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Posts with tag AaronSorkin

Sports Night 10th anniversary box set coming this fall

Sports NightLast month Bob Sassone mentioned a rumor that a 10th anniversary Sports Night DVD set was in the works. Fans will be happy to learn that the anniversary edition of Sports Night: The Complete Series has a release date of September 30. Shout! Factory is releasing the eight-DVD box set, which includes all forty-five episodes of the series as well as two discs of new bonus features.

The box set costs $69.99 and contains a 10th anniversary book, behind-the-scenes featurettes, new interviews, blooper reels, commentaries by the cast and creative team, and deleted scenes. A complete series box set has been available since 2002, but that version had no special features.

Continue reading Sports Night 10th anniversary box set coming this fall

Eight real world moments in reel TV

Boston Red SoxThe world of primetime TV are primarily set in the real world. The real world based on the fiction they create. So, Law and Order -- in all its incarnations -- is set in New York City, but it's not the real five boroughs. The newspapers they read are not The New York Times, the Post or the Daily News. For contemporary TV fiction, reality is on the margins of the storytelling because you can't really set those characters in a real world. However, when the two worlds intersect, the results can be magic. Here's 8 big-time, primetime examples:

1) Cowboy Up Time
Remember the episode of Lost when Ben wanted to convince Jack that he was in communication with the world outside the island? To prove that he was telling the truth, he showed Jack a video of the Boston Red Sox winning the world series in 2004. You can't get more real than that, right? And yet it was used in one of the most out of this world shows on the air. In fact, using Lost's own terminology, the Red Sox video is a constant truth in a universe that's a complete fiction.

Gallery: Fact in Fiction

Two and a Half MenKenneth on 30 RockWicked on Ugly BettyWelcome to The CaptainEli Stone - George Michael

Continue reading Eight real world moments in reel TV

The reason I'm rooting for Studio 60

Here's rooting for Matt PerryIf you are avid readers of TV Squad you know that Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is taking a little break. Okay, it may be taking a long break. All right, the next time we see it may be on the Brilliant But Cancelled website! Regardless of whether or not it returns to the NBC schedule (which is should, since it does have a full order) I am still rooting for the show. Not because of Aaron Sorkin, or the subject matter, or even for the walk-and-talks. I am rooting for Studio 60 to succeed due to one cast member . . . Sarah Paulson as Harriet Hayes.

Oh, wait a minute. That's for my 'The reason I'm NOT rooting for Studio 60' post. Who I meant to mention was Matt Perry as Matt Albie. Well, also Bradley Whitford as Danny Tripp, Amanda Peet as Jordan McDeere, D.L. Hughley as Simon Stiles, and pretty much everyone else on the cast except Harriet Hayes. But, mostly I'm rooting for Matt Perry.

Continue reading The reason I'm rooting for Studio 60

Aaron Sorkin meet Jay Mohr

Did Aaron Sorking take one of Jay Mohr's memories for Studio 60?Something isn't right in Sorkinland. In last Monday's episode, Matt Albie and Andy Mackinaw are feeling nostalgic. In a scene early in the show Andy asks Matt if he remembers his first office . . . the one that was so small that you could write on both walls if you reached your arms out with pencils in your hands. Matt mentioned that was his second office, and that his first was actually the floor in the middle of the hallway.

Now, the reason methinks something is afoot is because I just finished reading Gasping For Airtime, the excellent Jay Mohr autobiography that chronicles his two year stint on Saturday Night Live in the mid-1990's. In this book he talks about the dressing room that he had during his second season on the show. . . the one that was so small that he could take a pencil in each hand, stretch his arms out, and write on the walls. He also mentioned a conversation he had with SNL alum Mike Myers about his first office. It turns out that it was on the floor in the middle of the hallway.

Hmmm.

