tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post4938142777537372273..comments2024-03-25T19:18:14.047-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: Studio 60: Addition by subtractionAlan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-4758719585843418252007-05-29T12:18:00.000-04:002007-05-29T12:18:00.000-04:00You've gone quite mad, man. It was, by far, the mo...You've gone quite mad, man. It was, by far, the most insufferable and appalling the series has managed. I began as a huge advocate for what I still believe was a wonderful theatrical piece of television. But now, dear God, now. It was the most moronic form of farce, mixed in with the ghastly plot cliches you list. I hate Sorkin for proving NBC right.<BR/><BR/>Extended thoughts here:<BR/><BR/>http://botherer.cream.org/?p=729bothererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00947334156932736142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-5582848023388071032007-05-28T09:48:00.000-04:002007-05-28T09:48:00.000-04:00I really WANT to like this show, if only because t...I really WANT to like this show, if only because they gave Nate Torrence a chance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-4009843091786755982007-05-28T02:20:00.000-04:002007-05-28T02:20:00.000-04:00I don't even think the commands were German at all...I don't even think the commands were German at all...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-23006644658523592072007-05-27T22:58:00.000-04:002007-05-27T22:58:00.000-04:00I agree that this show was helped considerably by ...I agree that this show was helped considerably by the absence of the 3 supposed "leads". As much as I like Perry and Whitford, their characters have become blowhards who suck all the air out of every scene they're in. I just wish that Paulson's Harriet could have disappeared too, and not come back.<BR/><BR/>Giving Busfield more screen time was a great idea. Why is it that every plotline they give to D.L. Hughley makes him look worse? And it's too bad that after his "insurance rates" moment, they had Weber's character drunk and saying supposedly wacky things. And Allison Janney stole every scene she was in--I could've watched her for the hour (or 55 minutes, or 36 minutes, whatever).<BR/><BR/>What IS so funny about tables collapsing? Sorkin's done it twice now. Har-har. And a german shepherd that only understands German? Isn't that a joke that a 1st-grader would tell?<BR/><BR/>So, some good scenes, some great performances, and a lot of teeth-gratingly bad attempts at comedy and "wackiness". Another typical "Studio 60".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-79687800122574572402007-05-26T15:42:00.000-04:002007-05-26T15:42:00.000-04:00For the record, even with a 2 minute season recap ...For the record, even with a 2 minute season recap and the 15 second opening credit sequence, the show's running time topped out at 36 minutes exactly. Someone at the network needs a paddling.<BR/><BR/>Despite the absence of the three biggest stars of the show, this week's episode ranks among the best of the series. Whatever happens with Studio 60, Timothy Busfield deserves an Emmy nomination. And to hear Aaron Sorkin's words once again spoken by Allison Janney (who guest starred as a "guest host") was music to my ears.<BR/><BR/>And I thought the season finale of The Office would stand out as the highlight of NBC's '06-'07 season. Sorkin and Schlamme just blew it out of the water with what was essentially a standalone, placeholder episode.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05481948329077248169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-77206829122151181642007-05-25T22:26:00.000-04:002007-05-25T22:26:00.000-04:00The show on ABC is Boston LEGAL. Boston Publix wa...The show on ABC is Boston LEGAL. Boston Publix was FOX's David E. Kelley series set in a high school.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-34001633100005169762007-05-25T14:55:00.000-04:002007-05-25T14:55:00.000-04:00I wish Allison Janney would have been in every epi...I wish Allison Janney would have been in every episode because she was my favourite part. I still like Cal and Steven Weber's character, but D.L. Hughley's search for a date reminded me of how much of an insufferable prick he can be and then the entire Darius fiasco came back to mind and I flipped the channel for those scenes. <BR/><BR/>I have never watched Sportsnight and West Wing and so I never compared Studio 60 to other Sorkin shows. Frankly, I hear of this talk that he is a good writer, but I have yet to see an example of it and this debacle does not encourage me to seek out the other shows.Nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11317568565085893849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-55285923035427214482007-05-25T14:18:00.000-04:002007-05-25T14:18:00.000-04:00I'm sure Fox would rather have one extra House ori...<I>I'm sure Fox would rather have one extra House original rating for their end-of-season totals</I><BR/><BR/>Yeah, this was stupid. I get what they were going for, but pissing off series fans to lure in viewers for less-expensive drama shows doesn't seem like such a wise move. I've lazily settled into a <I>House/Boston Public</I> Tuesday night block, and now I'll be missing both finales. Television is dead to me until September.<BR/><BR/>Beware the Doctor Who "daleks in Manhattan" epsiodes. <I>shudder</I>Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07278397835543484753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-261073801530904642007-05-25T11:29:00.000-04:002007-05-25T11:29:00.000-04:00(Assuming, of course, that the ratings aren't so t...<I>(Assuming, of course, that the ratings aren't so terrible that NBC doesn't just pull the plug on this experiment and go back to "ER" reruns.)</I><BR/><BR/>And the preliminary numbers sure don't fill me with confidence that the show will air next week. It averaged 3.9 million viewers, finishing, behind both a "Shark" repeat (11 million) and a "Grey's" rerun (5.4 million). <BR/><BR/>I know the counter-argument is, "Well, what else are they going to put there?" But I imagine "ER" repeats, even at this late stage of that show's life, will do better, and business-wise, there's little value to NBC in continuing to air leftover episodes of a series with no future on their airwaves.