Sweet Agony

Studio 60 appears to be back on for the time being. Guess NBC is filling out the gap between the prime time season and the undoubtedly crappy summer season with the remainder of the show's episodes. And while it was good to be back on the Sunset Strip, it was bittersweet. To see Allison Janney back on television opposite Timothy Busfield was like a wonderful little sidetrip down West Wing Memory Lane. And the cast is so, so wonderful - Stephen Weber is brilliant! My only complaint was that Bradley Whitford was totally absent from tonight's episode. Tune in next Thursday at ten for the next installment. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Set Your DVR!

By trying to figure out what project Bradley Whitford is in next, I just discovered that NBC is going to revive Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip! Well, by that I mean air at least one episode. On May 24 at 10, the next episode in the series "Breaking News" will pick up where the show left off. IMDB's summary says, " Jordan faces a scare with her pregnancy. Tom must deal with a crisis. Matt's drug habit is no longer a secret." NBC's site notes that Allison Janney (my hero C.J. from Sorkin's The West Wing) will be guest starring as the show's host. No subsequent airings are listed on IMDB or NBC, but I recall that there were between 5-10 episodes that never aired. I'll take what I can get. Woohoo!

Studio 60 Gets 86ed

I could feel it coming. I mean, really. As soon as I got attached, I knew that it was going to be doomed. Like Carnivale - cancelled. And as an aside to HBO - I'm still wondering if Jonesy died. Like the perfume I wear - discontinued. Like the string of hairdressers I've left behind me in Wilmywood - lost, missing, abandoned, incarcerated. Studio 60 is airing its last episode tonight in favor of a replacement drama. A new mob show created by Paul Haggis of Crash fame. So tune in tonight and bid farewell to Danny and Matt, Harriet and Jordan. And Aaron Sorkin's brilliance. And sadly, sadly, my weekly installment of Bradley Whitford. Mondays just got more Mondayish.

Film Fluff

While taking a break from my manic cleaning last night, I caught the beginning of Down with Love on Oxygen. I'd forgotten this movie - and forgotten that I own it! But I pulled it out today and watched it. I think it floated under the radar of most when it was in the theater, but it's definitely worth a watch.

When I was growing up, TNT used to run blocks of old movies in the summer time (instead of its current hit parade of Law & Order). I can remember watching Doris Day & Rock Hudson marathons, the Elvis week and Esther Williams specials. No one shows Esther Williams anymore - the bathing beauty who took synchronized swimming to the big screen in movies like Million Dollar Mermaid, Dangerous When Wet and Neptune's Daughter (which also featured Red Skelton and Ricardo Montalbon). The slapstick situation comedy of all those old movies from the 50's and 60's is parodied so well in Down with Love - and with so much respect to the movies to which it pays tribute. Ewan McGregor's portrayal of a suave sixties cad is spot-on perfect.

And I had forgotten that Sarah Paulson from Studio 60 plays Renee Zellweger's editor - reminding me of Penelope's post the other day about movie connections. And then when I looked her up on IMDB, I realized she'd also been on Deadwood. She's just as fabulous in this film as she is on Studio.

As a bonus the DVD credits include a music video with McGregor and Zellweger who wanted to match musical talents, having both just come off huge musical successes (McGregor in Moulin Rouge! and Zellweger in Chicago). So put on your Jackie O sunglasses, mix a martini and get down with love.

Pick Me Up

Apparently what I needed to lift my spirits was the Best. Episode. Of Stuido 60. EVER. Brilliant show. "I went to that place called 'say it.'" And man, oh, man...the O Holy Night tribute to New Orleans by the horn players made me cry. I LOVE THIS SHOW!!! And its coconut snow, too.

Studio Save Me

I just heard that Studio 60 has been saved by the NBC network execs and a full season has been ordered - 22 episodes. NBC prez Kevin Reilly is standing behind the show, keeping it in its Monday night time slot and declaring that he thinks the show will find its viewership. I think he must be watching and feels like he ought to be noble and live up to what the show is suggesting. Or maybe my letter had some effect. Whatever the reason, this is the best thing that's happened this week - I was worried that I might have to end my affair with Bradley Whitford. So Studio 60, in the words of Tim Gunn, carry on!

