Reminder: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip premieres tonight at 10 EDT

[TheWraith]

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, the new show by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, The American President, A Few Good Men) and Thomas Schlamme (The West Wing) premieres tonight on NBC at 10 PM Eastern. I've already seen the leaked copy of the pilot, and let me tell you, you don't want to miss this. It's already well on its way to being the best show on network television. It's got a killer cast including Bradley Whitford, Matt Perry, Amanda Peet, DL Hughley, Sarah Paulson, Nate Corddry, and Timothy Busfield.

The show is set behind the scenes of a long-running sketch comedy series ala Saturday Night Live. The first episode opens with the frustrated head of the show hijacking the broadcast and going on a "Network" style rant about the lobotomization of American television. When the network brass hears of it, the new president of the network (Peet) points out that their problem isn't legal liability--it's that he's right, and the best way to change the story is to bring back the two guys who used to run the show (Whitford and Perry), who were fired four years earlier because they were being too controversial.

[LSparkle]

1. Wow -- shades of the Smothers Brothers (Whitford/Perry)

Thanks for the reminder -- I will watch ANYTHING with Aaron Sorkin's name on it.

[KatyaR]

2. I'm counting the minutes!

I saw the pilot, and I thought it was excellent. I'm really psyched! :bounce:

[Hatalles]

3. I haven't watched a TV show regularly in LONG time...

... but the ads for this show caught my eye. Thanks for the reminder. Guess I'll watch MNF play-by-play on the laptop and this on the television. :)

[elare]

4. eTalk just aired an interview with Bradley Whitford ...

eTalk is a Canadian show ... anyhow, he said something to the effect (not an exact quote) "I'd like to apologize to the Canadian people for our president". I wasn't really expecting that comment since they were doing a whole piece on the Studio 60 show, and it almost came out of nowhere (almost because he'd just taken a verbal shot at Bush a moment before that)

[NYCGirl]

9. Whitford is a political type — he's a good friend of Al Franken and

came up with the idea for the comic strip in "Lying Liars" of "Supply Side Jesus."

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

5. Thanks for the tip!

This looks as if it might have potential.

[Spazito]

6. It was on here last night and it is excellent!

Pairing Matthew Perry and Bradford Whitman is brilliant, imo. I am very glad to see Timothy Busfield in this, loved him in his reporter character in West Wing.

[TheWraith]

7. A couple quotes from the pilot, to whet the appetite.

After the dispirited head honcho of the show apologizes to the guest host, Felicity Huffman, for not rewriting the monologue which she didn't like:

Felicity Huffman: Is there anything you could tell me, that would... make me feel better about the monologue?

Wes Mendel: Your instincts aren't wrong--it's not funny.


From Wes Mendel's on-air meltdown, talking about the degeneration of the network's programming

...and the two things that make them scared gutless are the FCC, and every psycho religious cult that get positively horny at the very mention of a boycott!


Matt Albie (Perry) at the end of an unpleasent meeting with a fairly obnoxious network executive (Steven Weber):

Jack Rudolph: I know I can count on you to answer questions in a way that doesn't embarass the National Broadcasting System. Will that be hard for you?

Matt Albie: I wouldn't think it would be hard for anybody, because if you aimed a camera at two people masturbating, it would be among the least embarassing things on the National Broadcasting System.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

8. Wow! What a start! It's Network on TV

That was awsome!

[mtnester]

10. Sorkin is back with a vengeance I'd say

damn!

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

11. With a capital "V" n/t