Studio 60

I have a weak spot for narratives about male friendship that aren't conventional buddy films (I still think about the slowly evolving friendship between the two brothers in Six Feet Under season one), and so I'm naturally predisposed to like Aaron Sorkin's new series, Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, given its focus on the working friendship of Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford. For the most part, I was completely delighted with the premiere last night; it's stylized and not entirely believable of course, just like The West Wing: everyone is just a tad too clever, and of course everyone talks too fast. But if we're going to have fictions in our fictions, I'd rather they revolve around people being too clever, rather than, say, being genetic mutants with superpowers. (Paddy Chayefsky's Network, which gets several explicit nods in Studio 60's premiere, suffered from the same problem, if it is indeed a problem.)

But I do think there was some irony in the rampant television-bashing that ran through the episode, and presumably will continue through the season. Alessandra Stanley got it exactly right in her review in yesterday's Times:

“Studio 60” is a polemic about television as a cultural wasteland at the very moment the industry is entering a new golden age. There is a lot more television than ever before, much of it bad, but it is hard to remember a time when there were so many good shows pushing up against the worst. Dramas especially, whether on cable or on broadcast networks, have never been as beautifully or thoughtfully made; few Hollywood movies come close. And “Studio 60” serves as exhibit A...

Comments

[Reb]

I just watched all 6 episodes that I saved on my DVR, and I think this is the best thing on tv today. I even started to watch SNL again just to see if I can mentally draw parallels with a live show and the backstage life behind it. I think everyone is blowing the WW thing out of proportion, you are waiting for it to be as good as WW, but, cant watch it on its own merit. This is obviously the formula Sorkin loves, its organized, gets the points out as he feels points should be brought out, quick dialogue, walk n' talk, and energy, and, lets face it, its a great formula. It's what he's good at. I remember Goodfellas, then Casino, then a bunch of Scorsese films that were about nothing I can specifically recall without checking imdb, then The Departed came 10 years after casino, and had his biggest opening ever, those are signature Scorsese films, violent and crimed up, and people will flock to the signature stuff. If Aaron Sorkin was not writing this who would??? Studio 60 is signature Sorkin, using his signature voice, and it is being stomped over because this board thinks executives arent that cool in real life... well on this SHOW they are. The best thing about Oceans 11 was the cool factor, are people going to complain that a heist like that is not realistic? Its entertainment! And I hate everyone critisizing Amanda Peet's character. She commands more control with her smile, presence, and calm demeanor than any loud mouthed bitchy corporate stereotype that has been a character on tv. The complainers must have thought Alexis Colby Carrington was a great, full, 3 dimentional character "a bitch in the boardroom, a kitten in bed!" You get sick of stereotypes and complain about Jordan? Change the channel because you don't deserve to watch her.