Cool News
L-Prime Gives The Last Pre-Hiatus STUDIO 60 4.5 Stars!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
NBC decided this week it’ll be sticking the Irish mob drama “The Black Donnellys” (from Paul Haggis, co-creator of both “Crash” and “Walker, Texas Ranger”) in the “Studio 60” timeslot, effective next week.
If “Donnellys” does poorly in the post-“Heroes” slot, “Studio” will maybe be back in that daypart by season’s end. If “Donellys” does well, “Studio” will likely finish out its first season in another slot.
To anticipate the question? NBC has obviously not set the date of “Studio 60’s” return, but I imagine with six new episodes still in the can it should be back by April.
Here’s AICN’s regular Canadian “L-Prime” with the lowdown:
This is our last Studio 60 for the foreseeable future. As I said before, out of the available self-important Hollywood writers, I, and maybe plenty of you, can only hope that Sorkin wins out over Paul Haggis in the battle of NBC Monday drama series’.
What’s it called?
“4 AM Miracle”
Who’s responsible?
Story by Mark McKinney, teleplay by Sorkin.
What does TV Guide say?
“Harriet works on her movie while Matt suffers from writer's block, but it's the sexual-harassment lawyer (Kari Matchett) who is the real distraction. Meanwhile, Jordan and Danny compete to see who would be a better parent.”
TV Guide not telling us anything?
Not really. The Macao/FCC thing is completely MIA, as is Steven Weber. The A, B and C plots are basically the stuff above, without anything extraneous.
Last week went pretty heavy into the drama — same deal?
Not really. Whether or not the McKinney factor meant for lighter fare, or if Sorkin et al had it arced out all along, the emphasis on humour was much appreciated.
Any movement on the relationship front? Matt and Harriet seemed pretty out of it last week.
Yet more twists, mostly taking place on the set of Harriet’s movie. Danny and Jordan provide some cutesy comic relief with a robobaby, but Tom and Lucy do not cross paths.
Meta much?
Funny you should ask. At one point, a discussion between Matt and hot lawyer Mary brings up the single most interesting statement thus far in the show: “Ratings have gone down for the last four weeks. Ratings are tied to writing, aren’t they?” On one hand, we have Sorkin seemingly truly believing that good writing is tied to good ratings, a fact seemingly disproven by the existence and continued status of the very show we’re watching here. On the other, we have Sorkin playing out the debate that has been carried on here and everywhere else since the show premiered: the idea that his private torch for Kristin Chenowith both fuels the core of the show, and that it could affect the public perception of said show. Both fascinating and a little bit unsettling.
What’s good?
“If I was a little younger, a little less famous, and made a little less money…”; “This is so weird.”; Suzanne the temp generally fun; “I wasn’t here, I was stealing a screenplay from five different people.”; “Sit your fine, fine ass down at the other end of the table.”; “I was getting there.” “You were taking a little while.”; “What’s the full title of Kubla Khan and who wrote it?” “Gene Roddenberry.” “Not The Wrath of Khan!”; “Did I say it in the same creepy little voice you just used?”; “It just told me I stuffed it in a Prada bag!”; “You don’t drive the baby, ever.”; “She told you to buy this thing? She sell them by any chance?”; the excellent dressing down Luke gives Harriet; “Does smacking the mother ever help?”; “That’s the way we do it downtown.”; “Regular flirting, though I’ve got some game so…”; “I’ll lose my job, I’ll lose my house … I’ll lose my Lincoln Navigator.”; Danny passing off the baby, and the immediate reaction when he leaves the room; “You like that car, don’t you?” “I do.”; the entire baby v. guillotine bit, with predictable results; “I should call her.”; “OK, I heard every word of that, you’re out of our mind.”; two words: exploding baby; “And I take the points back!”; “Now we know not to put the baby in the guillotine.”
Not so good?
Y’know what? Not a hell of a lot. Given our time with this thing is over for the time being, I’m going to have enjoyed it for what it was, that being one of the finer hours on TV right now. Luke turns on a bit too much of a dime for my full liking, but that’s minor. My biggest plot nitpick would be the abrupt shift we get in the Matt/Harriet bit, though it does grow decently out of real character concerns. Also, the random legal plot smacks of another ‘ripped from the Hollywood headlines’ tale — specifically that writer’s PA/assistant who sued the staff of Friends for making her feel uncomfortable with the sex talk in the writer’s room.
