# Studio 60 - 9/25 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 25, 2006, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104 "2006-09-25T18:34:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/121 "2006-09-27T21:51:31Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t think Sports Night failed because the network suits sabotaged it or because the public was too dumb to appreciate it - it just wasn’t sufficiently funny. Wasn’t sufficiently funny to you or to enough people. I found it hilarious. (And poignant, and often more heart-wrenching than any four network dramas.) It was an odd bird, a half-hour comedy that wasn’t a sitcom, much like The Office. Neither the network nor the public really knew what to do with it. I wish TV could accommodate more shows like that. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/122 "2006-09-27T22:08:12Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] What, no love for either the _The Pirate Movie_ version [/QUOTE] I’m older than the Beatles but younger than the Rolling Stones! Good times, good times. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/123 "2006-09-27T22:26:22Z")
[QUOTE=Gadarene] Wasn’t sufficiently funny to you or to enough people. I found it hilarious. (And poignant, and often more heart-wrenching than any four network dramas.) It was an odd bird, a half-hour comedy that wasn’t a sitcom, much like The Office. Neither the network nor the public really knew what to do with it. I wish TV could accommodate more shows like that. [/QUOTE] So do I, but the lesson there is that it’s not enough if a show is hilarious and poignant and heart-wrenching - it also has to be popular. And if it’s on a network as opposed to cable, it has to be _damn_ popular. One of the big ironies of _Studio 60_ is that while it’s more-or-less about the drama of making _Saturday Night Live_, a prime-time show that got the audience numbers of _Saturday Night Live_ could easily be considered a dismal failure. I hope it’s a success because I see potential in it, but I’m starting to suspect it might have been better suited to cable with a finite story arc (~two years), more freedom for profanity and adult humour and bigger tolerance for smaller audiences who are already self-selected against network formula. In that setting, Sorkin can be as elitist as he wants. ---
**Author:** ![FlightlessBird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cdc98d/32.png) [@FlightlessBird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlightlessBird)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/124 "2006-09-27T22:31:03Z")
[QUOTE=Gadarene] Wasn’t sufficiently funny to you or to enough people. I found it hilarious. (And poignant, and often more heart-wrenching than any four network dramas.) It was an odd bird, a half-hour comedy that wasn’t a sitcom, much like The Office. Neither the network nor the public really knew what to do with it. I wish TV could accommodate more shows like that. [/QUOTE] Just de-lurking for a **“Hear Hear!”** I can’t watch “What kind of day has it been” (Season 1 finale) without tearing up. or “Kyle Whitaker has two sacks” or … or … or, I’m gonna go watch them again. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/125 "2006-09-27T23:17:17Z")
[QUOTE=FlightlessBird] Just de-lurking for a **“Hear Hear!”** I can’t watch “What kind of day has it been” (Season 1 finale) without tearing up. or “Kyle Whitaker has two sacks” or … or … or, I’m gonna go watch them again. [/QUOTE] Which “What Kind of Day Has It Been,” the Sports Night one or the West Wing one? For that matter, anyone wanna take bets that the Studio 60 Season 1 finale is titled “What Kind of Day Has It Been”? ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/126 "2006-09-27T23:25:59Z")
Moderator coughs discretely: **Push** and **Otto** , you’re wandering dangerously close to “over the line” here. Personal insults are not permitted. ---
**Author:** ![SuperNelson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@SuperNelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNelson)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/127 "2006-09-27T23:33:11Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] I’m pretty sure it was _Joan of Arcadia_. She was a fairly important God avatar, dubbed by TWoP as Mrs. LandingGod. [/QUOTE] And later, _Desperate Housewives_, as Mrs. McClusky. ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/128 "2006-09-28T02:07:13Z")
[QUOTE=Charlie Tan] I really enjoy Perry. If you never watched Friends, you’d see him in a different light. He’s not channeling Chandler Bing, but a person way more troubled and dark. Perry is doing a great job. **And I think the duo is modelled from Parker and Stone.** [/QUOTE] :dubious: If you’re talking about Matt’n’Danny, they’re modelled after Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme. TommySchlammeTommySchlammeTommySchlamme … hee hee! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/129 "2006-09-28T03:30:45Z")
