TVSquad

HOLY CRAP BOB what a great episode!

The show-within-a-show was actually funny, Jack showed that he has an amazing heart beneath all of that bluster, Harriet pulled off some fantastic nuance in her scenes regarding her new job, the new writers finally seemed settled in and sure of themselves, and the New Orleans Christmas number was simply gorgeous. I normally hate Christmas carols, and their version absolutely choked me up.

This show is turning out to be simply fantastic. Between this and Dexter, I don't need any other TV.

I wouldn't be surprised if this script alone made NBC decide to order more episodes.

One thing I found odd: Everyone acted surprised about Jordan's pregnancy. She looked damn pregnant. Not 12 weeks to me. Of course, I lack the required equipment to speak for the pregnant.

-AC

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Good episode. We see some friendship dynamic between Danny and Matt, something the show hasn't examined in a while. The Santa/Dateline Predator sketch was actually pretty inspired. The New Orleans players gave me chills. A lot of wacky silliness with the snow, the Nazi Santa and other one-off jokes. Good chemistry between Whitfield and Peet. As far as I'm concerned, this was the best episode since the pilot.

Downsides? Harriet and Matt still have zero chemistry. Some of the jokes, like the one about Steve Wynn, have set-ups that are far too long and rely on too-cumbersome a premise (like a very complex name for a condition). Simon's and Tom's knowledge of the myths of Christmas didn't sound realistic (the dialogue, not the myths). And the FCC storyline was a tad heavy-handed.

But those are small compared to the overall pace and tone of the episode, which really reminded me of the glory days of "Sports Night." I hope Sorkin has kept this in mind while writing the next few episodes.

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Wow. This episode was really great. That Chris Hansen Santa Clause sketch was hilarious! I was laughing my ass off, especially when he asked Santa if he thought it was appropriate for him to be visiting a 13 year old girl in the middle of the night. Classic.

I remember years ago seeing all of those stats about the physics required for Santa to exist. They really were quoting a story there that can be found on the internet.

I am glad that Matt kissed Harriet. I was really worried that they would continue to dance around the two of them much like Casey and Dana in Sports Night.

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As a Canadian I was able to see this episode last night. I did, and I watched it again tonight. Probably the best episode that the series has done so far, but then I've said that a few times already. "Studio 60" got off to a rocky start, but I'm convinced that it is improving every week. My only regret is that so few people are watching the show, even if they are the right people.

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Definitely the best episode yet, but I was annoyed by the ads they showed during Heroes. I saw the episode before it aired (aired in Canada yesterday..though I'm not in Canada *cough*) and they revealed a few jokes and the fact that Matt and Harriet kiss.

It will be interesting to see Danny try to "get" Jordan...Amanda Peet was looking good. The FCC storyline was a good attack on the FCC...they are just ridiculous.

Agreed on the Santa as a predator sketch...definitely the funniest thing they have shown (perhaps the only one). The ending was perfect, but what the hell was Kevin Eubanks doing there? He looked so robotic. Why don't they just make the network NBS instead of NBC...what with them promoting Deal Or No Deal last week. (And 30 Rock already says its NBC..so I bet it's not of a problem).

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STUDIO 60 HAS OFFICIALLY FOUND ITS STRIDE

I have been complaining about this show, yet I've been hanging in, knowing that it would take a while for the show to gel and come together.

Tonight that happened. The Aaron Sorkin magic is finally back. It started the last 15 minutes when Studio 60 actually had a funny skit and the characters really showed who they are and what they are about. Every one of them, from Ed Asner to Steven Weber and their interaction, from Bradley Whitford's revelation to Amanda Peet and Matthew Perry's kiss of Sarah Paulson.

Thank you NBC for keeping this show on and to all the producers and writers . . . keep us on the edge and don't give up.

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Over the summer I basically watched the two seasons of Sports Night. I liked the show back when it aired. I loved The West Wing. There are times when Studio 60 gives me flashbacks to the two other Sorkin shows. This was definitely one of them.

The banter between Matt and Cal in the beginning of the show as they were walking down the hall reminded me a lot of Dan and Casey from Sports Night. Also the sub-theme of men being men (as opposed to over-sized little boys) was one that flowed through Sports Night too. So it was nice to see the better aspects of Sports Night flowing through the show.

For a while, I was wondering if Bradley Whittford's (Danny) character was going to end up like Rob Lowe's in The West Wing, in that once The West Wing got started Rob's character (Sam) didn't seem to add very much to the show. I was worried that Bradley's character was going down the same path. It was nice to see some of those fears put aside in this episode. He's a great actor and it's good to seem with quality material.

I loved the scene where Harriet punched Matt in the stomach. It cracked me up. It was kind of funny to see Sorkin get in his anti-religion comments in the show in an actually funny way with all the writing staff's debunking of Christmas and driving Matt up a wall.

Aaron Sorkin was (still is?) reported to be pretty much a control freak over his shows. Sports Night's second season suffered as a result of this (hence the whole Dana telling Casey go date other people) since he was writing the first season of The West Wing at the same time. I wonder if he's learned his lesson and actually allows others to write more.

On a tangent, John Wells should never be allowed to take over the reigns of any quality TV show ever again. He took over The West Wing and you could see the quality just drop. He also took over ER, and god what awful seasons came about for that show (the same helicopter dropping on Romano?).