Rating for 1.15 (out of five)
****1/2. Again, I’m gun shy on the five stars, from the Christmas Show, but this episode managed to leave all pretense aside (or at least as much as Aaron Sorkin is thereby capable) and lets these people breathe, and bounce off each other in ways this show should have been doing all along. And in a patriotic bout of promotion, it really, really feels like the best of Slings and Arrows, the behind-the-scenes of a Shakespeare festival set up here in snowy Ontario (and Mark McKinney’s previous masterpiece), and for anyone unhappy with Studio 60, check out Sundance Channel, as I hear it’s starting it’s new season there nowish. Now let’s hope we get this thing here back before too long.
10 p.m. Monday. NBC.
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I'm feeling pretty good...
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Maybe the funniest episode of the show. All of the stuff with the baby is great, especially the payoff at the end. I really loved the stuff with Harriet and Luke and how she drove him just as crazy as she did with Matt and more or less, the same thing happened. There's tons of greatness in this episode, but I'll save to discuss it once the rest of you have seen it. Also, I'm attending a comedic writing workshop read by McKinney in two weeks; I'll see if I can get some Studio 60 news out of him.
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I love this show as well... I hope it sticks around...
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I like this show. Don't quite pay enough attention to love it, due to my schedule and due to my constant fear of becoming emotionally invested in a potentially doomed show.
I hope Black Donnellys does terribly. I hate Paul Haggis. But given how my people swallow Paul Haggis's drivel, that show will probably do well. Grrrrr!!! -
the show also airs on Canadian television. Question: If the show is on hiatus in the USA, does CTV keep showing episodes? Or are they forced to go on hiatus as well?
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In the last episode they tried to take a random dark turn that didnt fit with the show. To me it felt too quickly and enexpectedly developed, and I am getting bored of the will they wont they with Matt and Harriet. If only they could have an episode that was up to the level of The Christmas Show...
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NBC is retarded...paul haggis should be forced to eat his own diarrhea...that's what it felt like to sit through Crash in a theater...
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Put on hiatus a week earlier than originally planned with no return date announced. This does not bode well. I guess we're lucky to get a full season but I will be gutted if there isn't a second season. I feel like I haven't been able to fully get into this season due to cancellation fears. If it gets a second season I will be able to assess it on its own merits and not worry about cancellation since two seasons would be enough for me. And good to hear that this episode has a lot of humour. That's what I enjoyed most about The West Wing and has sometimes been missing from Studio 60.
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for sorkin's show after it was thumped and beaten by friday night lights. the plug has been pulled.
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I read in the Toronto Star that CTV has been forced to air something else - but for the life of me I can't recall what it is.
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Easily the funniest episode yet, in my opinion. Several laugh-out-loud moments. Interesting to see Sorkin getting even more self-referential, especially the apparent reference to MadTV's Studio 69 sketch. I think that, at this stage, cancellation talk is speculation - much like the Fox website which reported a mid-season cancellation (even though it's looking almost inevitable at this point). Unless emeraldboy has a link?
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in its spot. There's no way they'd have permission to go ahead and finish the series before it does in the US though.
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there is nothing new in this but I did hear that Last friday Studio 60 went up against Friday night lights. this is from Yahoo:
Studio 60 Fading to Black? by Natalie Finn
Thu Feb 15, 6:31 AM ET
Los Angeles (E! Online) - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is on the outs...maybe for good.
ADVERTISEMENT
Aaron Sorkin's much hyped new series, once touted as the wunderkind of NBC's fall schedule (and originally slotted to take on Grey's Anatomy and CSI, no less), has been yanked from its Monday time slot a week early to make way for the organized-crime drama The Black Donnellys.
After scoring its lowest ratings yet this week (and that's saying a lot, considering it airs after the actual freshman highlight of NBC's season, Heroes), Studio 60 will be benched a week earlier than planned, starting Feb. 26. The show had been slated to run through February sweeps. No return date has been set.
Taking its place will be The Black Donnellys, which was originally set to premiere Mar. 5.
