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Goodbye, Jordan McDeere!! Hercules Gives The STUDIO 60 Series Finale FIVE STARS!!!!
It made me laugh, it made me cry. I demand no more from my televised entertainment.
I am – Hercules!!
So how great is James Lesure as Captain Boyle? And how much do we now realize he is wasted on NBC’s just-renewed “Las Vegas”?
Tonight brings the end of Aaron Sorkin’s “Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip,” and that makes this a saddish day. It was a great show, but maybe not a good one, and I acknowledge that may not make any sense. It came equipped with scenes that transcended all media, but also scenes that elicited little more than wincing.
Some argue that the quality of the show’s sketches were not important, that viewers weren’t tuning in for the sketches.
But the sketches were important, and here’s why. Most were completely horrible, and hobbled horribly our suspension of disbelief. Ricky and Ron were supposed to be writing the shitty sketches, not new head writer Matt Albie. If Matt’s stuff came off as poor, it reflected poorly not only on Matt, but also on producer Danny and network chief Jordan, whose faith in Matt could only be read as delusion.
If the show couldn’t afford to hire Jim Downey or Tim Herlihy or Al Franken or Robert Smigel or Sam Simon to punch up the sketches, they perhaps should have been careful to leave those sketches just off-camera. (It’s possible, one supposes, that Sorkin simply believed his sketches funnier than those mounted by the oft-derided SNL. If so, this was a monstrous miscalculation.)
The show also had casting issues. Nathan Corddry was funny enough on “The Daily Show,” but he’s a far cry from the powerhouse likes of a John Belushi or a Bill Murray or a Will Ferrell. Was anyone ever convinced he had somehow emerged as the superstar standout on a hot late-night sketch show?
Original King of Comedy D.L. Hughley, by contrast, has bucketloads of natural charisma when he’s doing his own material -- but as an actor Hughley demonstrated mammoth deficiencies, and Sorkin’s dialogue never seemed to fit Hughley’s mouth. (Imagine what an actor like Lesure would have brought to Simon Stiles.)
There was a similar problem with Matthew Perry. Perry’s interviews over the years illustrate that he doesn’t need a script to find he funny, and one senses that “Friends” was so huge, in part, because Perry was a major force in shaping Chandler Bing.
But Sorkin’s work is too tight and unyielding and accomplished; it does not need an actor’s help to get where it’s going. Perry characteristically seemed too confined by Sorkin’s alter ego, and one suspects he’s at least a little glad to be done with the role. (A slightly younger Perry might have been spectacular as Tom Jeter, the show-within-a-show’s star player.)
Perhaps Sorkin’s material, always so precise and fully formed, needs something of a blank canvas to inhabit; if the canvas comes with its own lines and colors, those elements unduly distract from what Sorkin is trying to accomplish. Rob Lowe – a handsome but (beyond “The West Wing”) generally bland and workmanlike presence – managed to manifest one of the most successful Sorkin protagonists ever.
Ah, but enough with what might have gone haywire. Let’s go out by enumerating a few of the series’ more memorable virtues:
* The network. Programming chief Jordan McDeere (Amanda Peet) is a profoundly cool character. So, it turns out, is her boss Jack Rudolph (Steven Weber). And Jack’s boss, Wilson White (Ed Asner). All proved unexpectedly complex and entertaining. In retrospect, a series titled “McDeere” or “NBS” might have proven a far better fit for audiences, critics, NBC and Sorkin himself.
* Andy Mackinaw (Mark McKinney), the tragedy-stained comedy pro who returned to the writer’s room.
* Kim Tao (the spectacular Julia Ling), the sexy and hilariously horny little rich girl on whom the network’s fortunes appeared to teeter.
* Zhang Tao (Raymond Ha), Kim’s wily pop.
* Captain Boyle (James Lesure), see above.
* Robert Bebe (John Goodman), the backwoods Nevada judge who turned up to torment the regulars for two episodes before providing them deliverance.
* Suzanne (Merrit Wever), Matt’s landmine-jumping assistant.
* Wendy (real-life ex-Pussycat Doll Cyia Batten), the Bombshell Babe with the boot.
* The show's sprawling multilevel main set generally, but especially that giant "Play It Again Sam" Life Magazine cover in Matt's office.
* And the Christmas show.
Christmas Day 2007, by the way, will see the release to cinemas of “Charlie Wilson’s War,” about the Texas congressman who aided Afghanistan in its war against the Soviet Union. It teams a Sorkin screenplay with director Mike Nichols, as well as actors Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Shiri Appleby, Rachel Nichols, John Slattery, Mary Page Keller and real-life ex-Pussycat Doll Cyia Batten. Which just proves again – if you kick a great writer out of TV, you’ll end up paying later.
10 p.m. Thursday. NBC.
49% Off Harry Potter
And The Deathly Hallows 
Fear The Sadness Bowl!! Herc Laughed Himself Silly
Listening to Patton Oswalt’s New Album!!
So how great is James Lesure as Captain Boyle? And how much do we now realize he is wasted on NBC’s just-renewed “Las Vegas”?
Tonight brings the end of Aaron Sorkin’s “Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip,” and that makes this a saddish day. It was a great show, but maybe not a good one, and I acknowledge that may not make any sense. It came equipped with scenes that transcended all media, but also scenes that elicited little more than wincing.
Some argue that the quality of the show’s sketches were not important, that viewers weren’t tuning in for the sketches.
But the sketches were important, and here’s why. Most were completely horrible, and hobbled horribly our suspension of disbelief. Ricky and Ron were supposed to be writing the shitty sketches, not new head writer Matt Albie. If Matt’s stuff came off as poor, it reflected poorly not only on Matt, but also on producer Danny and network chief Jordan, whose faith in Matt could only be read as delusion.
If the show couldn’t afford to hire Jim Downey or Tim Herlihy or Al Franken or Robert Smigel or Sam Simon to punch up the sketches, they perhaps should have been careful to leave those sketches just off-camera. (It’s possible, one supposes, that Sorkin simply believed his sketches funnier than those mounted by the oft-derided SNL. If so, this was a monstrous miscalculation.)
The show also had casting issues. Nathan Corddry was funny enough on “The Daily Show,” but he’s a far cry from the powerhouse likes of a John Belushi or a Bill Murray or a Will Ferrell. Was anyone ever convinced he had somehow emerged as the superstar standout on a hot late-night sketch show?
Original King of Comedy D.L. Hughley, by contrast, has bucketloads of natural charisma when he’s doing his own material -- but as an actor Hughley demonstrated mammoth deficiencies, and Sorkin’s dialogue never seemed to fit Hughley’s mouth. (Imagine what an actor like Lesure would have brought to Simon Stiles.)
