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Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: The Wrap Party
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?
Tom's parents come to town, from Columbus, and they've never heard of Abbott and Costello's "Who's On First" and they treat Simon like it's the only black person they've ever seen. I found this to be incredibly odd. This is Columbus, OH we're talking about here, not Mayberry, and I'm not sure why Sorkin would be that city to have Tom's parents be from, clueless and old-fashioned. Hey, do you think they have the internet there? Tom's dad is also ticked that Tom's brother is actually doing something important with his life: he's a soldier in the Afghanistan.
Having said that, this might have been the best episode yet. It wasn't just smart and well-put together, you could practically feel the heartbeat of the show coming from every scene.
I've liked every episode of this show, but this episode had that West Wing/Sports Night thing going on more than most of the episodes so far. A main plot (the wrap party for the show that gets all the characters in one room so they can bounce off of each other and mingle) that drives the show along, and a couple of subplots that eventually tie in to the main plot, giving all the stories (and the characters) a bond. If not a physical one you can see on the screen, then one that the viewers can sense at home even if the characters on the screen don't. I also love how Sorkin assumes we're all smart and we're going to know (and care about) people like Clifford Odets and Sid Caesar (shades of that episode of Sports Night about Philo Farnsworth).
An old man is found stumbling around the studio. He seems to be lost and confused, but Cal doesn't want to throw him out, because he senses there's something going on with him. Now, I guessed what his story was right away (an old writer from a classic NBS variety show in the 50s, brought down by the McCarthy blacklist and coming back to get an old photo), but that didn't matter. This was great character stuff, and classic Sorkin: characters who actually give a shit about people and care about the past.
A lot of viewers have been complaining that one of the reasons this show is falling in the ratings is because they've given no reason why we should care about a bunch of people who write for a TV show, like we cared about the people who made important decisions on The West Wing. Well, there are different kinds of importance in the world, and if you didn't feel for this guy and really dig this story, you don't have a heart.
While all of this is going on, Simon confronts Matt about not having any black writers on the staff. Matt tells him that it's not his staff, Ricky and Ron hired everyone before he came back. Simon wants to take Matt to the Improv to see a hot comic. When they get there, the comic is just riffing on the same black/white issues that many comics do, and Simon is disgusted that a fellow black performer would just push the same old sterotypes of blacks. They're going to leave, but decide to have a drink at the bar first. While talking, they overhear another black comic on stage doing some smart, subtle observations, and getting boos and heckles from the audience. They hire him on the spot.
Jordan, who comes to the party not only to mingle but to make friends because she doesn't have any, wants Darren to sign a baseball for her, to give to her nephew. While he's signing it, he asks her if she likes the sex clubs like he read in the papers. Yup, turns out Darren's a creep, and he actually writes his phone number on the ball. Harriet wants to see what he wrote on it, but after Jordan stalls, Harriet guesses what he wrote on it. She's bummed but not shocked. She realizes that Darren is the anti-Matt.
Tom sees his parents off in the parking lot. His mom is hugging him goodbye and telling him to take care of himself, but his dad is standoff-ish. Until Tom gives him an album (an album!) of "Who's On First."
Cal brings Matt and Danny to meet the old man in the writer's room, and the man talks about the people he used to write with in this very room. He mentions a woman writer that was on his staff, and says that he thinks that the only reason he got anything on the air was because he was writing for her. We see Harriet walk by in the background, and a look of recognition come over Matt's face (classic Sorkin). The episode ends with Matt, Danny, and Cal listening to the old man's stories of the old days in television.
Studio 60 is pre-empted next week for a one-time trial in the slot by Friday Night Lights. It will be back in two weeks, but if this show is canceled, that would be a shame. Because I don't just think this is a smart, wall-to-wall entertaining show, I think it's a show we need on television. I said above that if tonight's plot didn't get to you, you don't have a heart. Let me also say that if you actually hate this show and don't think it should continue, you don't have a brain either.
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