Because of its early start, the incoming mobster series from Oscar winner Paul Haggis could also benefit from an extra week of having Heroes as its lead-in, before the average-Joes-equipped-with-extraordinary-abilities drama takes several weeks off after a Mar. 5 cliffhanger.
Studio 60, with its top-notch cast led by Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford (and hefty $3 million-plus-per-episode production budget), has struggled to find an audience all season, topping out at 13.4 million viewers...with its Sept. 18 premiere. Close to 3 million pairs of eyes had tuned out by week two.
Things went downhill from there, with even a so-called special Christmas episode attracting only 7.3 million.
Despite its ratings woes, however, NBC gave Studio 60 a full-season, 22-episode pickup in November, and Sorkin tweaked the series, about the behind-the-scenes drama at a Saturday Night Live-style sketch comedy show, to focus more on the various romantic story lines in recent episodes.
Still, this week's installment managed a scant 6.9 million viewers, giving the Donnelly brothers the cue to step up.
Created by Crash scribes Haggis and Bobby Moresco, The Black Donnellys follows four Irish siblings—Tommy (Jonathan Tucker), Jimmy (Tommy Guiry), Kevin (Billy Lush) and Sean (Michael Stahl-David)—who are fiercely loyal to each other but end up answering the door when the mean streets of New York come a-knockin'. A wannabe gangster known as Joey "Ice Cream" (Keith Nobbs) narrates the series, which is loosely based on Moresco's experiences growing up in New York's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood.
The series' pilot is currently available from Netflix, where the 1,414 users who bothered to rate the episode gave it 3.4 out of five stars.
You amy laugh at a fictional character called Jimmy Ice Cream I know of one dublin character who drove an ice cream van, but in actually he was dolling out heroine.
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This review was dead on. And why am I so hot for Suzanne?
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S60 is one of the few shows that rewards you for paying attention.
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i gag less watching people eat spiders.
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Mark McKinney!
Damn, this hiatus is gonna suck. -
'nuff said.
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I'm not sure how Studio 60 could have gone up against Friday Night Lights since they're both on NBC. However, I did read that last week Studio 60 got its worst ever ratings and FNL got its best ever ratings. So if NBC want to save one of these shows the balance may have tipped to FNL. But when FNL was put in S60's slot for one week it got worse ratings than S60. I do agree that it looks like S60 is headed for cancellation - maybe they will make a decision after looking at The Black Donnellys' ratings? However, I don't want to jump the gun because I was one of the people who were convinced that S60 would not get a full season order. I was never happier to be wrong and I want to be wrong now too.
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I assumed things had just leveled off. NBC should at least TRY a second season. Going into a new year with none of this cancellation talk will just give things a whole new feel, and the lack of pressure will surely help. I'd like to think that come Emmy-time, they'll pick up some (although the lack of Golden Globes is troubling), but by then the decision to keep it or not will most likely already be made. Damn, this show just keeps improving, and I love it too much for it to disappear this far into things.
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"Studio 60" cannot die fast enough for me. Sorkin and his "will they or won't they" romance device was played out in "Sports Night". In fact I submit that "Studio 60" is actually the same show and Sorkin is recycling unused scripts from "Sports Night" Yawn.....
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no one's forcing you to watch NBC at 10 (or are they?)
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I don't watch it. That's my point. I gave it a shot and who knew that a show about comedy could be so bland and preachy?
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To answer the question posed, I definitely have come to believe that Aaron Sorkin is way more self-important than Paul Haggis. Right now Mark McKinney is one of the best parts of this show, so the fact that he wrote the story for it bodes fairly well. Sigh. Before this show came on, I thought, hey, I'm a nut for the history of SNL, a behind-the-scenes-drama show about this will be great! Then it turned into Sorkin providing us with all of the details of his relationship with Kristen Chenoweth and trying to win an argument with himself about the so-called Christian Right. The show is by far the best when it ditches Sorkin's great story ideas and just sticks to its concept and setting and the inherent drama of putting on a sketch show every week.
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Why is it that in every episode that I've seen (three) they act as though putting on a sketch comedy show has the gravitas of the Cuban missle crisis?
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I liked the legal plot. If for no other reason than the lawyer. I recognized the similarities to the Friends' case but did not think it would be glaring to most people since I doubt most know about it (or would remember it).
