Cool News
Three Canadians Give Tonight’s STUDIO 60 Four Stars – Or Better!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
Ah, it smells like a big night for NBC!
Gotta love the promos. Hannah Harriett Hayes is depicted topless and cupping her exciting breastal region!
“L-prime” says:
What’s it called?
“The Option Period”
Who’s responsible?
Teleplay by Sorkin; Story by Christina Kiang Booth & Mark Goffman
What does TV Guide say?
Matt worries about his writing staff defecting, led by Ricky and Ron; Harriet considers posing in lingerie for a magazine spread; Jordan and Danny have to deal with budget cuts.
What is TV Guide not telling us?
After two weeks of running around, we have a bottle show if there ever was one. But it works very well with this many fine actors.
Any more Lucy Davis fantasticness?
Nice shots at Ricky, and a big juicy one planted on Matt, but this week our major minor players are Ricky and Ron, who have been missed for the last few weeks. Though with where the staffing issues stand at the end of the ep, we’ll hopefully see much more of her. And was her character’s name Lucy before? Cuz I didn’t catch that if it was.
Once again: Comedy? Funny?
None to speak of in the whole thing, as it unfolds more or less real time after the close of the Pahrump-threatened episode from the two-parter.
Preachy?
It got there with Harriet again, but only just. Ok, and the combined five or six minutes of debate on advertisement versus implied endorsement in the language of television between Danny and Jordan, but for those of us who actually spend time thinking about this kind of stuff, it doesn’t get in the way.
What’s good?
“If it’s a realistic amount of blood, it’s really disturbing.”; the food chain from Harriet to Simon at the after party; yay! Timothy Busfield has more than two lines!; “This I cannot do.”; Matt, Danny and Cal distracted by overtime; “I meant that as a compliment!”; there have been very many nice scenery shots; Matt and Danny spazzing over a cell phone ring; the pace this week is much better than the last couple, it’s wordy (of course), but it all moves along at an excellent clip; Peripheral Vision Man becoming a pivotal plot point for the (real and unreal) series; “And if this doesn’t work, you can go back and write Benny Hill.”; Matt and Ron interacting like civilized human beings; “This is both good and profitable, this confuses me.”; all in all, a very good examination of some of the fundamental conceits of the series as a whole, absorbing enough that I didn’t feel like jotting down all the witty rejoinders, of which there were more than I’ve got here.
Not so good?
The 30 seconds too long economics lecture from Amanda Peet in act one, though Matthew Perry capped it with what we were all thinking; Simon and Tom being a taaaad pushy with Harriet for a decent chunk of act two – smacks of none-of-your-business; um, to complain about the egocentrism of sketch comedy as trendsetting cultural touchstone after nine episodes of this series is self-defeating, right?
Any big twists?
Well, the fact that Ricky and Ron are set to leave with most of the writing staff isn’t really much of a spoiler since most of the promos and such give away that much already. Jordan is also let in on the tenuous nature of her job. Oh, and she’s clearly a couple months pregnant, but with one of those puffy ‘I’m not pregnant’ shirts on.
Rating for 1.07 (out of five)
****1/2. We’re starting to finally find a balance between overly self-important and using the premise to actually say something useful about common entertainment in a way that doesn’t talk down to 97% of the viewing audience, which is what this show is likely ideal for. Decently engrossing enough that this review is more lacking in specifics than my previous weeks since I was busy watching the show and not taking notes.
“Daniel” says:
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip 1.9
What’s It Called?
“The Option Period"
Who Wrote It?
Teleplay by Aaron Sorkin, Story by Christina Kiang Booth and Mark Goffman ("West Wing")
Who Directed It?
John Fortenberry ("Arrested Development", "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia")
What’s It About?
Jordan tells Danny that he needs to fire 15 people due to budget cuts; Matt worries over the possibility of Ricky and Ron leaving the show; Harriet argues with Tom and Simon over doing a scantily-clad photo shoot
What’s Good About It?
