Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
TV Squad picks their choices for Emmy nominees and winners
Let me take a look at my trusty calendar. Okay, tomorrow I take the kids to the doctor. On Thursday I get that bikini wax. Friday? Well, I do the same think as I do every Friday -- try to take over the world (Snarf!). Now, for next week . . .
Sweet Niblets! Next week (July 19th, to be exact) they announce the nominees for the 59th Emmy awards to honor achievements for what has gone on previously rather than what is going on now. Which is opposite of the Golden Globes or the SAG awards, which honor achievements that are going on both presently and in the past. Wait, let me read that again . . . yep, that makes sense!
So, in preparation for the television wonk's biggest night of the year I have asked the humongous staff over here at TV Squad to give me a hand in picking out who will be the likely nominees and winners in the Best Actor/Actress/Drama/Comedy categories. Of course, your opinions may differ. But, hey, what fun would it be if we picked the same things you did?
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: What Kind of Day Has it Been (series finale)
(S01E22) I've been wondering all week how Aaron Sorkin would send his final F-U to the NBC brass. I mean when this episode was made, the writing was very clearly on the wall: Studio 60 was dead in the water. So, the question is, if you're a writer/producer with nearly unlimited power regarding the production of a newly canceled show, what do you do in the last episode to turn a big fat middle finger up at the network who canceled you? Do you end on an unresolvable cliff-hanger? Do you turn in a sub-par episode? Do you break down all pretense of the fourth-wall and cancel the show within the show?What do you do? How do you really stick it to NBC?
Studio 60 complete series coming to DVD this fall
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).
Subtle Subtitles
1st place to MJBF:

2nd place to Avi Forstein: "Helen Keller watches the series finale of The Sopranos."
3rd place to Elf: "It's just a freaking metaphor, all right?" were Soprano's creator David Chase's last words, referring to the controversial final scene of his HBO series shown here, before he was beaten to death by a rowdy mob of dissatisfied television critics.
This week, a scene from Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip:
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: K & R, Part III
(S01E21) Here's a question for you: if the love of your life was in critical condition and you were sweating it out in the waiting room, could there possibly be anything more annoying than a "friend" trying to "cheer you up" with a Holly Hunter or Juliet Lewis impression? I guess we should all just be thankful that Harriet's claim to fame wasn't juggling or stage illusions."I'm sorry Harriet, I'm having trouble paying attention to you because the woman I love is so sick."
"Well then, I know what'll cheer you up! Watch as I make this rare Siberian white tiger disappear!"
It was our good luck, though, that other than the small, usual failing of Studio 60 (ahemHarrietahem), we were treated to one its best episodes yet.
Do the pregnancy problems of Studio 60's Danny and Jordan have an ER connection?
Either the following is an extraordinary coincidence, a homage to another NBC drama, or another plot rip-off by Aaron Sorkin. One of the storylines that is running through the remaining episodes of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is the problem pregnancy of Danny Tripp's (Bradley Whitford) new fiance Jordan McDeere. When we last left Danny, he had learned that she was facing placenta accreta as well as disseminated intravascular coagulation (please don't ask me to explain what they are). And, while the doctor said not to worry there was quite a bit of concern.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: K&R, part 2
(S01E20) Program Note: Tonight, the role of Jay Black will be played by Rich Keller.
Aaron Sorkin in a creature of habit. If you watch one of the shows that he's produced over the last decade or so you see a lot of stuff that's familiar between them. For instance, the patented walk-and-talk, the fast banter between characters, and the recycling of actors from one show to another. He also likes the flashback. Correction, he loves the flashback! Especially when they take place during a dramatic turning point in the show's storyline.
Thinking I'm just a hater of all things Sorkin right now? Well, I have proof. I present as evidence the first two episodes of the second season of The West Wing. Those were the episodes right after President Bartlet and Josh Lyman were injured during an assassination attempt. While both characters went into surgery the other members of the West Wing staff began to recall how they joined the Bartlet for President campaign years before. What happened next? Flashbacks!
What I'm watching this summer: Rich's list
Television and I don't see much of each other during the summer months, even during this era of year-round original programming. One reason why is, well, it's summer. I spend enough time cooped up in a small cubicle staring at a computer screen that I use summer to stretch my legs a bit. The other most likely reason is that I still have the mentality that there's nothing good on television to watch during the summer. Chalk that up to years of never-ending repeats while I was growing up.
Still, there are a few shows that I will watch on a regular basis, and there are some new outings that look interesting. So, without much fanfare, here is what I'm going to be watching this summer.