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Like high school football in Friday Night Lights, to these people it is their very existence. You care because they care. The sketches were absent from last night's (tonight's) episode. I think the only sketch discussed was "Jason the Mason" and that was just a title. I find it does hurt the show when we are told how funny a sketch is only to see it and discover it's not funny. I don't think Black Donnelly's will get much better ratings. I think much of the Heroes audience does not stick around because their bedtime is 10. If I was a little kid and could only watch one show, it would be Heroes.
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No matter what happens, in September it's right back to "Monday Night Football" for me. Although MNF was a trainwreck too because of Tony "what's his name".
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and he awesome as well as orange. STOP hammering on studio 60. If it was anyone other then Sorkin you would love it.
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I don't have any predisposition to hating Sorkin. I kinda liked "Sports Night". But like I said before "Studio 60" is just "Sports Night" with a different paint job.
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As L-Prime said, Luke's character DOES do a really odd 180, but I gotta say it gives the character some much needed depth.
I totally want to see that character get more screen time now... as long as Matt&Harriet stay together.
Also, the ratings mentions are v. interesting. -
I've said it before... it's ER. NBC should save themselves the money and bother of producing a show that really lost it's way about eight years ago.
Cancel ER and move Studio 60 to Thursdays at 10:00. The biggest mistake was not giving Studio 60 that timeslot in the first place. If the show doesn't come back the fault will be on NBC for giving it a lousy timeslot and then further handicapping it with this ridiculous hiatus...
Once again the guys in suits screw the folks who pay the bills. -
ER was supposed to give its spot up to the Donnellys in January but in the beginning of the season ER was winning its timeslot every week so Kevin Reilly decided to keep it on. If they kept with that plan we'd be halfway through the Donnellys and still have S60, or maybe they'd replace it with Raines instead.
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Although I don't care for the show you're right about the schedule. This would not be the first time network execs failed to properly market a show ( as FOX did with Arrested Development, Firefly). That said, I don't think moving it around will save it. Networks generally let shows die on the vine if they aren't runway hits right out of the box. Growing an audience simply doesn't enter their myopic thinking.
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What NBC really wants is an all "To Catch a Predator" schedule. All perverts, all the time!
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I was not aware of the plan to (finally) ditch ER and go with T B D's right out of the gate. They really should have.
I have to regretfully agree that there probably is no saving Studio 60. I've watched them all and feel the tone of the show is uneven; but don't feel it desevres to get cancelled. With 'Arrested Develpoment' and 'Firefly' you provide great examples of shows that viewers loved but got gated by short sighted network execs. It's unfortunate that dollar quantity must win out over show quality, but that's the nature of the television beast. -
This show is doing better than the ratings are telling -- it's consistently one of the top 10 downloads on Itunes after a new episode airs, so people are watching it and even paying for episodes. I think NBC knows there is an audience for this show and I think they don't know what to do with it because it's not a traditional break out hit, yet it's a show that people are watching and talking about.
I love the show. I think pulling it for an network TV Irish crime drama is stupid. Showtime cornered the market on Irish crime drama's with the well done Brotherhood and that had no restrictions in language and nudity and violence. I think doing crime drama w/o foul language, nudity and violence is like doing football w/o tackling and hitting. It's two hand touch at best.
NBC needs to have faith that they've created some wonderful new shows this season. Not perfect shows, but shows that are better than most of the crap on the air. Studio 60, Heroes, Friday Night Lights and 30 Rock are all better than the average crap and deserve 2nd seasons. I think viewers are so jaded now they shy away from shows once the work drops that they might see the axe. I can't imagine NBC coming up with anything better for next season than the 4 shows just mentioned. -
to these networks, he should be given some leeway.
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I liked what you had to say... good post.
While I agree that TiVO and iTunes viewrs should tell the networks something, about a show's popularity; I'm concerned that they'll disregard those numbers because thay aren't able to earn advertising dollars with those viewers.
You're right about the four shows you mentioned. They all should get a second season and be given a chance to really prove themselves. That way viewers won't feel like they wasted their time getting into the show in the first place. Which is how I'll feel if S60 gets axed. -
The hour drama format is expensive and American audiences don't have the attention span for more than a precious few to be hits every year. Think about it. How many hour long dramas do you have time for every week? After 24, Lost, Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, CSI, CSI Miami, Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me, The Shield and Heros, you start running out of the time necessary to become emotionally invested. How much TV am I supposed to watch!!!
