Studio 60 Makes Not-Quite-Victory Lap

By Katey Rich: 2007-05-24 23:45:42

  

Comment on “Studio 60 Makes Not-Quite-Victory Lap”

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1. JDSchatz Says:
   May 25th, 2007 at 07:50

   They really should do this show a favor and pull the plug right now. Actually, it really is like watching someone in pain on their death bed. You just want it to be over. I watched last night with my jaw dropped through most of it. I won't watch any more. I'm not a family member with obligations.
   
   Pull the plug now!

1. DCJ Says:
   May 25th, 2007 at 08:46

   This was perhaps one of the best written shows produced last season (Sorry to disagree with Kathy). I never understood the placement after Hero's. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Hero's fan, but no way the main Hero's demo was ever going to provide enough support for S60.
   
   S60 gave a real and entertaining perspective of how out of touch the right wing fringe is in America. (Sadly, not enough of that in the media). Compelling characters that faced real problems, addiction, single parenthood, inter-office romance in a country where long work hours has replaced leisure time. Cooperate bozo's simply out for the buck. (Ok...Ed Asner's 'heart of gold' wasn't very believable).
   
   We have all seen shows tested in other time slots, this one was never given the chance. Hoping to see a swan song ratings spike and a few more shots at the fanatical fringe right on the way out.

1. Mack Rawden Says:
   May 25th, 2007 at 09:53

   I love how you list "inter-office romance" in the same list of real problems as addiction and single parenthood.

1. Jay Says:
   May 25th, 2007 at 12:10

   If this were an unkown director (or anyone other than Sorkin) people would be lauding this as one of the great new shows on TV. This shows only problems were/are its expectations. Sorkin and the casts et the bar high and then the first episode raised it.
   The show hasn't met expectations but if you look at it objectively it's one of the better shows out there and deserved a chance to establish itself.

1. Meredith Says:
   May 25th, 2007 at 12:43

   This is such a great show. I can't believe they didn't have it on a better night and time last Fall. I think they should finish the season, and start taping season 2 now. It was smart and funny. Great writing! A winner. I was so mad when they cancelled, that I quit watching NBC on Mondays! I can't believe the shows that stay on TV. This is truly a great show and it's sad they are leaving it behind.

1. Michael Mazo Says:
   May 25th, 2007 at 15:02

   I respectfully disagree with everything written in the above article.
   
   One of the great mysteries of the world will become why "Studio 60" wasn't a bigger hit. Oh, because seeing 'Chandler' was too confusing for you? Hardly. (Surely, "Studio's" tasteful comment on New Orleans more than makes up for any confusion you felt).
   
   It was and will remain one of the most brilliantly constructed productions ever. The debate is not over the last statement - the only debate can be over minutiae regardig character development and so on. And even this, when dealing with quality fo this caliber is, frankly offensive. We should be grateful for Season 1. I am.

1. Ek Says:
   May 25th, 2007 at 21:44

   There was some worry when the series began that the dry humor and subtle flow of some of the storylines would be over the head of certain viewers. Looks like it turned out to be true.
   
   This is sad because it is a good show if you "get it", and there was so much potential if they would only have put it in the right time slot to give it a chance.

1. Lee Says:
   May 26th, 2007 at 11:14

   I join Michael in respectfully disagreeing with everything said in the main post. The show suffered greatly last night from the absence of its heart, which is the friendship between Matt and Danny. I think it is particularly interesting that the author talks about the "out of left field hit" 30 Rock. If you look at all of the viewership statistics, 30 Rock has never achieved the ratings that Studio 60 did in its original time slot, and interestingly, its ratings on Thursday night were still lower than Studio 60s. I also find it interesting that both 30 Rock and Friday Night Lights were given the benefit of several time slot changes while Studio 60 didn't receive that bonus until after it was canceled. The only reason 30 Rock is a "hit" and thus received a second season when Studio 60 didn't is the fact that critics appeared to like it more and it is a much cheaper show than Studio 60. In my opinion, you get what you pay for, which in this case is the disturbingly unbalanced (both in real life an on the show) Alec Baldwin. Studio 60 was better written and better acted than 99 percent of the rest of the fare to which we are treated on prime-time, network television. Sorkin is now, apparently, the person the critics and media love to hate. I, too, am grateful for at least one season of Studio 60. At least there is one bright spot---now that there is no longer anything left to watch on NBC, I don't have to worry about checking the listings for that network!

