(S01E02) If it's possible, this second episode was even better than the first.
Where the first episode took a lot of time introducing all of the various characters (it had to, with such a large cast), this one jumps right into the action, and the episode is borderline brilliant. It's Monday morning, three days after the events of the first episode, and Jordan McDeere starts her first full day as the new president of NBS by holding a press conference to introduce Matt and Danny.
Of course, things don't go as planned...
As Jordan takes questions from the audience, most of them about Wes' on-air meltdown that she refuses to answer, Matt and Danny are backstage waiting to be introduced. They're talking about why Danny sent Matt home for the weekend, and why he sent Jeanie home with him. Danny explains that Matt was in no shape to be alone or to work (those painkillers), but Matt tells Danny that Harriet doesn't know that he and Jeanie used to date.
(Side note: people who want to write TV scripts should record this scene and study it closely. It's amazing how much information that Aaron Sorkin packs into the scene, how many storylines and characters he talks about, amazing how he sets the tone and mood of the episode, and it doesn't even remotely seem forced.)
Matt and Danny do really well at the press conference, until the last question, from a reporter for Rapture magazine. Jack asks if the Rapture is what he thinks it is, and it is. The woman asks about the "Crazy Christians" sketch that Danny wrote years ago and was cut from last week's show, whether or not it will be in the show this week. When Matt tries to say he doesn't know yet, Danny says that it will definitely be in. Oh, and this is after Danny told the crowd about his cocaine problem and Jordan guaranteed the show this week will be fantastic and will bring NBS to the top again.
They have a lot to live up to.
Matt has to come up with a "cold open," the very first sketch that opens the show. He meets with the writing staff, but none of their ideas click. He finally gets an idea from something Cal says, and with the help of Simon and Tom and Danny, he has the cold open (I won't give it away here, but it involves a symphony orchestra, white tuxes, and WS Gilbert).
To explore further what I said above, Sorkin's writing is beautiful. Sure, his characters always know the right thing to say, but I like watching smart, funny characters on television (there's already enough of the opposite on TV). And it's amazing how every scene is a little gem, yet fits into the flow and structure of the episode as a whole. You find out more about the characters (why Simon is mad at Danny, the reasons behind Matt and Harriet's break up, etc) than you do in a whole season of other shows. There's a fantastic moment where Jack (Weber) shows some humor and humanity. I won't say what the line is, but you have to know a little TV sitcom history to get it, and it made me smile.
The only part of the episode that rings false to me is the TV blogger bashing. And, no, I don't say this because I write for a TV blog. The blog in question is "Bernadette's Blog" (hmmm...is it based on any real blog? Kristin over at E Online? Television Without Pity?). Simon (Hughley) advises Tom (Cordrry) not to read the internet because Bernadette "is writing it in her pajamas" and "has a freezer full of Jenny Craig and five cats." Now, I think those are funny lines, but it seems like something someone would say about the web circa, what, 1999?
But that's a minor quibble, because this is the best new show of the year, easily. It's truly entertaining, smart, and well done in all ways. Every bit of the hype was justified. I just hope the audience sticks with it.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-25-2006 @ 11:00PM
Rich Keller said...
There we go! This is what I remember from 'The West Wing'. The dialogue, the humor, it was all back. As you say, definitely a better episode than the premiere. Mostly due to the fact that we began to see the interaction between all of the main characters. Very good. And, the cold open itself? SNL, are you watching this?
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9-25-2006 @ 11:12PM
SJ said...
I am what you would call a Sorkin-virgin, and I am really liking the show so far. The cast is perfect and so is the writing. The set design also provides a great mood. I still wish though that Amanda Peet provide a few more expressions rather than just being smug all the time.
Btw, was that fat guy in the opening sketch singing alongwith D.L Hughley the guy from the CapitalOne ads with David Spade? He's been around for a while doing commercials and its good to see him finally join a TV show.
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9-25-2006 @ 11:18PM
Danny Cohen said...
I want to see the writing staff more. There was Hurley's (Lost) Dave in the room!
It was a good episode.
I half-believed that they were not going to show the Cold Open.