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CSI, and CSI Miami were just examples I threw in. I kinda hate them.
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That's up to you. Watch what you want to watch and ignore the rest. You cite the CSI's and then say you hate them... so by your estimation if a show liked came on opposite them you'd be more likely to atleast give it a look, if not follow it regularly. Shows being pricey to produce is a factor when networks keep them or lose them; but NO network is going say, "Let's no bother to come with any new shows. Because between what we already have on and all the other networks, there're just too many." No way they'll constantly try to come up with the next big hit show. In that process many... in fact most... of them don't make it, some are runaway hits, and some ... like S60 sort of catch on with a smaller portion of viewers. It's a decent show and deserves more of a shot than it has gotten. Anyone who doesn't want to make the time to watch it is obviously welcome to indulge in pursuits more appealing to them.
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Sure, Studio 60 and Sports Night do have similarities, but to call them the same is ridiculous considering one is a comedy, and the other is a drama. And I'm sorry you didn't care for Sports Night; It may be my favorite show ever, and it certainly has some of the most real characters on TV you'll come across....All the comments about viewers not wanting to tune into a show when they hear cancellation news is definitely true, and yeah, I'd think that Sorkin made history books for West Wing winning best drama four years in a row should get him some leeway, but hopefully that leeway wasn't all spent on the decision to give him a full season to begin with.
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It'd be a lot more appealing and popular. Maybe because Sorkin was less cynical and jaded then or maybe because he was still doing coke, but Sports Night was just tighter, funnier AND more dramatic. It worked because it focused on the show. I've been pulling for this show since the beginning, but I agree that it's uneven and hasn't decided what it wants to focus on and what kind of show it wants to be. I still want to think that it has a chance if it could actually find a direction, but I certainly won't be as disappointed as I was when other shows (like Firefly, for instance) were cancelled.
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Not sure exactly why Sports Night worked for me and this doesn't. One thing I noticed is that with Sports Night, you believed these people were putting on a good sports show. With Studio 60, it seems like they are putting on the most unfunny sketchy comedy show ever. I think also the characters on sports night were likable.
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No more Studio 60, AKA The Most Important Thing Expressed With Electrons Ever. I wonder which overpass Matthew Perry will wake up under next month.
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I'll admit, the past few have been lacking, but this is one of the best episodes of the show. I'll be missing it during haitus.
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Feb 19, 2007 10:08:00 PM CST
I nearly pissed myself, when the baby's eyes poped out
by billyeveryteen
I will miss this show.Enjoy Black Donnellys, haters.
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Is your comment in reference to the hiatus, or has there been some report that the show is cancelled?
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"Not sure exactly why Sports Night worked for me and this doesn't. One thing I noticed is that with Sports Night, you believed these people were putting on a good sports show. With Studio 60, it seems like they are putting on the most unfunny sketchy comedy show ever. I think also the characters on sports night were likable."
Thank you, That's what I've been trying to say. Both shows are VERY similar. The major difference is that "Sports Night" worked. -
be another Sorkin-based talkback in months, but "You're wearing my shirt, Gordon" from Sports Night is such a great moment on TV; right up there with "The father will kill the son."
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...are always funny. Always. I laughed at this episode. Not a lot and not consistently, but I did laugh. And, because of that, I'll miss this show until it comes back. If it comes back. And I hope it does come back. DanielKurland, ElPrime, I look forward to meeting you on other TalkBacks. Right now, I'm too drunk to continue typing (birthday at the weekend, some idiot bought me a bottle of JD...) but I've enjoyed the banter, even when the Sorkin-banter hasn't been up to snuff. If you're on the board tomorrow, I'll talk with you then. Otherwise, to quote a movie classic: "I'm going to go home and sleep with my wife."
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8:30 EST on 1500AM here in DC, brother!
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...the shirt ep of SportsNight is a great episode. And the payoff is truly superb. Those 5-6 episodes, with that as the centerpiece, demonstrate television at its finest. Studio 60 hasn't matched it, but there have been moments. I guess we'll have to talk Sorkin on other TBs, dude.
