Watching Studio60

The DVDs are coming! The DVDs are coming!

Tomorrow, October 16, is the day the Studio 60 DVD set is finally released. I’ve got mine on order, and hope it will come on time or soon thereafter. I’m very interested in watching these episodes again absent the atmosphere of critical loathing that surrounded them during their broadcast debuts. It’s hard to shut that buzz out when you’re watching a show, hard not to think “Boy, they’re really going to pick on that” when a particular plot turn comes along.

According to the description of the set on the Warner Home Video site, the only extra we can expect is a commentary on the pilot episode by Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme. Amazon’s page doesn’t even list that, so I’m holding out a shred of hope that there may be other goodies that aren’t being promoted because the folks in charge thinks nobody much cares.

Once I get my set, I’m going to start doing recaps, memorable lines, and five questions about each episode, as I do on my Brothers & Sisters blog. They’ll be indexed on a separate page to make them a good resource for anybody discovering the show or wanting to remember particular episodes. I hope readers here will make their comments on those episode recaps as well, to share their own impressions.

Speaking of which: Share your thoughts on the DVD set here. Have you ordered it? Will you be running out to the store first thing tomorrow, or are you just planning to pick it up somewhere down the line? Or, maybe, not at all? Tell your plans in the comments, and what you hope to find when you open the box.

Studio 60, NBC, DVD

According to the More4 site, “Monday” was the episode broadcast last night in the U.K.; it originally aired in January in the U.S. For those who want to read what was written about this episode when it was first broadcast, here are links to reviews, recaps and forum discussions on:

• Entertainment Weekly
• TV Squad
• Television Without Pity (recap)
• Television Without Pity (forum - R/O)
• Studio 60 Guide

For those of us who saw “Monday” many months ago, here’s a refresher: It’s the one where Danny calls Jordan, continues to call her even after she blocks his number, has his friends fax her with recommendations, and when she asks him to please back off, replies “No.” It’s the one where Matt bids on Harriet, Tom asks out Lucy, Simon and Darius disagree about a Fruit of the Loom sketch, and Jordan wrangles with a new head of Illiterate Alternative Programming who’s read a stupid book about power. And it’s the one where Jack and Wilson wage war over the FCC ruling and make a deal with the father of viola-playing Kim that involves her going out with Tom on the very night of his just-made date.

Whew! Remember all of that? If not, there are some good clips on YouTube to help you out. You can enjoy:

• A promo for the episode
• Danny pursues Jordan
• Tom and Lucy being adorable
• Jack learning Chinese
• Jack saying, “You’re a moron”
• A Danny-Jordan music video
• and another Danny-Jordan music video.

Tom and Lucy make a cute couple, don’t they? And with all the silliness this episode with Matt bidding on Harriet and Danny stalking Jordan, it’s kind of refreshing to just see a guy walk up to a girl and say, “Hey! Want to go on a date with me?” Ah, the simple life of the hired help.

Studio 60, NBC, Monday

Can we start talking about a “Studio 60 curse”?

Not a curse on the cast. It’s too early to tell if all these jobs they’re getting post S60 will be successful or not, but since the show had a short run and none of them are as identified with it as, say, the Seinfeld cast was with that show, there shouldn’t be any lingering doom. Besides, no one is trying to headline a show of his or her own, and that’s where the problems usually come in.

No, what I’m talking about here is a curse on the timeslot.

Studio 60’s ratings drop got it booted midseason last year for a round of The Black Donnellys, which flopped. Studio 60 came back but didn’t get the ratings NBC wanted either, so it was cancelled. And how is NBC’s new hope for that 10 p.m. Monday timeslot doing? Why, not so very well either. Ratings for Journeyman weren’t great starting off, and have gotten less great from there.

Now, I have nothing personally against Journeyman, although it sure sounds a whole lot like a Quantum Leap rip-off. My husband has been watching it and enjoying it, and I’m sorry to have to tell him that he shouldn’t get too attached. I’m sure the show’s cast and crew are working hard and getting hopes up and trusting NBC to keep the faith.

Nonetheless, I wish the show a swift and painful death.

Ditto the show that follows it in the timeslot. And the show that follows that. I’m hoping nothing does well for NBC at 10 p.m. Mondays for a long, long time. The “Studio 60 curse” has a nice ring to it.

