Network: NBC; Genre: Dramedy; Content Rating: TV-14 (language and adult dialog); Perspective; Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4);
Seasons Reviewed: 1 season
Even though he only has two shows to his name, Aaron Sorkin's style is so distinct and instantly recognizable that most TV viewers already know what they are getting with "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip". So this review is strictly for the Sorkin fans, who may find it thrilling or befuddling to watch him spend every bit of capital he attained from "The West Wing" to go back to the behind-the-TV-scenes "Sports Night" well.
"Studio 60" starts off like a firecracker. Fresh out of rehab and angry as hell at the state of TV today, Sorkin opens the show with Judd Hirsh as the head writer for the title series, up to his intellectual ears in reality TV and network pandering to both the lowest common denominator and political interest groups, lashing out in and on-air meltdown of biblical proportions. Right off the bat "Studio 60" says everything I have been dying for a TV show to stand up and say: that it doesn't have to be like that and all it takes is one show that doesn't believe that the audience is stupid to make a difference. But is "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" that show?
On her first day on the job, NBS programming executive Jordan McDiere (Amanda Peet) must deal with the crisis at Studio 60 while being fought at every turn by programming president Steven Weber. As someone who believes in the Hirsch character's TV outlook, she hires highly regarded and controversial former writers Matt (Matthew Perry) and just-out-of-rehab Danny (Bradley Whitford) to add some class and edge to the late-night sketch comedy series. Studio 60, itself is a transparent "Saturday Night Live" satire starring Simon (D. L. Hughley), Tom (Nathan Corddry) and Matt's crush and the show's token Christian Harriet Hayes (Sarah Paulson). Timothy Busfield is a kick as the show's frazzled director.
How can it loose? Perry giving a bitter twist on his "Friends" persona, Whitford - the breakout actor from "The West Wing" - given a lead role and Aaron Sorkin back in his element. NBC taking it on the chin every Monday night. Sign me up. Even though it appears Sorkin has abandoned his trademark rapid-fire dialog and the history lesson are now limited to the fictitious history of the studio, his angry liberal rants and fairy tale romanticism is still in tact.
As much as I wanted to like his latest creation, if only for having the guts to cleverly lacerate its own network, it became hard to get past the elephant in the room. The show within the show makes no sense. The show is never able to decide if it wants to parody the inane political posturing, lame character sketches and Christian-bashing of "Saturday Night Live" or if it wants to be better than "SNL". All the characters walk around talking about how intellectual and satirical Matt and Danny's jokes are. Yet every time we actually see "Studio 60", it delivers a lame Tom Cruise impression in Celebrity Jeopardy, "The Nicholas Cage Show" or Hughley hosting "Pimp My Trike" (the most infamous 15 seconds in the show's history). I might as well be watching "SNL". The show smartly never shows us Matt's infamous "Crazy Christians" sketch. "Nations" is looking pretty good right now.
Oh, there is some great stuff here. The 2nd episode, "The Cold Opening" is from start to finish exceptional. In it we actually see the elaborate musical number the show has been concocting for the last hour (rare for behind-the-scenes shows to show us the final product so this was refreshing). A sub plot involving a ticking clock until show time that mocks Matt is icing on the cake. "The Wrap Party" in which Hughley seeks out an original, cliché-free black comic to write for the show is also fine work and "The West Coast Delay" in which the show races to prevent a plagiary accusation is a hoot. Also working is a budding relationship between Tim and freshman writer Lucy ("The Office's" Lucy Davis, always a delight) that under Sorkin's eye has an adorable puppy dog innocence (another Sorkin staple).
But before the fledgling first season comes to its end the show has lost its focus entirely. Sorkin makes two crucial mistakes. First, he becomes overbearingly single-minded in a mission to prove to the audience that the Christian right and the FCC are the two greatest threats to American life. Again and again Matt and Harriet go up against each other over false-premise debates about religion, gay marriage, middle-America etc. Second, his desire to get all the characters together (including the most likely of couples) buries the show in the same hopelessly romantic pabulum that helped kill "Sports Night". Both of these tones take away from what the show does best.
What "Studio" does best is recreate the sweaty chaos of getting a live show on the air and those late night writing sessions where no idea works. I love that most of the stories existing in the minutes before the show or between the end of the show and a wrap party that nobody seems to make it to.
"Studio 60" is an entertaining watch, brave for network TV, with solid writing and capable performances, but Sorkin goes on auto-pilot and allows it to wander of the reservation into an edgeless, warmed over "Sports Night" clone, toning down the TV industry inside-Baseball in an attempt to garner an audience that wouldn't appreciate him anyway. Only those that like "Studio 60" a lot will be the ones disappointed by it. Yes, I still think TV can be successful without pandering to the "Cheaters" crowd, but you have to take it all the way. Playing both sides against the middle doesn't work either.
