Sork of July - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip 1.16

One of the above is the best character on Studio 60.

If you had to exist on one of Sorkin's television shows, which would you pick?

Right off the bat, I'm ruling out The West Wing. I would not thrive on that show.  I'm nowhere near literate enough to be anywhere near The West Wing.  While I could probably hold my own on The Newsroom or Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip honestly, I think I'd like to work on Sports Night.  

I don't know a ton about sports, but that place seems like the most fun place to work.

Today's episode is "4 A.M. Miracle."
Host & Musical Guest: Renee Zellweger

# of references “Crazy Christians”:  None

Sketches Referenced: Zero

Sketches Shown: Zilch

The big news this episode is that a former writer for Studio 60 is suing NBS for sexual harassment because she felt that Studio 60 was a hostile work environment.  Given all that we’ve seen in the previous fifteen episodes, Studio 60 is full of in appropriate exchanges.  But the writer in question worked during the Wes/Ricky/Ron regime. 

This explains why Danny and Matt are so defensive when the lawyer, Mary Tate (from Gage Whitney) stops by to ask them some questions about how Studio 60 works.  Matt finds her both invasive and alluring.  She’s confident, intelligent and attractive.  Also, like a good lawyer on a Sorkin show, she happily mentions how much she makes an hour. 

She happens to stop by on a Wednesday night, when Matt is feeling less than inspired.  The writers have pitched him ideas all week and he’s rejected every one of them.  The crew is waiting to see what needs to be built in terms of sets.  But Matt is waiting on a 4 A.M. Miracle, like the one Coleridge got for Kubla Kahn.

Matt’s also not thrilled that Luke has Harriet working on his Rolling Stones movie on this night.  It’s not like she even comes to visit him anymore, since they broke up for real.  He even confides to Danny that he never realized how much he needed her as a muse. 

Speaking of Danny his storyline this episode resolves around Jordan.  She’s lingering around waiting for him to leave, so they can go home together.  It’s then that the produces the “Real Care Baby” which is meant to prepare her for motherhood.  Jordan is worried that she’s not going to know what to do, so she wants some practice. 

This leads to a bet between Danny and Jordan that he can’t take care of the doll until the leave for home.  It’s a $100 bet, but it’s mostly pride on the line.  Of course he makes the mistake of entrusting Tom and Simon with the doll, which leads to Cal beheading it with a guillotine prop.  Danny finds out and tells Cal to fix it.  Danny presents the fixed doll to Jordan only for it’s head to spring off and eyes bug out, because Cal is a prankster.  But the point of the story is that Danny is going to be there to help raise this kid with Jordan.  It’s an attempt to be sweet. 

Simon goes to Tom because he’s worried that the writer suing NBS may have a case.  Simon knows this because he slept with her.  They eventually decide to tell Mary the truth, only for Simon to realize that he actually slept with another writer.  Get it, because Simon can’t be bothered to remember who he slept with, much less differentiate between them. 

Meanwhile Harriet is on Luke’s set causing trouble.  Despite having had the script for two months, she’s really having trouble shooting a scene where she convinces a kid to play Russian Roulette causing him to kill himself.   She argues that Anita Pallenberg was acquitted and the court ruled that she wasn’t even in the house when it happened. 

Luke is understandably frustrated.  When Harriet breaks the scene he tries to suck it up.  When she argues with him in front of the crew, he does his best to keep himself in check.  But after she brings up feeling guilty about the Matt situation, he’s less than polite.  He shoots a take her way, with Anita in the bathroom, then breaks up with her, causing her to storm off the set. 

Speaking of Harriet, Mary shares some depositions, where the writer recounts other male writers detailing how they’d have sex with Harriet.  While it angers him and he points out that it would never happen in a room he’s running, he also adds that good stuff comes out of rooms he’s not running.  So ultimately he’ll be a good witness for the case. 

Later, when Matt is in his office struggling to find inspiration, Harriet arrives, tells him she’s be up to help him write and kisses him on the cheek.  And thus Matt gets his 4 A.M. Miracle.