There was a similar problem with Matthew Perry. Perry’s interviews over the years illustrate that he doesn’t need a script to find he funny, and one senses that “Friends” was so huge, in part, because Perry was a major force in shaping Chandler Bing.
But Sorkin’s work is too tight and unyielding and accomplished; it does not need an actor’s help to get where it’s going. Perry characteristically seemed too confined by Sorkin’s alter ego, and one suspects he’s at least a little glad to be done with the role. (A slightly younger Perry might have been spectacular as Tom Jeter, the show-within-a-show’s star player.)
Perhaps Sorkin’s material, always so precise and fully formed, needs something of a blank canvas to inhabit; if the canvas comes with its own lines and colors, those elements unduly distract from what Sorkin is trying to accomplish. Rob Lowe – a handsome but (beyond “The West Wing”) generally bland and workmanlike presence – managed to manifest one of the most successful Sorkin protagonists ever.
Ah, but enough with what might have gone haywire. Let’s go out by enumerating a few of the series’ more memorable virtues:
* The network. Programming chief Jordan McDeere (Amanda Peet) is a profoundly cool character. So, it turns out, is her boss Jack Rudolph (Steven Weber). And Jack’s boss, Wilson White (Ed Asner). All proved unexpectedly complex and entertaining. In retrospect, a series titled “McDeere” or “NBS” might have proven a far better fit for audiences, critics, NBC and Sorkin himself.
* Andy Mackinaw (Mark McKinney), the tragedy-stained comedy pro who returned to the writer’s room.
* Kim Tao (the spectacular Julia Ling), the sexy and hilariously horny little rich girl on whom the network’s fortunes appeared to teeter.
* Zhang Tao (Raymond Ha), Kim’s wily pop.
* Captain Boyle (James Lesure), see above.
* Robert Bebe (John Goodman), the backwoods Nevada judge who turned up to torment the regulars for two episodes before providing them deliverance.
* Suzanne (Merrit Wever), Matt’s landmine-jumping assistant.
* Wendy (real-life ex-Pussycat Doll Cyia Batten), the Bombshell Babe with the boot.
* The show's sprawling multilevel main set generally, but especially that giant "Play It Again Sam" Life Magazine cover in Matt's office.
* And the Christmas show.
Christmas Day 2007, by the way, will see the release to cinemas of “Charlie Wilson’s War,” about the Texas congressman who aided Afghanistan in its war against the Soviet Union. It teams a Sorkin screenplay with director Mike Nichols, as well as actors Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Shiri Appleby, Rachel Nichols, John Slattery, Mary Page Keller and real-life ex-Pussycat Doll Cyia Batten. Which just proves again – if you kick a great writer out of TV, you’ll end up paying later.
10 p.m. Thursday. NBC.
49% Off Harry Potter
And The Deathly Hallows
Fear The Sadness Bowl!! Herc Laughed Himself Silly
Listening to Patton Oswalt’s New Album!!
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That spoof on "To Catch a Predator" but with Santa Claus.
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I'm already sad. And I obviously liked it much more than AICN and most talkbackers. I now return you to uninspired television already in progress.
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Did Herc just give us a secret spoiler in the title of the article?
Even at worst, it was a lot better than most network garbage anymore. -
It wasn't Sports Night. It was too. You know, too stodgy, too self-aware, too self-absorbed, too...too. I stopped watching before the Christmas show, which kills me because I wanted it to work SO badly. It just didn't.
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I'm sorry, but for the most part this show was terrible. The dialog was good, but the stories were absolutely boring. How many times did they go back and revisit the same religious argument over and over and over again? Sadly, it was still better then most other things on TV, but still that doesn't make this any more deserving of a continued run...
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the sketches were dogshit, the religion debates were about two dozen too many, the politics in general was too much, and whole general air about it was pretty self-pretentious. but yet, i couldn't get enough of it. weber was awesome, matthew perry did far better than i expected him too, the stories for the most part were quite interesting, and for the love of thor, that Christmas ep really was great. i'm a huge huge fan of the show, and i'm really sad to see it go, but i also recognize its damning flaws that others couldn't get past.
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Sarah Paulson as Harriet Hayes. She is terribly unfunny and a black hole of charisma. And her character was supposed to be the biggest talent and star of the show! The worst miscasting on a Sorkin show that I've ever seen. I will not miss that lisping, unfunny little troll woman.
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Steven Weber. On that, everyone seems to agree. He needs his own show.
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Jun 28, 2007 4:55:38 PM CDT
Hope we just get an hour-long "Peripheral Vision Man"..
by danielkurland
Wouldn't that be a slap in the face? But I'd smirk at it. I love this show, I really, really do, and I'm going to miss it and Sorkin, and I hope he does TV again soon. It would maybe have been a little better had this K and R stuff wrapped up last episode, and we had this final one to deal with everything else, but we'll see how it goes. I'm sure I'll enjoy it, and it'll be well written, I just hope something more happens that Jordan and the baby being fine, and Matt and Harriett getting together. Also, a sad shame that the Sorkin/Malina streak will probably be broken, but I'm glad as hell that the episode is called "What Kind of Day Has It Been."
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all of Sorkin's dialogue plays out like that skit on "Family Guy" where the two 1940s-ish guys banter back-and-forth in staccato slang. Funny/cool for a minute, but any more than that it's just grating.
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but the lack of humor in some of the sketches didn't exaclty bother me. Paulson did, on a lot of occasion. Peet never did, and Weber did a fantastic job. I really hope he gets an Emmy nomination, and Whitford fucking deserves one for "The Christmas Show" and Perry does for "The Harriet Dinner" as that fight they had was so real. Just put Josh Charles and Steven Weber in some new Sorkin vehicle now. And Sabrina Lloyd.
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Jun 28, 2007 5:06:01 PM CDT
I feel bad cause the show never lived up to the hype...
by studioplant69
Too bad, but I'm sure Sorkin will get another shot soon enough.
gfy -
I'm calling it now.
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He didn't put Josh Malina in it. Apparently, Josh is the glue that holds Sorkin's shows together. Or the type of "blank slate" actor that Herc described as Rob Lowe. Still, the show was better than most shit on tv but the hype and the expectations from the hype killed it, when we all knew it was going to be a smarter-than-you show. And it was. It was smarter than you.
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Malina didn't come to West Wing until season 4, when the show was a huge success. If he is needed for a show to succeed, he would have been essential in season one or two, but again, I know you weren't being TOO serious. But I agreee completely, the hype killed this. If Sorkin wasn't so huge, they wouldn't have gotten as big a budget, and focusing on all the underperformances of the show wouldn't be the focus. If he just had a smaller budget with some less known people, this show would be getting a second season. Fact.
