TVSquad

I'm starting to get a feel for what these "comedy correspondents" are for. They'll be a recurring rotation of comedians on-hand to submit video shorts and provide comedy bits on the show. Basically, it's NBC coming through at least a bit on this being a "comedy" show instead of just a retooled talk show.

Unlike The Daily Show correspondents, Jay's correspondents are treated like guests rather than as a part of the show. Maybe, as time goes on and we see them over and over again, this will change. Perhaps they could even develop their own unique voice that we'll find ourselves looking forward to.

Tonight, D.L. Hughley went to speak to government representatives in California to talk about the sad state of the state's economy. From there, he wound up putting on a bake sale to save the state. So it was a bit like what would happen on The Daily Show after all.

Since programming anything new is probably a waste on a holiday weekend, Comedy Central is programming roughly 4,000 previously aired stand-up specials (okay, just 40, but that's a lot) from some of the biggest names on its rosters, including Dane Cook, Jeff Dunham, Katt Williams, Louis C.K., Lewis Black, Brian Regan, Demetri Martin, Ron White, Lisa Lampanelli, and Jim Gaffigan. They'll also sprinkle in some of their Comedy Central Presents half-hour showcases. It's called the Stand-Up Blowout Weekend.

The first special is at 3 PM - Aisha Tyler is Lit: Live at the Fillmore and end, officially, with Drew Hastings: Irked and Miffed at 3 AM Monday morning. Sunday at 10PM is the network premiere of Dave Attell: Captain Miserable, which originally aired on HBO on December 8, 2007.

• At 8, FOX has Game 3 of The World Series.
• NBC has a new America's Toughest Jobs at 8.
• ESPN2 has College Football, Notre Dame vs. Washington
• TCM has Psycho at 8.
• Starting at 8, Nick has Halloween episodes of some of their shows, including iCarly, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, and Ned's Declassified.
• Also at 8: Food Network has a new Paula's Party.
• At 9, CNBC has a new Suze Orman Show.
• There's a new Primeval at 9 on BBC America.
• At 9:30, HGTV has a new Divine Design.
• At 10, CBS has a new 48 Hours Mystery.
• CNN has the series premiere of D.L. Hughley Breaks The News at 10.
• TLC has a new Trading Spaces at 10.
• At 11:30, NBC has a new Saturday Night Live, with Jon Hamm and Coldplay.

Check your local TV listings for more.

I almost didn't want to review this DVD set. Did I really want to go back into those murky waters again and bring up all those old disagreements? But here we go...

Actually, the DVD set for Studio 60 is much like the TV series itself. It starts out brilliantly and then as it goes on it starts to get worse and worse. But then it ends nicely!

Packaging

Pretty standard packaging, just a regular box containing three plastic holders housing two DVDs each. The artwork on each plastic holder is fairly interesting. Instead of a large pic on the front and the info on the inside, all the episode info is on the front and back of each individual holder, including pics from episodes and promotional pics.

The Onion's AV Club has an interesting interview with D. L. Hughley discussing, among other things, why Studio 60 failed to live up to its potential.

Hughley says that despite the pilot being some of the "most well written television" that he had ever seen, the show "became too aware" and started "taking [itself] too seriously". Hughley compared the drama to a "number one draft pick" that "crumpled under the weight of expectations".

I find the interview interesting for three reasons...

Just in time for tomorrow's series finale on NBC at 10pm comes this announcement from Warner Home Video that they will release Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - The Complete Series on October 16.

The set will not only include all 22 episodes from it's first and only season, but there will be a new behind the scenes featurette and episode commentaries by creator Aaron Sorkin and director Thomas Schlamme (hopefully cast members will join in too).

You knew I'd be the one to tell you this news, right?

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip returns to the NBC schedule on May 24, presumably to just run the rest of the episodes they have filmed. Hopefully they knew they were ending early while filming so they can end the show in a good way.

By the way, May 24 is a Thursday. The show will air at 10pm in the slot currently occupied by ER. I wonder what would have happened to the show if it had originally been in this slot, or maybe an hour earlier. Oh well. I guess the best way to think of it now is as a long miniseries, one that will have around 22 episodes and a conclusion.

(S01E11) I've never understood how people can celebrate Christmas in California (or Florida or Texas, for that matter). I grew up and live in New England, and I don't understand how you can have Christmas without the cold air and the possibility of snow. I mean, it just doesn't seem right, roaring down the 405 with the top down as the temp hovers around 78 degrees, with no Jack Frost nipping at your nose (job). But that's just me.

But it's also Matt Albie, who wants to bring a little Christmas spirit to Los Angeles and the set of Studio 60...

(S01E10) Have you ever watched an episode of a TV show where a character is really sick, and it just makes you feel worse because you're sick too? That's how I felt tonight. I got sick the day after Thanksgiving (stuffy head, dry throat, really tired), and I still feel crappy, so watching this episode where the entire cast gets sick was really odd. I'm sure there are some viewers who were sick that wouldn't even relate the two, and still others that might feel better because the TV characters felt even worse. But watching the sick people just kept reminding me that I was still sick, on the sofa wrapped in a comforter, eating only soup and tea.

(S01E09) OK, now this is getting a little strange. This is the fourth episode of an NBC show (the others were two episodes of 30 Rock and an episode of The Office) where product placement was mentioned. In this, because of a blow the company is going to take on the Macau deal, Jordan says that 15 people are going to have to be let go from the show. Jokingly, Matt and Danny bring up product placement, but Jordan thinks it's something they should seriously consider.

The hell? Is NBC trying to convince us that product placement is here, it's good, and we should get used to it?

Ray 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:

To 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.

I'll get to the review in just a moment, but first, a few facts about Columbus, OH:

• Population: 695,709
• 15th largest city in the U.S.
• One of the fastest growing metro areas
• Named by Money magazine as one of the Best Places To Live in the U.S.
• Economy is ranked 7th strongest in the U.S.

With that information, why did Aaron Sorkin choose it as an example of some hick town?

(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.

(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.