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Studio 60 Fodder

Studio 60: The Cold Open

Studio 60's pilot last week was strong and set a great tone for the show. Episode two, "The Cold Open," actually improves upon the premiere, with faster pacing, more character depth, and several funnier moments.

We begin at a Monday morning press conference where network president Jordan is handling herself well. She talks about how her goal is to make shows she, her parents, and her (non-existent) kids could all watch and enjoy; shows that don't meet that criteria, she says, won't air.

Then, a reporter asks how the network brass felt about Wes's tirade on the show last week. "Pleased and proud as you can imagine," she says, "until we realized he wasn't talking about Fox."

Just out of view, Matt and Danny are waiting for Jordan to introduce them. Matt's angry that Danny let him sleep for 28 hours -- meaning he lost a full day of writing for their first episode at the helm. Danny tells Matt: "I made a decision for you -- you'll find I'll be making a lot of 'em." Matt's also annoyed that Danny sent Studio 60 cast-member Jeanie along home with him to nurse him back to health (following the back surgery mentioned last week).

Back out at the press conference, we learn from Jordan that Matt and Danny started off as a staff writer and segment producer at Studio 60, respectively. And boy, does she hype their debut show coming up this Friday night, setting high expectations and urging everyone to tune in this Friday at 11:30.

(Which raises a question I'll leave open for the comments: Does Studio 60 broadcast live at 8:30pm Pacific so it's 11:30pm on the East Coast, and then re-run out west? If so, did they edit out Wes's tirade for the West Coast feed? If it actually starts at 11:30 Pacific, then does it air on the East coast at 1:30am? Discuss.)


Backstage at Studio 60, Harriet is watching the press conference when Jeanie walks in. They get along well. Harry says she envies Jeanie's body; Jeanie, on the other hand, craves Harry's talent.

We also see that hack writers/executive producers Ricky and Ron are less than thrilled about Matt and Danny's pending arrival. No surprise there -- there's no love lost between the two duos, we surmised last week. But we also infer that last time Matt was around, he ended up doing most of the writing himself, solitarily.


Back at the press conference, a reporter asks why Matt and Danny are abandoning their in-the-works movie project to come back to Studio 60. Matt starts to answer, with the obviously planned, corporate, PR-friendly response, when Danny cuts in, admitting to his failed drug test and inability to work on the move for at least 18 months.

NBS chairman Jack is taken aback -- as are Jordan and Matt. Then, a reporter for Rapture Magazine asks about the "Crazy Christians" sketch, wondering if it'll be on the air. Danny promises that it will be.

Once the press conference concludes, Jack expresses his discontent to Jordan, Matt and Danny for Danny's having admitted to the cocaine use. Danny says he wanted to tell the truth, instead of allowing the story to leak out one drip at a time.

Matt is pissed, too -- but he's more upset that the "Crazy Christians" sketch leaked. Why? "It matters because comedy's less funny the second time around." He has to come up with new hilarious jokes because of how high Jordan raised the bar for their premiere show, and he can't use that sketch now because the audience has been "tipped."

So, Matt needs to come up with a cold open to start the show. Danny mentions the other hour and 25 minutes, but Matt's big concern is the cold open.


The two of them debate who is taking (ousted show creator) Wes's old office. Neither one wants to inherit his office since he's a legend. (And, exciting sidenote,: They indicate Saturday Night Live exists in the world of Studio 60! Matt mentions that he'd rather work in Lorne Michaels's office than Wes's.)

The two walk-and-talk their way into Wes's office. Matt notices a new clock that counts down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until showtime. (Above it is the Groucho Marx line "Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana." On seeing Wes's clock, Danny says: "No wonder he went crazy."

Matt and Danny go into the writers' room to meet Ricky and Ron's crew. Danny lays down a hard line: If you write well, your stuff will get on, and if you don't, Matt won't care about you.

Over the in the cast quarters, a fretting Tom is reading aloud to Simon from a blog. The blogger has written that Studio 60 isn't as good as SNL. Simon, though, is busy worrying about Matt's stamina and ability to work so soon after his back surgery. Jeanie tells Simon not to worry; Matt's already doing a tough morning workout. (How does she know, we wonder…)

Matt addresses the whole cast. Mark Wahlberg is hosting Friday's episode, with the White Stripes as musical guest. Harriet and Tom have a skit for the Stripes that Tom gets excited about doing.

Jeanie then reveals her knowledge that Matt has gym equipment in his house. Harriet puts it together -- Jeanie's been to Matt's house. Recently. Danny excuses Harry from the meeting.