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I don't think Studio 60 was a great show. It wasn't even a good show, but it was a show; I'll give you that much.
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A pirate western musical? That could be gold, I tells ya!
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But 95% of the rest of country would have no problem understanding anything in this show. That's what makes the argument that it was too smart for the stupid masses such bunk. It's not like they were covering nuclear propulsion or something. It was a show about TV sketch comedy. Nothing they said was particularly difficult to fathom, you didn't need a dictionary on hand because there were no large words used. They tried to tackle 'real world' issues, but lots of other shows have done that and not sucked. What exactly was so 'smart' about this show then? Certainly not it's fans. Certainly not the lame ass sketches that were supposed to be so brilliant. Certainly not the writing, which has been panned by writers and critics everywhere. And you're right stvhthr, it WAS a show.
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an opinion on this show before, but when did that stop anyone from blabbering and jabbering on and on? I was looking forward to this show when I first heard about it, and really like Matthew Perry and Steven Weber as actors. It failed to live up to expectations and now it's gone. It happens all the time, both to good shows and bad.
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... the one guy whose name I forget was visited by his yokel parents from (gasp!) OHIO... and they were too stupid to realize what a vital, deep, crucial-to-civilization job it is to be a writer on a comedy sketch (NOT SKIT!!!!) show. I kept waiting for the brat son to get his comeuppance, but no: Sorkin apparently thought the kid was right to despise his parents for asking if he needed money (the fools!), and for not realizing "I could buy their house four times over!" In the end though, he deigned to give them an Abbot and Costello record, so hopefully they would wake from their stupor and treat him with the reverence he deserved. Was this character possibly redeemed in a later episode? I watched the show one or two times after that, but I never got that condescending taste out of my mouth, and so eventually drifted away.
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The main problem with the show was that the whole concept was off. A sketch comedy show where the entire show is written by one comic genius? Sorkin was more interested in telling us the story of his own perceived brilliance (which no one cares about) rather than providing an interesting look at the backstage of a sketch comedy show (which would have been fun). Did anyone ever read that oral history of Saturday Night Live that came out years ago? It was amazing, all because of the interactions of the variety of different writers, performers and producers who came together to make the show what it was (whether good or bad). It would have been fun to see a true portrayal of the creative process at work -- a variety of talented writers and performers trying to get their work on the air, competing with eachother, tensions among the cast members, etc. Instead we got none of that, because it was all about Matt Albie, comedic genius. (I know it was about other stuff too, but it WASN'T about the one thing that would have been interesting -- backstage at a comedy show).
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Never been so glad to see a lawyer! I think I'm love with her, even if Heartland is a dull show. Seriously, put her in that NBS show and you'd have something great. Personally I didn't find D.L. Hughley or Nathan Corddry to be bad. They were both likable in their parts. I agree they did not click like the cast of Sports Night or West Wing, and yeah I did not think any of "the big three" were convincing, including Sarah Paulson--particularly when Sorkin made it out that she couldn't tell a joke. He shot his own characters' credibility right in the head with that one. But they weren't what bothered me. I'm not that big of a Matt Perry fan, but here I found him to be an annoying presence most of the time, and his attacks on Harriet were often hostile cheapshots that seemed like half a step away from wife-beater abuse, so I had trouble rooting for him as the leading man. Perhaps that was Perry giving it too much passion, or perhaps Sorkin didn't realize how much he was overdoing Matt's outrage and ranting when it came to Harriet. I appreciated the religious debating, it was something I liked seeing on a show rather than ignored, particularly since I felt that he was trying to present both sides even though he had a clear bias towards one. But Perry as Matt seemed less like a high functioning autistic, which is fine if you're Gregory House but not so fine when you're a leading man on any other show (and even House went over the line of absurdity this season). Nevertheless, I am very sad this show is over. I wanted more. I really think they should have gone for a second season, but I appreciate that the show wasn't cancelled before we got to this final hostage-hospital story arc. I guess all I can hope for now is that there's some resolution!
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I think I'm IN love with her [Kari Matchett], even if Heartland is a dull show. -------and: I'm not that big of a Matt Perry fan, but here I REALLY found him to be an annoying presence most of the time, and his attacks on Harriet were often hostile cheapshots that seemed like half a step away from wife-beater abuse, so I had trouble rooting for him as the leading man.
---------and:
But Perry as Matt seemed LIKE a high functioning autistic, which is fine if you're Gregory House but not so fine when you're a leading man on any other show (and even House went over the line of absurdity this season)--------shit, I know nobody cares what I think but dammit those typos pissed me off. -
It's a show set at a sketch comedy program - you HAVE to show the sketches. You can't have a show about policement without showing the police station. You can't have a show about lawyers without showing courtroom scenes. You can't have a show about a football team without showing them play football.
The problem is, Sorkin isn't funny, and you can't have a show about supposedly funny people, performing a supposedly funny show, without actually showing them being funny (even if you want to call it a drama). Shows about lawyers by people who don't understand the legal system generally suck. Shows about cops created by people who know nothing about policework are unrealistic and suck. Shows about football by people who know nothing about football suck. And a show about comedians, written by someone who is a gifted, talented writer, but is not particularly funny . . . . -
I loved half the episodes as much as I hated half of them. Coudry was actually one of my favorite parts. We'll see what Sorkin can try and cook up next.
In other questions: Whats the chances of a John from Cincinnati talk back? -
It should have been more like Sports Night and less like West Wing in pace, visual style, and direction.
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I think Paulson is what ultimately undid this show. I had this feeling that Sorkin was breaking his back to get people/fans to embrace the Harriet character and she was just awful. Unfunny, not that pretty and I could never buy Perry's character falling all over himself for her. Not that anyone will get the refewence, but I liken the show to the early 90s Mets with Greg Jeffreis. You destroy an entire team of good players trying to make the square peg fit in the round hole. Ultimately that's what happened to 60 in my opinion. A decent show was destroyed trying to force a square peg into a round hole.
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I used to direct a live television show when I was a young hotshot and have had my share of disasters. Other than that, there was very little that kept my interest.
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Jun 28, 2007 7:34:45 PM CDT
We have the Fairness Doctrine to thank for this!!one11!
by immortal_fish
Thanks to congress's efforts to squelch talk radio, quality liberal shows like Studio 60 are getting the axe in order to level the playing field! We already lost Don Imus and Rosy. Next, it'll be poor, cutesy little Katie! It's unfairness, I tells ya! UNFAIRNESS!!!11!!!eleven!!!11!!
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Steven Weber rules
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I had no problem with him, and he and Styles are a great double act.
