'Dancing With The Stars' Season 14 Dream Casting
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Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: The Option Period
(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?
Ricky and Ron screw up the format of the night's script, putting it in 30 minute format instead of 40 seconds a page (wow, now there's insider stuff for ya), and that leaves the show short by 30 or 40 seconds (funny stuff about host Jessica Simpson being a nice girl but not someone you want to have think on her feet - she asked the audience to pray for peace in the Midwest). Matt and Danny wonder why they were working in 30 minute format in the first place, and figure it out: they're shopping a pilot. Jordan's assistant checks their contract and confirms they are under an exclusive contract, except for one thing: "Peripheral Vision Man." (Nice reference to a subplot in the first episode.). They are shopping that script on their own.
Matt decides to let them go, but not before Ricky gives him a nasty farewell speech. Ron is more sympathetic, and Matt actually gives him some ideas for how to make "Peripheral Vision Man" work as a show, even though he implores them not to leave because the show will be canceled after 6 episodes (this rings true - maybe they're going to FOX?).
Meanwhile, Harriet wants to do a sexy spread in a men's magazine, but Tom and Simon tell her that it's not just about showing a different side to her, the magazine wants to exploit her because she's pious, the "church girl." I wonder when she found out about the magazine deal, since this is the same day as last week's episode (which is something I actually like about this show, it's "to be continued" without being "to be continued"), and it wasn't mentioned then, and she admits that she is doing it because of the Women United Through Faith cancelled her appearances, which was about two or three hours ago. That's a quick deal.
Danny tells Jordan about what Jack said on the plane, but she doesn't want to change. (Side note: Amanda Peet is clearly pregnant in this episode!)
Harriet doesn't understand why her being devout makes her sexy, but look (and listen) to the Sorkin dialogue and tell me if there's anyone better at doing this stuff. I would print the scene here, but my DVR screwed up again and didn't record it - check out the scene on nbc.com later this week.
Back to product placement. I think it's fascinating, insider-ish stuff. I love stuff like this. But to have the show's subplot be about it, especially in the wake of all the other shows on NBC actually doing it? That's kinda odd to me. Danny gives an impassioned plea for her not to make them start doing product placement (talk about iPod and Samsung and Pennzoil), and it's Cal who comes up with a possible solution, using the Sunset Strip itself. But are they actually going to do this? Did they write this solution in because there's going to be product placement on the show and they had to justify it somehow? Hmmm...
Another good episode, one of the best ones yet. Everything seemed to click. Very West Wing in it's dialogue, structure, and setting (one building the whole night, various groups of characters talking in different parts of the building about different things, and a game on the TV to keep people interested throughout the night). I wish Ricky and Ron would stick around, because they are good foils for Matt and Danny, but maybe this was the plan all along, to get rid of the "dead weight" writers on the show and see how things evolve and change from there.
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