Savoy salvo

Aaron Sorkin must be a big Gilbert and Sullivan fan.

There's and episode of The West Wing featuring the song "For he is an Englishman" from H.M.S. Pinafore. Guest star John Larroquette, playing White House counsel Lionel Tribby, argues with Toby about which musical the song is from - The Pirates of Penzance or H.M.S. Pinafore. The episode culminates in half the cast singing "Englishman" to the new republican legal aide.

Now, in just the second episode of his new show, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Sorkin gives us more G & S with a parody of "I am the very model of a modern major general." Studio 60 is itself a parody of SNL. The protagonists of the new series, Bradley Whitford and Mathew Perry, are the recently rehired producers of the program. They are brought back to save the show's image after an embarrassing rant during the monologue of a previous telecast of Studio 60.

Perry's character comes up with a spoof of "Major General" that makes fun of the show and it's improper image. They even include a jab about Whitford's character and his alleged cocaine problem - which is itself a self-deprecating joke, as Sorkin allegedly has/had a drug problem.

I hope he uses a song from Ruddigore in his next series.