30 Rock (esteemed winner of the 30 Rock vs. Studio 60 deathmatch)

Started by ono, September 18, 2006, 08:00:42 PM

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Ravi

A 6 share is, like, well, its ratings, pete! 

I have no idea either.

squints

As of 2005, there are an estimated 110.2 million television households in the USA. A single national ratings point represents 1%, or 1,102,000 households for the 2005-06 season. Share is the percentage of television sets in use tuned to a specific program. These numbers are usually reported as (ratings points/share). For example, Nielsen may report a show as receiving a 9.2/15 during its broadcast, meaning 9.2%, or 10,138,400 households on average were tuned in at any given moment. Additionally, 15% of all televisions in use at the time were tuned into this program.
"The myth by no means finds its adequate objectification in the spoken word. The structure of the scenes and the visible imagery reveal a deeper wisdom than the poet himself is able to put into words and concepts" – Friedrich Nietzsche

Kal

Anybody still watching Studio 60?

I was catching up on some episodes... and the John Goodman arc (2 episodes) was pretty good. It was cool that it took place outside the Studio and with some issues that beyond the writing of the show. I'm not liking very much the plot with NBS and the investors, but in general I think the episodes were better than others before...

grand theft sparrow


matt35mm

Quote from: othersparrow on December 15, 2006, 01:18:47 PM
Have Alec Baldwin call your friends!

http://30rock.nbc.com/

Pretty funny stuff.

Somehow, even though Alec Baldwin is very self-aware and seemingly will do anything, he never comes off as a tool.  Bravo, Monsieur Baldwin.

Kal

They have the same thing with The Office, and you can have Dwight call anybody.

MacGuffin

Comedy writers aren't laughing about 'Studio 60'
Some in the biz openly disdain the series set at a late-night sketch show.
Source: Los Angeles Times

It is generally accepted that doctors hate shows about doctors, lawyers hate shows about lawyers, and so on. So perhaps it's the order of things that many comedic writers appear to hate Aaron Sorkin's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," the dramatic series about a "Saturday Night Live"-like comedy show. But is it natural for them to take such pleasure in it?

Take Ken Levine, a seasoned writer who has worked on "Frasier," "Cheers" and "The Simpsons." His blog, By Ken Levine, has become the hub of an online community of viewers who loathe "Studio 60," thanks to his running commentary on the first several episodes.

"After watching Episode 2 of 'Studio 60' I must let you in on a little secret. People in television, trust me, are not that smart," he wrote. "And they keep talking about how unbelievably talented that Harriet [Sarah Paulson] is. Have you seen evidence of it yet? I haven't. But then again, I'm not that smart."

One week later he was less forgiving, writing, " 'Studio 60' is like the Rand Corporation Think Tank doing a late night sketch show." (Sorkin could not comment on this article because he was on vacation.)

After its debut this past fall, many pop culture commentators were quick to predict the NBC show's imminent cancellation as it steadily lost viewers. But as "Studio 60" enjoys a midseason break over the holidays, with a full-season pickup and the confidence of its broadcaster, for now it looks like there will be plenty of opportunities for comedy writers to continue to riff on their anger to anyone who will listen.

Amelie Gillette, a blogger for the Onion-affiliated A.V. Club website, composed a recent post called "Aaron Sorkin Thinks You're Stupid." In it, she wrote: "So did anyone else watch 'Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip' on Monday? Did anyone else wait a day to write about it so their boiling anger could slow down to a more manageable simmer?"

The love-to-hate feeling is fun for some, profitable for others.

A few months ago, the Los Angeles sketch comedy troupe Employee of the Month put on a show called "Employee of the Month Celebrates the Comedy of Studio 60."

The tag line was serpentinely Sorkin-esque: "A sketch comedy show about a sketch comedy show in a drama about sketch comedy."

