I meant to write more about Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, but others have been liveblogging and sniping and I just couldn’t get it together.
There is plenty of valid criticism to hurl at Studio 60, but many of its flaws were also present in The West Wing and Sports Night. I’ve heard some rationalization that Studio 60 is different, but the flaws are really the same.
The cliché of the walk-and-talk shots; the quippy dialogue, with verbal ticks repeated ad infinitum; the holier-than-thou liberalism; the defense of an intellectualism that seems obsolete.
For example, there was the ridiculous commedia dell’arte subplot a few weeks ago, but I recall some similar bit on an episode of Sports Night. Pompous intellectuals bemoaning the demise of an obsolete artform — there are shows where this might be a suitable story point, but I don’t see why the characters on Studio 60 would care about such a thing.
The best thing about the show is Matt and Danny, played by Matthew Perry and Brad Whitford. When nothing else on the show works, they always do.
The other valid criticism of the show is that the characters are unbelievably noble and don’t face sufficient challenges. They always seem to do the right thing and they always win in the end. I’d like to see more rocks thrown at these guys and see them stumble a bit. There were suggestions in the two-part episode “Nevada Day” (just completed this week) that Jordan McDeere may be in real trouble. I think if she got fired, it wouldn’t hurt the show and it would instead add a real element of danger.
What’s interesting is that we can now see what Sorkin is going to explore with this show: today’s culture wars. Week after week, the people who make Studio 60 (the fictional satirical program) are being attacked and criticized for their liberal attacks of the right, especially the religious right. As on The West Wing, there is a conservative character as part of the main cast, but I don’t think Harriet Hayes (played by Sarah Paulson) serves that role well. She’s supposed to be based on Kristin Chenoweth, who would have been much more effective playing her fictional self.
Harriet doesn’t seem as talented or funny as she’s supposed to be (not that she’s not funny or talented, just not as much as people say the character is supposed to be). She also seems a big hypocrite, and I’d like a better defense of the views of the religious right. For example, during “Nevada Day,” Harriet makes fence-straddling comments about gays that then create a firestorm. Her stance is that the Bible says homosexuality is a sin, but you’re not supposed to criticize. She takes considerable heat for remarks that are characterized as homophobic, but she refuses to keep a low profile. It’s one thing for her to balance her own religious beliefs with the fact that she works on a liberal show, epitomizing all of the things that stand in opposition to her. People do that sort of thing all the time, since no belief system (whether a religion, democracy, capitalism) is perfect. But Harriet is an active member of the larger community of the religious right. She hangs out with people who aren’t confused about the issues at all. They won’t be claiming they’re “not smart enough” to figure out if homosexuality is a sin.
Anyway, the show is getting better. It’s also clearly distinct enough from 30 Rock that it’s clear why NBC bought both shows. Funnily enough, neither is really about what it’s like to work on SNL. 30 Rock might as well be about working on any random sitcom. Studio 60 is more like a behind-the-scenes of an Aaron Sorkin drama.
NBC has placed a full order of 22 weeks, so at least Sorkin will have a chance to make it work. I hope he does.
Tags: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Aaron Sorkin, 30 Rock