{"id":19152,"date":"2006-08-18T18:13:00","date_gmt":"2006-08-18T18:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lookingcloser.wordpress.com\/2006\/08\/18\/studio-60-on-the-sunset-strip-rocks\/"},"modified":"2013-01-11T16:06:01","modified_gmt":"2013-01-11T23:06:01","slug":"studio-60-on-the-sunset-strip-rocks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lookingcloser\/2006\/08\/studio-60-on-the-sunset-strip-rocks\/","title":{"rendered":""Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" rocks."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Last night, thanks to a special deal through Netflix, I watched the pilot episode of the upcoming NBC series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s another strong, foundation-laying Sorkin prologue. It\u2019s not as suspenseful as The West Wing<\/em>, but then again, this is a show about a sketch-comedy program, not about national security.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a bit bumpy, partly because there\u2019s so much going on<\/em>. Sorkin is clearly scrambling to set up an elaborate network (no pun intended) of relationships and conflicts that I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll explore in detail later.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a dizzying 45 minutes of visual dazzlement. This episode reveals that Sorkin is working on the most astonishing sets, with the most artful cinematography he\u2019s ever had. The show looks fantastic. And EXPENSIVE, beginning to end. In fact, it\u2019s so showy and elaborate that I\u2019m worried this could get in the way of the story.<\/p>\n

But, having said that, I\u2019m already hooked.<\/p>\n

The cast is very strong. Amanda Peet nails it. She owns this show. All of the promise she\u2019s shown in more dramatic roles, as in Changing Lanes and Syriana, will be fulfilled in this series, I have no doubt. Matthew Perry is perfectly cast as a comedy writer, and he and Bradley Whitford make a good team. Judd Hirsch leads us into the show, although I can\u2019t tell if he\u2019s going to be a regular or not. Ed Asner shows up. Stephen Weber and Timothy Busfield give typically strong performances.<\/p>\n

Felicity Huffman shows up, to the delight of SportsNight <\/em>fans, in what looks like a blatant middle-finger to the networks that failed to give SportsNight <\/em>a fighting chance. She was so great in that show, playing a much better character, with much stronger dialogue than she gets on Desperate Housewives<\/em>. It\u2019s like Sorkin is saying, \u201cRemember? I TOLD you she was a star, and you dumped us anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact\u2026 and I haven\u2019t decided if this is a good thing or a bad thing\u2026 the show really betrays a lot of Sorkin\u2019s anger over the way he\u2019s been treated by the industry. He takes so many shots at the \u201clobotomizing\u201d effect of prime-time television, at the refusal of networks to care about quality, that it almost feels like every character lives to serve his rants. His script mercilessly guns at SNL, mainstream news media, and more. Since this is the pilot episode, I can only assume he\u2019s playing it a little safe\u2026 and that\u2019s scary, because its strikes me as his most personal, autobiographical material yet.<\/p>\n

Most Christian media writers are going to hate it, because it also opens fire on evanglicals. No, wait, let me revise that: One character <\/em>opens fire on evangelicals. Another provides a more reasonable, fair assessment. But that character probably won\u2019t register with those who are primed to become offended.<\/p>\n

To help balance out the critiques, Sorkin also critiques himself, including not one but two drug-addict characters who will, I\u2019m sure, go on to portray the torment of fighting addiction and the trouble with trying to stay clean in Hollywood. Thus, there\u2019s not only anger, but sadness and regret running through this show. Anybody who knows anything about Sorkin\u2019s career and personal struggles will realize that writing this show is going to be like therapy for him.<\/p>\n

All in all, it\u2019s feverish, impassioned, fantastic television, and I highly recommend you all show up for the season premiere.<\/p>\n

The question that will preoccupy the newspapers \u2014 How will it fare in comparison with the OTHER \u201cbehind the scenes at SNL\u201d show, the one with Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin? \u2014 doesn\u2019t really interest me. No matter what that other show is like, this is clearly one of the most innovative and exciting premieres to come along in ages, and I hope it gives Sorkin the chance to fulfill the potential he showed with SportsNight. Maybe it will even bring more attention to that series (avaialble on DVD).<\/p>\n

Am I allowed to dream that they might someday bring that series back? Man, I miss SportsNight<\/em>. Perhaps it was just too far ahead of its time. (The network insisted on adding laugh tracks, and they almost spoiled the first few episodes, until they finally agreed to dropt them. Now, The Office <\/em>plays without laugh tracks\u2013thank God\u2013and no one flinches.) Perhaps Studio 60 <\/em>will enjoy the success SportsNight <\/em>should have had. There are a lot of similarities between the two series, clearly.<\/p>\n

But something tells me that TV audiences are still going to back slowly away, too bewildered by television this smart. Most people turn on the TV so they can turn their brains OFF, not ON. Sorkin refuses to waste our time. I wish him, and his show, the best.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last night, thanks to a special deal through Netflix, I watched the pilot episode of the upcoming NBC series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. It\u2019s another strong, foundation-laying Sorkin prologue. It\u2019s not as suspenseful as The West Wing, but then again, this is a show about a sketch-comedy program, not about national security. It\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1051,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1717],"class_list":["post-19152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-aaron-sorkin"],"yoast_head":"\n"Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" rocks.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Last night, thanks to a special deal through Netflix, I watched the pilot episode of the upcoming NBC series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. 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