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Mr. Tomy being a kids show about upcoming toys...I need some sleep...
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It's bittersweet though and if that is how this show happens to go out due to the shortsightedness of NBC, then so be it. The media buried this show back in October/November and were putting it on death watch -- that's why people don't bother with it. They heard early on it was going to the crapper and they tuned out. I'm hoping Black Donn's tanks in the post Heroes spot. I have a feeling that the post Heroes spot is the same Bermuda triangle that the post Lost spot at 10pm used to be for ABC until they decided to move Lost to 10pm. I guess the silver lining is either this show comes back because BD fails or we get the other 6 episodes on DVD. I've seen enough previews for Black Donn's to not be interested. I won't be tuning in. Like I said, I think Brotherhood covered this territory already and I hate Haggis to be honest. Haggis can't shine Sorkin's shoes. I could give a fuck about his Oscar wins -- both of the movies he won little gold men for were movie of the week "issue" movies that did little to entertain and certainly didn't illuminate anything about life for me. Just because that empty headed Hollywood liberals only have the attention span to rally around causes rather than well told stories doesn't mean he's a talent. Anyway, Sorkin hooked me back with Sports Night. While I was more devastated when the idiots at ABC pulled the plug on that show (not to mention My So Called Life and Invasion), I will still be sad if a miracle doesn't happen and we get a 2nd season of S60. We need a hail Mary pass Sorkin and Schlamme. Fucking heave it up and hope for the best. Where's Flutie when we need him?
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Back when they announced the 2006 Fall schedules late last Spring it was obvious that "Studio Rock" and "30 60" would have to fight to the death for survival, and frankly, I doubted either would survive. And "30 Rock" simply isn't as hip, satirical or cutting edge as we expected a Tina Fey show to be, but NBC acts like it's a hit because they desperately want to believe they have a must see Thursday night comedy block. There was no way "60" and "30" would both make it - it was just "Surface Threshold Invasion" all over again. *** If you want to talk scheduling, they should have just left "Medium" on Monday nights in the first place and given us the super-hero double feature we were promised. *** They're wasting money promoting "Black Donlevys" - it's like those flyers and inserts for Wal-Mart, it's something I'm just never going to see. They may just as well run commercials for CSI Miami, at least someone will watch that. *** I liked "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" and watched almost every episode, and IF it comes back from hiatus I'll watch it again. But I obviously don't expect it back, and certainly don't expect a season two. Worse, I dread the show getting a sheaf of notes from the network and coming back tinkered with, retooled, reformated and "fixed" beyond all recognition. As Rocket J. used to say, "That trick never works". Heck, if a network could pull "Karen Sisco", promise to restart it and then just turn around and say 'we lied', then hiatus is just another word for cancelled. And frankly, I was more upset over Joan of Arcadia, Wonderfalls, Alias, Greg The Bunny, Andy Richter Controls..., Enterprise, Arrested D--. Heck, I'm the only person left who'll admit thinking "Stacked" was funny. But his is not hater speech, just an admission. We wanted "Studio 60..." to be great and it was good. Very good. And there's a wide swath between very good and great.
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The lawyer character in this week's episode was from Gage-Whitney.
Well, it made me smile, anyway.
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...between Matt and Harriet, and there never has been. I think it's been pretty clear from the beginning of the season that they will never be getting back together.
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If the sketch show on S60 isn't funny, that would be an accurate portrayal of SNL; which is what S60 is representative of... damn, SNL hasn't been any good since the late '80's early '90's.
and... If the total suck-fest that is ER can pull decent ratings in that timeslot then *any* half-way decent show can. If ER got moved to Monday nights at 10:00 it would be loooong gone before this season is out...
Of course that's all just good sense... S60 will likely not see another season... all the network is thinking is "We've got the guy from "Friends" and the guy from "West Wing" and if the show doesn't kill everything else on that night, it's gotta go." -
The Wrath Of Khan/Funny Little Voice conversation was precisely what I have been wanting from this show. Banter between two best friends. I wanted Matt & Danny to have the rapport of Dan & Casey. The pilot promised this but we have seen so little of it - with the exception of "freaky mind-meld mojo". This is a shame because the prospect of Perry & Whitford bouncing off each other was what drew me to the show in the first place. So it's good to get a little taste of it now. And Peet was completely adorable in this episode. Now bring back Weber and the FCC storyline!