Spare Me 60 Seconds for Studio 60

Dear NBC Studio Execs:
Please be like Jordan McDeere. Please understand that not all of us want to watch 17 hours straight of reality television - with all due respect to those who do. But please, NBC, I've heard the rumblings. I knows you've been making cuts and that my dear Studio 60 hasn't been holding up in the ratings. But, please, I beg you. Don't axe it.

Take a look around at the brilliant but cancelled shows that litter the past few years - Arrested Development. People wish that was still on TV. They campaign for it to be back on television. There are tshirts for that!! And they'll wish this was on TV if you snatch it away from us all. Because it's smart. It's funny. It's entertainment that isn't spoon-fed drivel.

And Sarah Paulson? She's amazing. She knocks my socks off. The whole cast is fantastic. It's fantastic, thoughtful acting. The way The West Wing portrayed the president we long for, Studio 60 shows a side of Hollywood we hope for - the side with a brain.

I was a little desperate when I heard the rumors, and my friend Kim looked it up and told me it's in the top 20 podcast downloads. See? See there? The rich people with the iPods are loving your show. Then I read an article that suggested people aren't interested because they don't have anything in common with the high-powered studio execs portrayed on the show. Like I've got so much in common with the ladies of Wisteria Lane. Or the detectives on CSI. And frankly, I don't have enough money to buy Manolo Blahniks - probably never will - but I love Sex & the City with all my heart.

The only thing I need to have in common with this show is we need to be together on Monday nights at 10. Seriously. This is my return to network television. Don't let me down. Pretty please? Pretty please with sugar on top?

XO,
Ash

P.S. Did I mention how much I love Bradley Whitford?

Tonight on NBC

Another stellar episode of Studio 60. Although I might be developing an overly large crush on Bradley Whitford. Eh, what's done is done. They're doing a brilliant job of hints and allegations about all the relationships between the characters and creating a sense of tension through the whole show. I admire them for eeking out the storylines instead of trying to spill out all the back story in the first few episodes. Mystery is where it's at. And great laughs. Next week's episode looks even better.

Also, JOHN MAYER is on the Tonight Show tonight. And YES, I am staying up to watch. Because I'm a good fan like that. Review tomorrow - even if I am the only one reading this blog who cares.

It's All You Can Eat

Grab your fork and your plate - it's all you can eat at the pop culture buffet. This week's episode of Studio 60 didn't disappoint with it's quick wit and inclusion of a cache of pop culture references from The Drudge Report to The White Stripes. And a musical number that touched on blow, corporate America's control of the media and evangelical Christianity. Come on and get you some.

My Return to Network Television

They sometimes make fun of me at the office because I often say that the network channels don't exist to me. I can't think of the last show I watched consistently on one of the major networks. (Confession: I didn't watch "The West Wing" until the last season after catching up on reruns during Bravo's Marathon Mondays.) But I'm back!


Studio 60 on the Sunset strip is smart and funny. Great cast. Great writing. And a version of Timothy Busfield that looks strangely like Kevin Costner. Killer opening scene with the kind of monologue I wish I had written. Bradley Whitford as witty and clever and strangely attractive as ever and Matthew Perry with a stellar performance as not Chandler. Steven Weber (of "Wings" fame!) as the calculating show creator. First episode closed with "Under Pressure." Need I say more? WATCH IT!

Y'all Help Me Out Now

Please, kind readers, help me bring Bradley Whitford back to television. I've been a little distresssed since The West Wing wrapped last year. I mean, I know Josh Lyman and Donna Moss are in some alternate TV universe making cute little political babies. But, I need my Bradley Whitford. He's unconventionally handsome - or maybe just so quirky that he's really attractive. Tune in to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip tomorrow night at 10 on NBC. Also in store - Amanda Peet's first non-topless role in years.