues it had. He was a true friend and someone many people could relate to, which is why his quotes are some of the best on television.
His Thoughts On Fashion
There’s something about Jack Donaghy that everyone knows, and it’s that the man has a sense of style. When Liz finds her friend wearing a tuxedo, she can’t figure out why which pushed her to frantically confront the man and ask him “Why are you wearing a tux?”
Without skipping a beat, Jack quickly replies, “It’s after six. What am I, a farmer?” Was this comment indicative of his disdain for agricultural workers’ clothing choices, or was it something more? Does it really matter… after all, the man looks fantastic in a tux, and it was after six so there is that.
HE’S A FAN OF OTHER BUSINESSMEN
Jack certainly has an appreciation for other businessmen who used their innovation and skills to become leaders in their given industry. While this mostly extends to real-world people, he does have a soft spot for the likes of Willy Wonka. “I do admire Wonka. He is a true capitalist. His factory has zero government regulation, slave labor, and an indoor boat. Wonderful.” It’s not surprising that a businessman like Jack would admire those traits, even with the comment on slave labor, which we can put down as low labor costs seeing as it’s a television show and it would be nice to have an indoor boat.
His Deepest Thoughts
Jack was worried about not being around for his daughter after he realizes he will be an older father, which pushed him to record some videos with choice wisdom he planned on leaving her should he not be around as she grew up. These are those thoughts: “I won the Amory Blaine Handsomeness scholarship to Princeton, and then attended Harvard Business School where I was voted “Most.” I once hit a stand up triple off Fidel Castro. I was the first person even to say “I need a vacation from this vacation.” The song “You’re So Vain” was in fact written by me.” While not the most normal of comments, they were pure Jack Doneghy.
His Thoughts On Feminism
Jack has never been one to give a lot of credit to what he clearly considers to be the “weaker sex,” but that hasn’t stopped him from befriending and mentoring Liz Lemmon. When she needed a pep talk, Jack dug into history to try and boost her morale. “Impossible? Would any of your female heroes say that? Would Amelia Earhart, or Dian Fossey, or Joan of Arc… Boy, women who try to do things sure get killed a lot.” While he’s not wrong, he may have lost some steam with that last line seeing as he was trying to motivate Liz.
His Thoughts On Homosexuality
Jack is about as much a man’s man as any man can be, but he isn’t the kind of person to walk away from someone because they are gay. That being said, in his world of business and politics, being gay is sometimes thought to be a negative thing, which is why he had a question about Banks’ status when he learned of his sexuality. “How gay, Banks? On a scale of bear hunting to hunting bears.” The hilarity of that quote lies in how subtle it is. While gay gentlemen could certainly go bear hunting should they want to, hunting bears has a slightly different connotation for folks in that community.
His Conservative Values
In many ways, Jack Donaghy is the perfect representation of a member of the Republican Party, even if he strays from those values every now and again. That being said, his comments often reveal his true conservative values, and they almost always come out when he speaks to Liz. “TGS with Tracy Jordan without Tracy Jordan is an oxymoron… like ’liberal government’ or ‘female scientist.’” Only a true conservative would make a comment like that about liberal forms of government, but it’s hard to think of someone like Jack Donaghy not thinking that way, and his thoughts on feminism aren’t too surprising either.
His First Meeting With Liz
Jack has some skills when it comes to sizing people up. Just one look at Liz and he knew exactly what sort of person she was. “Sure. I got you. New York third-wave feminist, college educated, single and pretending to be happy about it, overscheduled, undersexed, you buy any magazine that says “healthy body image” on the cover, and every two years you take up knitting for… a week.” Was this a superpower, or does he just know people so well that he can size them up without needing to get to know them first? It’s pretty much Jack’s personal superpower.
His Thoughts On Youth Culture
When Tracy Jordan showed up with a face tattoo (which turned out to be a fake), he was trying to relive his more rambunctious youth. When Jack saw the tat, he immediately went into fix-it mode and gave Tracy some instructions: “No, You’re on a plane to Boston tomorrow, Tray, we have a laboratory they’re experimenting in tattoo removal. It promises to be one of our biggest profit centers once today’s generation finally sobers up.” His point is somewhat valid seeing as the number of people in each successive generation appear to enjoy some body art more than the last. When they do sober up, that place will make a mint!
On Women In Their Youth
One of Jack’s best… or worst qualities depending on your point of view has to be his ability to say exactly what he’s thinking the moment he’s thinking it. Most people wouldn’t say half the things he says without worrying about hurting someone’s feelings or making themselves look cruel. Jack doesn’t have that problem, which was immediately apparent when he first met Liz. Soon after the two met, he quipped, “I like you. You have the boldness of a much younger woman.” That sort of backhanded compliment is pure Jack, and it’s the reason the fans truly love him as a character!
Jack’s True Passion
Jack Donaghy is a wealthy man, and, like all wealthy men, he has some thoughts on wealth. He espoused this pretty much throughout the duration of 30 Rock, but every once in a while, he made a comment that truly defined who he was as a character in terms of his interest in attaining wealth: “Money can’t buy happiness. It is happiness.” That’s something only someone with a ton of money could possibly come up with, but it’s also something that truly represents who Jack is as a person. He’s all about earning money, and he lets that define who he is and how it makes him feel.
