Watching Studio60

As a follow-up to yesterday’s recap, here are some memorable lines from “The Christmas Show.” Did I miss your favorites? Share them in the comments.

Danny: Why won’t you tell me who the father is?
Jordan: You don’t know him.
Danny: I don’t want to know him.
Jordan: How do you know?
Danny: ‘Cause if it was somebody I wanted to know, he’d be here.
Jordan: What makes you think I told him?
Danny: ‘Cause I do know you.

Danny: By the way, Doc, if you don’t detect any maleness on the first pass, don’t necessarily assume it’s a girl. The biological father is only a fraction of a man to begin with.

Jordan: I had to tell him.
Danny: She wanted to!
Jordan: I was semi-conscious. I had to make sure he wasn’t going to force a B-12 injection on me.
Doctor: You’ve just described the beginning of every great love story.

Danny: We’re having a baby?
Jordan: I’m having a baby.
Danny: Relax, you’ll be involved.

Matt: How is it I’m Jewish and I’m the only one with Christmas spirit? Come to think of it, how is it I’m the only Jew in a comedy writer’s room?

Matt: Look, I hate Los Angeles just like everybody else, but I have to work here, ’cause in any other part of the country, I’m unemployable.

Matt: The three of us are going to bring some holiday romance to this city. I’m the Miracle on the Sunset Strip, and you’re, you know, two other guys.

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We’re taking a second look at “The Christmas Show,” the eleventh episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which originally aired on December 4, 2006. Following up on yesterday’s review, here’s a recap of the festive holiday episode. Tune in later this week for memorable lines and questions.

Danny is accompanying Jordan to her obstetrician’s appointment, which is a little weird, but also entirely adorable. It’s clear that Danny’s already taking ownership, and clear that Jordan’s not quite sure why. Aside from the fact that he’s in love with her, it turns out he’s also kind of responsible, in a roundabout way — the pregnancy resulted from her encounter with the boyfriend from the insurance agency who gave her the information about Danny’s drug test.

Back at the studio, Matt is carrying with him the true meaning of Christmas. Also, a scraggly little tree. Though he’s Jewish and generally contemptuous of Christianity in all other contexts, he’s determined to do a Christmas show. Lucy and Darius seem to have acquired a little spine and sass since their first week’s writing experience, and join with Andy to banter against the idea. But Matt’s determined, and Cal’s right there with him, although any attempt to create snow will be problematic since an earthquake has collapsed the set-dressing warehouses.

Danny’s on board with the Christmas idea too, though, so Cal’s on it. Maybe coconuts for snow! Yeah, that’ll work! Danny explains his reason for being late to work that morning, telling Cal and Matt about Jordan’s pregnancy. But why, they wonder, was Danny at the doctor too? Why, indeed.

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Boy, that Danny and Matt, they sure have a way with women, don’t they? Not a good way, maybe, not a straightforward and mature way, but a way, alright.

I watched “The Christmas Show” again last night, and although I think Matt is just kind of playing with Harriet because he doesn’t want Luke to have her, I fell all over again for Danny’s declaration to Jordan, and the way he just kind of took ownership of her in this episode, even though she didn’t really trust the reasons why.

In the debate over whether Danny’s being sweet or a stalker, I gotta go with sweet. And I completely buy that Jordan loves him too, but you don’t want the guy you love to be with you out of pity. I can’t wait for them to get locked on the roof and straighten all of this out.

Maybe it’s because I watched a West Wing marathon for several hours yesterday afternoon, but … there was something sort of Josh-y about Danny in this episode, wasn’t there? That bit where he leaned back to get a look at Jordan after he left her office was a total Josh move, and the way he was sort of snarking off to the doctor while Jordan had really no idea why he was even there seemed kinda Josh-like, too. But there is a difference between the two characters, and one of them is that it took Danny one episode to say it, and it took Josh … how many seasons?

