Because God forbid there be an openly gay main character in a show where it makes perfect sense for there to be one. Then again, they talk about the show they’re producing being funny, too, as a general concept, so maybe we’re onto something here…
For what it’s worth, my husband and I are fairly bright and enjoy challenging fiction that requires thought and interpretation. And we were confused as hell about Tom’s speeding ticket. Why was he speeding? How would his brother’s status have gotten him out of it? Why would that have necessarily been his “last act?” How the hell did the judge figure out everything? Confusion abounds.
I was trying to describe to Mr. Cinnamon why this show bugs me so much - that it is so full of its own intellectuality and savvy, and then does really awesomely dumb stuff that completely undermines all that. I mean, it might still be a bit laughable with all the gravitas over a comedy show, but at least if it had a modicum of supporting realism, it might be enjoyable. Thanks to those in this thread who elucidated that much better than I could (and reassured me that it’s not just me!)
To me, the show is kind of the evil opposite of Scrubs. *Scrubs * clearly considers itself a goofy show, and has no pretensions, but the show is driven by real conflicts and dramas experienced by everyone - from getting called in on your day off to dealing with death. By contrast, *Studio 60 * considers itself a weighty drama addressing Major Issues, but the characters are thin or cliched, and events happen because It’s In The Script, throwing character development and true drama out the window in favor of goofy contrivance.
N.B.: the only reason I bother giving this show such a hard time is that it is so close to being great. If it was just stupid all over, I would either ignore it or enjoy the badness, as I do with Jericho.
Given my befuddlement by the whole bracelet-brother-Afghanistan-speeding-goodoleboy mess, I am excited to be able to say that I actually can answer this bit. Early on, they mention that Tom was charged with reckless endangerment in addition to speeding; In Connecticut, at least, that’s a criminal charge, not an administrative thing like a normal speeding ticket, and they will insist that you make an appearance in court.
Personally, I’d like to hope that it turns out that some of the characters in the show have been gay all along and it just wasn’t a big deal. Gaydar aside, it’s not like you can just spot them in a crowd. Any character whose romantic life we’re not yet privy to could conceivably be gay. Lots of speculation around Simon, as far as that goes.
That’s what Sorkin has always done. A Few Good Men, Sports Night and The West Wing followed the same theme. There are internal disagreements, divided loyalties, distractions, but the main characters in Sorkin’s writing are always working together and dedicated to the same end.
Problems:
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Judge Goodman is an earnest, intelligent, hard-working conservative man who is insulted by NBS’s portrayal of his kind of folk. So, to show his integrity and intelligence, he threatens to make a big deal out of a speeding ticket and perhaps ruin a network broadcast, all because he doesn’t like the show. When he finds out that the accused was visiting his brother, who’s a brave soldier, he lets absolutely everyone off the hook without a further thought. Wha? What kind of integrity is this supposed to illustrate? Is this the kind of integrity that red-staters value? I’ve seen a lot of judges in action. A good judge, will, regardless of anyone’s situation give due attention to the matter at hand. Simple speeding ticket? Okay, let’s not get bent out of shape about that. Failure to appear? Well, why? No good reason? Okay, I issue due punishment and just to keep things from snowballing I let Jeter go back to L.A. now to do the show and promise to come back tomorrow to serve his sentence (if that’s what is due), after having posted due bail and releasing him into the custody of his lawyer. Whole thing over in about 30 minutes.
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Oh, the lawyer. NBS is a huge freaking company. They don’t know how to get hold of a criminal lawyer in a pinch? They send a copyright lawyer? Jack, who has such influence with the governor of Nevada, doesn’t know a criminal lawyer he can bring?
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What the hell exactly is Tom Jeter’s story arc? He’s a Hollywood liberal with dumb-as-rocks Ohio parents whom he nevertheless loves? Or is he a closet conservative? Why are we supposed to care?
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What the hell did Tom Jeter do? Why did visiting his brother in the Army require him to drive 120 mph through Nevada? Why did he fail to answer the summons? I don’t know Nevada law, but in most states a speeding citation, including one that amounts to reckless driving, can be handled by mail or the Internet. If he didn’t feel like going back to Nevada for a court hearing, why didn’t he send back the slip with box marked “I plead guilty” and accompanying cheque for the fine? What did the freaking anti-war protest have to do with it?
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What is Harriet’s deal? Is she a conservative Christian or not? Does the right wing’s prejudices appeal to her or not? Why is she on the one hand so eager to talk about her religion but just enough not to make any sense? Why do Matt and Harriet’s arguments never get to the logical heart of the issue they’re arguing about?
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Okay, this “they’re just working people who are losing their jobs and trying to raise their kids” line is played out. Matt, tell her that your worries and troubles aren’t license to bigotry.
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Matt, Harriet’s an idiot, same as those girls who couldn’t understand what a “writer” is. Get over her.
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Matt, you’re an idiot.
Jack, Danny, Jordan, Cal – I’m cool with you guys. Danny, you’re a jerk, but your character is internally logical.
Soratio Handz, what’s your deal? Are you on drugs?
I figured he planned on throwing the whole thing out from the minute he walked in the door, and the punishment for Jeter was going to be losing an entire day to the process.