Before Danny leaves the impromptu cast meeting, Simon wants to know what Danny thought of the season premiere. Danny hasn’t seen it yet -- he'll watch the tape in his office. What about Tom's Bill Frist impersonation, Simon wonders? Danny hasn't seen that yet either. The scene ends with an uncomfortable moment between Danny and Simon.


Back in the writers' room, Matt is overseeing a meeting where pitches for sketch ideas are being tossed about. As they're tossed out, Matt shoots them down. He insists that he needs a cold open first, before he can entertain all the ideas being thrown around (Clinton vs Bush at Family Feud, Bush introduces the "Democracy Act" that outlaws voting).

Matt changes gears and comments on the writers' dress style. He tells them he wants them to dress better and act more professional, but gets interrupted by Harriet, who storms into the meeting yelling insults at Matt. He leaves the room with her, and she confronts him about Jeanie. Matt tells Harry not to yell at him in the writer's room or he'll bench her; she gets it.

But she is very pissed off that he's sleeping with another member of the show. We also learn that Harry broke up with Matt over email.

Harriet rattles off a list of people Matt supposedly dated. He says he didn't. But she's pretty hurt about him and Jeanie. "That's just mean," she tells him, since he would be crushed if she so much as slow-danced with Danny.

Matt tells her that Danny sent Jeanie home with him to look after him. We can fill in the gaps -- that, essentially, one thing led to another. Harriet is hurt. She tells Matt to write a good show, in a sort of counterpoint to last week when Matt told her that if she did her job well, he could ignore their past.


Now it's Tuesday. Jordan is in hot water. Network execs are up in arms over "Crazy Christians." Constance Gower, the reporter for Rapture Magazine, has started an uproar over the skit. Jordan doesn't care -- she's not worried about a few small affiliates refusing to air this weeks' show Jack tells her to tell Matt and Danny that they can't air the sketch. Jordan refuses to back down; she wont break her promise to them.

Back at the Studio 60 set, Matt still doesn't have much of anything, So sound, FX, set design, cameras, lighting -- none of the teams can prepare for Friday's show yet. Everything's behind, on standby. There's some nervous tension.

Now we learn that Jack White of the White Stripes has fallen ill. They can't appear on the show. We need a new musical guest. Matt, who had previously had just three slots filled for the show (monologue, White Stripes, and White Stripes again) is down to having just one card on the board, with the Stripes gone.


Simon and Danny meet up in a walk and talk. Simon thinks that Danny is "slumming" in television; he was unhappy to learn that Danny's here only because of a failed drug test. They are quite tense with each other; there's some obvious history here. Simon is still mad that Danny left the show (to stay with Matt); Danny's mad that Simon didn't leave to stick with them.

Matt, of course, still needs a cold open. He's in his (Wes's old) office. He tells the group assembled there -- including Danny, Simon, and Cal -- that the opener needs to be self-deprecating, self-referential, and witty. He's thinking out loud: A song, a musical number. As in, from a musical. They are very model of a modern network TV show. Simon adds: "We hope you don't mind that our producer was caught doing blow." A moment of nervous, tense titters in the room before Matt and Danny share their resounding approval: Yes! The creative juices are flowing. They'll need a chorus, and an orchestra. Matt's confident, pumped: "Okay now we just need to write the song and the rest of the show." He makes it sound easy.

And the heck of it is, we -- the audience -- really start to feel excited along with the guys working on the show. We're as fired up as they are for Matt and Danny to kill it this Friday.

3 days, 7 hours left till showtime.


And now… It's Friday. There are hundreds of protesters outside the studio who've organized regarding that possible "Crazy Christians" sketch.

It's a hot day, and the audience is waiting outside to come in. Matt's worried about them being uncomfortable; Danny assures him they're passing out lemonade. (We later learn that Matt's concern is that hot, sweaty people laugh less because they're uncomfortable.)

Now Matt's board is filled up with skits. "You know, in an hour and a half, it'll be empty again," he says. Danny tries to get him to enjoy the moment. Dress rehearsal apparently went very well.

He transitions into talking to Matt about Harriet. How big a deal is that issue going to be, he asks. Matt says he's not in love with her, but that he admires her and is knocked out by her talent. He slowly realizes that, okay, yeah, he is in love with her. That issue is left unresolved for the time being.

Backstage, Jeannie approaches Harriet. She apologizes, says that she and Matt are friends, and that when they're both without someone, they end up together from time to time. Harriet smashes a breakaway bottle over Janie's head, and they've made up. It's odd, but it works.

Danny comes backstage and grabs Simon from makeup. It's buzzing backstage, palpable excitement in the air. Danny wants to know what Simon's worrying about. Simon can't do voices, and he's worried about that since Ricky and Ron wanted him to. "We're starting over," Danny tells him. Danny also tells him that starting next week, Simon will co-anchor the news. Big promotion for Simon.

