Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Guzzo
8,611 Posts
Best new show of the season.DON'T TET!
anybody else feeling this show or any other new program?SPEAK ON IT
anybody else feeling this show or any other new program?SPEAK ON IT
Comments
I've caught two eps so far (missed #1, saw #2 and 3).
I don't hate it but I thought the LA Times review (alas, no longer link-able) was right on: it basically looks and sounds like the West Wing except translated to late night television.
What works is Sorkin's ability to script really snappy, fun dialogue. I like the acting and ensemble cast for the most part, especially (much to my surprise) Matthew Perry.
The problem - and this is something the Times really honed in on - is that Sorkin wants to elevate late-night sketch television as some major player in debates around social/cultural/political mores and standards. I (and my wife, who watched last night's ep with me) found that rather unconvincing. I mean, when was the last time SNL or any similar sketch comedy show were at the center of ANY social controversy, let alone weighted as the unofficial arbitrator of these things?
It's like Sorkin can't let go of the high morality that was part of the West Wing...he needs to transfer that to the new show even when it doesn't feel like a good fit at all.
That said, snappy dialogue and good characters still win out.
I do feel baaaaaad for Tina Fey though, even though she can make fun of the situation (as her ad for "30 Rock" demonstrated last night).
I missed the 2nd episode but without a doubt it was the intro to episode one that drew me in and it was Perry's interaction with whitford that got me to come back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K79OHbSMWQI
I hear you on the Sorkin's moral high ground however I like the idea that he is putting a burden of political responsiblity on entertainment TV. Hollywood has been criticized for years for being out of touch with the mid-west/ red states, this is a very direct addressing of those criticisms, not to mention the criticisms of how Saturday Night Live has become a watered down version of a formerly interesting comedy show.
although its very hyperreal it's also very interesting to see a reflection of how a executive producer would operate under the pressures of a network and its focus groups. The politics in this show might be reminiscent of the West Wing but I wou;dn't know I never got into the program, if this is what the west Wing is like than maybe I need to start using my netflix to get my Martin Sheen on.
And The Nine was kinda interesting.
Enjoy before they're cancelled!
Oliver
Sorkin might be an uppity elitist, but he's my kind of uppity elitist.
Judd Hirsch's meltdown was one of the best moments on television. Too bad, he's not a regular, but at least we have Whitford flipping out on everyone. Nobody flips out like Whitford.
I only watched the pilot episode of "The Nine" and I could not figure out whether it want to be a police thriller, or a whodunnit (ala "The Inside Man"), or ensemble drama ("Grand Canyon").
Thanks in advance.
I got episode 3 from torrent site such as www.mininova.org
It might ruin the show that the fictional show they're working on seems like it's sub-Mad TV.