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Now, if the parents were Amish or Church of God from the deep south I could understand them not knowing "Who's On First", but they were from Ohio. Who the kid should have been talking about was Bill Hicks, Mitch Hedberg, heck I could have bought Steven Wright...maybe. Sorkin wanted to tell the story of the 1986-1987 season of SNL. Ironically, he ended up living the 1980-81 season.-----later-----m
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....people "force" themselves to watch even though they hate it. the mind boggles. too funny.
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I didn't so much mind the look of the show, though perhaps that gave it a little more of a detached feel than it needed. However, the insistence on filtering politics through the Hollywood prism did in this show. I have no problem with it being "self-important", as much of the criticism about the show states. But the pacing and the repartee and the character development should have been much closer to Sports Night than The West Wing. Sports Night was just as "self-important" as Studio 60 (in fact, I would bet that mirrors our own working/professional lives more than we'd care to admit) but it knew how to have fun with itself, to let some of the light in. Studio 60 didn't. And that also did in the show. (I won't touch on the atrocious sketches - Please, can everyone retire the Nancy Grace schitcks. Thank you.)
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Never felt comfortable in his role, which made us feel uncomfortable while watching him. Simon Styles could've been a great character. Hughley can be funny. The two were not a match.
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But I think you're way off when saying the sketches mattered. They didn't and the show was about what happened behind the scenes not in front of the camera. If I wanted to see in front of the camera then I would watch MadTV or SNL.
No the reason why it's cancelled is becaues there isn't many original ideas in left Hollywood and those that are original are scary to the execs upstairs.
You can defend the suits all you want but the facts speak for themselves. -
While I don't fault anyone for liking this show, I couldn't stand it or the cast....though I've like them all in other roles. Stick a fork in it. Studio 60s done!
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I'm sad to see you go.
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nbc had the courage to run commercials promoting "the singing bee" during the final episode of studio 60. so nbc is sending viewers the message, "forget about good, intelligent writing and great actors, our network prefers to broadcast people who cannot sing!" this poor quality update of "name that tune" is a perfect example of "cheap tv.' all of you who have complained about studio 60, i hope you enjoy "the singing bee." you deserve it.
in contrast, studio 60 presented a good finale, sorry to see it go -
is being misinterpreted. I think people are too stuck on the concept, but storyline wise it makes sense. The sketches aren't suppose to be funny. Matt Albie wasn't able to write the show effectively, thus the ratings issue. It's just another level of drama that Sorkin added. There really wouldn't be drama if the show was perfect. If the show was funny and had good ratings, then all you had to watch was the personal lives backstage, but all you haters are complaining about that anyways. The sketches weren't intended to be funny because of the storyline. I mean hell, he wrote half of the show high! You people get your panties in a bunch with the concept, but Television isn't just about a concept. Yeah Lost is an awesome show because of it's concept, but look at seinfeld...the concept was a show about nothing...
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All due respect, but aren't you drinking the Sorkin Kool-Aid a bit? The reason it was cancelled is because studio executives are "scared of original ideas"? Isn't the real reason it was cancelled because it was getting terrible ratings? Let's not romanticize this without basis.
As for the sketches not mattering -- its not just the sketches. The big problem is that none of these supposedly gifting comic performers and writers were ever actually FUNNY, onstage or off. You can say that its a drama, not a comedy, but that's a copout. If you do a cop show, the characters have to act like cops, or audiences won't buy it. If you do a show set at a hospital, whether comedy or drama, the audience needs to buy that the characters are doctors. And if you do a show set at a comedy show, and have characters constantly telling us how HILARIOUS they all are, you have to actually prove it to us, or it all seems like bullshit.
Bottom line is, when push came to shove, Sorkin couldn't write funny-enough characters, and either couldn't or wouldn't hire a supporting writing staff that could help him out. If he wanted to do a backstage show, he would have been much better off doing a "Broadcast News" style show -- much more in his wheelhouse. -
For Aaron Sorkin (aka Matt Albie) to just apologize to Kristin Chenoweth (aka Harriet Hayes) than to produce this sub par show? I know it would have been easier on me.
I have been a big fan of Sorkin's work, but the guy needs to get some new material. The title was used in the West Wing and Sports. He has been recycling dialogue, set-ups and jokes - verbatim - since A Few Good Men.
Granted the man has a good ear, but I have grown weary of the recycling. I had such high hopes for this show, it had everything going for, great cast,great production team and great support from the network and fans alike. Everything but fresh writing. It was solid, but nowhere near what he has done in the past. Also, while he gives great lip service to taking risks and telling truth through his art, at the end of the day, he cops out. In the West Wing, he had an opportunity to refresh the show by killing Zoe when she was kidnapped. I would have loved to see the ramifications of a president dealing with the kidnap/murder of his daughter. It would have totally reinvigorated the show. With Studio 60, imagine the drama of Jordan or the baby dying. The whole thread with Tom's brother was unnecessary imho. If he wanted to make a statement about religious zealots in this country, a story about a threat from a religious nut would have been better.
Next time Aaron, save us the histrionics, in the words of Liz Lemon,on the far superior 30 Rock, "Nut up"; say you are sorry and send the girl flowers. -
The humor was missing from the very beginning of the season, when all the characters were constantly saying how great the show was doing and what a genius Matt was, so I don't think you can honestly say that the bad sketches were an intentional part of the storyline (at least not from the get-go).
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This finale was "eh". It ended the show but that's pretty much all it did. It was like "insert resolution here, insert resolution here" without making any bold moves. Plus everything just happened. BAM she's healthy again BAM Tom's brother is rescued BAM They're an item once again! Wait... how?
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didn't they? Too nice and tidy ending, I thought.
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i think that about sums it up. this show could have been something special. sorkin tried to make it everything, but couldn't keep all the balls in the air. it was a show about a sketch comedy show wherein the least funny thing was the sketches. it was a show about the cutthroat world of network politics that went out of its way to humanize the sharks. the attempts at political and religious debate were swallowed in a convoluted, uninteresting love story. most of the dialog was exchanging potshots, but that's fairly realistic considering it was based in LA. i thought matt & brad were great together, but that got lost in their character's romantic entanglements late in the season. all of the characters were sidetracked with dillemas that did not draw me in. i like nate corddry, but they gave the character of tom waaaay too many storylines. i thought DL was great, i especially liked when he and darius were butting heads over the mongongo sketch, his attemt at juggling women, and his stand over the last two episodes. the contrast of the arcs of those two characters sum up where i really feel the show went wrong. simon's storylines worked within the framework of the show's premise. tom's were trying to be huge life-altering events which distracted the viewer from the progression of the show. trying to be topical in two time periods five years apart, often in the same episode, hurt the focus as well. it was like there were 6 or 7 miniseries instead of one solid season. brilliant moments joined by skeins of claptrap. ultimately disappointing.
