Subway Hero deserves major plaudits for reintroducing one of the show's most entertaining guest stars: Dean Winters, who returns as the hapless beeper salesman Dennis Duffy. In addition, Tim Conway won an Emmy as best Guest Actor for his understated, hilarious appearance.
Dennis' comeback is caused by him being a local "subway hero" (meaning he saved someone's life at a subway station), which leads to Jack to asking Liz to get him on the show. Liz accepts because she doesn't really have a choice, and Dennis takes the opportunity to try winning her back, much to her horror. Jack also attempts to convince Tracy to become a spokesman for the Republican party, reminding him that Abraham Lincoln, who abolished slavery, was a member of the party, while Kenneth is given the assignment of showing former NBC star Bucky Bright (Conway) around the building, while the has-been recounts several anecdotes about his glorious period at the network.
Conway's guest spot is a more subdued version of Carrie Fisher's role earlier on in the season, and while he's not as outright hilarious as, say, Will Arnett (who was a more likely candidate for the Emmy win), he calmly steals every scene he's in with various jokes about famous programs and people (his description of Conan O' Brien is wonderful). Tracy gets to be outrageously funny with the Republican subplot, complete with a ghost appearance by Richard Nixon (still not a patch on Thomas Jefferson in Season One, though), but the highlight of the episode is any scene featuring Fey and Winters, especially when he sums up their relationship like this: "We're like Ross and Rachel, only not gay!". How come he didn't get a nomination just for saying that line?