Continue reading Aaron Sorkin meet Jay Mohr

The Five: Aaron Sorkin show trademarks

Cast of Studio 60After viewing the frighteningly accurate parody of Studio 60 that MADtv performed I got to thinking (which is always a bad thing). I can't remember a producer/creator of any television show in recent history who has carried so many of his or her trademarks from one program to another. I guess you could say Dick Wolf does this from show to show, but the Law & Order series is probably considered a franchise. Aaron Sorkin has produced three different shows that have had similar structural elements, including actors and actresses. When viewers watch these shows they anticipate those features and are disappointed when they don't see them.

So, with that in mind, here are the five trademarks that Aaron Sorkin puts in his shows.

The walk-and-talk: Others shows have people walking and talking all of the time, but usually slowly down a straight hallway. Aaron has taken this concept and perfected it, making it all his own. His walk-and-talks feature characters going up-and-down stairs, through security gates, behind bleachers, and around corners. He sometimes makes these strolls seem like a relay race: two people will talk for a while, then one person will tag-out and a new conversation will begin with another character. Meanwhile, as they walk they begin and end conversations with so much information that you need to record the show so you catch everything missed. And, speaking about those conversations . . .

Continue reading The Five: Aaron Sorkin show trademarks

DVD Review: The West Wing - The Complete Series

West Wing complete seriesI was trying to figure out how to review this set. Should I even mention how great the series is (brilliant cast, brilliant writing, brilliant direction, blah, blah, blah)? And then I figured, no, I'm not going to review certain episodes or the series as a whole. Everyone knows how good the show was, and if you're a fan you already know all that stuff, so you really want to know how the rest of the set is and if it's worth upgrading from the individual sets to this new set.

Continue reading DVD Review: The West Wing - The Complete Series

Comedy troupe recreates Studio 60 sketches

One of the constant complaints from both fans and critics of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is that we never get to see much of the actual sketches that make up the show-within-the-show. I always felt this was kind of a silly complaint since we also never saw much of the actual show-within-the-show on Sports Night but I guess expectations are different for Studio 60. Bob disagrees with me but points out that shows like Entourage, which is about a great actor who we never see actually acting, have the same issue.

Well, if you've been wondering about what those sketches mapped out by Matt Albie, Harriet Hayes and others might look like, the Employee of the Month sketch comedy troupe in Los Angeles is trying to provide a theoretical glimpse. They've taken the snippets of "Crazy Christians," "Nancy Grace" and others from the fictional show and expanded them to full length form. Check out "Employee of the Month Celebrates The Comedy of Studio 60" starting Friday the 17th.

If any of our LA readers go see this be sure to send in reports.

Six weeks Aaron, six weeks

Aaron SorkinI'm happy to join the group praising NBC for giving full season orders to both Studio 60 and Friday Night Lights. Many of us are quick to get our dander up when a network hits the cancellation button too quickly, so it's great to see one of them actually giving shows a chance to grow. They should be applauded for that. That said, I hope that the memo regarding the pickup for Studio 60 came with a friendly suggestion not unlike the one that Jordan gave Harriet in last night's episode. For the next six weeks Aaron, just pretend that God, gay marriage, crazy Christians... hell, anything remotely to do with religion, just pretend that none of it even exists in the Studio 60 world.

Continue reading Six weeks Aaron, six weeks

Studio 60 to get a full season?

Studio 60 logoRay Richmond over at The Hollywood Reporter spoke to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip creator and head writer Aaron Sorkin today and found out that not only have the ratings for the show the past few weeks made the execs at NBC happier than they were, but that a full season order for the show might be coming any hour or day now. Another source at the network said they would be very surprised if the show wasn't picked up this week.

Here's a quote from Sorkin that is interesting, especially since it addresses something that is often talked about here in our comments section:

Continue reading Studio 60 to get a full season?

No, Studio 60 isn't dead

Studio 60To paraphrase a famous quote, rumors of Studio 60's death may have been greatly exaggerated.

An NBC spokesman says that not only is the show not canceled, it is actually profitable, and last week's ratings were up from the week before. The network likes the show, and they are going over the ratings numbers, but it looks like the show would be moved to a different time slot instead of just canceled outright.