We learn that a few years back, Simon had come into Danny's office, saying that he (Simon) didn't belong here; he was trained at Yale Drama School for crying out loud! Danny and Simon agree now, though -- Simon is excellent here, and he certainly belongs.


Jack's in the studio to watch the show. Jordan is thumbing away on her Blackberry, clearly a bit anxious about the show. They didn't lose too many affiliates or sponsors, so no one's too worried. Jack warns her about if the ratings fall. Jordan says that when the ratings go up, they'll get to charge the old advertisers more than they used to.


The orchestras are in place for the big cold open. The women are in elegant white dresses and gloves; the men in white tuxes.

The cast huddles up before the show with Matt and Danny. Matt's nervous; Danny's jazzed. It's Harriet's turn to lead the pre-show prayer. She prays for good luck, and for something to fall onto Matt's head. Afterwards, she goes to Matt for advice on what she did wrong a line about butter that got a laugh at the table read, but not at dress. He tells her she asked for the laugh at dress -- instead of the butter. They share a moment.


Backstage, Cal tells Danny about a fire in the control room that will leave them with only one camera for a while. Danny's terrified. Cal's joking.

Matt and Danny share a glance before the start of the show.

The announcer introduces the chorus, the orchestra, and the cast, who launch into a big musical number, parodying The Major-General's Song from The Pirates of Penzance.

Harry makes jokes about her Christianity. They make Simon's joke about Danny being caught doing blow. The cold o pen kills.

We hear the announcer call out "Live from Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, it's Friday night in Hollywood." Matt smiles, pleased.

Then he turns to the clock, which is counting down just under 7 days till next Friday's show.


As I said in my introduction, a very strong second outing for the show. Outshining the first episode is certainly an accomplishment, given how good the pilot was. Another key plus was Sarah Paulson and her character Harriet, who became much more likable and nuanced this week; we really got to see the character's passion for her religion mesh with her comedic skill.

What did you think?


Posted by Lex on September 25, 2006 10:58 PM
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The closing musical number was absolutely brilliant, and I completely agree about the pacing being even better in this second episode.

-- Posted by: mac at September 25, 2006 11:58 PM

I actually enjoyed this show much more than I did the pilot. Without all the character exposition, it became a great show about writing. With wonderful moments of small humor.

I think if you listen to Jack talking in the Pilot you'll find that Studio 60 is tape delayed to the West Coast.

-- Posted by: kmsqrd at September 26, 2006 12:27 AM

All that talk about "Crazy Christians" and it looks like we'll never get to see it! (which actually is tasteful, but nonetheless leaves an insatiable sense of curiosity)

Loved the episode and I think Timothy Busfield's character, Cal, has become my favourite at this point in time. When he called about the small fire that would leave him with only one camera, I got really worried/excited as that is both a disastrous and typical problem for the debut show that could only have an incredibly creative resolution. In that 2 seconds I started trying to come up with possible solutions. Cal announces he's joking and I can't help but relievedly bellow "asshole!"

-- Posted by: Phil at September 26, 2006 2:10 AM

My sixteen-year-old daughter stayed up an hour late to watch it with my husband and me, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the show. Part one was a bit less sharp, though entertaining, and both shows left us anxious to see more. Matthew Perry is a family favorite, and this character, more than any other he's played, seems a good fit. We especially enjoyed the fact that the humor was not thrown out you in a beseeching way, as so many sit-coms are doing today... it was very grown-up and smart. It's nice to see a little PC pushing here, and a little humor from the left for a chance. That mentality rings true to the setting. Kudos to the writers and actors.

-- Posted by: Judy at September 26, 2006 2:25 AM

I have to admit I'm only cautiously optimistic. I feel like this show isn't jumping out of the gate the way "The West Wing" and "Sports Night" did. The dialogue doesn't seem as snappy as either of the other two.

Also, one of my favorite things about Sorkin is that he writes strong female characters. But the two main females aren't as strong on "Studio 60". Harriet seemed much more intelligent and independent in the first show, whereas this episode was mainly concerned with her relationship to Matt. And Jordan said some stupid stuff that even someone who knows as little about tv as I do would know better than to say.

Nonetheless, I have high hopes. Sorkin is immensely talented. He could turn a dishrag into compelling television. And the show has strong characters and some of my favorite actors. It definitely has potential.

-- Posted by: Anna at September 26, 2006 3:14 AM

Anna -- I'm not worried about Harriet; I think she'll remain strong. No one's at their best when they're coming out of a relationship.

