Of the three television series written by Aaron Sorkin, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is by far my favorite. This may largely be due to the fact that it lasted only one season which impacted the ability of the show's writers or cast members to screw up the show. In fact its one of just a handful of shows which I consider perfect one season shows. Not that I would have minded if it had lasted more than one season but everything was wrapped up nicely by the end and you felt good about the direction the characters where going in.
Sorkin's gift is also his curse as his shows are too intelligent for broadcast television and I was super happy to hear that his new show he's working will be airing on cable where it might have a chance. I think The West Wing was a strange coincidence lasting as long as it did but even it suffered when Sorkin was away dealing with his addiction. I fell in love with his writing style, specifically the pace of it. It was so fast but it gave the show a driving force. He could do it all though - bring in comedy with wit and language, something the rest of the television landscape then and now seriously lacks, and still be able to deal with the dramatic moments.
A problem I have with Sorkin is that he repeats himself a bit too much although I guess that's part of his charm as well. I think I'm just to mystified by the great television that I don't mind that fact that he takes the same premise - a behind the scenes look - and just changes the environment which we as the audience are going behind the scenes. First in Sports Night we look at a sports show, then we have The West Wing looking at white house staff and now Studio 60 looking at how a SNL type show works. Oddly enough I didn't like the sketches, what little we saw of them, that were shown either in bits or as a whole. The point wasn't so much the sketches but rather surrounding material. Plus the comedy used in SNL is more slap stick stuff and really I just think sketch comedy isn't my thing I much prefer the use of language to promote comedy than an impersonation of Nicholas Cage. The Cage sketches went way over my head I have to say. I really didn't get them when the show first aired and now four years later. The Cage that was being portrayed didn't feel like the Cage from that moment on in time. The Nancy Grace stuff also I didn't get. If the show could have done anything better it would have been to make the sketches better and more relevant to the times. Rewatching it I took joy in seeing Howie Mandel host the fictional Studio 60 comedy show and playing on his Deal or no Deal show which I remember being so popular. Even though the sketches were for the most part horrible it wasn't what the show was really about and in consequence is overlooked by the brilliancy of the main meat of the show.
The cast was spot on and everyone worker really well together from the main cast and the guest appearances. I'm sure I could write a 5,000 word essay about the intersexuality of Sorkin's shows and its fun to be aware of it while watching it adds another layer of enjoyment to the experience. 'The Disaster Show' with Allison Janey is a prime example. Her banter with Cal played by Timothy Busfield brought back the memories of the relationship between their characters in The West Wing. On this note, I think it's quite weird because the actor is playing themselves in a fictional world. There's a strange relationship between reality and fiction that I dwelt on while watching the show this time around. It's as if the presence of 'real' people in the fiction narrative adds to the reality of Studio 60 existing in our world. Something that wasn't apparent in The West Wing or Sports Night.
The intertexuality continues into the main cast as Danny is more or less a continuation of Josh which makes Bradley Whitford the prefect fit for the role. I absolutely love him and paired with Matthew Perry its just magic. This was such a good move for Perry after friends to still have comedy in the role but to add more drama. Some of his best episodes are his darkest which also happen to be a bit semi-autobiographical of both Perry and Sorkin and their battles with addiction. I've mentioned Timothy Busfield as another reoccurring actor but I loved the fact that he was given a regular role this time around. Sorkin writes women well and both Amanda Peet and Sarah Paulson did their characters justice. Overall it was a nice ensemble cast with a few familiar faces and some not so familiar. More importantly they all seemed very real and I'm not talking Hollywood real where everyone is drop dead gorgeous and a size 0 either. I'm talking more everyday real which is more in line with how I feel British television is cast. (I've got this thing about Phillip Davis at the moment)
So many things could happen in just one episode because of the fast paced writing which I think makes it more akin to British television. Some may not agree but I feel that although British shows are usually limited to only 6-13 episodes for one series a lot tends to happen in a small amount of time. It's almost like they get more story out of 6 episodes than America shows do out of 22. Lately I've found that 22 episodes just makes things drag on for way too long. What happens in Studio 60 is more happens in its 22 episodes so it seems more like two series of a British show than one season of an American show. All that matters in the end is that I could watch this show over and over. It was nice for a change to watch a show in which every episode was my favorite.
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