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The previews hammered it home a thousand times this past week: this episode of Studio 60 would be the one that "America will be talking about." So I have to ask America: are you talking about it this morning?

I don't bring this up to dig into the episode specifically (though the two-part "Harriet Dinner" episode was certainly the worst so far). I like the show. I bring it up to point out that network promos these days are overdone, overhyped, misleading and/or confusing. They usually don't make sense or are disappointing when it comes to everything from ER to Lost, but this one was truly odd. Why would America be talking about this episode when America hasn't really been talking about the show so far? The moment they were talking about, I assume it was the kiss between Danny and Jordan? OK, nice moment, and the second part of this ep was better than the first by a longshot, but I hardly think it's something that we're talking about in any major way. Danny and Jordan aren't Sam and Diane yet, or Dave and Maddie.

Maybe they meant Ugly Betty star America Ferrera?

(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...

The other day, Defamer put up a funny flowchart that would allow a reader to figure out if it was in the target audience for Studio 60. It's pretty well-known that, despite the show's lousy ratings, NBC is sticking with the it because the relative affluence of its small audience is attractive to advertisers. So this chart lets you know if you are part of that elite group.

Some of the better questions: If you said "yes" to the question "Do you remember John Goodman from Roseanne?", you're sent to a dead end that says, "Trick Question. Thanks for playing. Hillbilly." And it also measures how many Amanda Peet movies you've seen. If it's in the range of "Saving Silverman - 4", you're OK. If it's five or more, "Your A.P. quota has been met."

The interesting part of this is that I tried to find the original post that introduced this flowchart (I thought Defamer posted it yesterday or the day before), and couldn't find it. Hm. Did Aaron Sorkin's jack-booted thugs get to Defamer? It's a mystery.

(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?

(S01E08) After seeing this episode (which just confirmed something I thought anyway), I'm not quite sure while people are so annoyed by the show's supposed liberalism and "east and west coast" mentality. This show is doing two things. One, it's sparking debate about a lot of serious issues (religion, gay rights, tolerance, politics), and two, it makes sure it dumps on liberals and Democrats and Hollywood just as much as much as they do flyover country, religious people, and Pahrump, Nevada. There's enough to go around on both sides.

I think a lot of viewers who don't like the show (and I truly don't understand why they're watching it week after week if they can't stand it) don't get the fact that just because the show dares to bring up the above topics, that it dares to even suggest that these topics are a hot-button issues and there might be a way to actually get along, doesn't mean that it's "against" anything.

Note to TV Squad's Bob Sassone: You said you would be jealous if Ryan Budke visited the set of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Well, Bob, let the jealousy flow because we have new video of Ryan's recent visit to the Studio 60 set.

In this second go-around, Ryan speaks with cast members Matthew Perry, Steven Weber, Amanda Peet, and Timothy Busfield on how hard it is to speak "Aaron-ese" on the show. He also talks to Perry and Bradley Whitford about the the relationship of their characters Matt Albie and Danny Tripp.

You can view the video after the jump.

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:

(S01E07) Why do I get the feeling that half of the audience who watched this episode tonight said, "hey, they finally focused on small town America!" and the other half is cringed and said, "oh no, why did they focus on small town America?"

Tom is arrested in Pahrump, Nevada on Friday afternoon, charged with speeding and possession of marijuana, and the judge doesn't want to hear from anyone else in his office (Danny, Jack, Simon, the NBS lawyer, or the two Chinese) except Tom, so Tom tells the judge exactly what happened to get him in handcuffs, dressed like Jesus Christ.

In response to all the buzz about Studio 60's weak ratings and whispers of its possible cancellation, one die-hard fan is taking evasive action. Clay Johnson has launched SaveStudio60.com, where he has an online petition to keep the show on the air and encourages readers to buy things from the companies that advertise on Studio 60 (although, I think this tactic is far-fetched because I don't think Apple is going to deduce that you bought an iPod because you saw one advertised on Studio 60). Johnson says the show is worth keeping on the air simply because it's "smart television". So far, 1,000 people have signed the petition.

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.

It used to be that getting a full season order was the best news a new show could get, but nowadays I think shows are just as happy to get a few additional episodes OK'd.

Four new shows have been given the green light for more scripts. Three of them are on ABC: The Nine, Men In Trees, and Help Me, Help You, and one NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (yeee-hah). Of course, this is no guarantee that the shows will be awarded with a full season, but it's certainly a sign of hope (and also cool to see the networks actually getting behind shows that are quality but are struggling).

For those keeping score, the shows that have gotten a full season already are Heroes, Jericho, Shark, Brothers & Sisters, and Ugly Betty.

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?

I 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.

(S01E05) So let me get this straight. Sting has been around so long that he can just decide to make an album of songs based on the writings of a 15th century poet, play it with a lute (!), and get a guest star gig on a major network TV show? Nice. I can't wait for the day when Keith lets me write just about obscure game shows from the 1960s, in Latin.

I was wondering if Sting was going to play one of his classic songs after he played his new song at rehearsal. I wasn't the only one: Harriet says the same thing at the end to Matt, and he tells her that he wasn't going to but Matt asked him to play it and he did. (Oh, and curse you NBC once again for tricking us into thinking that Matt and Harriet were going to get back together. Damn previews!)