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-56663232167083803982007-05-25T11:04:00.000-04:002007-05-25T11:04:00.000-04:00"Perhaps what killed 'Studio 60' included people's..."Perhaps what killed 'Studio 60' included people's insistence on comparing it to those other programs..."<BR/><BR/>Or perhaps comparing it to Doing Absolutely Anything Else With My Time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-67134618494727074712007-05-25T10:22:00.000-04:002007-05-25T10:22:00.000-04:00Drive is supposed to air the remaining two episode...Drive is supposed to air the remaining two episodes on July 4, I've read somewhere.<BR/><BR/>And holding an extra episode of House for "post-season" is a decision that was made long ago (Fox has been hyping On The Lot for months), though I really don't get it, especially since they could have still run On The Lot in that slot and just had one fewer repeat of House on Tuesdays.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00295270766215749309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-87583466554801119212007-05-25T10:18:00.000-04:002007-05-25T10:18:00.000-04:00All in all, I thought that was the best episode of...All in all, I thought that was the best episode of the season. Sorkin must be pissed that the absence of all of what seem to be his favorite elements of the show made it that way. I especially liked the cast's resignation about the "disaster episode," that they treated it kind of like the whether.TLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03618949223191406067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-41229201005766893952007-05-25T09:52:00.000-04:002007-05-25T09:52:00.000-04:00Anyway, speaking of Summer Burn-Off Theater, 1)Whe...<I>Anyway, speaking of Summer Burn-Off Theater, 1)When are they supposed to show the leftover episodes of Drive, and 2)Any idea how House and Boston Public got stuck with new episodes that they're showing next Tuesday? (Especially when FOX spent a few weeks with a Monday at 8 slot showing House reruns?)</I><BR/><BR/>Not sure on Drive, but the other two are the result of Fox and ABC making last-minute decisions regarding On the Lot (which wasn't originally going to debut post-Idol) and The Bachelor (which wasn't originally going to get an "After the Rose" special). With the calamitous ratings for On the Lot, I'm sure Fox would rather have one extra House original rating for their end-of-season totals.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-56229365582361137592007-05-25T09:42:00.000-04:002007-05-25T09:42:00.000-04:00Alan, I like reading you on all the shows you cove...Alan, I like reading you on all the shows you cover, but your Studio 60 posts are by far my favorite. Yes to everything you said (Simon as Jack Tripper and Peter Brady--what a riot:). It was great to see Allison Janney. Someone should develop a show for her.Mapeelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12149683683413237283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-69290367589953874012007-05-25T09:33:00.000-04:002007-05-25T09:33:00.000-04:00I was futzing around on the computer, so I guess I...I was futzing around on the computer, so I guess I missed some of the visual jokes. I do want to say to any network people out there, if you ever have Alison Janney on a live TV show, it goes kablooey, and she loses it and fires off an extended rant at the end of the show - Let us hear it, for goodness' sake! (Yeah, it's unlikely, but right is right.)<BR/><BR/>Anyway, speaking of Summer Burn-Off Theater, 1)When are they supposed to show the leftover episodes of Drive, and 2)Any idea how House and Boston Public got stuck with new episodes that they're showing next Tuesday? (Especially when FOX spent a few weeks with a Monday at 8 slot showing House <I>reruns</I>?)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-4472989183115189652007-05-25T09:04:00.000-04:002007-05-25T09:04:00.000-04:00I enjoyed the episode a lot, but I have enjoyed th...I enjoyed the episode a lot, but I have enjoyed the series all along. Then again, I never saw "Sports Night" and only watched 1 or 2 seasons of "West Wing." Perhaps what killed "Studio 60" included people's insistence on comparing it to those other programs...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-64979135890514724892007-05-25T06:02:00.000-04:002007-05-25T06:02:00.000-04:00http://cgi.ebay.com/Lorelais-Jeep-Wrangler-from-Gi...http://cgi.ebay.com/Lorelais-Jeep-Wra<BR/>ngler-from-Gilmore-Girls_W0QQitemZ14<BR/>0121481825QQihZ004QQcategoryZ201QQs<BR/>sPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemtheblankscreenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11816105616399659973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-81409823656574865492007-05-25T06:01:00.000-04:002007-05-25T06:01:00.000-04:00AlanCompletely unrelated...now that GG has gone I ...Alan<BR/><BR/>Completely unrelated...now that GG has gone I thought you might like a momento<BR/><BR/>http://cgi.ebay.com/Lorelais-Jeep-Wrangler-from-Gilmore-Girls_W0QQitemZ140121481825QQihZ004QQcategoryZ201QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem<BR/><BR/>Just a little something to remember the show by *S*<BR/><BR/>Terrytheblankscreenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11816105616399659973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-57715010309526333702007-05-25T00:47:00.000-04:002007-05-25T00:47:00.000-04:00I enjoyed this for all the wrong reasons. I wonde...I enjoyed this for all the wrong reasons. I wonder if Sorkin intended for this episode to be as funny as it ended up. <BR/><BR/>I agree with you on the Harriet and Matt plot. While it was nice to see the other characters berate Harriet for constantly talking about Matt, she didn't learn her lesson. On his past shows Sorkin proved that he was incapable of writing romantic relationships(the 2nd season Dana/Casey relationship is a prime example), yet he keeps trying. This episode proves it's the writing and not the acting killing this storyline because Perry wasn't even present. <BR/><BR/>I commented on the episode at my personal blog:<BR/>http://www.mediaobsessed.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com