Watching Studio60

If you’ve been following along with my Studio 60 Revisited Monday marathon, we’ve now come to the second of the three “K&R” episodes. “K&R Part II” was the twentieth episode, and originally aired on June 14, 2007.

The plot keeps all the balls thrown in the air during “Breaking News” and “K&R Part I” in flight — Jordan’s still in the hospital, having her baby and life-threatening complications; Tom’s brother is still a hostage in Afghanistan, leading Tom to spar with a stonewalling military man and contemplate a rescue effort proposed by Mary Tate; Matt and Harriet are still Matt and Harriet; and the flashbacks to the days after the start of the war keep a-coming, recounting Matt and Danny’s stand against Jack that cost them their jobs.

As I wrote back in December, when this episode first aired in the U.K., “The biggest development differentiating this episode from its fellow plot puzzle pieces is Simon’s stupendous PR implosion. He was just supposed to step outside the studio, speak to a friendly reporter to correct a story alleging that Tom and his brother were on the outs, and step back inside. But he got caught by less-friendly press vultures, and by the time it was over, he was pretty much blaming the American public for the war and allying himself with the Taliban. Well, not really, but sound-byte-wise, totally. Hey, thanks for helping!”

Nice to see Simon back after he was MIA last episode. This time, it’s Jordan’s turn to be unseen, but she has a good excuse, what with being in surgery and clinging to life and all.

Watch this episode with me tonight, and stay tuned throughout the week for a review, recap, memorable lines, and five questions.

Studio 60, NBC, K&R Part II, commentary