I was beginning to think that everybody who said they wouldn't watch again had followed through...

It's a good change that this week's episode wasn't all about the lead-in to the Friday night show. Focusing on things that happen to the characters rather than the characters setting up for the show does make a better chance for character development, etc.

Not bad writing to have so many people learn something about themselves or their relationships in just an hour. Most of the discoveries seemed pretty obvious and likely (especially with the baseball player hitting on Jordan & the consequences). Simon's case surprised me, though. At first I thought he was just trying to get Matt out of the party to avoid the likely fight. I think they set up a good twist having the headliner be a real bigot, making him admit his motivation. Even better that they built him back up with the new hire.

The producers seem to know that it's a dramatic show about a comedy show... maybe the viewers will figure that out too.

 

I was beginning to think that everybody who said they wouldn't watch again had followed through...

Well, that still might have happened... I of course was not among those who said that. I still believe this series is the second best new series this year.

 

I loved it, but don't have a lot to say about it. You can see that they are setting Jordan up as an alcoholic.

And I'm surprised at the lip Danny gave Jack.

 

Eli Wallach doesn't look so much like "Ugly" anymore, but he's still got chops.

 

I loved it, but don't have a lot to say about it. You can see that they are setting Jordan up as an alcoholic.

And I'm surprised at the lip Danny gave Jack.

Why? What does he have to lose? Jack was bombed and probably won't remember anything... and besides, Danny doesn't work for Jack, he works for Jordan. Jack can bluster all he wants, but day-to-day operation of the network is Jordan's responsibility.

Jack could try and micromanage and fire Danny - but he won't. Besides, he probably recognizes that Danny is an integral part of making Studio 60 the (apparently) one major hit NBS has.

 

The Eli Wallach story reminded me quite a bit of Sports Night. Not a bad thing at all.

The D.L. Hughley story line about looking for more diversity in the writers room was good too, though the end result was that he and Matt found someone that would just be considered a Carlton (Fresh Prince)/Uncle Tom comedian.

Still a good episode in a great series.

 

I thought this episode was funny. I laughed out loud at the beginning where Matt said, "I like your show Calico Gals", "It's Gilmore Girl's", and Danny's in the background, "Jesus, I wrote it down for you." Or something like that.

And when he offers his phone number to Lauren Graham, "And give this to the girl who plays your daughter."

This and Heroes run a close tie for best new show of the season.

J

 

My husband pointed out that Eli Wallach got to play a much younger man.

imdb lists his birthdate as December 7, 1915.

P.S. Lots of great character stuff. Especially loved the scenes with Timothy Busfield and Eli Wallach. :up: :up: :up:

Jan

 

I thought this was a great episode.

I loved the fake history of the studio, all the entire Eli scenes, Tom's parents (who in the hell hasn't heard of Who's on First though, I think that was a bit of a stretch). All around top notch.

From the previews from last week I was afraid it was gonna be nothin but wrap party, so glad it wasn't.

 

The D.L. Hughley story line about looking for more diversity in the writers room was good too, though the end result was that he and Matt found someone that would just be considered a Carlton (Fresh Prince)/Uncle Tom comedian.

I'm waiting for the episode where Wanda Sykes is the guest star.

Jan

 

The D.L. Hughley story line about looking for more diversity in the writers room was good too, though the end result was that he and Matt found someone that would just be considered a Carlton (Fresh Prince)/Uncle Tom comedian.

The motive for hiring him seemed to end up more Affirmative Action (get a smart black guy out of the ghetto) than Promoting Diversity (broaden the perspective of the writing staff).

 

Pretty good episode - well written, as always. I like all 3 of NBC's new shows (Heros, Friday Night Lights, and Studio 60), but I fear most of them won't make it through the season.

From what I have been reading, next week Friday Night Lights is going to borrow the S60 timeslot. If it performs significantly better then S60, that will be a major blow to the future of S60 We'll have to see how it did tonight, and how Friday Night Lights does next Monday.

 

I wonder if the screenwriter had a couple hour layover at CMH airport and saw about a thousand couples that looked like Tom's mom and dad.

 

The Eli Wallach story reminded me quite a bit of Sports Night.

You mean the episode "Eli's Coming"?

 

Nate's tour of the studio was ridiculously reminiscent of the West Wing. Again, that's not a bad thing.

I enjoyed the show. Some good character development.

 

The D.L. Hughley story line about looking for more diversity in the writers room was good too, though the end result was that he and Matt found someone that would just be considered a Carlton (Fresh Prince)/Uncle Tom comedian.

I didn't get that feeling. Just because he isn't 'angry black man' doesn't make him an Uncle Tom. He is still a black man. A black man doesn't have to turn in his race card if he doesn't dip into the same old '*****, ho' joke book.

His style of joke writing was 'Black' to DL, but didn't cater to the horrible stereotypes that the first comedy was pandering to.

 

I thought the tour Tom gave his parents was a little over the top. Was he a tour guide there before being hired as a performer? Who knows that much intricate history about the place they work?

Other than that, I really liked the episode and the various stories. I loved the girl that kept asking Matt what it meant to be the writer of the show.

Isn't it ironic that Matt/Simon listened to a comedian bomb and thought he was brilliant? Sounds about like many of the sketches the show has shown so far. High-concept comedy that goes over most people's heads, meaning that the mainstream audience (like the crowd in the club) think it's boring.