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9-25-2006 @ 11:21PM
J. Free said...
Ok, the overpraising on this show is getting a bit ridiculous. Was the episode good? Yes. "Borderline brilliant"? Not quite. Don't get me wrong, the show is very good and definitely worth watching, but you guys are so hungry for a show to be obsessed with that you are raising it above what it actually is (at this point). Give it time to be brilliant; if it is already brilliant, it has no where to go but down.
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9-25-2006 @ 11:25PM
caelumluna said...
After seeing this episode, maybe they should also give SNL to these guys.
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9-25-2006 @ 11:34PM
Tess Capra said...
No one is a bigger Sorkin fan than I am, but I got a definite "bag of tricks" feeling from this episode. The Gilbert & Sullivan, the "good show" pre-air salutation, the disdain for fundamentalists, the hatred of bloggers are all very tried and true. Shoot, every time someone mentioned Danny, I looked around for Josh Charles or Tom Cruise or Timothy Busfield -- and since Busfield is *also* recycled, it made me dizzy.
Of course, recycled Sorkin is still better than almost anyone else's brand spankin' new. I wouldn't dream of watching anything else in this time slot.
One quibble: The orchestra was supposedly the musical guest? I don't think so. Great for the opening, but they'd still have wanted a big draw for the rest of the show.
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9-25-2006 @ 11:37PM
hessian said...
Sorkin should know that Little Rock-Pine Bluff isn't a dinky market - it's market #57, not exactly small potatoes.
If he's going to continue to make religion part of this show, he'd better start respecting it. You can't lump all the 'red states' into Hicksville just to make yourself feel superior.
Truth be know, if there was a religious based boycott by afilliates, the state of Mississippi would have been well represented. I lived in Jackson, MS when NYPD BLUE debuted. Not a single ABC station in the state carried it.
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9-25-2006 @ 11:43PM
Eric C. said...
Speaking as a fellow Sorkin mostly virgin, I'm also digging the show a lot; the acting and the writing especially's top notch. Suprised too on the actual cold open; I won't spoil it, but it brought the show to a nice climax, gusto and all.
If this is what we get every time NBC falls down to fourth place and greenlights something good, then let me be the first to say that I'm hoping NBC hits bottom again in a few fall seasons.
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9-26-2006 @ 12:09AM
Carissa said...
Why is this borderline brilliant? Seriously, what, in everyone's who is reading this opinion, is it that is so great. I don't get emotional, overly stimulated, chills, laugh or anything else, so I just don't know what earns such praise. I didn't like the opening sketch. And calling bloggers hacks when, honestly, they (and this site) do represent what America likes to see (our voice in the past was viturally unheard in Emmy and Oscar arenas) so I was just wondering. Thanks for whatever you may post as informative info...
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9-26-2006 @ 12:14AM
M. Stephen Lukac said...
On the recycled front, there was also Jack's "If anyone can think of a new way for us to screw up" comment, which brought back fond memories of John Spencer, so I'll forgive it.
Classic Sorkin this week, and no, it wasn't "near brilliant."
It was dead brilliant.
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9-26-2006 @ 12:26AM
gkz said...
the writing on this show is brilliant. if you cant' see/comprehend that, don't watch...
btw, sportsnight was by far the best show on tv... it only proves how dumb america is.
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9-26-2006 @ 1:14AM
Dorv said...
I've got to agree with everyone, this show is great. Ok, so not so much everyone. Folks that disagree: Sorry, we think its great. We're ok with the fact that you don't. Maybe you'll come around, maybe you won't. I hope you do.
I loved all of the nods Sorkin has done back to his old work. Several were mentioned here, but I haven't seen the old, "You'll find I'm making a lot of decisions" (or however it was phrased) brought up yet. I could have done with out Whitford saying it, but hey, I loved Josh.
Someone mentioning Danny (Danny, Danny, and Danny), makes me wonder who Sorkin's originally Danny was... Father possibly?
I miss the West Wing though. I was a government major in college, so I always understood what was going on (though I loved the way things got explained). While I'm as much of a TV fan as the next guy, I don't think I will get as many of the in-jokes here. Oh well :)
The writing, was, as mentioned, superb. The acting was spot on as well. I'm glad we got to see Evan Handler tonight (That's your boy Dave from Lost. His best TV work, IMHO, was on Sex in the City). I hope the PA (who only got one scene tonight), gets a little more airtime.