Maybe NBC can have Journeyman go back in time and reverse that ill-fated cancellation decision.

Studio 60, NBC, Journeyman

There used to be a forum on the Television Without Pity site titled something like “You know you’re watching too much The West Wing when …” I had one of those moments yesterday when I saw this headline go by on my blog reader: “Naming trends: out of 20 boys, there are five Joshes and four Sams.”

And I immediately thought, “Of course! People were naming their children after Josh Lyman and Sam Seaborn!”

It turned out the story in question was about a school class in New Zealand with a preponderance of Joshuas and Samuels. I don’t know if The West Wing was big in New Zealand, and it doesn’t specify the age of the boys, although they look about right to have been conceived during the show’s run. But it seems like such a sweet coincidence, doesn’t it?

Out of curiosity, I checked the Social Security Administration’s listing of popular U.S. baby names, and while “Joshua” has been in the top 5 for the past 15 years, “Samuel” has been in the 20s, and “Josh” and “Sam” as names all by themselves were well down into the multiple hundreds.

Interestingly, “Matthew” and “Daniel” are both top-ten names, although we probably can’t claim those for Studio 60 at least until the 2007 tallies are out. “Danny” is back down in the over-100s, though, and “Matt” as a freestanding name has apparently not been in the top 1,000 for the past 15 years.

Giving it something in common with “Harriet.” Are those two meant to be, or what?

_{Photo: NBC.com}

Studio 60, The West Wing, NBC

According to the More4 site, “The Christmas Show” was the episode broadcast last night in the U.K.; it originally aired last December in the U.S. For those who want to read what was written about this episode when it was first broadcast, here are links to reviews, recaps and forum discussions on:

• Entertainment Weekly
• TV Squad
• Television Without Pity (recap)
• Television Without Pity (forum - R/O)
• Studio 60 Guide

To refresh your memory, “The Christmas Show” is the one where Matt wanted a Christmas show but the writing staff took delight in shooting down every holiday tradition; Cal tried to make snow out of coconuts; Harriet got a role in Luke’s Rolling Stones movie; Jack decided to take on the FCC over a soldier’s battlefield expletive; New Orleans musicians played; and Danny told Jordan he’s coming for her.

Danny’s declaration, and the phone calls and faxes that followed, struck some critics as stalker-ish behavior. I don’t know; I thought it was kind of cute. But I do think that the pregnancy storyline, brought on by necessity due to Peet’s pregnancy, changed the course of Jordan’s character from not entirely trustworthy corporate shark to sympathetic and embattled romantic heroine.

And me? I’m okay with that. I thought Jordan and Danny made a cute couple, and for all their bantering and stalking and fake-baby breaking, a more mature counterpart to Matt and Harriet’s endless on-and-off dance. I wonder, though, what the show would have looked like if Jordan had stayed childless and focused on network politics. What do you think — better? worse? Definitely different. Jordan and Danny’s romance feels to me like maybe a Season 2 plotline that got moved up, fast.

Studio 60, NBC, The Christmas Show

Unless there’s a great sweep of cult interest in Studio 60 sometime in the near future (and I’m up for that, how ’bout you?), it’s probably just a pipe dream to think about a movie version of the show. It would be a pretty neat fit, though, wouldn’t it? Great cast and writing, beautiful production values, two romantic-comedy-ready couples. I’d line up at the multiplex for that, and I’d bring a friend.

We’re lucky that, despite the fact that we got just one season, there was some resolution at the end. But that doesn’t mean there’s not some fuel for a feature-length plot. Which would you choose: Danny and Jordan juggling parenting and network domination? Matt and Harriet finally finding a way to stay together for more than five minutes? Jack jousting against censors on the one hand and the creative types who keep stirring the censors up on the other? Everyone rallying to keep the show-within-the-show from imminent cancellation?

The creator of the YouTube video below picked a Danny-Jordan angle with a trailer for “Coming for You,” which conveniently accommodates snippets of movie-announcer-voice from other sources. Make your own pitch in the comments.

Studio 60, NBC

Today continues a recurring feature for this blog: brief profiles of Studio 60 cast members. I’m gathering these on a page for easy reference, but introducing them one at a time here.