But regarding Amanda Peet's character -- I think she's a true Sorkin strong woman. She held her ground to Jack when he demanded she force Matt & Danny pull "Crazy Christians." She made a joke about being high that she didn't apologize for. And if her message to the press was true -- that shows must be entertaining for her, her parents, and her children before she'll air it -- then she's pretty good at her job, too. :)

-- Posted by: Lex at September 26, 2006 7:28 AM

'Studio 60' airs in Canada on Sundays. I saw the Gilbert and Sulivan parody coming as soon as the line of the model of the tv network show was spoken.

Have been enjoying Matthew Perry. Never watched 'Friends'. I'm still adjusting to Bradley Whitford - I'm still trying to shake off 'Josh' from TWW. I'm still at odds over the 'Harriet' character. I'm not overly blown away by the show just yet but there's enough to keep me interested.

-- Posted by: xedout at September 26, 2006 11:45 AM

I'm obviously quite taken with the word 'still' today. ;)

The time difference would be three hours, so if the show was 'live' at 11:30 pm, it would be 2:30 am on the East Coast. Thank goodness you don't have Newfoundland time!

-- Posted by: xedout at September 26, 2006 11:54 AM

I'll have to adjust my TiVo to start recording a minute early (and possibly miss the very tail end of "Vanished"). Great recap! You filled in the beginning lines that I'd missed. This show was much better than the first episode. The "Pirates" parody was superb. And Timothy Busfield is even better than he was on TWW.

-- Posted by: drducky at September 26, 2006 12:09 PM

I like Sorkin's stuff, and I love late night sketch shows, so I really want this show to succeed. But...I'm seeing some gaping flaws.

1). It's clunky to the point of being hamfisted. How many times are they going to have a character inform us how breathtakingly talented Harriet is? If she were really so talented, would they have to keep telling us? If she's talented, let us SEE it. Somehow, I think they've hyped this character up to a level the real actress will not actually be able to support.

The same thing with "Crazy Christians." They've built this fictitious sketch up as if it were the funniest thing ever written--it's like that Monty Python bit about the joke that was so funny, people could only keep parts of it because anyone who read the whole thing would keel over dead of laughter. Heaven forbid they ever actually DO show it. If it's as clever as the name (here's another idea: how about, "Stupid Conservatives"! Or maybe "Inbred Southerners"! Why, it practically writes itself!) we're in for a real treat. Let me get this straight--a suggestion in the writers meeting that they do a Bush-is-stupid sketch is met with derision, but "Crazy Christians" is the zenith of highbrow comedy?

2). The "cold open" sketch was awful. Late night viewers would flee from that sort of pretentiousness so fast they'd leave skid marks.

3). I just find myself not believing these two guys are actually COMEDY writers. It just doesn't ring true. Gilbert and Sullivan? Who do these guys think their audience is, George Plimpton?

4). In the real world, walking into a room full of comedy writers and demanding they be funny or be fired would be the absolute kiss of creative death. What? In a competitive atmosphere like that, they don't already know they have to sink or swim? A real producer (Lorne Michaels, Bob Morton) would stroke them even as he was firing them. Instead, this guy comes on like he's Alec Baldwin in "Glengarry Glen Ross."

5). A pre-show PRAYER? Listen, I'm an evangelical Christian. And I found myself saying, "You've got to be kidding me." Victoria Jackson was a born-again Christian working for SNL, and I think she'll tell you the idea of a cast/producers pre-show prayer in that world is risible.

I know it sounds like I hate Studio 60, but I don't. There are some big plusses: Perry and Whitford are great; Sorkin's dialogue is the best when he's not trying to be joke-funny, and they do a good job capturing the tension of mounting a live network show every week. It has real possibilities.

But if this thing is going to ring true, they're going to have to loosen up a little bit. "The West Wing" was dealing with the most powerful office in the world. This one deals with a sketch-comedy show. They can't (and shouldn't) treat them as if they were equally important.

-- Posted by: John R. at September 26, 2006 4:58 PM

Question. Is this series kind of a portrayal of what happened with Sorkin when he left the West wing and is now back to NBC to do studio 60? It seems like Sorkin leaving West Wing parallels how Matt and Danny left Studio 60 in the first place. Though its not really clear why Sorkin left West Wing. Whatever the case I still love the show, just like I loved West Wing before Sorkin left.

-- Posted by: Ernie at September 28, 2006 4:31 PM

I remember that there were a lot of 'reasons' why Sorkin left TWW. However, I don't think they were ever explicity said. I recall reading about some possible contributions: him running over budget, problems with the network, and his drug problem.

I'm not a huge fan of sketch comedy. My taste tends to run to either extremely simple slapstick, or sophisticated stuff.

Character should be shown and not be spoken to the viewer. Harriet's 'talent' was clumsily handled.

-- Posted by: xedout at October 1, 2006 11:32 PM

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