We are up to Ep 5 and I am greatly enjoying the show, I liked the writer's room being bawled out and coming back to 'respect', the near 'live' atmosphere of the show within a show production is essentially captured as far as I can ask an entertainment show to bother, the secondary characters are slightly more than two dimensional but not so much that they distract from the Leads (until the secondaries are required for special duty 'filler episodes', no doubt). But the selling point of the show is the burgeoning love story of the three leads (MMF), and how will it all pan out?

In the Death Watch thread hereabouts there is mention of the TV executive character being caught in the headlamps, but I think that is really how silly and fun the whole show is supposed to be. And like in Apocalypse Now, I imagine they are taking a journey, and most of the characters are trying not to get off the boat in a pre-destined journey over which they have no control. Enjoy the ride? So far, so good!

Well, her character's name is "McDeere".

I've taken this off of my Tivo. I find it criminally unfunny, and the characters unlikeable.

I think one critic was right on(and I wish I could remember who!), when they said they found the show "pretentious and boring".

After West Wing, I find this to be a huge disappointment!

Well, just to balance out the pros and cons...

I have grown to love this show. It took me about three episodes. The first couple felt like WEST WING REDUX, with the truly important issues of government being replaced by the inanities of network television. However, I think that Sorkin is slowly, but surely, making his case that comedy, and television, are important cultural touchstones. I was having issues in the first few episodes with the fact that the "Studio 60" comedy sketches just weren't that funny. This last episode, however, remedied that. I actually found the show-within-a-show to very funny. I'm eager to return to Bradley Whitford's character (he's kind of been in the background lately) but I love the non-coupling of Matthew Perry and Sarah Pauley. Pauley is wonderful. By mid-season, I fully expect to want to have her children.

I think it's great. I love the irreverent, but still holy, approach it takes to comedy. Good stuff.

D.

Studio 60 Was Better When It First Came Out

I'm about ready to give up on STUDIO 60. It's the insufferable smugness of it that I find intolerable. The Sarah Paulson character doesn't work for me at all. I find her even more hard to buy than the Amanda Peet character. In one episode, she had her castmates saying a prayer before the show. Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't some of these characters declared themselves aetheists or at least non-religious people? Why would they say a prayer before the show?

God only knows.

I finally caught an episode of this and was left pretty cold. It's not amusing enough to be a dramedy and not interesting enough to be a drama.

I swear a full five minutes of the episode was a monologue about one of the character's upbringing (with a very slow zoom in on her to try to make the boring words strung together interesting), followed by another five minutes of Sting playing a lute while everyone stands around saying how cool he is.

All in all, I found the dialogue was flat and the characters and narrative predictable. It takes a special talent to take a premise like the backstage world of a SNL-styled show and make it tedious.

You have Blacklisted character played by Eli Wallach saying 'nobody is funnier than the Marx Bros, mebbe Phil Silvers'. The tears are rolling down my cheeks (in admiration), and what with the 'liberal guilt' I feel over the Black Comedian segment (who needs the shrill politics of Boston Legal - I do!!!), I now say - if you are not in for this ride, then I am sorry you have missed out.
This episode cemented my trust in the show (trust which can be dropped, should the mood take), as I look at a generally barren wasted land of TV this season.

Sting Watch - Sting is mentioned as 'on-set', but does not seemingly appear in this episode, with or without a lute.

The Sting episode was my sole exposure to the work of TVs wunderkind, but THIS PARODY had me chuckling...

Plug Being Pulled?

Relive the early days when hope filled the air! Interviews with cast members and pilot scenes, and then one more cast interview.
Click on their Studio 60 TV link on the right panels on the homepage.
...or try a direct link
Will the show survive the next few weeks? I'd miss it, for sure!

I really felt they were trying to inject more humor into the show in this week's episode. John Goodman does a great turn as a cranky Nevada sheriff. The episode reminded me in a general way of SEINFELD because they start by setting up what looks like a crazy situation and then with flashback narratives everything is gradually explained.
A little forced, but the humor that runs thru the whole thing really made it for me. Possibly the most outright enjoyable episode so far. Really hope this show survives. With all the tweaks it might need, it's one of the smartest things on network TV.

Today's NY Times reports that STUDIO 60 has been given a full season order, but that it may move from Monday nights.

Every time I see John Goodman now I think of the line they gave him on THE WEST WING, where his character confesses he's two prime ribs away from cardiac arrest. It's funny 'cuz it's true!

The incident outside Mel's Drive-In didn't work for me (at which point I stopped watching; there is always a point at which I stop watching this show and it's never less than 30 minutes from the executive producer credit)... as drawn, I just don't see Sara Paulson's character not being able to express herself to the men who approached her about her out-of-contex quote. It felt forced and fake.

