This is the first of two show reviews I'm doing without the benefit of having seen a full season, and being able to look back at the beginning after knowing what it was building to. But, steady onward. By all accounts, this should be a great show for me. First, its written by Aaron Sorkin, the creator of the West Wing, which I enjoyed immensely. This ensures that same fast-paced, witty repartee from characters too smart and too clever to actually exist. Second, it's got an excellent cast of actors I enjoy - Matthew Perry, Bradley Whitford, Amanda Peel, Timothy Busfield, DL Hughley, plus a revolving cast of big name guest stars (Ed Asner, John Goodman, your mom). Third, it's about sketch comedy, and given my predilection for Saturday Night Live, this should be right up my alley. Given all of that....
It's disappointing. Don't get me wrong, it's a good show. Just not as good as it ought to be. It's funny, but not that funny. Its got good characters and interaction, just not that good. And its got good stories, but....sometimes I just can't bring myself to care. This show is at its best when the fictional show is in crisis mode for some reason or another, because then the inherent craziness of the characters and what they do is allowed to breathe. When it tries to tell cute little stories, like the old guy who used to work for the show, or the one actor trying to connect with his conservative Midwestern parents, I lose all interest. When it preaches about Christianity and gay rights, I roll my eyes. Its not that I don't like hearing about social and political issues, it's that I don't like hearing what actors and celebrities have to say about social and political issues. Even when I know those statements are coming from a writer like Sorkin.
Mostly this show suffers by comparison to the West Wing. That's the show it's the most like, and it's simply nowhere near as good. The problem is that all of the fast-walking, behind-the-scenes maneuvering here goes to making a comedy show; in the West Wing, they were crafting national policy and resolving international tensions. Studio 60 has that same sense of excitement and urgency; what it lacks is that sense of importance. Even when it tries to talk about important issues.
Again, that's the problem - this show has too much of the style of West Wing, with little of the substance. Studio 60 needs to be its own show. When it focuses on the mechanics of making a comedy show, it works. Give me conflict within the network. Give me conflict between the writers. Give me people struggling to be funny. (Struggling people are funny.) Give me actors with personal drama. Don't give me the West Wing's oddball cousin.
Certainly, there is plenty of potential here. I still love the actors, and how they play off each other. I absoltely loved Jack, the asshole network guy, going off on the potentially lucrative business partner for apparently insulting Jordan's honor. That tirade showed some depth of character; that while he's a money-hungry, ambitious bastard most of the time, he also cares a great deal about the people who work for them, and he'll go to the mat to defend them.
Also, there are plenty of smaller elements I enjoy. Really, I want to like this show. I hope it succeeds. I hope it improves. The last few episodes have been very good. Again, this might be part of criticizing a first-year show midway through its season -- the show could definitely gel and hit its stride. Here's hoping....
Final installment in the series: Heroes
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5 comments:
Also, one problem with the show is that it's inherently about the West Wing. It's about Aaron Sorkin's fantasy that he and Thomas Schlamme went back and saved the West Wing, only he's too lazy to write a 2nd show within a show and so he made it a sketch comedy show. Big problem is that 1) Sorkin can't write sketch comedy and 2) the premise of one guy writing ALL of a sketch comedy show is stupid and ridiculous, especially with so many supposedly talented comedians on the show.
Agreed. The show may as well double as Sorkin's autobiography. (I think they use the one writer because Sorkin essentially wrote TWW alone, and that was part of his downfall, along with his coke habit and love for Kristin Chenowith.)
The whole problem I have with the show is that it's (Sorkin's) too smart for it's (his) own good. Most of America doesn't want to feel dumb for not knowing every song in Pirates of Penzance, or not being well-versed in Blacklist lore. There comes a point when "pop culture" references stop being references and start being show-offy; this show passed show-offy in the second episode.
To be honest, I prefer "30 Rock" - sure, it's not as smart or cutting-edge as "Studio 60", but it's more enjoyable.
NEW GUY? What the fuck?
What? New Guys can't surf blogs?
Whether or not you are the alleged new guy, I agree with the entirety of both what you and Ms. Dangerous said. Although I obviously loved the West Wing, I think Studio 60 is at its best when it isn't trying to be the West Wing. I had thought this show might be so tainted b/c the West Wing just ended, and this is its replacement, except Sorkin wasn't writing WW for the last 3 seasons. 3 seasons which, though I still enjoyed each, each fall significantly short of the show's zenith, which would pretty much be the first 3 1/2 years. So maybe if he had stuck around the first time....
I know, wrong show. My fault, and Sorkin's.
Still, if 60 can shift a little focus toward its comedic elements...
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