Review: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
I first became aware of Aaron Sorkin during the original run of Sports Night. I'm not a big sports person and had rarely watched the ESPN show that inspired it, but it was the smart writing and snappy repartee that caused me to watch every episode. This was not an easy task because the timeslot changed multiple times and it was one of those shows that'd go on hiatus during sweeps, but now that they've all been rebroadcast on cable, I know that I saw all but two during its initial run on network television.
I was attracted to West Wing before it ever aired, based on several factors; I'm a big fan of Martin Sheen's ability, not necessarily all of his choices, he went through a real Micheal Caine period, but I've always been impressed with his work. I've also always had a special place in my heart for Rob Lowe and Stockard Channing. I'm one of the tiny handful of people who sought out Ms Channing's shortlived, self-titled television show and Mr Lowe had been my favorite Brat Packer. I've long been a fan of both of these people.
Though perhaps my biggest draw to The West Wing was the subject matter (politics) and my admiration for Mr Sorkin's ability.
Similar reasoning was why I had looked forward to the debut of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. It was to be from the minds of Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme, plus it was to star one of the two talented Friends and Bradley Whitford. In my house, the premiere of this program was highly anticipated and I've religiously watched all five of the episodes, thus far.
I'll also continue to watch the program, but it's becoming increasingly obvious that my initial impression was correct. It has nowhere to go, except into the same soap operaland that marked the end chapters of Sports Night. If it hadn't been for Robert Guillaume's real life stroke and Matt Tarses being foisted upon them as a Co-Producer, the show probably wouldn't have gotten the last minute push and it would've devolved much quicker into nothing but a chronicle of relationships.
Studio 60 appears to be headed into this same realm. In the first episode, Mr Sorkin was able to get off a rant about programming quality, introduce a couple of his stock characters/actors and self-reference his arrest for drug possession. Though, perhaps the worse offense in my opinion, he had Bradley Whitford's character speaking in wonderment about the possibility of Amanda Peet's character being "real". If memory serves, the actor spouted almost identical lines in a flashback episode of West Wing, when he was talking about the future President Bartlet and when he was trying to recruit people to Jimmy Smits' campaign.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sure, the writer may be shooting his wad early and it does appear to be devolving into a show about rekindling the romance between Matt and Harriet, plus what appears to be a budding relationship between Danny and Jordan, but it's still very well written and it qualifies as one of the best things on television. After all, Charlie Kaufman's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was as predictable from the first reel, as anything from M. Night Shyamalan, but it's still an imaginative film.
I'm predicting that until NBC has reconnected to an audience, they're going to rightfully use Studio 60 as a badge of honor.
They might adjust the timeslot, though anything that pushes the overacting of David Caruso to the rerun season should be applauded, but they'll probably play with its schedule a little and temporarily pop into into the ER hole to increase sampling. All in all though, when all is said and done, I think NBC will stick with Studio 60 until Mr Sorkin reaches the same conclusion as myself and he realizes that because there's not any issues larger than television available, the storylines really have nowhere to go.
I was attracted to West Wing before it ever aired, based on several factors; I'm a big fan of Martin Sheen's ability, not necessarily all of his choices, he went through a real Micheal Caine period, but I've always been impressed with his work. I've also always had a special place in my heart for Rob Lowe and Stockard Channing. I'm one of the tiny handful of people who sought out Ms Channing's shortlived, self-titled television show and Mr Lowe had been my favorite Brat Packer. I've long been a fan of both of these people.
Though perhaps my biggest draw to The West Wing was the subject matter (politics) and my admiration for Mr Sorkin's ability.
Similar reasoning was why I had looked forward to the debut of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. It was to be from the minds of Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme, plus it was to star one of the two talented Friends and Bradley Whitford. In my house, the premiere of this program was highly anticipated and I've religiously watched all five of the episodes, thus far.
I'll also continue to watch the program, but it's becoming increasingly obvious that my initial impression was correct. It has nowhere to go, except into the same soap operaland that marked the end chapters of Sports Night. If it hadn't been for Robert Guillaume's real life stroke and Matt Tarses being foisted upon them as a Co-Producer, the show probably wouldn't have gotten the last minute push and it would've devolved much quicker into nothing but a chronicle of relationships.
Studio 60 appears to be headed into this same realm. In the first episode, Mr Sorkin was able to get off a rant about programming quality, introduce a couple of his stock characters/actors and self-reference his arrest for drug possession. Though, perhaps the worse offense in my opinion, he had Bradley Whitford's character speaking in wonderment about the possibility of Amanda Peet's character being "real". If memory serves, the actor spouted almost identical lines in a flashback episode of West Wing, when he was talking about the future President Bartlet and when he was trying to recruit people to Jimmy Smits' campaign.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sure, the writer may be shooting his wad early and it does appear to be devolving into a show about rekindling the romance between Matt and Harriet, plus what appears to be a budding relationship between Danny and Jordan, but it's still very well written and it qualifies as one of the best things on television. After all, Charlie Kaufman's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was as predictable from the first reel, as anything from M. Night Shyamalan, but it's still an imaginative film.
I'm predicting that until NBC has reconnected to an audience, they're going to rightfully use Studio 60 as a badge of honor.
They might adjust the timeslot, though anything that pushes the overacting of David Caruso to the rerun season should be applauded, but they'll probably play with its schedule a little and temporarily pop into into the ER hole to increase sampling. All in all though, when all is said and done, I think NBC will stick with Studio 60 until Mr Sorkin reaches the same conclusion as myself and he realizes that because there's not any issues larger than television available, the storylines really have nowhere to go.