Theirs is a professional relationship, but it's an ongoing one. Technically, the "disturbed gentleman" is the star of those ads -- Tina Fey was just doing a guest turn. That means it's a reversal of their previous arrangement.

What makes these ads fun -- aside from the mere presence of the delightful Fey -- is the fact that they're a reunion of Fey and an old TV boyfriend. The actual star of the ads is Dean Winters, who played Fey's on-again, off-again boyfriend Dennis on all seven seasons of her smash-hit sitcom "30 Rock."

As important as the Dennis character was on that show, Winters is probably now known better for this long-running series of Allstate ads. He's been doing these for even longer than he did "30 Rock" -- his Allstate ads have been running for more than a decade.

The concept of the ad spots is that Winters plays the personification of a range of different hazards -- his character even has a (suitable) name: Mayhem.

In the spots featuring Fey, he's a St. Bernard dog with "poor impulse control," running amok in the car while Fey is driving. In another, he plays her mother-in-law, whose aggravating criticisms distract her from the road.

These new ads mark the first time Winters has been given a guest star to work with, and the suits at Allstate were pretty excited about the idea. "Unlike the previous decade of ads, for the first time ever, Mayhem has met his match," Allstate chief creative officer David Hernandez said.

Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided.