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The big news is Vanity Fair’s Martha O’Dell (Christine Lahti) quotes Ain’t It Cool News in her story about “Studio 60.” Which should inspire all manner of outrage among the dramatis personae.
I grant you it’s not as cool as having Horatio Sanz dress up as Harry Knowles on the real “Saturday Night Live” (as he did a couple years ago), but it’s still plenty cool.
Our Canadian friends, who get to watch a day early, offer details.
“L-prime” says:
What’s it called?
“B-12”
Who’s responsible?
Eli Attie and Aaron Sorkin split a “Written by”.
What does TV Guide say?
A virus takes its toll on the cast, and Matt faces the challenge of coming up with material with a reduced writing staff. Also, Jordan drops a bombshell on Danny.
What else is TV Guide not telling us?
Not really a lot. Plays out pretty straightforward this time around, though the heavily promoted bombshell doesn’t show up until very late.
Writing staff being replaced?
Mark McKinney shows up as the very serious new/old writer with a list of issues. He also gives Matt a lecture in how HR works in the real world, TV or otherwise.
Hey reviewer, feel like getting all philosophical on the purpose of the series again?
Well, the requisite serious edge of the week was a tad obvious, playing a clear counterpoint to the conceit of comedy at the heart of the series, but that obviousness dulls some of the edge. Also, Harriet boxing with simple joke delivery seems a bit of a liability for a professional comedian just for the sake of some cute one-liners.
Do we see much of the show? Or are we jumping around it? Host? Musical guest?
Very much in the show this week, with a bit of flashing back through the week. Howie Mandel and Corrine Bailey Rae – easy NBC shill and someone I’ve never heard of. And there’s a lot of glimpses of comedy, only some horrible. The rest is definitely benefiting from McKinney’s polish.
Oh yeah, any indication Sorkin and/or everyone else on this thing reads this very page?
Well, the AICN namedrop gives me more than a little suspicion that I’ve got some influential eyeballs possibly on these very words (which makes you think I’d clean up that gawdawful sentence, don’t it?).
What’s good?
The idea of Look Back in Anger in Dutch; the glorious return of the spit-take to American comedy; “What the hell is the matter with you?”; Harriet can’t tell a joke!; “She’s … wavin’ at me right now.”; “I don’t think I’ll be able to do that, but whatever.”; “Flawless impersonation.”; Steven Weber tearing Amanda Peet a new one, though still not as much as she deserves; “I don’t find anything funny.”; Mark McKinney can friggin’ act (which anyone who’s seen Slings & Arrows already knows); “Y’know, Chevy Chase woke up one day, and he just wasn’t funny anymore.”; “I don’t know who Dilbert27 is and neither do you!”; “Damn. The guy’s Jewish.”; “Yeah, that’s what tanking is like.”; “The metaphor. There you go!”; every word out of Mark McKinney’s mouth; Lucy and Darius in general; “Banana! Banana, banana, banana, banana!”; overall a very tight and revealing look at the actual mechanics of the show dealing with curveballs. Yeah, not a shock I liked the show, but I genuinely think it’s improving each week.
Mark McKinney, really?
Yeah, I called him one of the weaker Kids, but I meant Kids during Kids’ run, and I meant his solo stuff. Chicken Lady was a non-starter, and only a few monologues had any traction. But let me clarify: Slings & Arrows (McKinney’s recent series up here in the Great White North) is one of the finest shows I’ve seen in forever, and McKinney has shown up in the last decade as a top shelf actor. If anyone can help add an edge of weight and experience with comedy, he can.
Not so good?
The opening monologue starts with the paralyzing fear that Howie Mandel is about to go into some “Bobby’s World” standup, but prevents mass viewer suicide with a (very-slightly) more palatable Deal or No Deal spoof, though I’d still rather watch puppies die; Harriet can’t tell a joke?; Martha Odell was not missed, having her back throws off the very nice dynamic that had been cultivated over the last few weeks; hopefully the very telegraphed Jordan twist will help improve her storyline.
Rating for 1.10 (out of five)
****.5. Good small-scale nuts and bolts plus the addition of McKinney add up to a winner.
“Daniel” says:
What’s It Called?
“B-12"
Who Wrote It?