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I was relieved that they managed to tie up their ongoing plot threads even if these were filmed before they knew the show was canceled. Jordan and baby Rebecca live, Tom's brother and the two other soldiers live, Simon keeps his job, Matt and Harriet get back together again, Jack gets good and drunk. If you're going to end a series, happy endings all around is a nice way to go. (Worked for John Water's "Pecker") The show was good, these talkbacks have been a pain. It was not about SNL, just a similar competing show on a similar network (the way "Fridays") was). Still, everyone complains that SNL isn't always funny, so why did they expect the show in a show to be funny? Especially when, as pointed out above, the show in a show was dropping in the ratings and being written almost solely by a guy self medicating with pain relievers and liquor... after returning from a five year hiatus off the job. How could Matt's writing be good under those circumstances? The faith the network and his co-workers had in him was based on what he did five years earlier. It was a happy episode, but still, sad to see it go. Inadvertantly saddest lines: "See you on Monday", which would have worked better if a.) the show was still on Mondays and b.) if the show was still on. Likewise, the annoying announcer lie at the end "Stay tuned for more 'Studio 60'" when we know there won't be any more. And damn, we face a bleak Summer with a shitfest of reality shows - will NBC at least rerun this series? All the way through, week after week. In one consistent time slot. And no breaks. Like they should have done in the first place. I suspect the answer to that one is no. Dammit. Funniest lines of the talkback so far: one of the H8terboiz [tm] STILL thinks this show was a comedy. Tied with: another one says the distinction between it being a drama and a comedy "doesn't matter". The constant harping on the shows religious themes also really missed the whole point: the entire series featured one long argument between an atheist and a Christian and in the end - when it came time to pray, and when it came time to breathe a sigh of relief and say "Thank God" - the Christian won and the atheist lost the argument. Seriously, if the fact that they had the discussion so offensive that it doesn't even matter which side won? Crazy Christians...
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those guys that loved to watch the show every week just so they could come in here and crap all over those that enjoyed it (I'm not naming names, but let's just say it rhymes with "Timmy So Fine"), they're gonna be completely out of work?back to reality TV shows, guys...even you can't argue that as flawed as you think of Studio 60 as being, it's a helluva lot better than watching Paula Abdul yell at her assistants...you're fighting the wrong fight picking on Studio 60. we need more of its kind. even if you'd rather see a variation, you DON'T want network TV to become the flipside of the coin.
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...I can admit its shortcomings. I think if it had been allowed a new season, a lot of our main complaints (and by 'our', i mean fans of the show, not the whiners and bitchers) would have been fixed. My main complaints at season's beginning were:
* Tom Jeter wasn't funny enough to be a star of a SNL-type show. In the last few episodes, he did a great job of showing off his dramatic side though...
* Harriet Hayes was kind of bland as Matt's muse, but again, as the season went on, she actually started convincing me that she could be funny, and I really liked her by season's end...
* The skits were shit, and most of the time they didn't matter, but sometimes, an episodes plot would revolve around how 'controversial' a skit was supposed to be, and the skit would turn out to be crap. I'm almost positive more attention would have been paid to this in a Season 2, as it was probably the show's biggest flaw...
* Too preachy...but again, the last several episodes showed how good the show can be when it focuses on character. Plus, add Darius, Lucy, and Andy (Columbus Short, Lucy Davis, and Mark McKinney) and you've got some great opportunities to expand the main cast.
I think there were some rocky patches this last year, but given a second season, I think the show could have been truly great. -
Why does that thank you ad have to be watermarked "viewing sample"? Are they, like, afraid that someone is going to, what, publish it somewhere and publicize the charity without permission? Or maybe plagiarize the layout, Photoshop in different faces and text and thank some other show with it? It's a one time, one use add, why would they possible need to copyright, trademark, register, patent or watermark it?
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I thought Jordan was a goner. Sad to see this go, glad it ended well.Oh well, back to Pirate Master, ARRRGH matey!
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After the first episode, I was really excited, but it just got so damn preachy and depressing... whole episodoes would go by without one person smiling. And the main romance between the writer and the religious chick was always very awkward and forced. Oh well, I enjoyed a couple of episodes so that's something. I don't need to enumerate the flaws of the show because they are exactly why it failed.
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I was a diehard "Heroes" hater and watched/fast-forwarded through it every week to tell everyone is sucked, but I never felt compelled to do that with Studio 60. I just didn't care about it enough to even bash it. Well Sorkin shot his wad with The West Wing, but no one can bat 1.000. He's a genius but just misfired bigtime with S60.
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I didn't get hung up on whether the comedy in the show within the show was funny or not because it's based on SNL, which is not funny. But this particular episode was disappointing because every character was denied getting to make decisions. Danny never had to present Jordan with the papers. Simon never reached the moment of apology or quitting. Tom never got to decide his brother's fate. All were solved by outside forces. Also, I was hoping they'd end with Harriet having a crisis of faith for once and reconsidering her belief in god. This would repair the damage done by Matt's last ditch effort to ask god for help, which is so cliched. This show challenged religion, yet copped out. Other than that, I want to see more shows like this.
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I actually kind of appreciated the fact that Harriet was so strong in her faith. She was kind of an unconventional Sorkin character. To have her cave would have been one more reason for conservatives to bash Sorking. I also loved a few eps back when Danny honestly tried to pray with Harriet, but couldn't bring himself too and said it just didn't feel right. I think the show got a little too overly-preachy on the religous issues, but every once in a while there were good little moments.
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is broadcasting quality shows like Friday Night Lights, Heroes, The Office, and 30 Rock. I'd say NBC is doing just fine without this hack program. You guys keep giving eulogies to good writing on television. Guess what? You were wrong. It wasn't good writing. The ratings sucked. The idiots that wasted their money putting out a thank you ad to this third rate show won't even remember it three years from now. The end. And you know there's other things you can do over the summer than watch the reality trash on TV.
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remember that scene in "Our Man Flint" where Derek Flint had to have a secret conversation with you to exchange information without attracting attention so he started a bar brawl and kicked your ass? Yhat was hilarious.
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"Seriously, if the fact that they had the discussion so offensive that it doesn't even matter which side won?"