Name: Amanda Peet
S60 Role: NBS president Jordan McDeere
Birthdate: Born January 11, 1972, in New York City
Stats: 5 feet 8 inches tall; married to David Benioff since 2006; one child
Best Known As: The dental assistant turned aspiring hitwoman opposite Matthew Perry and Bruce Willis in The Whole Nine Yards and The Whole Ten Yards
Other Notable Roles: Diane Keaton’s daughter and Jack Nicholson’s initial love interest in Something’s Gotta Give; one of various identities in Identity; Jack in the TV series Jack and Jill, which also featured S60 co-star Sarah Paulson
Memorable Moment on YouTube: Emergency room proposal
Sites to See: + IMDb listing + Wikipedia + Amanda Essence

What would you add to this list? Share your favorite Amanda Peet roles and info in the comments.

_{Photo: NBC.com}

Studio 60, NBC, Amanda Peet, Jordan McDeere

According to the More4 site, “B-12″ was the episode broadcast last night in the U.K.; it originally aired last November in the U.S. For those who want to read what was written about this episode when it was first broadcast, here are links to reviews, recaps and forum discussions on:

• Entertainment Weekly
• TV Squad
• Television Without Pity (recap)
• Television Without Pity (forum - R/O)
• Studio 60 Guide

To refresh your memory, “B-12″ is the one where everybody was getting sick and needed shots of the titular booster; Harriet couldn’t tell a joke; everybody did spit takes; Howie Mandel guested and participated in a Danny-led takeoff of Deal or No Deal; Corinne Bailey Rae sang; and, as shown in the YouTube video below, Jordan’s condition was revealed to be a little more delicate than everybody else’s.

Studio 60, NBC, B-12

The new TV season is now under way, sadly without Studio 60 on the schedule. But there will be some familiar faces in the lineups. I’ve already mentioned Steven Weber making an appearance on Law and Order: SVU, and Sarah Paulson guest starring as Felicity Huffman’s sister on Desperate Housewives. Now, two more steady gigs for NBS grads:

• Ayda Field (above left), who played cast member Jeannie on S60, is a regular on the new Fox sit-com Back to You, starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. Field plays a character described on the show’s site as “Montana Diaz Herrera, the perky, sexy weather anchor.” Sounds like a character from a Studio 60 sketch. This show debuted last week, but I missed it. Did anybody catch it? What did you think? It’s on again tonight at 8 p.m.
• Kari Matchett (above right), who played the lawyer that I really thought for a long time was all in Matt’s imagination, will be checking in to ER in a couple of months playing a character described in a BuddyTV article as “Skye Wexler, a tough lady who works in the ER to fund her own world travels.” I am so far from the days when I could watch ER without wanting to throw something at the screen that I’ll just wish her well and move on.

Those who also like to keep up with other Sorkin alumni will want to tune into ABC tonight at 10 p.m. for the debut of Dirty Sexy Money with Peter Krause (Casey on Sports Night), which is getting promising reviews, and tomorrow at 10 p.m. for the debut of Big Shots with Joshua Malina (Jeremy on Sports Night), which is getting punishing reviews.

Are you seeing other S60 or Sorkin vets on the tube? Mention them in the comments.

Studio 60, NBC, Ayda Field, Kari Matchett, Peter Krause, Joshua Malina

Okay, I know that the ratings for the Studio 60 pilot didn’t reflect the ratings it ultimately had. I know that for many (misguided, hypercritical) viewers, the pilot was the high point of the series. And I know that the amount of hype S60 received pre-preview is far more than the new show in its timeslot has received.

Yet, I gotta say: Seeing these words on the TV Squad blog this morning made me really, really happy.

Journeyman must be a bit of a letdown for NBC, considering the Heroes lead-in. Ratings were down 26% from the Studio 60 premiere last season.

Good luck with that timeslot there, NBC. You can be pretty sure I won’t be watching anything there, unless Aaron Sorkin is foolish enough to sign on with you folks again.

Have you found any shows to pledge your allegiance to this season? I’m feeling a little burned at the moment, having loved both Studio 60 and John from Cincinnati and seen them trashed and dumped. Of existing shows, I’ll watch Brothers & Sisters, since I also blog about it for 451 Press. I’ll watch Grey’s Anatomy, providing they’re quick about getting Derek and Meredith back together and ending the abominable George and Izzie “romance.”