Thanks for the “reach around” definitions. Wow. :eek: Leave it to the Dope. I’m a little bummed that there have been so many references to Bush and Cheney on S4 already. I wouldn’t mind seeing President Matt Santos drop by the set, and do a double-take when he saw that the producer was a dead ringer for his White House chief of staff. Which gets me thinking… when will Bill Clinton be making an appearance, as himself? Hell, he could be the guest host. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/130 "2006-09-28T12:52:02Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] I’m a little bummed that there have been so many references to Bush and Cheney on S4 already. I wouldn’t mind seeing President Matt Santos drop by the set, and do a double-take when he saw that the producer was a dead ringer for his White House chief of staff. [/QUOTE] I’m pretty sure that these references were just to show how lazy the writers on the show had been before Matt and Danny got there. Matt was pretty annoyed by all the ideas at the writer’s meeting that had a lot of Bush knocking, and he reacted by coming up with that silly dress policy. I don’t think we’ll be seeing much more of those jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/131 "2006-09-28T15:32:08Z")
[QUOTE=Sean Factotum] I’m pretty sure that these references were just to show how lazy the writers on the show had been before Matt and Danny got there. Matt was pretty annoyed by all the ideas at the writer’s meeting that had a lot of Bush knocking, and he reacted by coming up with that silly dress policy. I don’t think we’ll be seeing much more of those jokes. [/QUOTE] No, she’s saying that she’s unhappy that Studio 60 in set in our real world rather than in the fictional world of The West Wing, and that it would have been fun to have crossovers from that program. That idea wouldn’t have worked at all, so it’s not surprising they didn’t go for it, but that’s not at all the same as complaining about Bush/Chaney jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/132 "2006-09-28T15:38:55Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] No, she’s saying that she’s unhappy that Studio 60 in set in our real world rather than in the fictional world of The West Wing, and that it would have been fun to have crossovers from that program. [/QUOTE] I would have enjoyed that, but I’ll settle for Rob Lowe or Martin Sheen guest-hosting for a week. ---
**Author:** ![jacquilynne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jacquilynne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacquilynne)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/133 "2006-09-28T16:35:57Z")
[Do you suppose it’s Danny’s baby?](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/28/AR2006092800795.html) ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/134 "2006-09-28T17:35:51Z")
[QUOTE=jacquilynne] [Do you suppose it’s Danny’s baby?](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/28/AR2006092800795.html) [/QUOTE] I’ve heard they’re not going to write it in. Get ready for lots of folder-holding, closeups and leaning around doorways. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/135 "2006-09-28T18:39:24Z")
[QUOTE=brianjedi] I’ve heard they’re not going to write it in. Get ready for lots of folder-holding, closeups and leaning around doorways. [/QUOTE] Hey, it worked for Debra Messing and Katey Segal. No reason why it shouldn’t here. And did I imagine this, or did I see a quick shot of Rob Reiner on stage, looking like he was doing the opening monologue as host of TSWIAS next week? ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/136 "2006-09-28T18:51:59Z")
[QUOTE=Sean Factotum] Hey, it worked for Debra Messing and Katey Segal. No reason why it shouldn’t here. [/QUOTE] It wasn’t very well done with Gillian Anderson in the second season of _X-Files_, but I really don’t care. I think I’d find it pretty amusing if Peet was obviously pregnant and it just seemed that nobody in Studio 60 noticed. > [@](#): > > And did I imagine this, or did I see a quick shot of Rob Reiner on stage, looking like he was doing the opening monologue as host of TSWIAS next week? I thought I saw the same thing, if that helps. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/137 "2006-09-28T18:59:08Z")
[QUOTE=Sean Factotum] Hey, it worked for Debra Messing and Katey Segal. No reason why it shouldn’t here. And did I imagine this, or did I see a quick shot of Rob Reiner on stage, looking like he was doing the opening monologue as host of TSWIAS next week? [/QUOTE] Yeah, he’s hosting next week. ---
**Author:** ![jlrepka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/22d042/32.png) [@jlrepka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlrepka)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/138 "2006-09-29T17:11:36Z")
**"You guessed it – Frank Stallone!"** From Defamer: Sports Night, 4/27/1999: Dana Whitaker (Felicity Huffman): [barges in] You are a sleazy, slimy, adolescent, over-sexed, overpaid blowhole! Studio 60, 9/25/2006: Harriet Hayes (Sarah Paulson): [barges in] You are an adolescent, over-sexed, whoremonger with the sensitivity of a head of cabbage. also: “…the Kids In The Hall’s Mark McKinney was hired on Studio 60 as a story editor, to oversee the series’ sketch elements. That’s the same McKinney who happened to be an SNL regular in 1995, when David Hyde Pierce performed a musical monologue set to–you guessed it-- The Major-General’s Song.” ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/139 "2006-09-29T17:29:27Z")
McKinney used to do a killer Steve Forbes. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104/140 "2006-09-29T18:16:37Z")
McKinney’s not the only one with sketch experience, either: “Jeannie with the light brown hair” is Ayda Field, formerly of the cast of “Blue Collar TV” on the WB. She’s done sketch comedy before, so that should help with the authenticity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/studio-60-9-25/374104.md?page=8)