Had it been a discussion. Maybe the tone might have changed after I quit watching, but anytime I saw the issue come up in an episode I saw it was "Let's make fun of the Christians" not a discussion. -
Yes, the show was incredibly flawed - I agree with most of Napoleon Park and Maxwell's Hammer points. But I really liked it and would have loved to see a 2nd season. Why? Because I enjoyed it. I liked the characters. I actually cared about them. Could the sketches have been funnier? Sure. Did I care? No. I thought the actors were funny with the material they were given. It's just that most of it wasn't on the show within the show. And anyone who says Sorkin can't write funny never saw Sports Night. The show was funny and the show within the show was funny. Don't know what happened here. But the actors were also good with the drama. Who knew Nate Corddry could act? And I have to say, I really really dug Whitley Streiber as an actor and as his character. Makes me think I should check out that West Wing thing. Anyway, what this really means is that this is the last talkback people can bitch about this show and Sorkin. I'm glad all of you made such valuable use of your time. What will you do now?
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I enjoyed the series and thought the characters and acting were solid, though i have not watched previous Sorkin shows so can't compare. Was bit let down that the end was such a positive wrap up in the last 10mins, but its understandable.
I think this show may of failed due to how it was sold. I never once came to it expecting a comedy. I expected a well told dramatic story, and if there was an occassional funny line, great. But 30rock is the comedy, this never was and I'm not sure why it was advertised to be one. Misled expectations mean negative response. -
Sorkin's portrayred his alter ego Matt as a martyr. Wrongly persecuted, but eventually redeemed. His ego killed S60. I mean, your dream girl finds out you're getting high to do your job and she FALLS FOR YOU?! AGAIN?! You've been outted as a drug addict and you still get the girl? In what universe does THAT happen? S60 was written as if it was the Gospel according to Sorkin, which made his railings against organized religion hypocritical when he was preaching from his own soapbox and essentially implying on his show that anyone who didn't believe the same way he did fit his own definition of "sinner" and should be held in contempt and judged.
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yeah, yeah, celebrate your little victory over Liberal Hollywood. you're LOSING in any and every way that matters. Creation Museum. Congress. Vice-Dictator Cheney. The fact there's no way in 9 hells a republican will be the next president. Ann Coulter's gone anorexic and other pundits struggle for youtube relevence, but it's still a new day in america because that limousine liberal got what was coming to him...right?
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I would have preferred something less predictable had happened. It's nice to see Sorkin wanting to end things happily ever after though, after seeing him be so pessimistic towards things in life, and maybe we WILL get another show out of him. All of the Matt and Danny stuff tonight was A material, and the ending was great. Was kind of expecting maybe Matt to quit the show as he was walking down that staircase with the lights turning off, after realizing there are more important things to life than comedy, but having them stick around, with a new found resoect/surge also works. And also, NO SCHLAMME BUT WHITFORD DIRECTING?? I had no problem with this, but was just surprised. Did anyone else feel that Whitford really loved this show, and that it was a lot more personal and enjoyable for him, than what Perry had felt?
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Should have gotten a nod here, he was great.
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I was pretty pumped to hear we'd have a drama about the backstage goings-on of an SNL-like show. It would be informative, humorous, dramatic, etc, and play on all the rumors we heard about the drugs and sex rampant back in SNL's heyday. Instead, we got Watch Aaron Sorkin Verbally Masturbate For An Entire Television Season. Watching the show actually made me want to stop being politically liberal.
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I really liked Studio 60 a lot and the last episode was okay but I dunno if I'd say it was five star good. I agree with some of the other posters, it rapped up a bit too too tidy. I mean you have Jeeter's brother as a hostage, you have a mother bleeding to death after prematurely delivering a baby who - if she dies - might be taken from her father, you have a drug addict going cold turkey, and then there is the guy who is viewed by the media as a traitor! And in the end, hahaha, it all turns out okay with a big hug. What? They take one night, fill it with all that drama, stretch it out for FOUR episodes and in the end not one of the tragedies ends in tragedy? Might sound cold but I was expecting a little bad with the good. I kinda wanted my heart ripped out a LITTLE.
I also think Timothy Busfield merits some praise. Just so cool as the guy always calm even when everthing is blowing up. -
Thanks to the cast and crew for a great year.Did Sorkin know the show was cancelled when this episode was written? If so, that would explain the neatly-tied bows at the end. Or maybe he re-shot the ending?
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Steven Weber playing Jack Rudolph is GOLD. Give him his own show already! Call it THE NETWORK (or something similarly cool and easy-to-remember ala THE WEST WING so people will actually watch), surround him with a kick-ass supporting cast of NBS execs (Ed Asner especially), give it an awesome theme song montage of fast-paced Jack Rudolph asskickery (Jack punching a dude over a desk, Jack passionately kissing some chick, Jack putting on sunglasses Caruso-style), and watch the ratings EXPLODE.
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HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa
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...selling it in any way as a 'quirky' comedy - set up the completely wrong audience expectations right from the get go - when what this really was was a behind-the-scenes drama show. People didn't get what they thought they were getting, which rarely bodes well for a show. And the hype surrounding it made the sting even worse. And in a year when there was an actual comedy behind-the-scenes show in the form of 30 Rock that people disappointed with Studio 60's lack of straight comedy could flee to, well it all combined to echo in the death knell.And it's a damn shame, as personally I rate Studio 60 as one of the most enjoyable new shows of the past 12 months, the only other freshman show I'd rate higher would be Showtime's Dexter, it just wasn't what many people thought it would be. I also thought it was a terrific ensemble, and personally I rate Perry, Hughley and Cordy's work on the show, although Cordry and particularly Hughley took a few episodes to get really settled. Busfield, Peet and Whitford all did quality work, and Weber was a surprise standout. Some nice guest shots throughout too, and some of the secondary/background cast members put in solid support - although there were weaknesses too, such as Nate Torrence as the Token Fat Comedian, and Camille Chen as Ms Asian Personality Vacuum 2006, while some of the others were just kind of there. But I guess that is to be expected of any ensemble cast really. Anyway personally I enjoyed the hell out of the show, but it didn't rate well so I'm just glad we got a full season, and one that didn't end all up in the air or cliffhangery, small mercies I guess. Moving on...
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Thank God.
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Thank God.
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Your post was dead-on balls accurate.
For those of you complaining about the "haters," you do realize that this is not a Studio 60 fan site, right? We can offer legitimate criticisms of a flawed show without being "haters" or right-wing nut jobs. And the reason most of us continue to watch a show that we criticize isn't because we like to be angry, but because most of us ARE fans of Sorkin from his past work, and will watch what he puts out and give him every chance, even if, in our mind, it doesn't succeed.
Here's hoping that his next project is better. And that he focuses on the story he's telling, rather than on settling personal grudges and aggrandizing his ego. -
...I loved the show; without question my favorite among the 2006-2007 Fall line-up. I'll definitely get the DVD-set the day its released. Yes, NBC are assholes for cutting it loose when they give FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS and 30 ROCKS (shows that did consistently worse in the ratings than STUDIO) "second-chance" seasons. But...oh well! At least Sorkin wrapped everything up nicely. I was so impressed by Perry on STUDIO that I'd love to see him work with Sorkin again. And no, I don't see this being the end of Sorkin on TV. My guess is we see another series outta him in about...2 years...on another network.