I might give Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money a spin, but they’ll have to grab me quick. There’s really no new show that I feel as excited about as Studio 60 last season, and we know how that turned out.

Do any of this season’s new shows look promising to you? Share your programming choices in the comments.

Last Monday I mentioned that Bradley Whitford was appearing on HGTV’s Living With Ed that night, and while I watched the show, I must admit that I nodded off before his segment was done (totally a reflection on the way allergy season was hitting me in the head with a hammer, and not on the show at all). Today, I noticed that the entire Whitford portion of the episode has been posted on YouTube, and now here as well for your viewing enjoyment.

The segment made me laugh out loud a few times, and I otherwise just really got a kick out of what a naturally funny guy Whitford seems to be. (Plus, something about Ed Begley Jr.’s blonde wife hanging around making sarcastic comments was giving me serious Josh-Donna flashbacks.) It’s worth the seven minutes it takes to play, anyway.

Studio 60, NBC, Bradley Whitford, Living With Ed, HGTV

Please excuse a momentary departure from “Missing Studio 60” territory into “Missing The West Wing Too,” but I was so excited to be watching the season finale of Burn Notice last night (DVR’d from Thursday) and seeing Richard Schiff — Toby! — as the mysterious bad guy.

That’s probably a spoiler to those who haven’t watched their DVR’d episode of Burn Notice yet. And to prevent further spoilage, I’ll put the rest of this after the break.

(more…)

If you’ve got HBO, you can see D.L. Hughley tonight at 10 p.m. (and, knowing HBO, endlessly thereafter) in an hour-long stand-up comedy special, D.L. Hughley: Unapologetic. According to HBO:

“Taped in front of a live audience in Washington, DC, D.L. Hughley: Unapologetic offers a full hour’s worth of all-new comedy material, focusing on such topics as the dangers of living in Washington, the qualifications of the 2008 presidential candidates, the current administration, immigration, Cuban refugees, airplane restrictions, the ‘n’ word, Don Imus and freedom of speech. And, of course, Hughley will spend some time ‘interacting’ with hapless audience members in the first row.”

Gotta love those quotes around “interacting,” don’t you? I’ve never seen a Hughley stand-up performance, but judging from most comedians, “interacting” here means “mocking and abusing.” Do people have to sign a waiver to sit in the front row? Do they do so knowingly? I prefer a dark table in the back.

You can watch a video excerpt from the special on the HBO site, and watch a video of one of the things Hughley’s unapologetic about — his comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team on the Tonight Show — in the YouTube selection below.

Personally, I wish I had a DVD already of Hughley’s work on Studio 60 to watch instead. Or that HBO would just keep running John from Cincinnati marathons. But that’s just me. Weird, but unapologetic.

_{Photo: HBO.com}

Studio 60, NBC, D.L. Hughley, HBO

According to the More4 site, “The Option Period” was the episode broadcast last night in the U.K.; it originally aired last November in the U.S. For those who want to read what was written about this episode when it was first broadcast, here are links to reviews, recaps and forum discussions on:

• Entertainment Weekly
• TV Squad
• Television Without Pity (recap)
• Studio 60 Guide

The YouTube video below actually has clips from several episodes, but the first one — in which Matt talks Harriet down from her idea of doing a lingerie magazine spread — is from “The Option Period.” And a very sweet scene it is, right down to the revolving cactus.

Studio 60, NBC, The Option Period

Today continues a recurring feature for this blog: brief profiles of Studio 60 cast members. I’m gathering these on a page for easy reference, but introducing them one at a time here.

Name: Steven Weber
S60 Role: NBS chairman Jack Rudolph
Birthdate: Born March 4, 1961 in Queens, New York
Stats: 6 feet 1 inch tall; married to second wife Juliette Hohnen since 1995; two children
Best Known As: Brian Hackett, brother to Tim Daly’s Joe on Wings
Other Notable Roles: Artist Sam Blue on Once and Again; the Jack Nicholson role in the TV remake of The Shining
Memorable Moment on YouTube: Death makes a sandwich
Sites to See: + IMDb listing + Wikipedia + The Huffington Post

What would you add to this list? Share your favorite Steven Weber roles and info in the comments.

_{Photo: NBC.com}

Studio 60, NBC, Steven Weber, Jack Rudolph