"Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" The Wrap Party (2006)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

David Semel

Writers:

Aaron Sorkin (creator)
Melissa Myers (story)

TV Series:

"Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" (2006)

Original Air Date:

22 October 2006 (Season 1, Episode 6)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Tom gets a visit from his uptight conservative parents, Matt and Simon go out to find new African-American writers for the show, and Cal tries to find the identity of a confused elderly man who wanders into the wrap party. |

Plot Keywords:

Party | WWII Veteran | Comedy Club | Father Son Relationship | Blacklist

Cast

Matthew Perry	...	Matt Albie
Amanda Peet	...	Jordan McDeere
Bradley Whitford	...	Danny Tripp
Steven Weber	...	Jack Rudolph
D.L. Hughley	...	Simon Stiles
Sarah Paulson	...	Harriet Hayes
Nathan Corddry	...	Tom Jeter (as Nate Corddry)
Timothy Busfield	...	Cal Shanley
Nancy Lenehan	...	Mrs. Jeter
Randy Oglesby	...	Mr. Jeter
Columbus Short	...	Darius Hawthorne
Teddy Sears	...	Darren Wells
Diana-Maria Riva	...	Lilly Rodriguez
Merritt Wever	...	Suzanne
Mystro Clark	...	Willy Wilz

Company:

Shoe Money Productions

Trivia:

The Guest Host, appearing on screen, Lauren Graham. The Guest Musical Act, appearing on screen, was Sting.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Tom tells his parents about the night Abbot and Costello wrote the famous comedy sketch "Who's on First?" If he was really such a fan, he would have known that although Abbott and Costello made the sketch famous, they did not write it. It was a version of an old vaudeville number that had been around for years.

Quotes:

Simon Stiles: There is nothing like the wit and originality of the differences between white people and black, and, apparently, the biggest difference is that we don't pay our bills, respect the law, women, or each other.

Movie Connections:

References "Gilmore Girls" (2000)

This episode is a huge disappointment

Jordan seemed totally out of character. Weak, insecure, dumb. Nothing like what she's been in previous shows. Tom's back story could have been interesting -- how his comedic sense emerged from a life in Ohio under a strait-laced father. Instead, he delivers a history lesson. And of all the cast members to pair up with Eli Wallach, wouldn't Tom, with his appreciation for comedy and comedians, have been a natural? At least he might have explained the Clifford Odets reference that probably sailed over the head of any viewer under 70. Last criticism: At the outset it seemed like the episode was going to set up the three bimbos as a main story line. That fell flat right away, so the trio disappeared. Good riddance. Only Simon's back story, his confrontation with Matt and their interplay at the Improv rang true; that's the only story line that sounded like something Sorkin wrote. The first five episodes hooked me and I will keep watching the show, but this week's show not only wasted my time, it insulted my intelligence.