Sorry again for those that didn't like it much. I will watch it again tonight later!
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9-26-2006 @ 1:25AM
Jeff said...
"You can't lump all the 'red states' into Hicksville just to make yourself feel superior."
It doesn't hurt. ;)
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9-26-2006 @ 2:12AM
Jeffsmith said...
I really feel the show cheats itself when it goes the route of the elitest liberal Hollywood show. Its a well written funny show but just comes to a screeching hault when Sorkin starts taking pot shots at the midwest. People there are the same as people in New York or L.A. Normal people living life....not bible thumping over every little thing, even though main stream media would want you to think that. I thought this show was a step back from last week.
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9-26-2006 @ 3:43AM
Danny said...
I believe Sorkin was thinly veiling the blogger reference to Wonkette.
Also, did anyone notice a character named Kayla? I'm thinking she was named after Kayla Blake (aka "Kim" from Sports Night).
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9-26-2006 @ 4:25AM
Suzie said...
It's fine for Sorkin to lump everyone in the red states into a cultural stereotype -- though you'd think a genius would be smarter than that -- but he needs to understand it's a turn-off to many red-staters who would otherwise agree with him. That's "turn-off" as in what many of them wind up doing to your shows, Aaron, not because they don't love them, but because they get tired of being insulted.
When Sports Night was fighting for its life, I cringed every time he went on one of his rants, not only because I feared the loss of viewers, but also because that aspect of his work always seems one-dimensional and less than what I expect from him. You see it coming and think, Oh, dear, Aaron's about to take a moment from the story to make sure we all know he's morally superior to anybody who disagrees with him.
Show, not tell -- a principle his work usually embodies with effortless grace. He doesn't have to keep forcing his way into his scripts, pounding his fists, telling us to "get it". Why can't he trust us to be perceptive enough to "get it" through his amazingly complex characters and the way they relate to one another?
He has such talents. His writing is subtle and nuanced and breathtaking. He has the ability to create characters who are as rich and multi-dimensional as any we've ever seen on television. I only wish he trusted them to play out the story, to show us what it is to love your work and the people you work with, how difficult -- and how essential -- to strive every day to be true to yourself. Maybe if he'd let them, his characters could teach him a thing or two about tolerance and kindness and how much we have to learn from one another.
Aren't we all weary of people barging into our lives, telling us that they're right and we're wrong and dismissing our values because they aren't their own? Why can't Sorkin see he's doing the same thing he criticizes in others?
I would never want Sorkin to compromise his writing for ratings points, but with every series, I keep hoping he'll find a way to correct this serious flaw in his otherwise brilliant work. From what I've seen of the new show, I guess I'm still hoping.
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9-26-2006 @ 6:16AM
Textbook Case said...
To me. the show is just weak, with completely unconvincing characters and ham-fisted pontificating shoehorned in wherever possible. Many points are cringe-inducingly embarassing, but I get the feeling the actors and writers buy it 100%.
I'm new to Aaron Sorkin, and now I know why. This is television for people who want think they like smart TV, and believe television is more important than it is. The grandiose production and feel just don't match up with the community theater subject matter.
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9-26-2006 @ 8:00AM
David said...
It is smart TV and just because you can't see that doesn't make the rest of us dummies.
The show isn't great I still like West Wing and Sports Night more, but they had more than two episodes to base it on. The opening to the the epsisode was classic and the ending was so great. The episode was much better than the first.
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9-26-2006 @ 7:58AM
eugene said...
i think it's nice when sorkin uses lines from previous shows. it's a nice nod to the fans and for those who aren't familiar it's not like they're out of place... i liked all TWW nods, and the "let's eat 'em up" at the beginning.
i don't think the blog "rant" was circa mid 90s. in contrast to sites like this, they were talking about a very amateurish blog (coffin spelled with the ough...). and not to say that amateurs and everyday people can't have cogent, thoughtful blogs, but something like gross misspellings tend to limit the amount of credibility a blog has.
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9-26-2006 @ 8:23AM
Lacey said...
Of all the NEW shows I've seen this season, this one is my favorite so far.
The first episode was good, the second was great, and now that all the basic "setting up the show" stuff is out of the way, I have high hopes for the rest of the season.
I just hope it doesn't get canceled. I'm sick of getting into shows and then losing them. lol
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