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If you’ve been following along with my Studio 60 Revisited Monday night marathon, tonight’s the night for “The Christmas Show,” which originally aired on December 4, 2006.

I’ve written about that episode here before, a couple of times, and will be writing about it throughout the week with a review, recap, memorable lines, and five questions. So today, instead of caroling about it some more, here are a few pieces of news that have been rattling around my files, looking for an opportunity to be shared here.

Aaron Sorkin above the Sunset Strip: If you enjoy those real estate shows on TV, or like learning about the abodes of the rich and famous, the blog The Real Estalker is one you’ll enjoy. Recently, there was a post about Aaron Sorkin’s new residence high above that street his show was named for. The blog features eight photos of the house’s interiors and exteriors, as well as a description and design critique. The selling for the 3,700 square feet, four bedroom, five bathroom home? $6,100,000.

Aaron Sorkin off the red carpet: It’s good that Sorkin has a new house to occupy him, because the awards ceremonies are not being kind. Charlie Wilson’s War hasn’t won anything for its stars or its writer, and has but one chance at the Oscars, for Philip Seymour Hoffman as Best Supporting Actor (a race likely to be dominated by Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men). I sure would have liked to see Sorkin get a nod for Best Adapted Screenplay, but it’s not to be.

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Alert to West Wing fans in the U.S. — the cable channel Bravo is doing a marathon of the show today — Season Four episodes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thanks to TV Squad for tuning me in, but I wish I’d read that blog entry before I missed the two parts of “20 Hours in America” and “College Kids.”

The West Wing, Bravo

Five questions that popped into my head while re-viewing “B-12″:

1. Why were they doing a hostage sketch in the first place? I guess I could see how the news stories could have crept into Darius and Lucy’s ideas for the sketch, but no matter where the Grosse Pointe stand-off stood at showtime — ongoing, ended peacefully, or ended violently — the sketch still would have been in bad taste. I suppose maybe nobody worried about it because nobody ever expected the sketch to get on the air; still, it’s something I’d expect a killjoy like Andy to have flagged.

2. If there were an Olympics of bantering, would Martha O’Dell win? Matt and Danny are world-class, but in two episodes now she’s pretty much shut them down every time — mostly, I think, by not caring about winning, and being tickled that the guys so very, very much do.

3. Or would Andy shut down the competition? He’s kind of the anti-banterer, isn’t he. I’d kind of love to see a conversation between him and Martha. They’d either have a hoot of a discussion about how silly everybody else is, or sort of implode since they both need someone to react against.

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As a follow-up to yesterday’s recap, here are some memorable lines from “B-12.” Did I miss your favorites? Share them in the comments.

Danny: Let me explain something. The green room’s where second cousins go, agents and the girls with the band. VIPs go in the NBS box, and when Hanks and Springsteen come by, they can watch the show in Matt’s office, or down on the floor with me. Reporters who write dumb stories about friends of mine watch the show at the In-N-Out Burger down the street. And that is you, sister.
Martha: What a bummer for you I’ve got a press pass.

Martha: I was going to watch the show with the writers this week. Where are they?
Danny: At the In-N-Out Burger down the street.

Matt: The San Gabriel Mountains have fallen into Beverly Hills.
Danny: And the prayers of a grateful nation are answered.

Simon: Listen, it’s on the news. The guy killed his family and then himself.
Harriet: No!
Simon: Yeah, he did it in the wrong order.

Danny: Is he funny?
Matt: I think so.
Danny: Because I remember him being very serious.
Matt: Serious about comedy!

Matt: He just did an experimental thing at a little theater in Pasadena. It was a translation of Look Back in Anger.
Danny: Look Back in Anger was written in English.
Matt: Yeah. He translated it into Dutch.
Danny: Why?
Matt: I don’t know, just as an exercise.
Danny: And it was funny?
Matt: Well, I didn’t see it, but I’ll bet it was.
Danny: Yeah, ’cause Look Back in Anger is irresistibly funny to begin with, and I would think the comic rat-a-tat-tat of Osborne’s play must soar even higher in Dutch.
Matt: Yeah.
Danny: In Pasadena.