1. Ben Says:
   May 27th, 2007 at 13:25

   There is probably no bigger Aaron Sorkin fan than me, I've loved everything he's done from A Few Good Men to the West Wing. So it does sadden me to say that Studio 60 was dire - I watched and I tried to like, up until the episode with the old guy going on about how things were when he was at the studio, his heyday if you will.
   This was not the West Wing - nothing will better that series, this was just Sorkin's own vehicle to vent his frustrations with NBC and because of that the script and storylines became secondary.
   Sorkin can write the most inspiring and beautiful television but he decided not to do so here, even non fans of the West Wing knew that the show was uniquely brilliant. In closing I will say that I remain a big fan of Sorkin and Whitford and Perry but this show was flawed by it's overly preachy attitude and it's failure to give us characters to care about.
   Here's hoping that the Studio 60 experience serves as a wake up call and we can look forward to a better show with the brilliance and wit we all expect from one so great.

1. Isabella McFarlin Says:
   May 29th, 2007 at 11:42

   I think it's a wonderful show and am very sad that it's going off the air. This episode was funny and reminiscent in a million ways of TWW. I think that they may have left out Matt, Danny and Jordan because they needed the $$ to pay the very special and amazing Allison J?
   
   

1. mike f. Says:
   May 31st, 2007 at 15:41

   Thanks, Michael Mazo, for giving me a good chuckle when you raised this question: "One of the great mysteries of the world will become why 'Studio 60" wasn't a bigger hit?'"
   
   Mazo's question is akin to asking why the Yugo didn't conquer the American car market, or why "Ishtar" didn't set box office records. The answer in each case is obvious: These were lousy products that few consumers wanted. Only it was worse with S60 because the expectations were so high and the critical buzz was so loud when the 2006-07 season started.
   
   S60's biggest problem was this: It simply wasn't funny. I would watch week after week, hoping that this week's episode would match the witty promise of its pilot episode. Alas, it was not to be, and I'd click off my TV feeling not just disappointed, but even worse. As if I had been ripped off.
   
   I'm sure others felt the same way. After all, is it too much to ask that a show about backstage life at a legendary comedy sketch program modeled on "Saturday Night Live" should show at least a glimmer of wit? Should elicit perhaps at least one chuckle a week? Should offer some sliver of evidence that the characters of Matt and Harriet were the comic geniuses everyone kept saying they were?
   
   Ultimately, by the time I decided to quit watching --- a decision millions of other viewers also made --- I realized that the show had nothing to offer me, that it was a waste of my time, that it had run completely out of creative fuel. NBC should've pulled the plug on this mess months sooner. The airing of "The Disaster Show" last week made this conclusion painfully clear.
   
   

1. Mary S. Says:
   June 1st, 2007 at 01:50

   I thought this was a great show. The Harriet character was a bit annoying, but every time my husband and I watched this show, we were amazed when the hour was up.
   
   It's a shame that this past season was so full of really good dramas, comedies etc. The networks would have been happy with a lot of the cancelled shows in any other year. But what has happened is that we, the viewers, will lose out. It felt like some of the best shows to come out in years all came out this year and that's a shame because we ended up losing some really great viewing.
   
   I hope that the prediction I read above isn't true. I'm so sick of all the reality shows, and stupid competition shows. This year was great with shows like Studio 60 and it feels like they all cancelled each other out. Or maybe it is true that it was a show that wasn't "dumbed" down, and that was a problem.
   
   A shame, as I always had a really entertaining hour when it was on.

1. Kris Says:
   June 29th, 2007 at 17:47

   I'm not sure where the critics heads are. I'd be interested to see if more men rebuked the show than women. I found Danny Tripp's character endearing (what woman doesn't love the idea of blind pursuit?) and having had Chandler Bing withdrawals - I found Matt equally appealing. While the series finale was on the meldramatic side - it worked to some level because I bawled when Jordan had the papers pulled out and again when the Captain asked "do you want to speak with your brother?" This show accomplished what good shows do, it entertained, it evoked emotion. I'm sorry it's not on anymore, I'll remember is fondly as a "mini-series" and am so grateful that all storylines were completed to their glorious fruition.

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