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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polkablues

Quote from: picolas on October 13, 2006, 05:42:29 AM
Quote from: othersparrow on October 12, 2006, 06:38:29 AM
It's definitely intentional and most likely for the reasons GT/Ebert said.
i bet you $1 billion it's unintentional.

Nobody take that bet.  Unless you have a billion dollars you're cool with losing.

It's not this big intentional artistic choice, by any means.  Aaron Sorkin just is not a sketch-comedy writer.  Plain and simple.  The last episode took a good approach, giving us just the barest glimpses of the sketches themselves, without ever relying on the sketch to prove itself.
My house, my rules, my coffee

pete

yeah it only repeated that joke four times, plain and simple.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

polkablues

My house, my rules, my coffee

picolas

"America has so much food we drop it with bombs" and "ADD, etc. in my day you were just 'stupid'"

polkablues

Oh, yeah.  Aaron Sorkin's not much of a stand-up writer either, apparently.
My house, my rules, my coffee

Pubrick

haha, i love this discussion.. but unfortunately we won't know who's right until Garam has told us what he thinks.
under the paving stones.

grand theft sparrow

He won't until Ricky Gervais guests on the show.

Ravi

Quote from: picolas on October 14, 2006, 02:52:21 AM
"America has so much food we drop it with bombs" and "ADD, etc. in my day you were just 'stupid'"

And women take forever to get dressed, am I right, guys?

grand theft sparrow

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/54117

Studio 60 Was Better When It First Came Out

By Artie Mayer
October 18, 2006 | Issue 42•42



I remember when the famous phrase "Live from Studio 60, it's Friday Night In Hollywood!" used to mean something. Back then, when the show first came out, I'd stay home every Monday night just to make sure I didn't miss an episode. There such a buzz around the show in the weeks leading up to its premiere, because it was something new, something no one had ever seen before. But ever since Judd Hirsch left, the show's totally gone downhill.

Even by just watching the show in those early days, you felt like you were part of something special. It was truly the first of its kind—so revolutionary that it immediately spawned imitators like 30 Rock. I don't know whether it was better writing, hip musical guests like Three 6 Mafia, or the whole novelty of being the first-ever show about a late-night sketch-comedy show, but regardless of whatever made it so great in those days, it has certainly not aged well.

I don't even understand why anyone watches it anymore.

In Studio 60's heyday, they would do this thing where Judd would come out before the opening credits and deliver this long, angry monologue about the current state of network television. I used to sit in front of the TV, just waiting for him to unleash his famous catchphrase, "It's not going to be a very good show tonight." But they haven't done that for a while.

I wish they would just get rid of this current cast and start from scratch.

Back when the show first hit the airwaves, they were constantly coming up with new, interesting characters, like Amanda Peet's manipulative but well-intentioned NBS president "Jordan McDeere," or Matthew Perry's hilarious stressed-out-writer character "Matt Albie."

I'd say they introduced eight to 10 great characters in the first episode alone, but then they kept using those same exact characters in every single show. Sure, they put them in slightly different situations and gave them new dialogue, but they got really old really fast. How many times do I have to see a "Matt and Danny" scene or a "Jordan and Jack" scene? Three or four times per show? It's just lazy.

They've fallen into the trap of using the same tired old formula week in and week out, just because they know it works. Every episode, it's a cold open that sets up a conflict, followed by the opening credits, followed by acts one through six, almost always ending with a neat little resolution and a new cliffhanger. And they keep drawing on the same overused topics—TV networks, network sponsors, sketch comedy... Talk about milking a premise for all it's worth. Okay, we get it already. I understand this is the format that made the show popular, but you can't rely on it forever.

Maybe it was just a matter of the show being in the right place at the right time. The nation was still reeling from the fifth anniversary of 9/11, the Pope had just made those insensitive comments about the Muslim religion, and we were all on edge about the E. coli spinach scare. Studio 60 provided the escape we needed every Monday night. But as the times have changed, the show just seems less and less relevant.

Then again, maybe it's me. Maybe I've just matured and my tastes have changed since it first premiered, and the show was always this bad. Maybe if I go back and watch the first episode again, I'll realize that it's not as good as I thought it was when I was younger.

Oh well, I guess I'll still keep watching though, since there's really nothing else on Mondays at 10 p.m. But I just can't shake the feeling I've seen the same four or five shows over and over since it debuted.

Kal

NBC is moving 'Friday Night Lights' to Monday at 10pm replacing Studio 60. It starts October 30, which is... next week!

I wonder what the hell are they doing with Studio 60...


grand theft sparrow

It's probably gone.  I think it's only retained half its viewers from the premiere.  This past episode was the first one I got bored with and turned off halfway through.  I really don't like the actress playing Harriet, they had a skit that went on WAY too long, like they were filling time, and the Sting thing was like some ridiculous Ally McBeal shit.  Plus no Matt and Danny in the first half and they're the best part. 

diggler

the show is pretty sharply written but i think it just disguises from how..... empty it all is.  they're concentrating way too much on the matt/harriet thing, especially since the show is only a few episodes old.  aside from a good nicholas cage impression, the sketches are painfully unfunny (it would be funny if that was the point seeing as SNL is painfully unfunny, but everyone in the show talks about how great the show is so thats not likely) 

who knew 30rock would be the better of the two
I'm not racist, I'm just slutty

RegularKarate

Quote from: ddiggler6280 on October 19, 2006, 12:03:16 PM
who knew 30rock would be the better of the two

Everyone who knew anything from anything

I was cool with this show at first, then I got a little tired of it quickly.. now I'm glad it's cancelled.. maybe Sorkin will actually try for his next show.

Hooray for Friday Night Lights... I hope this is a good sign... it's one of my favorite new shows.

EDIT:  looks like this is a one time thing... 60 gets a week off to get the far superior FNL a chance at a different timeslot...it's going to still show on Tuesday during it's regular slot.  The network probably just likes FNL more. Good for them.

pete

yeah 30 rock is really fun, and it's a fun mix of Arrested Development-style franticness (and a boat party) and more traditional backroom drama.  tina fey is also very very charming.  lets change this thread to 30 rock!  tracy said he's got "The aids monkey's bone."  that was awesome.
and with studio 60-- TOLD YA.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

modage

yeah does anybody who was raving about this a few pages ago still feel like its any good?
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.