Now on iTunes: Great Shows You May Have Missed
The folks over at iTunes have created this handy list for people who want to spend some time this summer catching up on the television shows that don't get as much buzz (anything that's not Lost, Grey's Anatomy, 24). The list includes full seasons of Friday Night Lights, Jericho, 30 Rock, The Shield, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate, The Riches, Dirt and Eureka. Also? You can bask in the glory of hastily canceled shows like Andy Barker, P.I., Veronica Mars, and The Black Donnellys. Oh, and Studio 60 is on there, but I wouldn't call that a "hastily" canceled show. (The current--and final--season of The Loop is also on iTunes, though it's not on the 'Missed' list)This is a great idea. Many of the shows listed get a lot of buzz on sites like ours (because our readers know good television), but the general population doesn't seem to catch on. If only How I Met Your Mother would get on iTunes... it could definitely use some more fans as it heads into season 3.
Seven things I learned from the 2006-07 television season
Welcome to TV Squad Lists (formerly 'The Five'), a feature where each blogger has a chance to list his or her own rundown of things in television that stand out from the rest, both good and bad.
With the 2006-07 season now just a fading memory in our short attention-span universe, it's a good time to sit back and reflect on what came to pass. The beginning of it was full of excitement and promise. The end of the season was pretty much the same as others before it: some good (and not-so-good) stuff survived, the bad stuff didn't, and stuff that we thought was good went down in flames fairly quickly. There were some surprises in the freshmen class and some resurgences in older fare. In the meanwhile, American Idol remained the show killer.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: K & R
(S01E19) In the spirit of tonight's episode, I'd like to start my review with some dramatic irony. The following dialog took place between me and Aaron Sorkin in March of 2006:Aaron Sorkin: You know, I think that the brilliance of this show is going to be that I'll open it with the promise that it'll be about the creation of a network TV show, but by the 19th episode it'll be almost completely about the war. And also, religion!
Me: Aaron, I smell a hit. That's exactly what America wants.
Aaron Sorkin: You know what else I think? Paris Hilton will never go to jail, and Pluto will remain a planet forever. Now sit down. My good friends Michael Richards and Don Imus are coming over to discuss race relations.
Me: Good choices, AS! Those guys are as racially sensitive as anyone!
Aaaaaaaaand scene. Now, on with the review...
What I'm watching this summer: Jonathan's list
Summer TV now and summer TV ten years ago are two entirely different things. There's actually stuff (good stuff) on in the sunny months. It's no longer just re-runs, corny clip-shows, and over-used made for TV movies. Networks, especially cable ones, now give us plenty of reasons to tune in instead of going to the beach and the following shows are sure to keep me pale and tanless this summer.
Rescue Me [Premieres Wed. June 13 on F/X] -- This is by far my favorite summer show. It's the one I look forward to more than anything and frankly, I'd be fine letting go of everything else on this list if I got to keep Rescue Me. Fortunately, I've already been able to screen the first three episodes of season four and it's shaping up to be the best one yet. Tommy Gavin really is America's favorite a-hole.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: Breaking News
(S01E18) If this review is, quality-wise, something less than what you're used to regarding my contributions to TV Squad, please don't blame me. I've been having some personal problems lately and because of them, I've developed a crushing addiction to Flintstone Vitamins. I keep them in a Percoset bottle so no one knows my horrible secret. Sometimes I'll pop two or three just to get through a night's review. And when the web-ratings come in? It's just me, a bottle of Jack, and my best friend Bam-Bam.Now that I've laid all my cards on the table, on with the review...
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: The Disaster Show
(S01E17) In the spring of 1998 my buddies and I took a trip to Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia to watch Mark McGwire and the St. Louis Cardinals play the Philadelphia Phillies. He was red-hot that spring, with like four thousand homeruns in April alone, and I figured seeing him would give me a "I got to watch him play live" story to bore my grandchildren with. Parking problems made us miss the first inning and, as it turned out, the only plate appearance by McGwire that night. He was pulled after one at bat to get a Watching tonight's Studio 60, I couldn't help but be reminded about my McGwire experience nine years ago...
NBC news: goodbye Scrubs, hello Lipstick Jungle
News about NBC's fall schedule continues to trickle out, this time from Bill Carter over at the New York Times.
Looks like the network is going to pick up five dramas: Lipstick Jungle (from Sex and the City creator Candace Bushnell), Chuck, Life, Journeyman, and The Bionic Woman. The network has not made a decision on Law and Order or Law and Order: CI yet, but it looks like Friday Night Lights is coming back for a full season.
The shows being canceled? No surprise that Studio 60, The Black Donnellys, and Crossing Jordan are gone, but it's a little bit of a surprise that Scrubs isn't coming back. There's been talk that ABC might take the show, but no official word on that yet.
NBC's upfront announcement is this Monday.
Update: Nikki Finke is reporting that Scrubs has been picked up by NBC, but no other info is available about it.
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