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We’re taking a second look at “B-12,” the tenth episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which originally aired on November 27, 2006. Following up on yesterday’s review, here’s a recap of the time-traveling, unannounced-flashback-heavy episode. Tune in later this week for memorable lines and questions.

PRESENT: Friday night

The show starts with the show starting — we hear the announcer say that the musical guest is Corinne Bailey Rae, and then guest host Howie Mandel comes trotting out. While he and Danny do a sort of interminable parody of Deal or No Deal, which involves Danny being on the phone with the “banker” for what even Mandel says is an unrealistic length of time, we get a glimpse of what else is going on around the studio: The cast is sick; Jeannie’s getting a literal shot in the ass; Simon’s temperature is 101; Matt’s looking concerned about something he sees on the monitors; and as if that wasn’t enough trouble, Martha O’Dell is back on the floor observing.

She and Danny finally get a little opportunity to banter, about an article she wrote that Danny didn’t like, and about the fact that the writing staff is down to two newbies and Matt. “Stuff happened while I was gone,” Martha observes, and yes indeed, we’re going to see some of that, as we flash back to the …

PAST: Monday

It’s raining, and Matt is wet, starting a recurring theme of why people don’t use umbrellas. Matt’s also alone, with the writing staff and his assistant having ditched the show with Ricky and Ron. In other news, Danny tells Matt about a stupid-criminal story he read, and by the way, there’s a virus going around, and around we go back to the …

PRESENT: Friday night

… where Danny tells Martha there’s no place for her to sit just as an assistant brings up a chair with her name on it. Danny’s annoyance quickly fades, though, when he gets a note from Matt and things get serious. Danny looks up to where Matt is standing on a balcony, makes a quick throat-cutting sign, and walks back to Martha. “What happened?” she asks. “Real life,” he replies, and hands her a note reading “5 Dead in Grosse Pointe.”

That seems like a good cue for a swoop back into the past, but first we have to watch a little of a Bachelor parody with Tom as an “Italian prince” — Italian-American variety — in Rome, picking from among bachelorettes that include Dylan in a dress. Harriet’s character is booted off, and she has a quick exchange with Simon backstage about a guy killing his family and the need to cut the hostage sketch and replace it with something else. “Then this is a good week to be without a writing staff,” Harriet observes, which finally then does fling us back to the …

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Martha’s back!

Before getting ready to watch “B-12″ again this week, I had completely forgotten that Christine Lahti’s character made a return appearance in this episode. So that question I asked, back in “The Long Lead Story,” about exactly how long Martha’s lead was, since we never saw her again … well, apparently it’s at least this long, and we did see her again.

Maybe I’d forgotten she showed up here because she really didn’t have all that much to do, except to provide an opportunity for Danny to air one of Sorkin’s pet peeves — newspapers taking Web sources seriously. It was kind of sweet, though, how that ended, with Danny citing the same source when it offered support to Jordan. It may be infuriating to have anonymous nobodies picking your work apart, but it’s got to be a little sweet when they have your back. (Hope so, anyway.)

There was a fair amount of silly comedy in this episode, what with the spit takes and illness and rained-upon people and inept joke-telling and Dylan passing out in a dress. What made the episode for me, though, were the quiet but deadly segments with Jordan — snarking the reporter even when she knew it could be her professional downfall, and then looking so defeated and vulnerable at the studio, with Danny trying hard to come to her rescue.

I think that last scene, in which Danny also finds out Jordan is pregnant, sets up the next few episodes nicely — Danny declaring his love, and Jordan pretty sure it’s just pity. Part of my intent this second time through the series has been to trace the origins of the Jordan-Danny relationship, and see if their romance was firmly established or just broke out of the blue. And it sure seems to me that there has been progression there, and that they’ve both had their eye on one another for quite some time. I can’t wait, now, for the romance to break through.