My favorite moment from the entire series takes place in this episode, it involves Matt and Danny predicting when Jordan's phone will ring, and they might as well be Dan and Casey in these 10 seconds, Danny and Jordan, Danny in general, Cal's distraction with a basketball game, Ricky and Ron, some of the best dialogue happens this week
"Quentin Tarantino's hallmark movie, 'Turkey Won't Die'", "What do you need?", "I was raised on a heroin dealership", "I didn't know it was in confidence" "So when I said, 'I have something to tell you in confidence'...", "Thanks to me" "How is it thanks to you?" "I suppose it's not", "Woah there, nugget", "This I cannot do", "Are any of you particular to 'Peripheral Vision Man'?", "Oh how I love the Eastern witty voice", "That's not the bible, that's Robert Frost",
What’s Not Good About It?
There's much Christian fun! After Steven Webber's wonderful performance last week, the complete absence of Jack Rudolph is noted and missed
Rating (Out of Five)
****.5
“El Fuego” says:
What’s It Called?
“The Option Period"
Who Wrote It?
Teleplay credit: Aaron Sorkin
What’s It About?
Jordan needs Danny to cut costs, Cal notices a screw-up in the week's script which leads to a confrontation between Matt, Ricky and Ron; Simon and Tom try to talk Harriet out of doing a lingerie shoot in a girlie mag.
Harriet doing a girlie mag? But why not the infinitely hotter Jeanie?
It involves Debra Messing, Women United through Faith, and vengeance.
What’s Good About It?
It's very witty and fast-paced. A plot unfolds in a matter that doesn't feel contrived and has actual consequences to the characters. Matt is great, either blowing his brains out, exercising some latent psychic ability, or explaining Harriet's motivations. Danny and Jordan have some good banter. Tom's infatuation with Soviet-era figure skaters. “I'm not sure there's even an internet, it might just be Jeanie telling everybody.” The basketball game going on in the background. I hate to bring up the Sports Night comparisons to every episode... but this episode is on par with the adventures of Casey and Dan for arguably the first time. The flow of the episode is just great.
What’s Not Good About It?
There was very little to complain about. No Jack Rudolph, but you won't miss him. The scope of the episode is pretty small, and it works very well. Now that the show has been picked up for a full season... Sorkin, if you're reading this, more episodes like this, where the characters get to bounce off one another, less stuff with the culture wars.
Rating (Out of Five)
****
Hitting Shelves Tomorrow!!: Alias: The Complete Fifth Season * Alias: The Complete Series Rambaldi Box * Boston Legal: The Complete Second Season * Da Ali G Show: Da Compleet Seereez (Borat Inclusive!!)
* Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist: The Complete Second Season * How I Met Your Mother 1.x (Hannigan-rific!!) * Seinfeld: The Complete Seventh Season * Star Trek: The Animated Series * Voltron: Volume Two!!
-
+ Expand All
-
Sweet! I never thought i'd do one of these dumb first posts, but here it is anyway. sigh. Love this show.
-
Then again, I'm doing a paper right know on the very stuff she was discussing...
-
living on the west coast just made me have a heartattack as, for a brief but painful moment, I thought it was Monday night and I had just missed Heroes, Studio60, AND my monday night bowling league...my heart is still racing!!
-
she (her character rather) says something like "I have to figure out how to get the network pregnant". funny.
and really, I don't know what's wordier, the show, or some of these reviews. bloody hell -
mentioned the Matt and Danny telephone ringing scene, as it is fantastic. This show has really found itself now, and I can see it getting really strong in the second half of the season, I just hope writings improve, and that a second season is possible.
-
Where the writers are defecting to is a very satisfying answer in my opinion, and a callback to a sketch featured in the pilot. I hope we get to at least hear how their endeavors go in the future.
-
I've wanted to watch this show, but its self-righteous intolerant attitude just kept pushing me away. Now that it sounds like they are no longer out attacking religious groups I can give it another shot.
-
and thats comparing it to the west wing.
its a comedy. be funny. all these shots they take at christians? its not funny or even good tv -
Yeah.
-
Link??????!!!!?
-
some Jugg Fuckling I could really get behind.
-
i'll be watching tonight!
-
Instead of of using the premise of a latenight comedy sketch show sorkin should have chosen a network nighty newscast or early morning "today" like show as a setting because I don't think anyone at snl is having really meaningful conversations about religion or economics unless you count "poolwatch" of course
-
But I guess the issue of ratings and quality doesn't really apply to a news show, as new is news, you can't help that, but obviously, you can have good and bad comedy.