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I have watched every episode of this show, and it has largely been a tedious, laborious, speech-y, plood-y and often boring experience. I have held on after twice deleting the season from my DVR and adding it back before the next episode aired because it's Aaron Sorkin and I kept hoping it would arrive.

And during the last ten minutes tonight, it did. Danny/Jordan, Matt/Harriet, the FCC story and the New Orleans story came together in a "West Wing"-worthy swirl with genuine emotional impact. Solid, solid, solid episode.

Now, I just hope the crew can keep it moving forward, people will start watching, and it gets another season.

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Studio 60 has not hit its stride. It was always great. I disagree with the quick kiss from Matt. There's a reason why he cant do that. It's called professionalism. He shouldnt date ppl in his work place. Despite it being true love or what not. Sure, if they were co-workers. But he's the boss. If he wanted to be with her, he should demote himself to writer and let someone else be producer. That's the only logical way they should be together. It's not good leadership. It's not Matt.

And Jordan was lying to Director Guy. It was her assistant she was boning, not the insurance movie snitch.
Danny says, "Me and your assistant were the only ones you told?" Danny questioned earlier that your ex told you that he would pay for the expenses, neh? She said, "Yeah."

In order for these statements to lego, she would have to be lying about something. The identity of the father is her asian assistant.

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The Dateline sketch is by far the best sketch idea they've had so far in the series - SNL needs to seriously consider using it.

Excellent episode. Loved every second of it. Great ending to the first half of the season.

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One of the things that I have felt that this show has been lacking, at least since the pilot, is not enough Bradley Whitford letting go and spewing out snappy line after line, and that he had become a flat character. However, the OBGYN scene truly hearkened back to Bradley from the West Wing, snappy lines, great chemistry, and more than just a bump on a log. I hope they focus on him and Jordan a bit more, since they seem to have a better romantic chemistry than Matt and Harriet(even though they had a better night tonight with that passionate kiss).

And I am in complete agreement in the Catch a Predator sketch being the funniest show with-in the show moment so far, even though the Deal or No Deal monologue made me chuckle, but I think that was more of Bradley Whitford getting to be a bit snarky and sarcastic.

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Bob: (I didn't see this corrected above, so I thought I'd throw it in) The guy trying to date Harry is a former boyfriend, and director, not her agent.

Great episode!

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great show. im glad everyone else liked it too. i was a little worried id read the comments and everyone else would be blustering about how crappy studio 60 still is. the opening sequence with jordan and danny was amazing (best scene the show has done) and the rest of the show didn't let up.

if they just show less of the 'show within a show' and more of the interactions amongst the people on the show (within the show) i will be more than happy to recommend this show to my friends.

im finally beginning to warm to amanda peet. and they really couldn't have moved this story along fast enough for her. she went from maybe pregnant to really showing in a matter of days (yes i know why).

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Re: the inncorrect reindeer names part, they are only half right. The original story had "Dunder and Blixum" (Belgium, I believe, for 'thunder and lightning'). Over the years it has changed to "Donner and Blitzen" (German for 'thunder and lighting'), but NOT as Simon charged it, suddenly by one guy who 'got it wrong.'

If anyone should know, it's me, as Blitzen is my actual middle name (Christmas birthday, of course.)

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Definitely the best episode of the series so far. Classic Sorkin. But still not really feeling the whole Danny/Jordan relationship, I don't see any romantic chemistry at all. It just feels really forced for some reason.

Other than that, loved it. Hitler Santa, an actual funny skit, debunking Christmas... still wish they would use the Jeannie character more. On the other hand I love how much Cal they've been showing recently. He's awesome.

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Every Corona beer runs an ad that features a beach-side hut and a palm tree lit up with Christmas lights, and then the graphics say Feliz Navidad to the side.

I always felt that pretty much summed up Christmas out here.

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Re 15 - Eric Philbin:

Belgian isn't a language. The Belgians speak French and/or Dutch. Substitute 'Belgian' for 'Dutch' and you got it right: Donder is Dutch for thunder. Bliksem is Dutch for lightning. Holland is also the country where we're celebrating Sinterklaas today, the source for Santa Claus as someone mentioned on the show.

Sinterklaas is a gift-giving feast, quite unlike Christmas of the olden days. Early Dutch pilgrims brought the holiday with them to the Dutch territories in the New World (New York, Pennsylvania) and the feast spread from there.

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It's a good show, but I still keep coming away from it wanting something more out of it. The big issue moments sometimes feel forced and Amanda Peet never seems that real to me in this role. I'm still not buying into her character 100% at this point. It was a good episode though, and I'd like to see more Nate and his romantic pursuit-capades.

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I loved the chemistry between Jordan and Danny. At the moment this is mainly what keeps me intersted in the show. The opening scene was hilarious, especially the part where Danny was reading from that pregnancy-book and told Jordan she has to hide her eggs in the sand. Had me cracking up.
I still find myself not caring that much for the "Studio 60"-show (although or maybe because I work in television). I do not believe they wouldn't have hired some writers by now. Even when they are just interns... One of them will have an idea and the "pros" will go on from there. I simply cannot buy that the whole show is written by four or five guys of whom two are the producers and certainly don't have enough time for it.
But nevertheless I liked this episode. And "Studio 60" now has gained some ranks in my mental "need-to-watch-it-as-soon-as-possible"-order ;-)

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