Come back again throughout the week for a recap of the episode, memorable lines, and five questions.

Studio 60, NBC, B-12, review

_{Photo by Terri Mauro}

If you’ve been following along with my Studio 60 Revisited Monday night marathon, tonight’s the night for “B-12,” which originally aired on November 27, 2006.

Take this 12-question quiz to check your memory of “B-12.”

1. What does “B-12″ refer to?

a. The parking-lot level where Jordan parks her car.
b. The winning number in a lively staff game of bingo.
c. A military-mocking segment on “News 60.”
d. A shot being given to the cast to stem a virus outbreak.

2. Who do we find out cannot tell a joke?

a. Cal
b. Harriet
c. Jack
d. Jordan’s ex

3. What does Danny find out about Jordan?

a. She’s fired
b. She’s pregnant
c. She’s married
d. She’s a man

4. Which game-show host is this week’s guest host?

a. Pat Sajak
b. Alex Trebek
c. Howie Mandel
d. Drew Carey

5. Who was the musical guest?

a. Corinne Bailey Rae
b. Alicia Keys
c. Fergie
d. Sting, forever and always

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Five questions that popped into my head while re-viewing “The Option Period”:

1. Are Ricky and Ron really hacks? We’ve taken Matt’s word for it, and he’s not exactly impartial. He even admits that they could come up with the greatest sketch in the world, and he wouldn’t recognize it because it came from them. Maybe they’re decent writers who got the raw end of the deal … no. Not setting up a sit-com based on “Peripheral Vision Man,” they’re not. And Ricky, at least, did a pretty good job of burning bridges and squashing sympathy with his nasty exit lines.

2. Are Jordan and Danny in love yet? Oh, yeah, I’m thinking so. They are pretty adorable together, bantering back and forth. I think their lengthy exchange of “I called you, and I returned that call” is like the mating call of the entertainment executives.

3. Was Amanda Peet’s wardrobe a mistake? I was able to suspend disbelief, but really, you know, if you want to hide an actress’s pregnancy, a blazer with a big white blouse sticking out of it is probably not the best choice. It drew attention to her midsection at a time when they should be misdirecting.

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As a follow-up to yesterday’s recap, here are some memorable lines from “The Option Period.” Did I miss your favorites? Share them in the comments.

Cal: We got to the goodnights 37 seconds early. Danny had to ask Jessica Simpson to fill. Nice girl, nice performer, don’t want her to extemporize on our air. She had time to thank her pets, and then she asked us all to pray for peace in the Midwest.

Ricky: The script department prints the scripts.
Cal: Who’s the supervisor for the script department, Rick? You want me to chew out a bunch of interns who drive 1992 Honda Civics, or do you think it should be you two?
Ricky: I vote for the interns.

Matt: I wanna fire somebody.
Danny: We’ll look around at the party, come on.

Matt: Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, are rebel forces gathering?
Danny: No.
Matt: Then why are we praying for peace in the Midwest?
Danny: Girl’s nice to look at.
Matt: Good thing.

Jordan: I think we should all take a moment to consider the suffering in Des Moines.

Danny: I left a message for you.
Jordan: And I returned that call.
Danny: And I returned that call.
Jordan: And I returned that call.
Danny: And then I left another message for you.
Jordan: And I returned that call.
Danny and Jordan: What do you need?
Matt: I’m going to make myself a drink and weep.

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We’re taking a second look at “The Option Period, the ninth episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which originally aired on November 20, 2006. Following up on yesterday’s review, here’s a recap of the episode. Tune in tomorrow for some memorable lines.

We start with the show ending. The show with Jessica Simpson guest-hosting. The show that would have gone out with a skeleton cast if Tom and Simon hadn’t gotten back from their Pahrump adventure in time. That show. On that same day.