-
The show is finally going somewhere and I like it. As for ZO, being a christian myself, who cares! For crying out loud, were probably the only religious group out-there that don't scream "Intolerance" and "Racists" when we get poked at, why? Because we can laugh at ourselves. Muslims, Jewish community and other religious orgs are presently just going overboard when a joke is made by a member of another religion than their own and say "You don't know how it feels, it's ok for me to say it but not you! because you don,t know how it feels..." and frankly that's just getting old. We can at least laugh at ourselves, and if you haven't had the time yet go see "Borat", hell if your Christian community looks like the one he went to, then you should be laughed at! Any grown man being told that he's being "overpowered by the touch of Jesus" should be put in a straight jacket and shown to the closest Looney Bin!I mean come on, most of the religious fanatics are giving their money away to the "community" but all this time their preacher is roaming around town in a BMW, a Porche, or a member of a high class social dinner's club and cashing in the big checks all in the glory of the lord, while half of your town are starving... HELLLOO! That's one of the reason I don't go to churches anymore, can't figure out why am I giving my money to them when I can give it to people who will actually do somethin with it. Heck none of those Organisations are perfect, but they're not driving their fancy 200 000$ porche down main street. So if you give money to the good reverend of your town, start looking at what he actually does with it, if he makes more than what he needs to pay for a decend house, a regular 12,000$ car, then he better start giving all of it to the families who really need it. Hence, why we should be laughing at our religion... 'Cause we might as well...
-
Sarah Paulson's titties are the only things that can help me overlook the fact that Aaron Sorkin claims to hate religion but the only examples he can find that religion is bad comes from other people’s religions and not his own. Judaism is one of the most xenophobic and downright hateful mainstream religions, yet according to Sorkin believing that the world was created in 7 days makes you a bad person, as opposed to believing that all gentiles are less human than you are. It just seems so hypocritical. I think that all religions deserve a good JUGG FUCKLING, but then again, what do I know. And yes, Anchorite, its me, the same guy who called out Demon Dave to defend Vern's anal virginity.
-
Smug, unlikeable characters. I don't mind the Christian "humor" as it were--like the poster above noted, Christians generally don't care--it's a self importance and contempt infused in the writing that I despise.
-
Smug, unlikeable characters. I don't mind the Christian "humor" as it were--like the poster above noted, Christians generally don't care--it's a self importance and contempt infused in the writing that I despise.
-
Double posting is pretentious too.
-
Nov 20, 2006 4:08:08 PM CST
My problem with the show- everyone has the same "voice"
by flim springfield
I watched the show last night, and have seen most of the episodes, but I'm not sure why. Almost every scene is the same round-robin conversation between three people, everyone has the same mannerisms, the same style, the same timing, with few exceptions. And god, how they talk around subjects rather than about them... ten minutes of dialogue padded into fifty.
-
Give me a break, they scream intolerance louder and more often than any other group. Talk radio is full of whining about how hollywood is so "anti-christian". For fuck's sake, they complainied that Talladega Nights was anti-christian. Back to the show, I still continue to be annoyed by the preachiness and sketches that go beyond unfunny into painful. Seriously, what was up with the "visa call center" bit with the horrible asian accent last week. The "comedy" is like nails on a chalkboard. The described "operation" sketch, just fucking awful. And Film Springfield, you have it dead on - there are no characters, everyone talks the same, same mannerisms, same talking points. I loved SN and WW, but I'm really starting to lose my patience with this one.
-
I tuned in half way through and that's the first thing I heard. Fuck you, Sorkin. You and the media are hyping this cultural war that doesn't exist. The only thing worse than a preachy tv show is a preachy TV show that is also completely clueless.
-
What happend to the reporter?
-
I fell for that last week and watched the ep after missing the previous 2. Not going to fall for it again. This show blows.
-
he should be used more and I still don't understand the buddy-buddy realationship that Amanda Peet's character has with everybody. I loved the West Wing but Sorkin needs to take some of those elements out of Studio 60. Tonights big scene stealer (other than Harriets tits) was without a doubt the spinning cactus!
