“The Wrap Party”
So we start this episode about where we left off the last one – the end of the Lauren Graham/Sting show and the wrap party that’s about to happen in the Studio. I’m going to break this down by the subplots, so bear with me.
Danny tries to set up Matt with a girl to take his mind off Harriet, who he almost kissed last week. Apparently this effort involves three girls (at least one of whom is actually a Deal or No Deal model) who have decided to make the leap from rock groupies to actor/athlete groupies. Everyone has to have a dream, I guess. As you might imagine, this is less than successful. Perhaps even worse (for Danny’s plan), the ladies gravitate towards Harriet’s boyfriend and his teammates.
Meanwhile, Jordan apparently doesn’t have any friends. She also carries around her jacket in a fairly blatant attempt to hide Amanda Peet’s pregnancy. Maybe they should’ve went the route Law & Order: SVU took with Mariska Hargitay and shot her from the boobs up. Anyways, her solution to this is to go around and proclaim “I need friends!” That only seems to work in pro wrestling, hon.
After Danny’s less-than-successful plan to hook him up, Matt and Simon go to the Improv to check out a black comic and potential Studio 60 writer, and as it turns out he’s apparently Just Another Black Comedian, and it pisses Simon off. But as these things often go, they happen to find another Black comedian who, while not funny onstage, apparently has enough ideas that Matt thinks can be useful at Studio 60.
Tom’s parents have arrived for the wrap party, and Tom gives them a tour of the facilities. Tom’s dad is rather unimpressed by it all. You get the sense that he doesn’t like showbiz, period. Tom tries his best to impress him, but that ain’t happening.
Finally, Cal discovers an old man wandering around the studio holding a picture of Sid Caesar, and naturally this leads to a wonderful discovery.
I’m not really sure what to make of this episode. On one hand, I dug that there was loads of interaction and less emphasis on the creation of the show itself. It allowed for some building up of the supporting cast, so that was nice. On the other hand, I’m fascinated by the whole “behind the scenes” thing, so I found myself missing it a bit.
