It’s Christmas time at Studio 60!
“Matt wants to bring the spirit of Christmas to Los Angeles when he and the “Studio 60” team put on a holiday show. Meanwhile, Danny tries to figure out his true feelings for Jordan.”
Let’s hope this is another Sorkin Christmas episode in the tradition of “In Excelsis Deo,” “Noel” and “Holy Night.”
There is an article on Kristen Chenowith in the Arts section of Sunday’s NYTimes (I don’t think this is behind the dreaded “TimeSelect” wall). It’s interesting to note that
She said afterward that she regrets appearing on the 700 club;
She was “disinvited” from appearing at a “Women of Faith” conference a year ago;
She did a bikini spread in FHM (not lingerie);
She is a supporter of gay rights and gay marriage (“Get over it, people”). She comes off pretty much as a thoughful, liberal Christian (I believe that the term being pushed is “red-letter Christians,” based on versions of the bible that print Jesus’ words in red ink);
Sorkin asked her permission to base Harriet’s character on her. He has obviously decided to make her a bit more “red-state friendly,” i.e. a bit more of a straw person.
I predict a chemistry-free hour of Chandler Bing and Kristen Chenowith sermonizing at each other.
I predict… you’re wrong.
Saw it last night. I liked it. The last couple of episodes have been better than the first few. Hopefully, that means that the show is finding its ‘voice’ and becoming better.
I loved Danny’s declaration, it was so charming and dorky all at the same time.
As a Jew, that horn rendition brought tears to my cynical eyes. That, my friends, is what television was invented for, to bring us together. The tune, and the few words of it I know, juxtaposed with the images of New Orleans. OK, I get that it was pure manipulation, but I don’t care. It was wonderful, and I loved it. I guess my hard ass cynic cred just got shredded. The only thing that hurts is that it was network TV.
Great episode. They are finding their way. Ed Asner’s scene kicked ass!
But what’s Wynton Marsalis of NBC doing over at a NBS show? Or was that Wynton Jarfalis of “The Goodnight Show” starring Tay Veno?
I know I should know the name of the song at the end, but I can’t place it. Please help!
I knew as soon as I saw Jordan in the doctor’s office that nobody at any time would utter the word abortion or even give the teensiest hint that Jordan might have thought about one or might be better off if she had one.
And they stuck to it despite her being a now pregnant and unmarried and unattached-to-the-father network president who is going to get plastered all over the tabloids yet again - again - after the uber-chairman said “make it stop.” Not only that but he didn’t say a word about it. He seemed to be all twinkly eyed.
Does anyone at that show even watch the show to know what got said the last week?
For that matter, which is less plausible: that Studio 60 was the only live show, i.e. current, i.e. meant to be seen in context, i.e. does-Christmas-when-everybody-is-thinking-about-Christmas show in the history of television not to do a yearly Christmas show or that the Jewish atheist Matt suddenly wakes up one morning and decides to be all Christmas-y?
And the FCC not only has been backing off fines for accidental profanity in real life, but nobody, nobody, nobody would threaten fines for a Marine saying fuck in a live news interview when under attack. Nobody. If anybody were that stupid the entire blogosphere and every cable news show would be talking about nothing else 24/7 blasting them into smithereens. So why did the fucking network chairman think that his fucking conglomerate chair boss wouldn’t have heard about this? Did he think the government acts in secret? That they fine networks and don’t tell anybody but the network chair? That the news department isn’t involved? That it isn’t a public document?
And of course coconut cooks under the lights you stupid fucks!
This show drives me utterly crazy! It’s so good in so many ways, yet every bit of good dialogue is in thrall to incidents of such appalling stupidity as to knock a buzzard off a shitwagon, to paraphrase George Carlin. Why does every single person on the show have to be so stupid every single minute? Why? Why? Why?
P.S. It was Kevin Eubanks. Branford Marsalis quit the Tonight Show around 1994.
I knew as soon as I saw Jordan in the doctor’s office that nobody at any time would utter the word abortion or even give the teensiest hint that Jordan might have thought about one or might be better off if she had one.