Troupe member Megan Lynn said the idea for an evening of sketch devoted entirely to "Studio 60" came about because nobody in the group could talk about anything else for weeks. "Honestly, we were just wasting so much rehearsal time complaining about the show," she said. "We thought, 'We can't shut up about this, other people talk about this, let's put a show together.' "

Lynn has a lot to say about what she thinks "Studio 60" gets wrong, but most important, she doesn't think the sketches are funny. And if the sketches aren't funny, then the entire premise of the show is undermined, since "Studio 60" is a show about the making of the funniest sketch show on television.

The original plan for "Employee of the Month Celebrates the Comedy of Studio 60" was to put on sketches that are referenced as being successful in the show, if not necessarily seen. "We wanted to see if they hold up as comedy sketches, knowing that they wouldn't," said Lynn.

So they put on a commedia dell'arte sketch that was said to have "killed" on "Studio 60's" show within a show, as well as "Nicolas Cage: Couples Counselor," in which an actor played a hyper, desperate Cage as a relationship expert, and the fake game show Science Schmience, based on the premise that religious people won't accept scientific evidence that explains the natural world.

Because Employee of the Month didn't want to make its audience sit through sketches they didn't think were particularly funny, they also had a backstage theme running with references from the show — Matthew Perry's character with a baseball bat, Nate Corddry's character talking about his brother being deployed in Afghanistan and Amanda Peet's character — a network president who got an inordinate amount of media attention because of a DUI eight years in the past — drunk and desperate for friends.

"We realized there was so much we wanted to make fun of," said Lynn.

Sorkin's "West Wing" was meticulously researched and seen as largely accurate about life in Washington: Did the auteur producer-writer raise the bar so high for himself that "Studio 60" is unfairly scrutinized? Is this segment of viewers in Hollywood simply too aware of what "Studio 60" gets wrong to enjoy the show?

One comedy show runner, who asked that her name be withheld, said: "The New Orleans crisis or the war has never touched my life in television."

"They never laugh," Levine said of the show's characters. "We laugh all the time. It is the one saving grace of the job."

"The fact that they don't seem to know how a sketch comedy show like 'SNL' is written, that needs to be remedied," said Joe Reid, who recaps "Studio 60" each week for Television Without Pity. "It doesn't seem authentic at all."

Gillette said Sorkin's approach to comedy just seems off. "He wants to get big ideas across and change people's minds," she said. "No comedians work that way. They go for the laughs first and the lesson second."

In contrast, all of these nitpicking writers and comedians seem to like "30 Rock," the Tina Fey sitcom on NBC that is also about the making of a "Saturday Night Live"-esque show.

"Even though it's essentially a cartoon, '30 Rock' is still a more realistic look at what behind-the-scenes life on 'SNL' is like," said Levine. "And it's worth watching just for Alec Baldwin."

Lynn said, " '30 Rock' isn't offensive at all.... When they do sketches, they're not thinly veiled opportunities for political commentary, they're goofy, 'SNL'-like sketches, which is appropriate for the show."

But a former "Saturday Night Live" employee, now a screenwriter and director who has stopped watching "Studio 60" and "30 Rock," said both shows gloss over everything that happens at the real late-night comedy show. "That place is so dark, they could never show what actually happens there," he said.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

MacGuffin

Sorkin shifts 'Studio 60' toward relationships
By Robert Bianco, USA TODAY

PASADENA, Calif. — Aaron Sorkin wants a little more love for Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

When the NBC show returns Monday (10 ET/PT) for a seven-week run, Sorkin says you'll see less sketch comedy and more romantic comedy. Speaking on the show's super-sized set to TV reporters at the industry's semiannual press tour, Sorkin says the new episodes will focus on a couple of couples: Danny and Jordan (Bradley Whitford and Amanda Peet) will come together; and Matt and Harriet (Matthew Perry and Sarah Paulson) will fall apart — and them come back together.

