Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is a behind the scenes look at a Saturday Night Live-esque late night sketch show. Studio 60 is written by Aaron Sorkin, the writer of the television shows The West Wing and Sports Night, as well as the movies A Few Good Men and The American President. With that kind of track record, I was eagerly anticipating this show. Unfortunately, what worked so well for The West Wing -- polically charged, hyper-intellectual conversations delivered rapid-fire while travelling through the halls -- is one of Studio 60's biggest drawbacks. In the Oval Office, these conversations anchor the show. Presidential Cabinet members are supposed to be hip to the musings of the conservative right and radical left. On the set of a sketch comedy show, these same conversations are as out of place as Bobby Brown at a Say No to Drugs rally.
Premise:
Oscar-winning writer, Matt Albie, and his best friend, Director/Producer Danny Tripp are derailed from making more hit Hollywood films due to Danny failing a drug test. After the former executive producer of Studio 60 goes live on TV to blast the network, the state of television in general, and the overall IQ of everyone that allowed television programming to hit rock bottom, Matt and Danny are brought in to right the ship. Matt's biting wit and amazing writing ability catapults Studio 60 back to the ratings elite, as we see how a live comedy sketch show operates behind the scenes.
What's Good:
For anyone who's as into the television world as I am, there are moments where Studio 60 does a great job in showing us what life is like on the other side of the tube.
What's Bad:
For a show that's supposed to be about a comedy classic, everytime they show any sort of comedy sketch, the results are laughably unfunny. Matt Albie is supposed to be some sort of comedic genius, but his sketches are ridiculously out of touch with anything remotely resembling humor. If they just focused the show on the backstage stuff and never showed us the actual sketches, the world would be a much better place.
Even worse, the dialogue is so forced at times that it delivers more laughs than the supposed comedy scenes. We have the lead players discussing religion, politics, policy decisions, and current events like they were on Capitol Hill. I highly doubt that Will Ferrell and the dude who played Mango had unshakable stances on the role of Christian right in television programming. Well, ok, Mango probably did, but definitely not Ferrell.
Breakout Character:
Sarah Paulson's as Matt Albie's ex, Harriet Hayes, does a good job in reflecting her character's struggles in balancing her beliefs with performing some of the controversial sketches on the show.
Overall Recommendation:
I wanted to like this show so badly, believe me I did, but lackluster is probably the best way to describe it. It's neither as smart as it thinks it is, nor as deep. I wish Sorkin would shift the focus on creating new characters and situations, rather than bringing The West Wing to Hollywood. I half expect Martin Sheen to come on board and run the show as the new network president just to make the process complete.
On the Salinger scale, where a party of five is the highest rating, I'm saving a seat for Bailey and Julia. An average rating for an average show.
2 Salingers
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip airs Mondays at 10pm on NBC
No comments:
Post a Comment