Studio 60
Anyone whose been reading this blog for awhile knows of my unabashed love for the the Aaron Sorkin/Thomas Schlamme years of the West Wing (and for Sports Night). So it was with no small amount of trepidation that I tuned in to see their latest venture in TV land: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, a show that takes a fictional behind-the-scenes look at a late-night Friday sketch comedy show (think Saturday Night Live).
At this point, there are only a handful of regular shows that I'll watch (Lost, House, NCIS, comes to mind), but there isn't a show on TV that, week-to-week has me aching to come back to more. Firefly was the last one to really grip me, and I didn't even see it until a couple years after it's all-to-brief sting on the evil Fox Network. (My god, I still do hate them so for cancelling that series. Every time I see Serenity pop up on HBO -twice in the last few days- I'm reminded how much I want to throttle the Fox TV execs responsible for cutting that show off at the knees.)
But I digress.
Studio 60, in just one episode, is a reminder of how good the West Wing was in it's hey-day (and why it sucked so hard after Sorkin and Schlamme left). TV is just not the same if there isn't a Sorkin-penned program somewhere in the lineup. I'm also all-too happy to see that Bradley Whitford, Matthew Perry and Timothy Busfield have been recycled from the West Wing cast (and the cameo from Felicity Huffman was a nice touch). I don't know if the pilot is set to re-air anytime soon, but if you liked Sports Night or the first four years of The West Wing, then Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is a show you can't miss.
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Dan:
September 19th, 2006 - 20:15
Watched the pilot last night with the wife, and we both liked the show so far. I’m guessing it’s going to be geared more towards a drama. I’ll watch anything with Amanda Peet in it though, grrrrrr.
September 19th, 2006 - 20:55
Judging by that pilot… and the critical acclaim it will receive… NBC will cancel it within 2 years.
What an amazing first episode. God I love his writing.
September 20th, 2006 - 08:08
Glen, no doubt. If the show is as good as it’s beginnings it doesn’t have long to live.
Btw – did you recgonize the production assistant girl? In season 1 of The West Wing, she was the one who turned over McGary’s rehab records to a Repub. congressman. (It’s so very sad that I was able to spot that.)
And yeah, Jon. Amanda Peet has some shizzle.