Eli Attie and Aaron Sorkin
Who Directed It?
Bryan Gordan
What’s It About?
A virus infects the staff during a rehearsal; Martha O'Dell returns; Jordan does an interview about her personal life; Matt brings back an old writer to help Lucy and Darius
What’s Good About It?
Just a bit to note, I know I say this a lot, but if you've given up on this show for whatever reason, please give it a chance again. Last week's episode was probably the best, and this one is also great; there's no focus on religion, there's great banter, everyone gets a lot to do, the jokes are funny, the emotions are genuine, and there's a new story featured in the episode that proves that the people on the show do not think that they're the most important people in the world. It may be moot, but this show was good, but it's now great, and I'm glad there's still another 12 episodes this year....Getting back to things here:
Mark McKinney gets to act and plays an awesome character, Darius and Lucy become even better and real characters this week, a glimpse of Jeannie's ass and a shot of Harriet in her bra, The difficulty of hearing over a long table and the eunsuing "I'm Sorry"'s, the spit-take competition and Matt's reaction, I'm loving the growing focus on Danny as opposed to Matt (I have nothing against Matt, but Whitford is great) and it's been a subtle enough transition, Harriet's inability to tell a joke,
"Dilbert27 at Aint-It-Cool-News writes...", "What happened?" "Real life", "Could these lights be any hotter?" "No, this is as hot as they get", "I think she's mocking you", "Flawless impersonation", "I don't find anything funny", "I'll take the hell out of you", "He's trying to get a riff going, don't feed the fire", "You know, one day Chevy Chase woke up and he just wasn't funny", "It's like watching a drunken man cross an icy street", "I think she's mocking you", "Stand right there for another minute" "Why?" "For the metaphor", "I'm a medical marvel"
What’s Not Good About It?
A "Bachelor" parody seems a little out of date, the spit-take scene was funny, and actually showing the sketch based on it would have been too much, so I'm glad we didn't, I haven't decided if the monologue was funny or not, but it made me smirk, the reveal at the end would have been been more powerful if everyone wasn't aware of Peet's personal life
Rating (Out of Five)
****
“Buckydude” says:
Episode Title:
B-12
What’s the title mean:
It’s the shot given to the cast and crew because of a virus going around the studio, causing most of the cast and crew to become sick.
Why you guys at AICN might like it:
They come out and say the entire name of your site when referencing a disgruntled internet nerd, who by the way is Dilbert27 at aicn. It’s not antagonizing to you guys, it’s just basically free advertisement.
What Happens:
This week’s episode starts on Friday’s show and then switches to the Monday before and then changes between Friday and each proceeding day in the week. Matt on Friday (the present) has to deal with working with only having two freshman writers as backup as well as a new writer returning to the studio. Danny meanwhile spends the majority of the episode spatting with Martha over the article she wrote about the studio. Harriet can’t tell a joke and Jordan finally faces the press over her husband’s accusations. Finally, the new writers have to deal with losing a good sketch after the news story they are basing it on turns tragic.
What Works:
This is a great episode that works well with just about every character. Danny and Martha going back and forth over the place of opinions in newspapers is interesting while Matt teaching the writers about how to do just that sets up some good scenes for Darius and Laura. The writer they bring back (whose name I can’t recall) is funny because he isn’t funny at all especially when he shows Darius and Laura what it means to tank on a sketch. There’s a surprising amount of jewish humour in this episode which feels kind of odd but it’s generally funny. The guest of the week is Howey Mandell and he and Danny do a great riff on Deal or No Deal. The musical guest (whose name I likewise forget) provides a great opportunity for some music to be put into a serious scene without coming off as corny. Jordan is the real standout this episode, mainly do to her very enjoyable interview with a Time magazine reporter.
What Doesn’t Work:
Nothing stands out hugely, besides the usual argument that the show within the show actually isn’t very funny. I’m personally not bothered by this though. This is a drama not a comedy, they are writing the former, it’s okay if the show isn’t as funny as SNL. Also, there aren’t enough Matt&Danny moments, but that’s okay since we had a plethora of great ones last week.
Overall:
4.5/5
*Spoilers*
Ending (but you’ll see it coming a mile away)
“You’re pregnant!?”
10 p.m. Monday. NBC.
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