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The Throwdown ended in a tie, 7 to 7
Studio Sixty on the Sunset Strip Deserved a Second Season.
shaggydan said
It wasn't as good as West Wing. I'll give you that. I'll even give up the first...four episodes as having not been very good and kind of weighed down by a fairly obvious disdain for people who aren't Hollywood.
But look at the cast, the crew, the guest stars, the writing and how it looked and then compare that against the majority of non-reality television on this season.
Studio Sixty got cut short.
demetrithegreek said
Let me first say that you are talking to someone that loved Studio 60, but I cannot argue that it deserved a second season. Aaron Sorkin hit his peak with Sports Night and remained solid through the first four seasons of the West Wing.
I really like the first half of Studio 60's run, but if anything it should have been shut down after the Christmas episode. It was a show that was already starting to flounder, and that episode was so good - really the peak of that series! It would have been a nice out for NBC, Aaron Sorkin, and all parties involved.
You had to take too big of a leap of faith to believe some of the storylines in Studio 60. Would America really have cared about a network executive's past? Would someone like Jordan really have lasted a week as the head of a major network? And Jack's sudden change of heart towards Simon's outburst was ridiculous! Sorkin is an idealist and I appreciate that, but it don't make for believable TV.
shaggydan said
One of the big reasons I feel the show deserved a second shot is because, frankly, the season (or rather series) tri-episode finale was truly stellar. Sorkin is good is bringing out the characters in scenarios that are bigger, scarier, and more intense than themselves. He seems to love writing the 'all nighter' episodes, and with good reason. The stakes in the finale were as high as they could get, the characters were split up, dealing with their own issues, all while remembering what it was that got them there in the first place.
It was good, good television, so to think the curtain closed with Matthew Perry finally having his stuff together to be as good as he could felt like a wasted opportunity.
demetrithegreek said
Now you're just delusional! The three part finale couldn't hold a candle to the Christmas episode (speaking of which, for a Jew Sorkin always writes stellar Christmas episodes).
The finale was so self-congratulatory to celebrities and the television industry for speaking out on the war in Iraq. I am just as against the war as anyone, but Sorkin really wanted people to know that he was right. That was all those episodes were about.
And let's expound on that point. I mentioned this below in the comments section. The show was so hard for John Q. Public to embrace, because it was so inside. I work in the media (radio to be specific) and studied television and film in college, so I was really into Studio 60. My wife, who works in the medical field could never get into it. I think the same thing is true of lawyers, teachers, cooks, mechanics, and everyone else that isn't elbows deep in the media daily. If you didn't catch it from the begining, there was no hope for you.
shaggydan said
Maybe, but there are a lot of people who have never worked in the White House, and that 'West Wing' show worked out okay... :)
I do think you're onto something that Studio Sixty was eager to speak out against the war in Iraq and President Bush- Whereas West Wing took issue against the folksy but not so bright Governor Ritchie of Florida and the complex political issues in a middle eastern country called Qumar.
This political criticism hit the ground with an even larger thud since it was coming from a very Hollywood Elite-y character in Matt Albie. I would dare say that this distinction, and the widely negative reaction to this distinction, is probably the reason the show was taken off the air.
Now, I'm not wise enough in the world of television demographics to say if producing content with this blatantly unveiled criticism was either brave or foolish, but I would say that if more people were able to look past it, they would find the writing and production talents of Studio Sixty were perhaps not quite as magical as West Wing, but impressive none the less. When you compare that to the field, the show was certainly worthy of a second season.
demetrithegreek said
This throwdown actually inspired me to finally open the Studio 60 DVDs I got for Christmasand start watching. I've only gotten through the first two episodes, but I will tell you what I liked about the show. It is the same thing that makes me believe that it didn't need a second season - the whole thing was a rehashing of Sports Night, just in a new environment.
There were the two main characters - one strong willed and idealistic (Dan/Matt) the other level-headed and responsible (Casey/Danny). Female boss (Dana/Jordan). Cool black guy (Simon/Isaac). Overly eager number 2 (Tom/Natalie). Low rated shows. Constant notes and changes from the network. There were even similar lines. I believe Danny recited the same TV Camp speech in the second episode of Studio 60 that Sam Donovan gave in the second season of Sports Night. I think at one point the basketball game Cal is watching is a feed of an old college basketball game that used to pop up in the background of Sports Night.
Sports Night was one of my favorite shows Iever. The doesn't mean I need to see it done twice.
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Comments
NineDaves 04/02/08
I'm on shaggydan's side, though I agree with you too demetrithegreek. Jordan never would have lasted. And Jack's sudden change of heart towards Simon's outburst was ridiculous. But I think Studio 60 hit its stride AFTER the Christmas episode. The last arc of the show was great. Honestly, I would have loved to see what the writers could have done after a summer break. I imagine there would have been some serious changes for the better.
RobGrizzly 04/02/08
I couldn't stand the show...Sports Night and West Wing were so good, but this one...
huzzah 04/03/08
Yes, it deserved another season. I think its biggest mistake was in taking itself too seriously. Couple that with high production values and a deservingly well-paid cast and I can easily see why it doesn't meet NBC's standards, profit-wise. A show like that has to really bring in the viewers to last. Maybe it didn't deserve another season from a financial standpoint, but from an artistic one it definitely did, IMHO.
And while I appreciate that you have to somewhat suspend disbelief in certain instances, you pretty much have to do that anyway in almost any show.
llkane 04/03/08
What's amazing about Studio 60 is that in just a few short months, it managed to make me hate a whole bunch of my favorite people: Aaron Sorkin, Chandler Bing, Josh Lyman, Nate Corddry, D.L. Hughley.... It's amazing how repellant every character on Studio 60 was. And it didn't help that every time any of them did press for the show, they'd talk about how misunderstood the show was. It also didn't help that they couldn't write a funny sketch to save their lives. When I think back, I'm kind of amazed the show last as long as it did. And also that I watched every damn episode. Aaron Sorkin owes me 22 hours of my life.
ABCSOAPS55 04/03/08
i loved "Studio 60" but i can't say it deserved another season---it's ratings were terrible, and it was constantly placing third or fourth for it's timeslot, it was getting trounced by the CBS comedy lineup and it was not retaining any of it's lead-in's audience. It was a great show but had zero appeal to mainstream america.
Sunshinefan 04/03/08
Sorry, me and my hubby liked Studio 60 and would watch again if they gave it another chance. Can you hate these people for the Hollywood characters that they played?They were trying to be human in what must be a bizarre world. I think it was misunderstood. Truthfully though, I didn't find the show's sketches all that funny.
outlatrbdr 04/03/08
Studio Sixty had all the fun and timing of the first season of West WIng but was more accessable to the average viewer because you did not need the background in politics and history
demetrithegreek 04/04/08
It was actually less accessable, because so many of the storylines were very inside. I really liked the show, but I work in the media. My wife, who doesn't didn't get it.
Bri 06/19/08
I really liked this show and was hoping for a second season...I was a huge fan of Friends and originally tuned in to see Matthew Perry but as I watched it, I really enjoyed it for the story lines and the other actors as well. And while I loved the Christmas episode, I agree that the final 3 were the best. Each one had me waiting for the next one the following week. This was definitely a show that ended before its time.
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