Watching Studio60

I watched “What Kind of Day Has It Been” again last night, and remembered once more how much I loved this series finale. The sun was rising at the end of this long dramatic night, and the sun was rising in the lives of these characters, even as it set on the show that brought us into their world for one short season.

If the first couple of episodes of this five-episode arc — “Breaking News” and “K&R” Parts I, II and III all took place on the same night as this — skewed toward the comic with the wise-cracking doctor and raucous writer’s room scenes, and the second couple veered into drama and trauma, this last one was pure emotion. A little smart-ass, a little scary, but mostly sweet. Even hell-in-heels Mary calmed down a little.

Of course, it did have a pretty heartless break to commercial there, when the doctor, looking unusually serious, cut off Danny’s rant about needing Jordan to sign papers by quietly saying they needed to talk. Sure seemed like it was bad news about Jordan, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who spent that commercial break, the first time through, joining Harriet in prayer. But all was forgiven when the show resumed with Jordan looking tired but alive, meeting her daughter, being reunited with Danny, and pulling adoption papers out of her bag. That transition loses its impact on DVD … and thank goodness. I like it better without the unwarranted trepidation in the middle.

There were some terrific one-on-one scenes in this episode. Jack and Simon going round and round about Simon’s need to apologize. Danny and Harriet talking about why she and Matt can never get together, with Danny correcting an old misunderstanding and letting Harriet know how messed-up Matt’s really been since she was cruel to him at the Catholics dinner. Harriet and Matt then making up, again, for good or for now, but with the awareness that they are each other’s “the one.”

Maybe the most moving two-character scene, though, was Matt and Danny in that small glass room looking at the baby, with Matt knowing no way to say to Danny that he needs to get Jordan to sign custody papers in case she dies, and knowing that it has to be said. That one small painful scene, culminating with Danny realizing that something had to be done, said as much about the relationship of these two guys as the quitting-together flashback scenes or the “I love yous” at the end.

It was interesting, watching this episode, to note how much most of these characters actually looked like they’d been up all night, having the worst night of their life. And major kudos to Steven Weber for perfectly pitching a character who has had not enough sleep and way too much alcohol but is keeping it together, mostly. Jack lost his grip little by little throughout the evening, even as we kept revisiting his smug younger self in flashbacks. Of all the characters on this show, Jack’s the one who’s shown the most growth, and who would have guessed that in the beginning?

I appreciated the show ending with romances and crises resolved, and also that they managed to bring everybody back for that final scene on the stage, one last line or look for all these actors we’re going to miss, including a sweet little nod to Tom and Lucy’s relationship. I wish we hadn’t had to turn the lights out on all these entertaining folk, but at least we managed to turn away at a time when all was right in their world.

Share your thoughts on this episode in the comments, and come back later this week for a recap, memorable lines, and five questions.

_{Photo by Terri Mauro}

Studio 60, NBC, What Kind of Day Has It Been, review