3/5/07, 2:44 am EST

The Definitive Guide to Episode Eight: “All Night Long”

ACT ONE

Kids sit in on a production meeting to talk about the Fall Music Preview. Tika pipes up with an idea for a story about the “Chicken Noodle Soup” dance craze. Pete talks about how Lionel Richie is a pop star capable of uniting the Sunnis and Shiites in the Middle East, where he has a huge fan base. Jason wonders where Russell is. Jenny asks Colin if he’s seen him, but no one has.

Downtown, Russell is asleep. He rolls out of bed just before 11, and writes Joe a note saying he doesn’t feel good and isn’t coming in, then ponders why music journalism matters in the first place. He speaks about his frustration with his Lupe Fiasco piece, and how his attempts to invite political debate into a standard profile were thwarted.

Back at the office, Tika starts putting out calls for interviews for her trend piece. She’s also been assigned to interview Ice Cube about his new album. Pete, meanwhile, interviews a club owner in Dubai.

That night Jenny stops over to Russell to talk to him about his antics. Russell says he feels like a parody of himself. She tells him she believes in him.

The next morning, Russell pitches a story about Method Man’s new album, which the editors receive well.

Tika gets on the phone with Ice Cube, but after a few questions that seem to go nowhere, she ends the conversation feeling like it didn’t go as well as she would’ve liked.

Russell heads to the hotel where Method Man is staying to do a face-to-face interview. He asks about Wu Tang and new material. Method Man compares Wu Tang without ODB to chess with a penny instead of a pawn, to which Russell replies that it’s easier if you use checkers, because they’re easier to pick up. They end their interview with an arm wrestle, which Russell loses.

ACT TWO

Tika hasn’t heard back from anyone regarding her Chicken Noodle Soup story and her deadline is looming. She’s very frustrated and disappointed. Meanwhile, Pete heads to a hotel to meet with Lionel Richie.

Richie greets him warmly and the two discuss the strange popularity Richie enjoys in Iraq and the Middle East. Richie says that he got a call from someone on Nightline who’d done a report which revealed that Sunnis and Kurds agreed on nothing except their love for Lionel Richie songs. Richie says he thinks that the songs are about love and that those things transcend politics. Pete suggests that when things settle down, Richie should do a big concert in Iraq. Overall the interview goes really well. Pete is beaming — Richie is the most famous person he’s ever met.

Back at the office, Jason checks in with the kids on the status of their stories. Tika admits that she’s had difficulty getting anyone to respond to her requests for an interview. Pete tells the group how well his Lionel Richie interview went.

Jason speaks separately with Russell and says that if he can turn something around quickly, they might be able to run something short in the magazine that’s closing that week.

Tika keeps her nose to the grindstone, trying to get a few quotes for her piece. She gets through to a radio DJ but is disconnected twice and her frustration mounts. She goes to speak with Alex. Tika says Cube didn’t share anything exciting. Alex tells her that it’s not Ice Cube’s job to provide an interesting interview; Tika has to find the angle, do the research and craft something worth reading. Tika walks away stressed and confused.

Russell decides the best way to ensure that his Method Man piece gets done is to stay the night at the Rolling Stone offices. He likens the job of a journalist to the job of a criminal — you do things you aren’t supposed to do. He prances around the empty office smoking, talking to himself in the mirror and dedicating his work to Hunter S. Thompson.

At home, Tika labors over her Ice Cube item, saying it’s a tough job but it’s what she wants to do and she’s willing to get three hours of sleep a night every night to make sure she does it well.

In the early morning, Russell is still wandering around the building, musing on whether or not he’s cut out for a real job. He raids the kitchenette for beer, which he drinks out of a cognac glass. He says he’s confident that it will all come together in the thirteenth hour.

ACT THREE

Krystal comes into the office and finds Russell in the fishbowl. She asks why he’s wearing the same clothes. He says he slept in the office last night. Russell goes to Jason and says the Method Man piece is finished but requires some cleaning up. Jason says he can send it to him, then looks askance at his rumpled suit, knowing that he’s been there all night.

Tika checks in with David Swanson to tell him that she still hasn’t been able to get quotes for the Chicken Noodle Soup piece. He tells her that he’s counting on it, and if they don’t have quotes they can’t run the piece. She walks away upset, saying she’s been overwhelmed with the amount of work.

Pete goes over some revisions on his Lionel Richie piece with his mentor, Brian, who is encouraging and helpful. Back in the fishbowl, Russell continues to get drunk, then asks the other kids, “What’s something crazy I could do right now?” They look at each other and roll their eyes.

Russell finds a willing intern to spoon with him on the couch outside of Jann’s office, but the cuddle session is quickly broken up when a building security guard tells them they have to go their separate ways.

He goes and finds Jenny, and tells her that he’s unhinged. Jenny tells him that she’s mortified by his behavior. As Russell strolls past Jason’s office, Jason calls out to say that the piece is a mess. Russell wanders off with his tail between his legs

Pete meets with Jason to go over the Lionel Richie piece. Jason is very encouraging and says he likes the piece. Pete’s ecstatic.

Tika and Alex go over her Ice Cube article. Alex decides to kill the article entirely.

Joe, Jason and Alex review Tika’s work thus far. Jason says he feels she gets lazy with some of her reporting, Alex thinks she’s just gotten overwhelmed and isn’t great at juggling more than one project at a time.

Tika speaks to her father on the phone, questioning whether she’s just not up to the job.

Russell and Jenny go out for a cigarette to talk about his most recent screw-ups. Russell tells her he thinks he has a chemical imbalance, and again airs his frustration with his consistently self-destructive tendencies.

After a few edits, Russell’s Method Man item runs on the Web site, but not in the magazine.

Neither Tika’s Ice Cube story nor her Chicken Noodle Soup story get published.

Pete’s Lionel Richie piece is printed in the magazine and well-received.