 

Isn't it ironic that Matt/Simon listened to a comedian bomb and thought he was brilliant? Sounds about like many of the sketches the show has shown so far. High-concept comedy that goes over most people's heads, meaning that the mainstream audience (like the crowd in the club) think it's boring.

I don't know that Matt thought it was brilliant. Although he clearly thought it had promise and might well be nurtured into something brilliant (or at least quite good). And even with the bombing, a lot of it appeared to be the presentation rather than just the material.

But hey, they told us that Comedia Del Arte ran long because people unexpectedly laughed.

 

I don't think either Matt or Simon thought he was "brilliant" either. Simon said it was the worst standup routine he'd ever seen.

They thought his material showed he had some promise as a writer, although he needed guidance and discipline. I don't think either of them thinks he has potential as a performer, at least not yet.

 

I loved the fake history of the studio, all the entire Eli scenes, Tom's parents (who in the hell hasn't heard of Who's on First though, I think that was a bit of a stretch). All around top notch.

The story of the parents was a bit heavy handed but probably in line with what Hollywood thinks of Middle America.

 

The story of the parents was a bit heavy handed but probably in line with what Hollywood thinks of Middle America.

You don't know that.

Those of us who know Sorkin's own history can tell you which scenes are definitely 'write what you know' out of Sorkin's own life.

The young up-and-coming playwright, trying to break into TV? Sorkin's been there.

As others have mentioned, Harriet may have been based, in part, on Kristin Chenoweth.

I would be very surprised if there were no one in the writers' room or cast who had a parent who did not understand why they had gone into the business rather than having a 'real' job. I imagine most people in Hollywood are at least familiar with people who have working-class parents who freak when their kids want to go into the performing arts.

I didn't see it as a slam at Middle America, I saw it as Tom's inability to connect with his dad. He takes offense at stuff his parents say and says things that are disrespectful to them because he is frustrated, but that doesn't mean he understands how his comments sound to them (as Simon clearly does).

Suppose Tom was busy and someone else was showing them around the studio -- when Tom's mother referred to the work as 'skits', someone not emotionally involved with them might have had more patience and explained "We call them 'sketches', Mrs. X." without getting bent out of shape about it.

The performances were probably overplayed, and could have been throttled back a little, but on the whole, they were just a part of the 'nobody appreciates what writers do' theme night.

And THAT is a slam at Hollywood itself.

Jan

 

I didn't get that feeling. Just because he isn't 'angry black man' doesn't make him an Uncle Tom. He is still a black man. A black man doesn't have to turn in his race card if he doesn't dip into the same old '*****, ho' joke book.

Thanks for saving me the effort of trying to say that in a way that made sense. I guess "Middle America" saw that the guy is smart and had smart material and thought that somehow made him less Black.

The story of the parents was a bit heavy handed but probably in line with what Hollywood thinks of Middle America.

Not just Hollywood. I'm nowhere near Hollywood and have never been there. I thought that was the best storyline in the episode and very realistic. One of my best friends is a morning radio DJ (Ugh! ClearChannel, no less) and his dad is retired from 30+ years in a steel mill. Do you think they can relate on every level? It's not just a Hollywood perspective thing. It's more generational than that.

As for the kid knowing everything about the studio's history, perhaps it was somewhat over the top, but he has a passion for his gig and it's not completely unbelievable that he'd be well-versed in the building's historic standing.

 

Isn't it ironic that Matt/Simon listened to a comedian bomb and thought he was brilliant? Sounds about like many of the sketches the show has shown so far. High-concept comedy that goes over most people's heads, meaning that the mainstream audience (like the crowd in the club) think it's boring.

No, the point was, Simon wanted someone in the writers' room who could relate to his life experience. So they went hunting for a 'black comedian', struck out at first, and discovered instead a guy whose own personal experience resonated with Simon's a lot better.

If a black comic does humor based on black stereotypes, then I am going to find it boring. If a black comic does humor based on his/her own life experience, even though a lot of that experience is foreign to me, at first I am going to laugh at the parts which are familar to me, and if I like the comic, I am eventually going to laugh at everything, even the stuff which is poking fun at me.

The secret of good comedy is observation and reporting stuff which is true. If you are doing stuff based on stereotypes, you are coasting. You are not observing what individual people actually do.

I don't think this has anything to do with low comedy vs. high-concept comedy. I think it has to do with good comedy vs. bad comedy.

Note how those of us who don't have kids found the sketch "Jenny Doesn't Have a Baby" much funnier than a lot of the rest of you. That's because it resonated with our own life experience. Been there, heard that.

Jan

 

On the plus side, the numbers last nite were a little better for S60, though it continues to get beaten badly by CSI Miami:

"CSI: Miami" grabbed the night's biggest audience at 10 p.m. with an 11.4/18. Its rating beat the combined total of NBC's "Studio 60," 5.1/8, and ABC's "What About Brian," 4.4/7.

(Numbers from Zap2it.com)

 

Tom's parents (who in the hell hasn't heard of Who's on First though, I think that was a bit of a stretch).

Even more, who manages to produce a RECORD of Who's On First without ever leaving his parents' side. This is the same building that could only find an exploding baseball or an orange painted like one ...

I liked the bombing comedian's material. "No one told us we could use GEOMETRY!"