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The sexual harrassment lawyer was from Gage Whitney! This is where Mr. Seaborn worked. I love stuff like that.
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Last night's ep drew a 4.1 rating, just 0.1 ahead of What About Brian? I think that's its lowest for a first-run show, isn't it? Say good night, Gracie...
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He's hyped for the Black Donnellys.
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....really liked how the lawyer worked matt over, she was able to press all the right buttons despite his hostility. it's really too bad some people let their personal politics and opinion of sorkin blind them to theis great show.
if sorkins politics are the problem it makes me wonder how we got so many seasons of WEST WING, yet SPORTSNIGHT and now STUDIO60 are going to end far too early? -
but Mark Mckinney worked for years on Kids in the Hall and was also on SNL. And since he has joined Studio 60 as both performer and writer the show just keeps getting better. I have to echo what's been said above regarding ER and the ratings. Of course ER gets good ratings Thursday at 10; what else are people going to watch? Shark? After the 8 or 10 years ER has been on, I think NBC could have moved it and its audience would have followed. NBC put a lot into Studio 60 and should have given it every chance to succeed. I still like ER but it is a pale shadow to what it used to be. Also, I heard Crossing Jordan is moving to Wednesday. That frees up Sunday at 10, right? Nope, NBC is moving The Apprentice away from Desperate Housewives to 10, and I believe putting Deal or No Deal on at 9. And I don't get why people think NBC can't or shouldn't have 2 behind-the-scenes of a sketch show shows. They have both Scrubs and ER, and on the same night to boot.
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...everyone already knew it was being yanked from the schedule. If Black Donn's struggles to get the same rating (and I think it will come episode 2 after they air the pilot), hopefully NBC airs the last six S60. Even if they don't, I know it won't be long until we see them. One other thing I liked about last night's episode was that they dealt with the fact that the show has started to struggle. To me, that's where Sorkin should have started with the series...that when Matt and Danny took it over and were supposed to revive it, they struggled to do so and had to confront the fact that this failure could be a collossal mistake for 2 guys who were doing well in the feature films. I was hoping to get a confrontation between Matt and Danny about Danny wanting Matt to raise his game and make the show better...there would be some great stuff to tap into there, not to mention how the show struggling would affect Danny and Jordan's relationship...
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All of which I wouldn't mind seeing played out.
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Those would be interesting stories and if only the show were allowed to continue, we might get to see them.
By the way, here's a petition to save Studio 60:
http://tinyurl.com/2zxz9p -
I concur. Check out Slings & Arrows, everyone. Incidentally, I was a rather vocal detractor of Studio 60 at first, but I'm starting to come around.
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...NBC is having their dicks handed to them with a nice bow on top (ratings-wise!) That's the only way to explain why they'd continue to renew sinking-ship "franchises" like THE APPRENTICE, fill alot of their air-time with gameshows or drag-out "long-past-their-prime" shows like ER. They're basically taking whatever they can get. And I love how they're spinning it as to where you'd think 30 ROCK was actually a hit (it's doing terrible in the ratings; in fact, STUDIO 60 has consistently done better!) As much as I'd love to see a 2nd season of STUDIO, that's highly unlikely to occur. At least I'll get the series on DVD...
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Another gem from the creator of "Walker, Texas Ranger" and writer of "Million Dollar Baby" and "Crash," two of the most awkward, clichéd morality plays in recent memory. Now a series about Irish kids caught up in organized crime? No thanks, I've seen "Boondock Saints" and "The Departed." I can't wait for "Black Donnellys" to get shitcanned and Haggis to get back to his true passion, writing Chuck Norris vehicles for my Grandma's less intelligent friends to watch on CBS Saturday nights.
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There may have been lots of promotion for Studio 60, but what they promoted was a show I would never watch. Being that I love Studio 60, the promos were clearly wrong for me. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to speculate that NBC's avalanche of Studio 60 promotion drew in the wrong audience and that the audience that watched the show didn't like it.
