When 30 Rock started, it wasn’t looking good for The Girly Show, but thanks to the introduction of Tracy Jordan, the show got an update and was renamed TGS With Tracy Jordan. There’s a reason Tracy Jordan came on the show, and it has everything to do with the hilarious things he had to say.
Granted, most of what he said was either offensive or really offensive depending on who he was talking to, and he may have seemed crazy, but he was easily one of the best characters on the show. With the plethora of amazing quotes, here are the 10 best Tracy Jordan quotes from 30 Rock.
At Least He Knows His Limits
Tracy Jordan is easily one of the best characters on the series, but the reason he's so great on the show has to do with who he is and how he works and plays with others. He's a narcissist, has probably the worst work ethic on the planet, tends to go insane every now and again, causes massive problems on the set of TGS: With Tracy Jordan, and is incredibly difficult for Liz Lemon to control. That being said, he knows exactly who he is and what he's capable of as this succinct quote demonstrates, “My incompetence knows no bounds.”
His Way of Communicating With Fans
Tracy Jordan is probably the biggest comedy superstar in the world of 30 Rock, which means he has a ton of fans all over the world. Just think of a similar person... maybe, Tracy Morgan? He's got fans all over, but unlike the character he plays on the series, he's not a fool.
For Tracy Jordan, that's not the case, and in one instance when he confronted a diminutive woman on the street, he had this to say to her, “Are you a large child or a small adult?” Seriously though, how out of touch is the guy that he can't identify an adult woman?
His Thoughts on Fashion
When you were a kid, did your mom ever tell you to always wear clean underwear in case you got hit by a bus? Ok, maybe not every mom said something like that, but nobody wants to end up dead wearing a burlap sack. It's undignified! Tracy Jordan has a similar bit of advice when it comes to wearing clothing you might die in... of course, his take on the subject is somewhat darker than a mom's concern of her kid playing in traffic. “Dress every day like you gonna get murdered in those clothes.” He's got a point... nobody wants to get murdered in anything embarrassing.
His Thoughts Sometimes Wander
Have you ever been lost in a thought that has absolutely nothing to do with what's going on around you? Most people have, which is why it's so easy to relate to Tracy Jordan's common practice of staring off into the void with a strange thought in his head. Have you ever thought it strange that humans eat certain animals? Say... birds, for instance? “Sorry it took me so long to answer, I was just thinking about how weird it is that we eat birds.” To some people, it's probably weird that we do eat birds, but most of us do at one time or another. Apparently, Tracy also finds it a bit odd.
Sometimes He Gets Confused
Tracy Jordan isn't what we would call a scholarly fellow, and much of what he says throughout the series demonstrates his lack of education. There's nothing wrong with that, and he clearly found a way to make it in the world thanks to his sense of humor and comedic approach to life, but that doesn't mean he won't drop the occasional question or statement that makes people around him raise an eyebrow.
“I don’t get why people like brunch. What’s the benefit of combining break dancing and lunch?” To be fair, there really is no benefit in combining dancing with lunch.
When He Was Feeling Sad
Even celebrities have bad days, and Tracy Jordan suffered his fair share of difficult times on 30 Rock. In one instance, he was clearly depressed, which a passerby took note of by stopping and asking him, “Why the long face?” Tracy took a moment to answer him and said, “I do have a long, elegant face, thank you. But I can’t enjoy your compliment, because I’m sad.” It seems he might have missed a cue there, but at least he's confident in his appearance enough to take a compliment at any time, even when it wasn't necessarily intended as one.
His Work Ethic
Pretty much everyone in the world has thought it would be nice to stay home and not work... but still get paid. Tracy Jordan is no different from the rest of us, and as he proved time and time again on the show, he's got something of a warped work ethic. He's the type of guy who would do anything to get out of working for the day as this quote clearly demonstrates, “The job is hard! I just wanna be able to do what I wanna do. Do you know I once shot a movie without ever getting out of my car?”
His Belief in the Paranormal
If you know anything about Tracy Jordan, you know he's not exactly right in the head. Whether he's doing something crazy to promote his career, or he's legitimately acting like a nut, he's the kind of fellow you might expect to believe in the paranormal.
As it happens, he definitely believes in ghosts, as this comment proves, “Your boos are not scaring me. I know most of you are not ghosts.” Granted, he did say "most of you are not ghosts," which suggests he thought the people he was talking to consisted of at least one or two frightening phantasms.
He's Smarter Than He Appears
You know those people who always correct others when they slip up on some grammar? Nobody would expect Tracy Jordan to fall in that category, but then there was the time he said this, “Nuh uh. Superman does good. You doin’ well. You need to study your grammar, son.” It's certainly not the thing you would expect to hear from a guy who spent most of the series saying the craziest comments of any character on television, but then, TJ is all about surprises, and the character continued to develop throughout the series into a still-crazy but somewhat manageable nutcase.
His Childhood Woes
And finally, his insane rant about how he grew up came in a torrent of crazy comments. “I’ve seen a blind guy bite a police horse! A puppy committed suicide after he saw our bathroom! I once bit into a burrito and there was a child’s shoe in it! I’ve seen a hooker eat a tire! A pack of wild dogs took over and successfully ran a Wendy’s! The sewer people stole my skateboard! The projects I lived in was named after Zachary Taylor, generally considered to be one of the worst Presidents of all time! I once saw a baby give another baby a tattoo. They were very drunk!”