"Christmas Attack Zone" was written by
30 Rock story editor Tracey Wigfield, her first episode for the
fifth season, and her fourth writing credit overall after "
Jackie Jormp-Jomp", "
Future Husband", and "
Don Geiss, America and Hope". This episode was directed by co-executive producer and staff writer
John Riggi, This episode of
30 Rock originally aired in the United States on December 9, 2010, on NBC as the tenth episode of the show's fifth season and the 90th overall episode of the series. Co-
showrunner and executive producer
Robert Carlock revealed to
Entertainment Weekly that "Christmas Attack Zone" was "the big [episode] for us. It's the long-awaited reunion of Jack's biological parents. A couple of years ago, Jack discovered his real father, but just to avoid an argument, he hasn't told his mother that he knows her shameful sex secret." The character Professor Milton Greene, Jack Donaghy's biological father, was played by guest actor Alan Alda, best known for his role as
Hawkeye Pierce from the television series
M*A*S*H. Alda and Alec Baldwin have worked together, having appeared in the 2004 biographical drama film
The Aviator. This was Alda's third appearance on the show. After the airing of the
season three finale episode "
Kidney Now!', in which Jack organizes a benefit concert to get Milton a kidney, it was unknown whether or not the benefit concert for Milton was a success, however, in the
season four episode "
Into the Crevasse", Milton is shown to have written his book
From Peanut to President, a biography of United States President
Jimmy Carter. In this episode it is revealed that Jack sent Milton a kidney from British singer-songwriter
Elvis Costello who participated in the benefit concert in "Kidney Now!". In October 2010, it was confirmed that Alda would return as his
30 Rock character on the fifth season. In an interview with
TV Guide, Alda said that he first met Elaine Stritch twenty years ago "but never worked with her before. I always knew the reunion would be interesting. We kid with each other a lot, and our characters have a common enemy in their son." This was Elaine Stritch's seventh appearance as Colleen Donaghy, Jack's mother, on the series. She guest starred in the episodes "
Hiatus", "
Ludachristmas", "
Christmas Special", "
Señor Macho Solo", "
The Natural Order", and "The Moms". Avery Jessup, fiancée of Baldwin's character, was played by actress Elizabeth Banks, who first guest starred as the character in the show's fourth season. This was Banks' tenth time as the Avery character. Banks told
Michael Ausiello of
Entertainment Weekly that she approached the
30 Rock staff about making an appearance as she is a fan of the show. "I definitely put feelers out, like, 'I would love to be on your show.' And they did it. They made it happen! I'm a huge fan, so this is a dream come true." Banks also revealed that she has no intention on becoming a series regular, explaining that she has been having "too much fun" making films to commit to a television show full-time. Comedian actor Will Forte made his fourth appearance in the show, having guest starred as a different character in the February 1, 2007, episode "
Black Tie" from the show's
first season. In the previous season, Forte played Jenna Maroney's boyfriend and Jenna impersonator. Forte has appeared in the main cast of
Saturday Night Live (
SNL), a weekly
sketch comedy series which airs on NBC in the United States. Tina Fey, the series creator and lead actress on
30 Rock, was the
head writer on
SNL from 1999 until 2006. In June 2010, Jane Krakowski, who plays Jenna, confirmed that Forte would reprise his role as her boyfriend in the upcoming season. Carlock also noted in the
Entertainment Weekly interview that the Jenna and Paul characters "have some ups and downs. He wants to try to be a normal couple, and she is afraid of that level of commitment." In "Christmas Attack Zone", the two get back together. ==Cultural references==