And they stuck to it despite her being a now pregnant and unmarried and unattached-to-the-father network president who is going to get plastered all over the tabloids yet again - again - after the uber-chairman said “make it stop.” Not only that but he didn’t say a word about it. He seemed to be all twinkly eyed.
Does anyone at that show even watch the show to know what got said the last week?
For that matter, which is less plausible: that Studio 60 was the only live show, i.e. current, i.e. meant to be seen in context, i.e. does-Christmas-when-everybody-is-thinking-about-Christmas show in the history of television not to do a yearly Christmas show or that the Jewish atheist Matt suddenly wakes up one morning and decides to be all Christmas-y?
And the FCC not only has been backing off fines for accidental profanity in real life, but nobody, nobody, nobody would threaten fines for a Marine saying fuck in a live news interview when under attack. Nobody. If anybody were that stupid the entire blogosphere and every cable news show would be talking about nothing else 24/7 blasting them into smithereens. So why did the fucking network chairman think that his fucking conglomerate chair boss wouldn’t have heard about this? Did he think the government acts in secret? That they fine networks and don’t tell anybody but the network chair? That the news department isn’t involved? That it isn’t a public document?
And of course coconut cooks under the lights you stupid fucks!
This show drives me utterly crazy! It’s so good in so many ways, yet every bit of good dialogue is in thrall to incidents of such appalling stupidity as to knock a buzzard off a shitwagon, to paraphrase George Carlin. Why does every single person on the show have to be so stupid every single minute? Why? Why? Why?
P.S. It was Kevin Eubanks. Branford Marsalis quit the Tonight Show around 1994.
Really? Of course? You’re sure? How often do you cook at temperatures that are tolerable for humans to work in? Frankly, my expectation is that under those circumstances the coconut would dry out, but not actually cook. And I’d anticipate that dry coconut (which, frankly, is probably what I would have started with if I was trying to make snow out of groceries) would actually be more effective than fresh.
I liked this episode. Yes, there were certainly plotholes, as Exapno pointed out. But for the first time, the general quality of the show was high enough that the problems didn’t stand out. Maybe it’s just Christmas magic.
I’ve blown hot and cold on the show, but I have to say that I’m getting a little tired of how noble everyone on the show is. Constantly. Danny’s playing substitute father for Jordan and hiring homeless jazz musicians, Steven Webber’s ready to resign over the FCC issue, they’ve even got Ed Asner willing to risk his beloved Macau deal to stick it to the FCC. Yeah, I know, did I ever see the West Wing? It’s Sorkin’s calling card, but it would be nice if he didn’t have to divide his world between unfailingly upright main characters and off-screen, straw-man villains (e.g. the FCC, Women of Faith, etc).
Another show that had that problem was Star Trek: TNG. If any crew member on that show was anything less than upstanding, it was because of mind controlling aliens or something.
This show could use some mind controlling aliens.
I thought this was the best episode since the pilot. The sketches on the show were actually funny. The final scene with the musicians from New Orleans, the marriage proposal and the Ed Asner speech was wonderful.
My only quarrel was that they telegraphed some of the funnier bits (the table breaking coconut, the Nazi saluting santa) in promos.
Could the fact that Amanda Peet is ACTUALLY pregnant possibly have anything to do with Jordan not having an abortion? It might be a bit awkward if she has one and then keeps ballooning up to the size of a house.
I can see S60 not doing a Christmas show, for exactly the same reason Matt gave: it’s L.A., Studio 60 is an “L.A.” show and 75 and sunny isn’t exactly Christmas weather.
The FCC thing was a little unrealistic, but it gave Steven Weber something to do.
The coconut wasn’t even a major plot point, so getting wound up over it doesn’t make a lot of sense.
I thought this was a great episode.
I thought this episode was keeping with the trend of the last few, which is to say it has improved a ton and has more than enough redeeming value to be worth watching despite some flaws. I even liked Weber in this episode, which is saying something.
Oh, and this time around, Bradley Whitford gets to get all of that sexual tension out in the open right away instead of letting it just sit there the entire length of the series!
I believe it’s called “Angel Voices,” but it’s better known in this country as “O Holy Night.”
This was my favorite episode of the show.
But I’m pretty sure they said the earthquake was a 4.1. I don’t think 4.1’s cause building and structure collapses, do they?