-
This week's episode is better anyway, and considering I'm one of the reviewers, we're not plants, I admit to being a little biased towards Sorkin, but I can admit when he does wrong. In my opinion, this week's episode did very little wrong.
-
The reporter left to cover the mid term elections but it appears (from the preview) that she returns next week.
Great episode tonight. It really feels like the show is settling into a nice rhythm. -
I have no idea what show those Canadians saw but I saw a bore fest. Nothing happened exepe an interminable conversation about product placement, a dead end plot about Harriet maybe posing in her underwear (and I still don't understand why those guys tried to talk her out of it) and some writers quit. I actually think Peripheral Vision Man was funnier than anything the show-within-a-show has done with "Matt" as the writer.
-
Something about tonights episode clicked on all cylinders for me... I think it's the best episode this season... and damn @ writers block... That sucks harder than a billion dollar hooker..
-
I won't let it die DAMMIT!
-
...Oops! I didn't shit on it!! I'm not cool anymore...
-
... that makes me want to end my life and the life of several others.
-
The cell phone thing was pure joy. The Harriet subplot got stretched waaaay too thin for my tastes though. I found my mind wandering. But about 90% of the stuff between Matt/Danny/Jordan was gold, and I think we all knew Ricky and Ron were on their way out, and it was wrapped up as well as it could be.
-
that this episode was sorkin's excuse to slide product placement in? Remember that thing Herc quoted about being profitable in some demographic somewhere? Sorkin throws a bunch of names around this week has the staff using a Mac in clear view (again) has Heinekin in soft focus and then (spoiler) Busfield's character redesigns the stage so that they can slide even more product placement in the next episode. Maybe that's how they remain profitable?
-
Anyone eles notice that in last week's priview for this week, Sarah had her nipples X'ed over with a little masking tape as she aproached
the camera to change her shirt, but this week they were either digtally
altered, or the shot was zoomed into slightly. -
so wait, let me get this straight...you've been watching the show, and complaining about hwo you hated it for a while now...so now you're NOT watching it, but still posting comments in the talkback? next week, are you going to watch it and NOT post here? cause that would be great, bro...honestly...put the talkback DOWN!
-
Finally things have 'clicked' and it seems that Sorkin knows what this show needs to be. The cell phone and people being distracted by the game on tv were the funniest things so far. If you've given up on this show recently I suggest that you give it one more chance next week because I think it has finally hit its stride.
-
This show needs way more Steven Weber being the voice of reason. And I am so over the Christian thing. Also over Sarah Paulson. Watching her actually makes me cringe. She's not being given good stuff to work with, but wow, talk about a character I really could give two craps about. Also, is Sorkin still fighting the culture war of 1994? It sure seems like it. Maybe they could do something on the show besides make fun of Christians-- maybe something that's say, topical and relevant to the last six years of complete insanity in this country? Yeah, I get it, there's some craaazy Chrstians out there. But there's also a couple wars and people being thrown into prison and an idiot president lying to everyone and entire countries who want to nuke us. If SNL had any balls, that's what the sketches would be about, not about Visa or Jesus in a navel-gazing writers' meeting.
-
Given last weeks Office and 30 Rock, I get the feeling a memo went out network wide about product placement, and each made story points out of it for their shows.
-
good eye. i went to staples for a salad last friday and they didn't have a single one.
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 325 total posts 322 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 106 total posts 106 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 63 total posts 60 posts
- Does ‘SNL’ Rhyme With ‘Deschanel’?? Learn Which SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vet Hosts After Sexy Zooey!! -- 74 total posts 58 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 159 total posts 51 posts
- If the Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day drops her pen, pick it up, but don’t look at her legs or else it will be on your record. -- 47 total posts 41 posts
- AVENGERS enemy revealed as pink boardgame pieces... You might suffer some form of elation... SPOILERS!!! -- 161 total posts 34 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 488 total posts 33 posts
- Friday Brings SWEEPS DAY NINE!! Gab Here About Tonight’s FRINGE!! Plus Einstein on TIM, Wiig On PORTLANDIA, MAHER, CLONE, GIFTED, GRIMM, SPARTACUS, SUPERNATURAL, GOLD RUSH And More!! -- 121 total posts 23 posts
- Here's The Red Band Trailer For Drafthouse Films' THE FP! -- 70 total posts 20 posts