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they would have finally got the White Stripes as guests.
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The plot was that they brought on these two supposedly great comedic writers and the sketches actually did suck, instead of being supposedly funny for the fictional audience. That way the unfunny sketches may have taken on some actual humor for US, the real audience. And might have given the show some actual drama. And when the show was canceled in real life, it could be canceled in story as well.
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Sorkin very probably found out that S60 was being cancelled and re-wrote the last five. I would wager that there are at least two complete eps that will never be shown except on DVD.
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Wow, even the promo poster for a charity benefit event is pretentious. That must've taken some serious know-how.
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A bit preachy, but excellent cast. Thank you Mr Sorkin.
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... but Sorkin wouldn't let me. He was too wrapped up in trying to say things (about the state of television, Iraq, President Bush, Kristen Chenoweth) that creating a great TV show took a back seat. I should have been as psyched to see Matt and Harriet kiss at the end of the show as I was when Jeremy first kissed Natalie on Sports Night, instead, I went right back to the game I was playing while I watched the show.
This episode was good, but not five star material. And G-d forbid Sorkin writes a scene were Tom thanks the Air Force captain for his brother's rescue after Tom treated him like crap for the last four episodes. But that would have gone against Sorkin's peacenik sensibilities. Instead, he gives us the scene where Matt polls the apathetic staff as to whether it's OK for him to date Harriet.
As for the wrapup, if the show wasn't ending, maybe it wouldn't have been as tidy. -
Have you looked at Congress' approval numbers? People hate the Democratic led Congress almost as much as they hate Bush. People not staunchly in one camp or another look at Republicans as heartless bastards and Democrats as spinless wimps who cave into the Republicans every time they get into a fight. The person who is going to win the election is the person who can distance themselves the most from their respective party without pissing off their core base. I think at this point, Fred Thompson or Rudy Giullani still have a chance to win the general election because people outside the Republican base can see things in them outside of being Republicans even if it is as superficial as Fred Thompson being on Law and Order or dating a country singer. People didn't think Bush would get re-elected either. Heck most people didn't think Clinton was going to get relected either more than a year before he was re-elected because the Dems took a huge defeat in the midtem elections that time around because Clinton was pretty universally hated his first two years in office. This race is far from over and neither side has a candidate that doesn't have huge flaws. Even Hilary Clinton is polarizig and Obama doesn't have much experience and is black (I am not saying that to be racist, but there is pretty of racism in this country that will hurt him in getting votes even from Democrats). There is no teflon candidate who can go into the general election and just sweep the other side. Both Giullani and Thompson can play the political outside role to avoid some of the negative stigmatisms of the Republicans. I see it as an open race to the White House still. Sorry to politicalize this TB.
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How could Herc give Five Stars for that? This finally was everything that is wrong with series finales and exactly why so many people were praising David Chase a few weeks back. It is the worst cliche in TV to wrap up all open threads in a little bow. I thought the fact that Jordan was walking around with adoption papers all the time was one of the stupidest and creepy story ideas. It was just shoddy writing to sap up the resolution to the Danny/Jordan storyline. Is Harriet really that dumb that she didn't realize that Matt is crazy about her eventhough he and everyone else have been basically telling her the entire season? Tom's brother being rescued at the last minute was just shoddy storytelling. This was a show about flawed people and the show ended with everyone's lives being "perfect". It would have been a much better ending if Tom went ahead with the rescue attempt and it ended up killing his brother or Jordan dying and Danny being forced to raise the baby alone. This show being only one season long didn't really give us enough emotional investment to care about all the storylines being wrapped up. It all just ended up being too convienient and generic series finale material.
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with other shows when it comes to ratings. Bradley Whitfield himself said that Studio 60 had to be a hit for it to make it because of the cost. Studio 60 may have gotten better ratings than some of the shows that got renewed, but those shows didn't cost that much to produce. When you got named actors and creators like Sorkin, Whitfield, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Timothy Busfield, and Steven Weber; it is going to cost more than a drama that its biggest names are Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler or a half hour comedy since comedies are usually cheaper to produce. People can talk about how stupid NBC is, but they are running a business and no matter how much artistic and entertainment sense keeping Studio 60 on might or might not have meant, the renewing the show would have been a bad business move. NBC promoted the hell out of this show before it aired and it just didn't produce. In fact, it got creamed by a rerun of Shark last night like it has all summer.
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I'm not going to dive into any backseat television making here. But I thought it might be interesting to note that while there has been some discussion that this is Sorkin's last hurrah on television. But he basically says otherwise in the finale. Danny and Matt have always been his mouthpieces, and they basically say "It wasn't a bad show. But it could be better. So we're coming back into work anyway."
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seriously the first two episodes weren't bad, and they got progressively worse. The christmas episode was decent, but by the end it was pure torture. And the smug liberal slant on EVERYTHING was ridiculous. And that's coming from a liberal. That stuff had no place in the show.
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Agreed - that's when I stopped watching. My dad happens to be a preacher Down South, and he has an excellent sense of humor. I felt that episode was H-wood condescension at its worst.
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Granted I never really watched the Sopranos but all Chase did with his finale was what Joss Whedon did at the end of Angel seasons earlier, end without definitive resolution. So Chase added a sudden cut to black. That's pretty original, but the unresolved aspect's been done before.
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The Harriet and Matt angle was easily the weakest, yet Sorkin kept forcing it down our throats when it was obvious Sarah paulson was the least funny "Gilda Radner" type ever to grace TV. She lacked anything that made me think Perrys character would be so gaga over her.. in fact i felt the laywer introduced near the end run was a much better foil for Matt Albie. And please Mr Sorkin we the TV audience do not need the GOD punching us in the face every week.. you cannot convince me that the Harriet character was such a Jesus Freak..it felt completley out of place for this show..which was so crisp in the pilot because of the back and forth between Danny, Matt, jordan and Jack..the most interesting characters...well goodbye studio 60 you started to get it right and then you ended. HUZZAH!
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...for the last 30 minutes, but I guess that will have to be an Aaron Sorkin twist for another day. Instead we got nice little bows tied around each storyline, which I acknowledge were fitting.
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ended without resolution because it didn't have a choice. joss whedon shouldnt be compared to david chase ever.
