Shook the Spot

"WE'LL BE THE PERFECT MODEL OF A MODERN NETWORK TV SHOW"

"I've got a secret for you, Mr. President," said the ghost of Mrs. Landingham in the finale of season two of The West Wing. "Your father was a prick who couldn't get over the fact that he wasn't as smart as his brothers."

Believe it or not, that line was controversial. As recounted in a 2001 New Yorker piece . . .

When a long-running drama is short on off-color language or risky topics, you
can assume that the Standards people think it's no good. "Last year, we let
Aaron Sorkin use the word 'prick' on 'The West Wing,' " Alan Wurtzel, at NBC,
told me, "but only because it is clearly a quality show, and because the
characters had been established for two years." A former NBC executive told me,
"The producers of 'Pretender' and 'Profiler,' two extremely pedestrian shows,
would always say, 'They used "ballbuster" on "Homicide"—can't we do it?' We'd
say politely, 'Your show ain't "Homicide." ' "

And from later in the same piece . . .

Standards departments pay particular attention to impiety. Aaron Sorkin, the
creator of "The West Wing," said, "What has surprised me most about television
is that Standards and Practices made it very clear that I will be able to say
'motherfucker' on the air before I can take the Lord's name in vain. They fear
that religious groups will aggressively boycott our show." In one episode last
year, President Bartlet exploded about being bested by a "damn street gang." "It
didn't ring true," Sorkin said. "I originally wrote 'goddamn street gang.' In
the movies, it would have been 'fucking street gang.' I'm fighting to get NBC to
loosen the reins, and I feel 'bullshit' should be allowed, occasionally— 'That's
crap' doesn't play."

Well, Studio 60 nailed it again last night. (See the episode here.) A slow beginning—hard to compete with last week's start—gave way to a second half-hour of brilliant television. To those who couldn't stand the Gilbert and Sullivan bit, feel free to shit on Sorkin in the comments. Shook, for one, loved it.

The "Modern Major General" riff was reminiscnent of West Wing's third season finale, which ended in a dramatic rendition of "The Patriotic Song" from the Dickens musical, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. But whatever. It was good. And how about the cut to Danny Trip (Bradley Whitford), executive producer of Studio 60, the NBS show, when the chorus repeats that classic line, "And we hope that you don't mind that our producer was caught doing blow." Blow, shrooms—it was a clear nod from Sorkin, executive producer of Studio 60, the NBC show. Once the premiere started with an NBS cry of "Roll VTR" into the actual NBC credits, you had to know the two would be tightly intertwined.