Rohit Mordani’s Blog

Boy, was I excited today when I saw that “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” was back on air ! This is a drama/comedy (termed as ‘Dramedy’) that airs on NBC. This show is excellent ! Everything has a cause and every dialogue said is needed and not just something thrown in. It has fun, comedy, drama, excitement (sometimes) and a nice cast and yet it doesn’t do well and the ratings fall and the show is nearly cancelled ! Hmm…why am I not surprised ! Why does America always want the slapstick comedy shows or the reality shows - which are barely “real”. Why does everything have to be “in your face”. For once can they appreciate something really good?

Anyways, this is just another one of my ramblings ! I can go on and on but lets focus on the show. The show features Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford as 2 directors re-hired in Studio 60 when the current director is fired. Everything revolves around the show and that is what makes this show so intricate. The entire cast have their own lives, which are intertwined every now and then, but the glue is always the “show” itself. I really like this show no matter what the general public thinks of it - I give credit to Aaron S0rkin for creating this show - It takes a lot to create something intelligent, funny and dramatic - not many people will appreciate that but when you see what I see then you too will appreciate it !

All in all - a series worth watching - I hope all of you’ll who read this will take some time to see this show and appreciate it. Give all of those reality series and other shows a break and watch this - It is worth it…

Oh did I mention all the “Stars” that have performed on this show? Take a look…

• Sting - and he sang my favourite song - “Fields of Gold”
• Macy Gray
• Corinne Bailey Rae

Watch online episodes here

UPDATE: Watching the episode tonight, I realised why I love this show so much - every person in the show has a character. From Matthew Perry’s secretary to a doctor performing some routine tests on Amanda Peet. Each one of them have character and it takes only a single dialogue by the actor playing the role to give the exact description of that character and that in my mind is simply Brilliant ! You don’t need a full episode, not even a full scene - just a simple dialogue to make it clear to the viewer what kind of character the actor is playing - What a Beauty !

Yes, I am talking about the 1968 flick directed by Brian G. Hutton. Where Eagles Dare is a wartime story of a covert operation by the Allies into a strategic Nazi castle. There is more to the story than just that but I will not ruin it for those who are interested in seeing this epic movie.

So why did I think about writing this post - well 2 reasons - the DVD for the movie came out just a while ago and I got it on Netflix today !

I grew up seeing some of these classics - I give credit to my dad for making me see some of these greats ! He and I watched some great movies together such as “Guns of Navarone“, “Force 10 from Navarone“, “Mackenna’s Gold“, “Lawrence of Arabia“, “Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines“, and “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea“. I have had a great childhood and I am grateful for that. I did more than most of the kids have done (even in comparison with todays kids) and at the same time I learned a lot from what I did and what I saw. Movies, poems, music and everything else taught me a lot and has given me values that I cherish and hope to pass on to my kids - I hope they also see the value in things as I do. I love literary works, poems and even some movies ! All these have attributed towards my growth as a person.

Back to the movie. I still remember seeing this movie when I was in the second standard - that would make me about 7 years old at the time that I watched this movie - so approximately around 1985 !! Wow - that is a long time ago and I still remember the first time I saw “Where Eagles Dare”. My dad had rented the VHS tape (which he eventually owned) and we watched it in my neighbour (Paul, Suzie, Danny and Hep) place. It was amazing - sitting by the fireside and watching Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood kick some German ass !

I loved the music score of the movie and the impact the starting tune has had on me is something that I will never forget. It gives each scene so much dept. Some of the scenes are so intense - and it is all because of the great music. Even today when I see this movie and hear the score - it gives me the same old tingling feeling. Kudos to Ron Goodwin for the great music direction.

To explain how much this movie meant to us. Here is something we did - As a kid we would always play with each other and imitate Richard Burton over the walkie talkie (in his British accent) shouting -

“Broadsword calling Danny Boy. Over”

This movie had everything a great war movie should have - plot, character, location, action and a lot of explosives ! Simply genius - it is worth the watch and I recommend this movie (and the others listed above) to everyone ! Its is definitely a 10/10 for me. It is amazing how you grow up and some things are just ingrained in your mind. This is just one of the things the will remain with me forever.

Check out this fan site for Where Eagles Dare

Trivia: The title is taken from Act I, Scene III in William Shakespeare’s Richard III: “The world is grown so bad, that wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch”.

Oh my God !! What is the deal with Indian Idol this year???!! Everything sucks in this show from what I have seen. The contestants suck, the judges might be good in their respective fields but they suck at judging !! All of them say good things after the performances and the next day (judgment day) they criticize the people ! the contestants look like kids - its more of a talent show rather than a serious singing competition !

What is up with Sony as well? They are airing 2 hour shows EVERY DAY for a whole week and voting out 3 contestants at a time - guess they just want to get done with the show as well - Boy, talk about budget cuts !! Bottom line - this show sucks and should be killed ! What a waste of time ! Simon Fuller - please take back the rights to this show from all of these fools !