Then why was it in a crisp, fresh, just-came-from-a-record-store bag, obviously designed solely to package the purchase of a vinyl record? Sorry, I don’t buy that. It came from the all-night 78ROM record store they have on every corner of LA. :rolleyes:
RPM! :smack:
I saw his parents as being distracted by thoughts of Tom’s brother more than actually morons. And I certainly didn’t see them as meant to be representative of the Midwest.
I didn’t even get the impression that it was as elaborate as that. Tom knew his parents were coming. He knew they didn’t know and understand what he did, or appreciate it. I assumed he brought the damned record with him that day, and only gave it to them once he’d gotten the reaction he’d expected.
I was kinda wondering, during the show, why they had Tom doing the National Geographic Travelogue of the History of whatever that theater was. It seemed wildly unimportantly expositive, and I figured there’d be some picky little detail in it that would turn out to be fanastically important sometime later in the show. Turns out I was right. It reminded me of Zork. Which was written 30+ years ago.
Tom was trying, once again, to impress his parents with what he does for a living. Who doesn’t want some validation from their parents on the choices they make in their lives? Besides, they drove all the way out there to see him, so I guess he wanted to spend some time with them.
I think we have a consensus for the first time in this show’s threads about the record. We all agree that something should have been said or shown to show how he got the damn thing.
As Harriet said, “See, there’s more things that united than divide us.”
Being as we seem to have become focused on the record issue, keep in mind that the show is made in LA and broadcast live from 11:30 to 1:00 on the east coast. So it was 10:00 pm local time when the show ended. Plenty of stores like Borders stay open until 11:00 pm or later on Fridays.
And carry a wide selection of the latest in 78s.
Gee, you’re no fun anymore!
Guys, guys… it’s all fun and games until someone nails a testicle to the roof.
Although this is something that is common in movies and television, I’m always annoyed by the “I Just Came Over to Deliver My Lines” scene.
It happens in sitcoms continually. Somebody will knock at the apartment door, walk in, say two lines and then leave. Does this ever happen in your life? When people travel across town to see you, don’t they stay a while? Too long, usually?
Tom’s parents took this to heights, or depths, rarely seen before. They Drove In From Ohio, watched the show, and then said - after the tour and everything, probably at least midnight, which would be three a.m. Ohio time - no, we can’t stay, we Have to Drive Back Now. Hey, next time teleport in. Less wear and tear on the car.
And BTW, I’ve had turntables continually since I was 16, about 40 years ago. I still have two working turntables in the house. Hundreds of LPs. And I Can’t Play a Frigging 78. Maybe you could give me something that I could play in my car to keep me awake on my all-night drive to Ohio!
I think they were going from LA to Yosemite, not back to Ohio. But your point is well-taken.
I thought it was the best episode yet. And “I’m his BOSS!” was LOL funny.
The plots, dialog, devices, characters are all exactly as they were on The West Wing. The only difference is that the workings of the government add a layer of import to the goings-on that don’t apply to the workings of a sketch comedy…so we’re paying more attention to those TV-writing-things this time around.
I think this show is in the 90th percentile of current TV quality, which puts it at about the 50th percentile of West Wing episodes.
(and, for what it’s worth, I learned the difference between “skit” and “sketch”. I’ve tended to use the words interchangeably.)
There’s so much I can say about this episode but most of it has already been addressed through this thread. I’ll try to hit upon a few new areas, however.
First, the subplot with Tom Jeter. This episode takes place directly after last week’s episode, right? Where were his parents last week? Was there even a mention last week of “oh by the way, my parents are here tonight.”? Now maybe I’m just forgetting it, but it seems unlikely. It seems as if this subplot was just thrown in with no regard for how it fit with the rest of the show.
Next, the subplot with Cal Shanley (yes, I’m getting their names from the IMDB, why do you ask?). It was absolutely predictable that this guy would be Very Important and he’d be someone who used to work in a Very Important area from this building’s past. I’ve seen this from Sorkin before and I was fine with it. He usually manages to do it well. But why Cal even bothered getting involved in the first place, let alone sticking with this old guy after the first, second, eleventh time he jerked Cal around, strains credibility. There’s a freaking wrap party going on right now and there’s security in the building to deal with specifically this issue.
Simon Stiles subplot: Willie Wilz was the headliner. We know he’s the headliner because, well, his name was right there on the board outside. The only name up there. And yet, he goes on BEFORE the unfunny comic? The one who practically gets booed offstage? OK.
My girlfriend and I were watching it on DVR last night and she literally screamed at the TV “FOR GOD’S SAKE GIVE ME A FUCKING STORY-ARC!” For the episode. For the season. Where are they going? Six(?) episodes in and they’ve set up no real intereresting conflicts or characters for those conflicts.
I want to like this show. I want to care. I find I’m watching because it is really watchable. We have great actors and a great writer and a great concept and the show can be put on auto-pilot and I wouldn’t think it’s bad. The problem is this: it DOES feel like it’s on auto-pilot and while I still don’t think it’s bad, it’s just not really that good. It’s not enjoyable. It’s not interesting. It’s just watchable.
I can accept one weepy, preachy scene/speech per episode. Hell, it’s Sorkin - I expect that scene/speech in his shows (though SportsNight, blessedly, had pretty damn few of them).
But daaaaaaammn. This episode had three of them - the Tom/Dad “I love you even though you’re mean to me, Pa” scene; the D.L. Hughley character’s “I gotta save all the black folks” scene; and the “lets’ be nice to the old fart” scene. And that scene was a freaking trifecta - the guy was a WWII vet, he was blacklisted, and he had Alzheimer’s.
Sorry, Mr. Sorkin, but I just don’t have that many heartstrings, and the few I have are starting to hurt from all the tugging. I really wanted to like this show, but it’s just not doing it for me.
I think the biggest problem the show has is that Sorkin wants the show to be IMPORTANT. Aaron, all it has to be is good, and your efforts to make it important are hurting that.
Sua
I’m gonna have that put on a T-shirt, I think.
Well, the marquee also said “Open Mic Night”. I dunno if it’s common practice to put the amateurs on after the headliner, but there you go.
Yeah, it is. Usually, it would be the up-and-comers, comics on tour with some cred, then the headliner, then the amatuers could get the mike around 1 A.M.
Sua
That’s not how it works. If NBC has contracted for a full season (or 13 episodes, as other posters have suggested), all that means is that NBC has to pay for the episodes it has ordered.
It don’t mean that NBC has to broadcast them.
Oodles of cancelled shows include unaired episodes in their “complete series” DVDs. They didn’t film those episodes for the DVD - they were bought and paid for by the network, which then decided not to show them.
Sua
Except there’s an early cancellation penalty of a few million dollars if they cancel it before the initial order is finished. That was apparently the clincher that got NBC the show over CBS.
<i>e.g., Firefly.</i>
I’m wondering something–I’m not too familiar with the world of sketch comedy production. Is it realistic for them to have a full catered bash like this, probably running until nearly dawn, every week? That seems a little spendy.