103 “The Focus Group” (Episode 3)

Characters


“The Focus Group”
Ayda Field as Jeanie, D.L. Hughley as Simon Stiles,
Rob Reiner as himself    – NBC Photo: Justin Lubin
Broadcast:
Monday, October 2, 2006
Written by:
Aaron Sorkin
Directed by:
Christopher Misiano
References:
Commedia Dell€Arte (at the bottom of the page)
Music, songs from “The Focus Group”
Quote, Dialogue, Story Points:
  • Jack quotes, “‘Thieves get rich, saints get shot, God don’t answer prayers a lot.’”
  • After hearing that the focus group doesn’t think Studio 60 is very patriotic, Matt tells Danny, “I’d be happy to take shots at the Democrats if one of them would say or do anything.”
  • When Matt keeps asking Danny about the retention needed, Danny finally snaps and says, “It’s important, Matt. We can’t lose more than 10%; what do you think? The sponsors, the affiliates, the press, the Right, our job, Jordan’s job, everybody’s job. It’s important.”
    Matt tells Danny, “All right. Lie to me next time.”
  • When the ratings go up 9 points, Jordan kisses Matt on the cheak and Danny on the mouth.
Description from NBC:
A network focus group sends a scare through the company that the ratings success of Matt (Matthew Perry) and Danny’s (Bradley Whitford) first show might have been a one-time thing. Amanda Peet, Steven Weber, D.L. Hughley, Sarah Paulson, Nathan Corddry and Timothy Busfield also star.