* * * / 4
Seasons Reviewed: 1 season
Even though he only has two shows to his name, Aaron Sorkin's style is so distinct and instantly recognizable that most TV viewers already know what they are getting with "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip". So this review is strictly for the Sorkin fans, who may find it thrilling or befuddling to watch him spend every bit of capital he attained from "The West Wing" to go back to the behind-the-TV-scenes "Sports Night" well.
"Studio 60" starts off like a firecracker. Fresh out of rehab and angry as hell at the state of TV today, Sorkin opens the show with Judd Hirsh as the head writer for the title series, up to his intellectual ears in reality TV and network pandering to both the lowest common denominator and political interest groups, lashing out in and on-air meltdown of biblical proportions. Right off the bat "Studio 60" says everything I have been dying for a TV show to stand up and say: that it doesn't have to be like that and all it takes is one show that doesn't believe that the audience is stupid to make a difference. But is "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" that show?
On her first day on the job, NBS programming executive Jordan McDiere (Amanda Peet) must deal with the crisis at Studio 60 while being fought at every turn by programming president Steven Weber. As someone who believes in the Hirsch character's TV outlook, she hires highly regarded and controversial former writers Matt (Matthew Perry) and just-out-of-rehab Danny (Bradley Whitford) to add some class and edge to the late-night sketch comedy series. Studio 60, itself is a transparent "Saturday Night Live" satire starring Simon (D. L. Hughley), Tom (Nathan Corddry) and Matt's crush and the show's token Christian Harriet Hayes (Sarah Paulson). Timothy Busfield is a kick as the show's frazzled director.
How can it loose? Perry giving a bitter twist on his "Friends" persona, Whitford - the breakout actor from "The West Wing" - given a lead role and Aaron Sorkin back in his element. NBC taking it on the chin every Monday night. Sign me up. Even though it appears Sorkin has abandoned his trademark rapid-fire dialog and the history lesson are now limited to the fictitious history of the studio, his angry liberal rants and fairy tale romanticism is still in tact.
As much as I wanted to like his latest creation, if only for having the guts to cleverly lacerate its own network, it became hard to get past the elephant in the room. The show within the show makes no sense. The show is never able to decide if it wants to parody the inane political posturing, lame character sketches and Christian-bashing of "Saturday Night Live" or if it wants to be better than "SNL". All the characters walk around talking about how intellectual and satirical Matt and Danny's jokes are. Yet every time we actually see "Studio 60", it delivers a lame Tom Cruise impression in Celebrity Jeopardy, "The Nicholas Cage Show" or Hughley hosting "Pimp My Trike" (the most infamous 15 seconds in the show's history). I might as well be watching "SNL". The show smartly never shows us Matt's infamous "Crazy Christians" sketch. "Nations" is looking pretty good right now.
Oh, there is some great stuff here. The 2nd episode, "The Cold Opening" is from start to finish exceptional. In it we actually see the elaborate musical number the show has been concocting for the last hour (rare for behind-the-scenes shows to show us the final product so this was refreshing). A sub plot involving a ticking clock until show time that mocks Matt is icing on the cake. "The Wrap Party" in which Hughley seeks out an original, cliché-free black comic to write for the show is also fine work and "The West Coast Delay" in which the show races to prevent a plagiary accusation is a hoot. Also working is a budding relationship between Tim and freshman writer Lucy ("The Office's" Lucy Davis, always a delight) that under Sorkin's eye has an adorable puppy dog innocence (another Sorkin staple).
But before the fledgling first season comes to its end the show has lost its focus entirely. Sorkin makes two crucial mistakes. First, he becomes overbearingly single-minded in a mission to prove to the audience that the Christian right and the FCC are the two greatest threats to American life. Again and again Matt and Harriet go up against each other over false-premise debates about religion, gay marriage, middle-America etc. Second, his desire to get all the characters together (including the most likely of couples) buries the show in the same hopelessly romantic pabulum that helped kill "Sports Night". Both of these tones take away from what the show does best.
What "Studio" does best is recreate the sweaty chaos of getting a live show on the air and those late night writing sessions where no idea works. I love that most of the stories existing in the minutes before the show or between the end of the show and a wrap party that nobody seems to make it to.
"Studio 60" is an entertaining watch, brave for network TV, with solid writing and capable performances, but Sorkin goes on auto-pilot and allows it to wander of the reservation into an edgeless, warmed over "Sports Night" clone, toning down the TV industry inside-Baseball in an attempt to garner an audience that wouldn't appreciate him anyway. Only those that like "Studio 60" a lot will be the ones disappointed by it. Yes, I still think TV can be successful without pandering to the "Cheaters" crowd, but you have to take it all the way. Playing both sides against the middle doesn't work either.
* * * / 4