Likewise, as an Angeleno, it bugged me that they had these characters decamp to Mel's Drive-In on Highland for a snack break; it's not on the Sunset Strip and (while Mel's is not far as the crow flies from the Strip), it would be a very aggravating drive at that time of night. There's actually a Mel's closer to the Strip than this. On The Strip!

Putting aside the plausibility of the cast members running lines over a meal at Mel's, if the location of Studio 60 on the show is the same as the location of the Hollywood Palladium, then going to the Mel's on Highland would be a much easier drive than going to the one way all the way over on Sunset. But really, they could have found a better place to go eat in L.A., even late at night.

After my trip to L.A. last month, I'm now a big fan of In-N-Out Burger!

If that's the case, then they may be "live" but "on the Sunset Strip" they are not. The Sunset Strip is a relatively short span of asphalt, stretching from Crescent Hights at its eastern limit to Doheny to the West.

You'll have to come back. Fatburger is where it's at.

Burgers, schmurgers...if they ate hot dogs at Pink's, maybe I'd watch. :)

Bob (who likes In-and-Out and Fatburgers, too.)

I liked Fatburger too, but I think In-N-Out has the edge. I liked The Stand's patty melt too.

Marty, you're insane! Well, OK, maybe not, but Fatburger for me, 100%. And Vernors Ginger Ale when I'm in Michigan, but that's a whole other thread.

Oh, and I gave up on SUNSET; it just grew boring to me, despite liking Perry, Peet and Webber.

But then, I like SIX DEGREES, which just got yanked before what looked like an interesting episode. Of course, as I suspected, once they hired Campbell Scott, best unheralded actor on earth, they pretty much handed the show over to him. Some characters have become extremely peripheral while he gets all the meaningful close-ups before commercial break.

I don't like a burger that preaches to me.

I have to agree with Marty. Rally's has the best fries but In-n-Out handily wins the burger war. I was one double-double animal-style away from a cardiac arrest when I lived in LA. I lost 20 lbs. when I left.

REVELATION 3:20 (burger and cheeseburger wrappers): Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

JOHN 3:16 (soda cups): For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

PROVERBS 3:5 (milkshake cups): Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

NAHUM 1:7 (Double-Double wrapper): The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.

The secret secret menu's here, but please note I have nothing to do with "the billy."

Um...is that a joke, that there are bible verses on the food containers? We've got an In-N-Out here, but I never felt compelled to visit it. Someone brought me one of their burgers and fries once while I was working, and it was...well, a burger and fries. Eh.

Give me something from a Mom N' Pop any day.

1. It's not a joke.

2. In-N-Out Burgers are just great, the best in L.A. Now I want to go there later today.

3. Fair point on the location of the actual Sunset Strip. Even if they are supposed to be that far east, hopefully the show will make better use of the geography around the studio in coming episodes.

4. The hot dogs at Pink's are very good, but it's never worth waiting in those lines. Go in the morning, it's not crowded yet.

5. The one time I flipped by SIX DEGREES was right in the middle of a wacky music montage of Cambell Scott trying on clothes. I immediately changed the channel and never went back.

6. As a Sorkin fan, I'm glad the show got picked up for the back nine. But I really hope it gets better than it's been so far.

I've gone at lunch time and encountered minimal lines; you can get lucky but like as not you'll be out in the sun for a good 20-30 minutes. Still, I've waited half an hour and not been the poorer for it (except monetarily) and the genius of Pinks is that there's always a table. Some day they'll have the good sense to rename the bacon burrito dog "The Harland." (And if Harland Williams wants to pretend they named it after him, I'm big enough to let him. But people won't be talking about Harland Williams by then.)

Fatburger and In-N-Out aplenty in this thread, but no love among the Angelenos for the late, lamented Jayburger? Yeah, In-N-Out is really good, and I've eaten there more than a few times whenever I've been in LA, but the Jayburger with chili and a fried egg on top was without peer.

Never have made it to Pink's yet, but I enjoyed the ambiance at Tail O' The Pup, even if the food itself was pretty underwhelming - can't say I wasn't forewarned that it would be so.

Dave "five-buck gourmand"

Jayburger was terrific and it is sorely missed--I just drove by the former site yesterday--but it seemed even more off-topic than the discussion had already become.


Hey! STUDIO 60's on tonight!

It looks like STUDIO 60 will last out the season. That's good.

But this week's episode was my least favorite so far. It had an overwritten feel, with everybody spouting clever dialog a mile-a-minute (not in itself a bad thing, but this week it felt forced). I hated the plot thread of the two guys following Harriet around and trying to get her to change her mind about doing the magazine layout---much, too much of a not very good thing. Hoping for a better one next week

I like Sarah Paulson and I enjoyed seeing her semi-naked. Cherry Jones is so lucky to get to tap that.