One thing the article says that I don't agree with is this: if Friday Night Lights got great ratings last night (haven't seen the numbers yet), that could spell trouble for Studio 60. But that's not true. CSI: Miami was a repeat last night, so you would expect whatever NBC had in the time slot to do well, or better. Though if the numbers aren't great...now that would be interesting, and might prove it's a time slot thing and not the show itself.

[via TV Tattle]

Update: Friday Night Lights got its best ratings yet.

Studio 60 needs a makeover, according to Robert Bianco

Matthew Perry and Amanda Peet of Studio 60I thought it was just me.

I've tried to get into Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip like I did with Aaron Sorkin's two other network creations . . . The West Wing and Sports Night. I wanted to like Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford in their roles as the saviors of a long-running, comedy sketch show. I really did. But, there's just something missing; a last piece of the puzzle that would make this show very enjoyable. However, I thought I was the only one who felt that way.

Fortunately, I'm not. Not only do many of you feel the same way, but we also have Robert Bianco, USA Today's television critic, in our court as well.

Continue reading Studio 60 needs a makeover, according to Robert Bianco

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: The West Coast Delay

D.L. Hughley(S01E04) Unlike many people, I like the Harriet Hayes character. And I like the way that Sarah Paulson is playing her. It's a distinctive performance: very precise in her delivery, graceful, even when she's yelling about something or irritated. And she's a very religious person, but one that's on a late night show doing satire. I don't see anything wrong with what she's doing or how she's written. I actually find the way she acts really believable. I know people like Harriet Hayes.

Having said that, I didn't really enjoy the opening scene of this show. I thought that (for the most part) Matt and Harriet had made up an episode or two ago. And I thought the argument (Matt's upset that Harriet gets a signed bat from a pitcher) was a little too forced, and I thought the Matt and Harriet love plot was going to take over the entire show. But then something happened in this episode, around the 19 minute mark, like something snapped and the episode started to soar, started to click, and showed how dramatic the backstage goings on at a TV show can be.

Continue reading Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: The West Coast Delay

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: The Focus Group

Studio 60(S01E03) I'll get to the review in a moment, but first, a confession.

When I was a struggling writer who lived from paycheck to paycheck (when I had a paycheck), I signed up to do a lot of focus groups. They were easy, they paid $75, and all you had to do was sit around for an hour or two with a bunch of other people and talk about a product or a service. The thing is, and anyone who has gone to a focus group will admit this if they're being honest, is that they are filled with liars. Including me. They talk to you on the phone and ask you a bunch of questions about the focus group they're having, to see if they need you. Do you like Austrailian wine? Sure, I drink it all the time! Are you allergic to anything? Yup, I'm allergic to peanuts! Do you have kids? Oh yeah, I have five!

Anything for the $75.

Continue reading Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: The Focus Group

Out of the Blogosphere

  • Clay AikenBest Week Ever has video of Clay Aiken's appearance on Good Morning America today.
  • Another great post from Ken Levine, this time shattering the dreams of men everywhere (including me).
  • Radar asks about the new CW: does the merger of two mediocre networks add up to one good one?
  • I didn't catch this during the debut, but Studio 60 creators Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme kept a live blog the other night (read from bottom to top, of course). Funny cameo from Nate Cordrry. (And check out Defaker.)

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: Pilot (series premiere)

Studio 60

(S01E01) OK, I'm going to make a bold statement here, so I hope you're sitting down. I assume you are because you're in front of a computer, but if you're standing for some reason, please, sit down.

All set? OK, here goes: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is the best new show of the fall.

And I say that even though I haven't yet seen the other show being touted as the best new show, ABC's The Nine. The tape is sitting to the left of me as I type this, so I'll be watching it soon (thanks ABC for sending me a tape instead of a DVD. What, is this 1999?). But I can't imagine that the show has the combination that Studio 60 has after two episodes. One is the obvious quality right out of the gate (creator, writer, director, cast, etc), and the other is this incredible, palpable feeling you get watching it that, even though everything doesn't work across the board, you know it could get even better. That the strong moments far, far outweigh the bad moments.

And it's straight out entertaining as hell.

Continue reading Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: Pilot (series premiere)

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