With Tracy Morgan recovering from surgery, I was worried that "It's Never Too Late For Now" might falter from an absence of ludicrous lines and situations. Fortunately, I was wrong.

I give a lot of credit for that to the decision to highlight Pete and Frank in the C story. No offense to Kenneth, but these two were far less annoying than his presence tends to be.

I really loved every moment that this pair was together on screen. Their vicious in-fighting like they were Lennon and McCartney - even down to the Asian woman that was getting in between them - was fantastic. The fact that it began one minute after starting their band made it that much more hilarious.

Liz was also on her game, as she spiraled into spinsterhood, and then came out of it when she ran into Anders at the Lemon-esque club. Between her thinking that meeting Tom Brokaw in an elevator was meeting Mr. Right, trying to fit her cat's head in her mouth, and getting flustered over Oprah's final season, Liz was bringing the funny.

And then we had the final five minutes comprised of Liz solving the mystery of how she met Anders. When he said "It's never too late for now," I thought it was just normal 30 Rock writing, in which they try every which way to pull story lines together. Realizing that the whole thing was a masterful plan by everyone but Liz to get her out of her funk was extremely satisfying.

If there something that didn't work, it was Jack's story.  Don't get me wrong, Alec Baldwin got out a couple of zingers as always, but his inability to negotiate with his night nurse wasn't all that funny.  Although when Jack explained to Liz that her structural, analytic insight would have warranted a "good job spanking" from his business school professor, I was rolling on the floor.

And now, per usual, some of the best 30 Rock quotes from the episode:

Dot Com: You had to sign your crime didn't you?
Grizz: You're the one who gave me those Monk DVDs. | permalink

Jack: Lemon you just had a structural, analytic insight. Professor Widmer would've given you a good job spanking. | permalink

Liz: Why are you talking so fast?
Jenna: Because I'm upset. Also I've been taking these new Czechoslovakian organ slimming pills. They contain a little bit of meth, which is something my body needs anyway. | permalink

Liz: Watch this. I can fit Emily Dickinson's whole head in my mouth | permalink

Liz: How many times does a woman meet Mr. Right? I've had three chances; Floyd, then Carol, and I was once in an elevator with Tom Brokaw, and I blew all three...opportunities | permalink

Dan Forcella is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow him on Twitter.