Sorkin hopes the relationship shifts will bring more viewers to the show. But he also thinks the show is doing fine overall, and that the focus on ratings disappointment (Studio 60 averages fewer than 9 million viewers) can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. It could just be that 60 was never meant to be an Idol-sized hit.

"Not everything is for everybody. When I compare the size of the Studio 60 audience to the Sports Night audience (an earlier Sorkin behind-the-TV-scenes series), I'm delighted."

NBC may not be as delighted: The show may not air 22 episodes this season, and it may not stay on Mondays. (The Black Donnellys will take over the slot in March). Still, network entertainment president Kevin Reilly says, "We're leaving it alone. Let's see what happens. The show is too good not to give it a full season."

Good the show may be, but Sorkin also knows it attracts more than its share of viewer complaints. Some he filters out (most anything on the Internet); some he considers. But in the end, it's his show. "You got to be careful not to let too many voices into your head, or you're not going to get anywhere. ... I tried to stay focused and keep writing the show I intended to write."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

pete

wow looks like aaron sorkin really took what America has said to heart and he's all like "enjoy watching free things on network television?  go fuck your horsemothers!"
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

pete

on the other hand, did anyone watch this past week's 30 rock?  it was really good!  the joke at the very end was one of the best ever.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

JG

yeah i watched it and almost posted the same thing.  every time i watch 30 rock i like it more.  which joke?  my personal favorite moment from the episode, "give me your fingernails!" 

pete

"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

matt35mm


MacGuffin

Studio 60 Fading to Black?

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip looks as if it's about to get whacked.

Aaron Sorkin's much-hyped new series, once touted as the wunderkind of NBC's fall schedule (and originally slotted to take on Grey's Anatomy and CSI, no less), has been yanked from its Monday timeslot a week early to make way for the organized-crime drama The Black Donnellys.

After scoring its lowest ratings yet this week (and that's saying a lot, considering it airs after the actual freshman highlight of NBC's season, Heroes), Studio 60 will be benched starting Feb. 26, instead of Mar. 5, which was The Black Donnellys' original premiere date, and no return date has been set. 

Because of its early start, the incoming mafia series could also benefit from an extra week of having Heroes as its lead-in, before the average-Joes-equipped-with-extraordinary-abilities drama takes several weeks off after a Mar. 5 cliffhanger episode.

Studio 60, with its top-notch cast (and hefty $3 million-plus-per-episode production budget), has struggled to find an audience all season, topping out at 13.4 million viewers...with its Sept. 18 premiere. Close to 3 million pairs of eyes had tuned out by week two.

Things went downhill from there, with even a so-called special Christmas episode attracting only 7.3 million.

Despite its ratings woes, however, NBC gave Studio 60 a full-season, 22-episode pickup in November, ensuring that those of us who are enthralled by the increasingly romantic goings-on behind the scenes at a Saturday Night Live-style sketch comedy show would not be left hanging. 

But the iceman might still cometh. This week's episode managed a scant 6.9 million viewers, and the Donnelly brothers are poised to step up. 

Created by Crash scribes Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, The Black Donnellys follows four Irish siblings—Tommy (Jonathan Tucker), Jimmy (Tommy Guiry), Kevin (Billy Lush) and Sean (Michael Stahl-David)—who are fiercely loyal to each other but end up answering the door when the mean streets of New York come a-knockin'. A wannabe gangster known as Joey "Ice Cream" (Keith Nobbs) narrates the series, which is loosely based on Moresco's experiences growing up in Hell's Kitchen.

The series' pilot is currently available from Netflix, where the 1,414 users who bothered to rate the episode have given it 3.4 out of five stars.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

JG

so my vacation week allowed me to catch both 30 rock and studio 60.  studio 60 is, as expected, soo bad, meanwhile i've completely fallen in love with 30 rock.  i thought this week's episode was absolutely amazing, its now my favorite comedy on TV.  i'm really rooting for it, i hope people fall in love with it like i have.