Speeding. His brother was leaving and he wanted to say goodbye before he left to STAND IN THE MIDDLE OF AFGHANISTAN. He forgot to pay the fine. The protest had nothing to do with it. Actually, his forgetting to pay the fine is the one believable element in this wildly improbable story.
Devout != conservative, necessarily. She has strong opinions about her beliefs, and they tend to be at odds with everyones’ who isn’t Christian. As it turns out, they also are somewhat at odds with peoples’ who are Christian. Sucks. She doesn’t want to go into a whole witnessing spiel and instead just tries to explain how her beliefs effect her actions; i.e., she’s trying not to be a close-minded dick.
I think the character is shooting for a niche role in b-movies and TV shows. He wants to be John Goodman’s sidekick in his next smash hit, because he knows he’s not a good enough actor or comedian to take the top spot. He’s a nice guy trying to do a very difficult job with just enough talent to make it fly. Again, one of the very few parts to this series that actually make sense to me.
I get the puzzling impression that Jeter doesn’t want anyone to know that he has a brother in the service, that he gives him money for armor, and that he likes to visit him when he can. It’s as if Jeter is afraid that the public revelation of these things will make him look bad in Hollywood liberal society. The truth is just the opposite. Prominent liberals (such as Al Franken), are proud of their association with people in service and don’t shy away from others finding out about it. The whole thing seems to indicate that Sorkin buys into the “liberals hate America” line.
I got the (perhaps mistaken) impression that Jeter was speeding on the way out of Nevada. That would account for folks bringing up the anti-war protest – you wanted to get away from the arresting as fast as possible. They never made it clear.
She could have avoided the whole thing by not bringing it up as a public issue in the first place. It seems to me that there are probably a lot of Hollywood types who don’t make their personal beliefs an issue. And if she is going to bring it up, why not make her beliefs more clear, as in – I believe in Jesus, but I also believe that my anti-gay fellow Christians have got it wrong.
I don’t see that at all. I just think he wants to keep his private life private. He doesn’t want his brother to be a celebrity. He doesn’t want people to look at him and think about politics rather than comedy. No liberals hate America enough for someone having a brother in uniform to be something to be ashamed of. That’s crazy.
Al Franken could hardly keep it a secret that he, Al Franken, was going over to the middle east and performing. Plus, he’s a political humorist, so his personal politics and actions ARE relevant to his comedy.
Right… she could also have said, “The bible also says ‘Judge not, lest ye be judged…’ it’s not for me to decide.” :dubious:
She already knows people are gunning for her. Why didn’t she just say that? No, she started with the “Bible says it’s a sin” part. She’s not going out of her way to be diplomatic.
My conclusion is that either (1) she’s looking for trouble, or (2) she’s not very bright.
Either way, my point still stands. Harriet started this whole thing by making her religion an issue and the manner in which she responds to further questions seems calculated to keep the fires burning.
Slight hijack.
I was stationed onboard the USS Truman around Christmas in 2000. Franken came out and performed for us. Even my hard-core, conservative friends/co-workers thought he was a funny man and had a lot of respect for him for flying out into the middle of nowhere to perform for us.
Parumph NV really is a wacky place.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061116/us_nm/usa_immigration_flags_dc
I think you missed my point… She’s going to get misquoted, no matter what she says or how she says it. If all she had said was “It’s not for me to say,” people would have been up in arms about her not having an opinion, or having one but hiding it. Public right to know, and all that. :rolleyes:
Suppose somebody on the cast was a devout Satanist, instead of a Christian. Heh. I’d watch that show… Anyway. Could that person possibly speak a single word into a microphone that wasn’t twisted and taken out of context?
Sorry to zombify this thread, but I just saw the ep again on TiVo a few days before I re-upped after a break, and this thread was driving me batshit during my non-posting time.
The key to understanding the end is to realize that the Pahrump attorney’s whispered lines to the judge are in fact meant to be audible. Bad sound guy, bad! He tells the judge that he’s noticed a bracelet on Tom’s wrist that appears as though it could be military issue, and wonders what it might be about.
The judge looks at Tom’s wrist, where there is in fact a metal bracelet, easily seen behind his cuffs, and presumably reads Tom’s brother’s name off it.
He then puts together that his brother is stationed at Nulles(sp?) base, and that Tom was speeding so as not to miss seeing him off that day. The comment about how deadly serving in that unit can be is meant to drive home the point that the brother stands a very good chance of never coming home alive. Tom didn’t “play the ‘Support our Troops’ card” by announcing that his valiant brother, leaving to almost certain death, was the reason for his speeding, because he thought that using his brother’s sacrifice for such a cheap-ass purpose would be an insult to said sacrifice, especially if bro dies. Having figured all this out, the judge dismisses the case.
As far as whether there might really be little towns full of wacky people in the deserts miles away from Vegas, well, if you doubt that, you haven’t been to the Alien Fresh Jerky store in Baker CA, about the same distance from LV as Pahrump.
Oh, and Harriet’s stuff sounds all wrong for the reason, among others, that Sarah Paulson is a crappy actress.