Tonight’s episode dealt with flu and cold season. How appropriate, since I write this at what I fear to be the beginning stages of a lengthy -- possibly month-long -- bout of sickness, fever, cramps, ill throat and more ill disposition. In short form: I be illing.

The sick storyline starts with Kenneth. He is wheezing in Lemon’s face. Lemon does not appreciate it, which is perfectly understandable. She has a vacation planned on a French(ish) beach, where people wear dark socks, and she wants to avoid a cold. Stoic Kenneth refuses to go home, and it’s an even more difficult endeavor because it’s not just Kenneth -- the entire crew of The Girlie Show is sick. Jack collars her into Dr. Leo Spaceman’s office, where he is getting a vaccination. I did say Dr. Leo Spaceman in that last sentence. This episode has the gold stamp of approval already, because there has never been an episode involving Dr. Leo Spaceman that was a disappointment. Spaceman and Jack tell lemon that there are only five vaccination shots to go around and that, because she is part of the elite, Liz gets one of them. Lemon, progressive to the end, refuses and makes some reference to Cuba. “What a surprise. You saw the Michael Moore movie,” says Jack. Actually, she saw the trailer that came on before Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Lemon’s decision to forego the flu shot was in the name of equality, but made easier by the fact that she was unable to book a flight to her vacation island. Word spreads about Lemon’s decision, her Norma Rae moment that honored the working person, and soon the entire set is in her corner. Or, if not in her corner, they don’t hate her like they used to. Opportunism, though, comes in short order. Cerie tells Lemon that a flight opened up for her to go to her fantasy island vacation because of people cancelling flights due to the sick bug. The good news comes on the heels of Lemon getting a congratulatory meat plate from a sick set worker. Suddenly, everyone looks like the walking dead to her. Lemon ditches the meat and runs back to Dr. Spaceman’s office to ask for the shot. He demands that she dance for him. She does the wop, the running man and the robot, and he gives her the vaccination.

Now Lemon can’t do enough to avoid her infirmed new fan club around the set. Jack also shares with her that the shot causes a rash on your arm. Lemon runs to wardrobe to put on a jacket that will cover up her rash, but during a “feel better” comedic performance by Tracy and Jenna, two pies are thrown at Lemon. It forces her to take the jacket off in front of the entire set, revealing the nasty rash -- a mark of Cain, at this point, to the underprivileged denied the vaccination. Wow. It’s kind of a dystopian storyline if you view it from the prism of that previous sentence.

Jack! He is still dating Elisa. So we get Salma Hayek for another episode. Great, if you are a fan of attractive women. Not as hot if you don’t devalue comedy. Jack wants to spend more time with Elisa, but she has no time. She works two jobs -- when she isn’t nursing his mother, she is taking care of an old man with no family or friends. Jack convinces her to go see The Lion King on Broadway with him, and they drag along the poor, infirmed old man in his wheelchair. We get a neat little montage of the night’s activities, accompanied by an original song. Elisa has such a good time she agrees to another night out on the town -- just her and Jack, and the old man and his wheelchair. But when Jack picks her up at the old man’s place, the old man’s son shows up at the apartment, on a visit from London. It forces Jack to hide behind a curtain until Elisa can distract the son’s attention away from the living room. Jack tiptoes out, but not before apologizing and explaining his behavior to the old man. He’s lost too many good things because he didn’t make time for them, and Jack refuses to make the same mistake with Elisa. “Elisa the Puerto Rican?” asks the old man. “Wow that really doesn’t sound okay, but yes,” answers Jack. The old man promises to not tell his son about their late-night escapades, but he also makes it clear that the next time they go out he wants to visit the place in New York where he proposed to his wife. “And then, I want to go to a Negro bar.”

Those were the basic storylines, in a nutshell. It was a very good episode. It brought the laughs -- full-throated ones -- unlike last week’s storyline. And now, if you will excuse me, I am going to go puke in a hat, put ice cubes on my forehead, and then listen to 15 straight hours of stories about the plane crash. Tootles.

Discuss this episode in our forums, then see why vlogger Sean Crespo thinks 30 Rock is headed for Cheers territory in No Prior Knowledge!