Reception
"The Collection" brought in an average of 6.2 million American viewers. This episode achieved a 2.6/7 in the key 18–49 demographic; the 2.6 refers to 2.6% of all 18- to 49-year-olds in the U.S., and the 7 refers to 7% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast, in the U.S. This was a decrease from the previous episode, which was watched by an average of 6.6 million American viewers. The episode retained 96% of the audience from its lead-in, My Name is Earl, in adults 18-49, and increased by 14% in adults 18-34 and by 22% among men 18-34.
Bob Sassone of TV Squad said that the lack of the writing staff in the second season was "disappointing". He "love how this show is about NBC and really set at NBC", but was worried about the misuse of guest stars. Robert Canning of IGN said that for the first time, Jenna's storyline was the "most entertaining of the night". He felt that first half of the episode was "tightly written and very funny", but the second half "waned a bit, with less than stellar conclusions to the stories and far less funny bits". Canning said that Jack's storyline was the "most disappointing", and hoped that future guest stars were used properly, rather than for the sake of having a name guest star. George Freitag of BuddyTV said that although Tracy was "not as strong as the previous two episodes", he was "still terrific and the nod to his old SNL skit was a nice touch". He felt that the lack of focus on the personal life of Liz seemed to give the series "a lack of focus". Freitag hoped that her private issues would be further explored, as "her approachable yet successful persona was one of the main draws to the series in the first place". Matt Webb Mitovich of TV Guide felt that the episode "fell a bit flat", and that the season lacked the other TGSers, Lonny, Frank, Twofer and "director guy". He did not enjoy Jack's storyline, but said that Jenna's storyline "ultimately won a thumbs-up from me for her getting turned on by Kenneth's rudeness".
Steve Buscemi was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for this episode.
Read more about this topic: The Collection (30 Rock)
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