(And by the way, this picture at right? Is more than we see of the alleged guest host in the entire episode, although her name is certainly taken in vain many, many times.)

It may have been a long day for most of our principles, but it was a short show, thirty-seven seconds short according to Cal. And he’s wondering just why the heck that was. So he confronts Ricky and Ron in the writer’s room and notices that … well, hey, the script for the show was formatted wrong. Come to think of it, the way you’d format a half-hour sit-com. Wonder why that is? Apparently R&R knows why, because after Cal leaves, they’re all: “We forgot to change formats!”

Matt is concerned about the show running short, too. And he’s concerned about the fact that some sub FX guy didn’t deliver enough blood to make a Tarantino take-off work, and that the guy can’t be fired because he’s a sub. He’s concerned that they blew a card in the VISA sketch. And he’s concerned that he tanked tonight. Danny’s not concerned about any of that, though. He’s concerned about Jordan, with whom he has been playing phone tag. Jordan’s at the studio now, though, and there will be no going to the wrap party until they’ve had their discussion.

Wanting to have a discussion with Harriet are Simon and Tom, in full-on big brother mode, determined to discourage their friend from posing in her underwear for a men’s magazine. They burst into her dressing room while she’s disrobed, and could probably have made more of a point that if you don’t want your best friends to see you nearly naked, why would you want strangers to? They stick with their argument, though, after Harriet yells at them and yells at Jeannie and pretty much invites everybody not to mind her business.

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I watched “The Option Period” this week, and got to thinking about the fact that, while this show got plenty of heat for its romantic relationships, and the way it depicted the running of a comedy sketch show, there was never enough appreciation for its really sweet backstage friendships.

Sure, Matt and Danny’s friendship, which is at the core of the show, has gotten some ink. But the warm friendship among The Big Three has been a constant as well, and their banter is often a high point of the show. Their mutual protectiveness has been a theme, too, from the moment in the pilot when Simon warned Dylan not to tweak Harriet about her faith. It’s usually played for comedy, as when Tom and Simon did a terrible job of hiding Harriet’s secrets from Martha O’Dell.

It took a more serious turn, though, in the Nevada Day episodes, when Tom unhesitatingly stepped up to protect Harriet from street thugs, and Simon stepped in to protect Tom from a drug charge without consideration of personal consequences. “The Option Period” takes place on the same day as Nevada Day Part II, and so the guys have just had a long day in a Nevada police station and a close call on incarceration. But they’re right there, in their bumbling big brother way, to talk her out of doing a lingerie shoot. They’ve got each other’s back.

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Or, “The One Where They Finally Get Rid of Ricky and Ron.”

If you’ve been following along with my Studio 60 Revisited Monday night marathon, tonight’s the night for “The Option Period,” which originally aired on November 20, 2006. We haven’t been seeing much of the writing staff in the last couple of episodes, other than Lucy and Darius — and Lucy and Darius are all that’s left after the gang o’ hacks ditches the show along with their erstwhile leaders, to go make a sit-com out of “Peripheral Vision Man.” Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!

This is also the episode in which Harriet decides that the best way to get back at Women United Through Faith — the group that cancelled her singing engagements in “Nevada Day Part II” when she was insufficiently intolerant of gay marriage — is to pose in lingerie for one of those men’s magazines in which reputable actresses get nearly naked and you just have to shake your head and say Why? That’s what most of Harriet’s friends are doing, and of course it’s Matt, the one who would probably most like to see those pictures, who finally talks her out of it.

In some ways, “The Option Period” is actually “Nevada Day Part III,” since it takes place on the same day as “Part II,” with the show that almost had to be completely recast and the wrap party thereafter. There’s some good Jordan-Danny banter about product placement, budget cutting, and her precarious work situation.

We’re one episode away from the one where Danny figures out Jordan’s pregnant, and two from the one where he declares his love. I’m still looking forward to picking up those early warning signs. View along with me, won’t you?

Studio 60, NBC, The Option Period