Sorkin’s supreme studio 60 on the sunset strip
Aaron Sorkin is rightly renowned for the award-winning West
Wing and Social Network. The Newsroom,
his current TV show, is something I am very eager to watch, and sad that I
haven’t been able to yet. His star is
likely to rise higher still with the forthcoming biopic of Steve Jobs, which
will apparently be done in just 3 different scenes, each one in the build up to
a major product launch. But one show
that is often overlooked and was cancelled far too early is the quite brilliant
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
I’ve just finished rewatching the entire series, for only
the second time, and I loved every moment of it. Sorkin’s snappy dialogue fits the setting and
the back and forth between the cast is a joy to behold. As in West Wing, he is joined by Thomas
Schlamme, and the camera work has some trademarks that let you know who it is
behind the camera. There isn’t quite the
“Walk & Talk” of West Wing, but there are definite marks of it. And when something is as seminal as that, why
not continue to use it?
To summarise the major premise of Studio 60, it is a behind
the scenes show about a late Friday night comedy show, in the style of Saturday
Night Live. The writer and executive
producer, Wes Mandell loses his rag with the FCC and the censorship of his show
live on air, gets fired and two old crew members return to rescue the
show. Starring Matt Perry as head writer
Matthew Albie and Bradley Whitford as executive producer Danny Tripp, their
chemistry (again first seen during Perry’s guest appearances as a lawyer on
West Wing) is a joy, and they’re joined by a few others from there.
Through the first half of the series plot lines are set up
which could conceivably last for a good 4 of 5 seasons. Unfortunately, due to lack of rating success
it got cancelled early, and you can see the rush to tie up a succession of
loose ends. It seems somewhat ironic
that a show about a show where the ratings sometimes get glossed over in favour
of putting out a good product gets canned for ratings. And its a great shame, I would have loved to
have seen how they would have been dealt with had time been their call.
That’s not to say that the second half of the series is
devoid of good episodes in favour of finishing the plot. Yes the final four have a lot of content in
them, but they are stunningly written and performed, and the Disaster Show,
featuring a cameo from Alison Janney, is great fun.
The backdrop of having to get a show ready to go every
Friday night brings continual time pressure to the show, and adds an edge to
it. The constant reminder of the
countdown clock in Matt’s office doesn’t let you forget it. Remember, time flies like an arrow, fruit
flies like a banana.
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