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Is extremely librel, and is probably
the least right-wing Christian you'll ever met. And I've met her twice. And, she remembered me. -
As we know, the critics raved about the pilot. Now there are few critics who will say much good about Studio 60. This would suggest that critics believe that there was a big decline in quality from a great show to a poor one. I accept that subsequent episodes did not live up to the pilot, but I don't think the decline was that large. If the critics were honest (and really did like the pilot) then the consensus would be that what they hoped would be a great show just turned out to be a good one. Instead, it seems like the critics feel sheepish that a show they championed failed to gain large audiences and they are now back-pedalling furiously.
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We've just started getting the third season, where Tennet directs King Lear. It's friggin hilarious, I crack up every McKinny's Richard steps into the frame.
I love this Monday's Studio 60 but the humor in Slings and Arrows is more subtle, even smart, and overall brilliant. And all the characters are well written and delightfully disfunctional.
Ellen's reaction to Tennet's performance issues is perfect.
Tennet's issue with a rerview calling his MacBeth "perfect" had me rolling. As Tennet said the worst way a woman could react to that situation, and she plays it beautfully.
Again anything Richard does.
And Richards assistant Anna is a gem.
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I saw it coming the minute they brought the guillotine in and I still laughed.
The "Did I say it in that creepy little voice." bit was hilarous and the "Does slapping the mother ever help."
Now we know not to put the baby in a Prada bag, Now we know not to put the baby's head in a guillotine bit was brilliant.
"...And try to remember your a woman."
"I'll try."
"I'm taking the points back."
Exploding baby head. Eyes popping out then danggling. Hilarious.
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But I'm a little sketicle on the Black Donnellys. As someone else it looks a little like a PG Brotherhood from the promos.
I'll probably give it a shot though. -
>>"I think much of the Heroes audience does not stick around because their bedtime is 10. If I was a little kid and could only watch one show, it would be Heroes."<<
Too true, man. Heroes and S60, while both intelligent, well-written shows, are extremely different in their nature, and there's really no reason at all to think that the audience for one will enjoy the other. Heroes is fantastically mainstream. It's a great induction to the comic book genre for people whose only exposure to comic books is the X-Men movies. (It's also, I'm assuming, fine fare for people who have been comics fans all their lives. I don't qualify as one of that demographic, but I do love the characters from those comics.) Studio 60, on the other hand, is great entertainment for people who know about entertainment. Not just movie and TV trivia, but the actual workings of TV shows and films; the business end of the business. The show assumes enough intelligence on the part of the viewers to not have to explain every little term or occurence on the set or in the network meetings. As much as I love S60 and would absolutley HATE to see it ended before its time, I can see why many people who like the fun and fantasy of Heroes from 9 to 10 pm aren't as into Sorkin's gang from 10 to 11. Especially given the notion, as Big Jim said above, that so much of these terrific ratings from Heroes come from a crowd much too young to give half a crap about a behind-the-scenes-entertainment dramedy show. I say move Studio 60 to a better time slot. Don't kill it. It's worth keeping. -
Nobody ever says "Goodbye" at the end of phone calls in this show? Not once! Nuts, man.
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Will the last six or so episodes even air? Webstreaming? Or will they even bother to finish the rest?
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I wouldn't be surprised if it pulls a Day Break and does even worse than S60 did.
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Even when it was at it's most wobbly last fall (the Eli Wallach guest spot, the stuff with Cordry's Dad), the show was till damned entertaining. Since the Christmas show its finally found its footing. The West Wing really didn't start to hum until the 2nd season. I think that the TBer who noted NBC's struggling shows of Studio 60, 30 Rock etc. are still better then almost anything else on this year was right. I watch Heroes but it is not that intriguing to me. Certain threads are dull, especially everything with Ali Larter. If I miss an episode I just don't care. Such a shame. The show is finally living up to its promise. Fucking people. Fucking American Idol? Really? Sorry. Never watched an ep. Oh well.
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4 O'Clock Miracle is probably one of my favorite episodes of the season so far. If S60 gets the axe, I'll only be slightly less indignant than I was about Carnivale. Next Heroes and 24, this is the best hour of weekly TV, period.
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just like 24 needed time to catch on. It's first season ratings werent completely phenomenal but after a while it reall really caught on, and finally got an emmy for best series in season 5.
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