I don't buy Amanda Peet one bit.

Am I the only one who thinks Matthew Perry looks like he's slept his entire life on his face?

I like so many people in this show that I'm surprised it doesn't work for me. But it doesn't. I gave up on this episode at 26 minutes and change.

Haven't yet seen this week's show, but I've been watching STUDIO 60 from the beginning. I think it's a victim of the audience's high expectations--not that it's totally unjustified considering Sorkin's lofty (deserved) reputation. I think much of the criticism aimed at it is baffling. STUDIO 60 is almost exactly the same show as SPORTS NIGHT and THE WEST WING, two excellent shows. Many of the disparaging remarks aimed at STUDIO 60 (not necessarily on this forum) could easily have been aimed at Sorkin's earlier series if the critics were picky enough, but they weren't. Perhaps because Sorkin was not as much fun to poke holes in when those shows debuted.

STUDIO 60, at this point, is not as good as those shows, but I suspect it can eventually be. Remember that WEST WING's first season was plagued with superfluous characters (bye-bye, Moira Kelly) and uninteresting subplots (so long, hooker Lisa Edelstein) before Sorkin found his way. There's already a lot to like about STUDIO 60, and I think Sorkin has earned a little slack (one step he needs to take is to give Tim Busfield's character more screen time).

Marty, I'm just happy you're watching something other than Chuck Norris and LAW & ORDER.

Egad, I just saw the other "live" TV comedy sitcom. If I had trouble getting behind the preciousness of STUDIO 60, at least it didn't make me feel sad and embarrassed for it, as I did during last night's 30 ROCK. Egad, not since David Lynch's abysmal ON THE AIR have I felt (Alec Baldwin excepted) such abject pity for everyone involved.

Gee, I didn't see last nights, but I thought 30 ROCK's been very funny, particularly the super-sized episode they had previously, with the lengthy "outtakes" of Alec Baldwin's taped commercial and the "muffin top" musical number at the end...

I was happy to see a new cast member Mark McKinney on Studio 60, who was originally brought in to advise about sketches based on his experience gained from the time when he was one of The Kids In The Hall.

And for those of you with burgers still on their mind, a segment from this week's Studio 60 addressed your complaints about lack of meat in their writing, from TV.com, "Danny Tripp (to Martha O'Dell): Reporters who write dumb stories about friends of mine watch the show at the In-N-Out Burger down the street."

In-N-Out Burger is a family-owned chain of hamburger restaurants that started in Southern California in 1948. Very popular, the chain is widely known for low prices, their fresh burgers, shakes and fries, and the fact that most of the restaurants are open 24 hours. The meat for the burgers are shipped fresh, not frozen, from a single processing facility. This limits the number of In-N-Out restaurants, due to driving distances, to Southern California, although some restaurants are now open in Northern California, Nevada and Arizona."

Based on the improved ratings of last night's 30 ROCK, NBC picked up the previously endangered sitcom for the full season. Where the hell is Baldwin's Emmy ("I'm waiting for a call from 1983.")??

I liked McKinney too last week. He was listed with the guest stars, so I don't know if he'll become a full-time cast member or not.

I liked Brad Whitford's Lorne-Michaels-esque onstage bit with Howie Mandel.

We've got one up north in Chico, CA...about 500 miles away.

That's not a very reassuring thing to know about the meat.

NBC's new Thursday night comedy block held up pretty well against the competition in its debut. I'm surprised 30 ROCK and SCRUBS weren't switched in the scheduling; 30 ROCK is a more complementary show to THE OFFICE, while SCRUBS is a more effective lead-in to E.R. (which I think it might have been when it debuted, or was it always on Tuesdays?). SCRUBS is as always a quirky show, one that over the weeks will probably turn off a lot of viewers who might not stick around for the new 30 ROCK. And after a reprieve last year I think this is its swan song. It's not like E.R., which has held solidly against the competition, needs a strong lead-in.

Don't get me wrong; I like SCRUBS, even if its brand of flippant whimsy is not the kind of thing I miss when it's not on. It's surprising it has sustained itself in its same basic form for six seasons now. But what was with the newly mussed and moussed hairstyles for Zach Braff and John C. McGinley? 80's flashback time.

STUDIO 60's Christmas Show was the best episode yet. Whitford, Perry, Weber and Busfield are flat-out great, I like the unlikely friendship between Corddry and Hughley, the Santa Claus/DATELINE sketch was funny, and the New Orleans piece was wonderful. This show seems to be getting better all the time, as I predicted. While some of the romantic relationships still seem a bit difficult to buy, they aren't as hard to believe as a network president with guts.