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Granted, they only had a couple of months to make a few episodes to wrap up the series. As opposed to Chase who was the one to pull the plug on his show and had an abundance of time to create his series finale. But Whedon knew too, he just didn't have the time Chase had.I'm one who was not pleased with the way Angel ended. Whedon was quoted as saying he would not end on a cliff-hanger but kind of did. The only way it's not a cliff-hanger is if any of those characters are never visited again (no Angel/Buffy movie, no Angel TV movies, no Spike spin-off, no mention ever of what happened in the alley). So, now that it looks like none of that will ever happen, the series didn't end in a cliff-hanger, so I'm happier about it. But at the time, with all the rumours going around of future TV movies or what have you, I was pissed.As for Studio 60, I thought it was a decent finale. Obviously it wasn't shot specifically for that purpose, but I'm sure Sorkin had a feeling that when NBC ordered those last episodes that they may indeed BE the last episodes ever. I have to disagree with Herc about James Lesure - I don't think he was all that strong, although I thought he was better in this final episode than he was in the previous ones. It's funny, at one point in the hospital, Danny was muttering to himself and I thought I saw a bit of Toby in him (maybe Whitford channeling Richard Schiff?).Jimmy009, I agree that the writing could have been better and was not as good as FNL, Office, or 30Rock, maybe even Heroes, but that's only 3 hours of NBC's 21-hour prime-time schedule. I think there is room in the other 86% of the schedule for a show that was improving (thanks, I think, in large part to the addition of Mark McKinney as a writer) and could have benefited from a Summer off where Sorkin could have taken the time to examine the criticisms of both professional critics and us Average Joes.
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Just saying.
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Just saying.
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"you're hoping that she'll become a stripper?"
good bye, studio city. erm, sixty... -
that continues after the last episode. SO it was a cliffhanger.
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...they get upset that a show is on air, that they don't even watch, thereby, revealing how pathetic they are. Retreat to your crappy "man-child cop/fireman/military" shows, and shut the fuck up. "Ooh! Jack Bauer is SO badass!!" "Ooh! Dennis Leary is a firecracker!!" "Ooh! Michael Chiklis rocks!!" GAY.
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Sorry it's gone.
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but Charlie Wilson's War is gonna fucking rock. If it's half as good as the book, you'll leave the theater going "We fucking really did that shit?"
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What the hell TopHat, grouping people like that shows you're as ignorant as the haters. Rescue Me is a great show, granted it may not always be as witty as S60 in it's dialog, but is a much more entertaining show. And you end your post with a "GAY", geesh, I didn't think 13 year olds could appreciate S60, but I guess I was wrong. (I don't know why I, a die-hard S60 supporter, chose to attack a fellow fan, but that post really pissed me off).
Oh and Wrlss911Pro, Sorkin left when Zoe had just been kidnapped. He was no part of the decision to have her be rescued unharmed. But I agree, I groaned when she was so easily saved, and stopped watching a few eps later. -
Last night (and last week) I kept asking, "Who the heck IS this guy?" I've never seen him in anything before, but he was just terrific as Captain Boyle (a hard thing to do, given who he was playing). He needs his own series.
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He was the doctor in the finale who was telling Jack to get the hell out of the hospital before he'd have him thrown out. Lesure was great in that small role, too.
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Too bad smart shows like this fail while mindless crap like "According to Jim" gets renewed.
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for what Sorkin was trying to do. It was obvious he wanted another soapbox in which to hash out all these socio-political issues in a popular culture context. But it is my opinion that a show solely centering on a single sketch comedy show on a network. It's too narrow a focus. As a result, many of the "issues" brought up on the show seemed contrived and phony and wore out it's welcome (for me anyway). I think it would have been better if they would have focused on the network AS A WHOLE, not just one show. One episode on something that happened in the news division, the next episode on a controversial episode in one of their hour long dramas. Plenty of room to breathe and many interesting directions you could take. I think that would have kept it fresh and realistic.
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I just watched the finale tonight on my DVR and as it ended there was a mixture of happiness, sadness and outright anger. This was one of the best shows on TV. It was jerked around by a network that should know better. They stuck with so many intelligent well done shows in the past and this is the one they decide to bail on? CBS brings back fucking Jericho and NBC can't see that the 2nd season of this would have been showered with Emmy's? I know the budget was high and the ratings weren't through the rood, but Christ almighty, when are the networks going to take a fucking page from HBO and Showtime and the other cable channels and give these shows more than 8 weeks to prove it? Studio 60 wasn't a failed experiment. It was great television. It made me laugh, it made me cry and it made me think. It made me care about the characters. I could give a shit if the sketches were funny. It wasn't about the sketches. It was about the characters. The talkbacks in here are maddening when you see all the fucking nitwits who just want to nail the show week after week. Sorkin never came out and said he was going to trump sketch comedy and reinvent it. He wrote a show with a great setting and lots of room to deal with all kinds of issues, political, personal, religious and art. When we're sitting next fall waiting for another bloated season of 24 and realizing bringing back the Bionic Woman was a fucking mistake, I hope people and the network realize that they canceled quality that they could proud of. The last group of episodes were as good as anything on TV right now. NBC should have known better. I just wish this show could have slipped over to HBO for a 13 episode run. Sorkin needs to work on HBO or Showtime. The guy is a genius and he needs to be encouraged and allowed to have his voice heard. It was sad to see this show end. So much great work all around. To everyone involved, you did great work and it was appreciated. Very much appreciated....and to NBC? Go fuck yourselves. Heroes season 2 will be a bust and you'll burn out The Office next season too...and by the way, My Name Is Earl really sucks and most people know that. You gutless fucking nitwits.
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another show i loved ends too early. big surprise. time to just stick to movies.
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ASM1978 quoted me: "Seriously, if the fact that they had the discussion so offensive that it doesn't even matter which side won?" then added a sentence fragment: "Had it been a discussion." and continued "Maybe the tone might have changed after I quit watching, but anytime I saw the issue come up in an episode I saw it was "Let's make fun of the Christians" not a discussion."
since you must have read the paragraph that contained the sentence you excerpted, I don't need to recap it. One of the episodes you choose not to watch involved the claim that Matt and Harriet 'had been having the same argument for years'. While most of the flashback episodes jumped from present day to one period in the past, that one actually featured so many costume and hair-style alterations and topical references that I lost track of how many different periods they showed, but they did establish that this had always been the major problem in their relationship, the one thing neither could budge on - Christianity vs. atheism. As you've read here, even if you didn;'t watch the episodes, the final story arc involved multiple crisises - a complicated and life threatening pregnancy, a public relations disaster that threatened one characters job, and another character's brother taken captive by an enemy force. In one of the final episodes Harriet explains to Matt that in such a case, when you feel the need to do something but there's nothing else you really can do, prayer is the only thing you can do. And in a private moment, though he doesn't go so far as to don a yarmulke and prayer shawl, Matt gazes heavenward, points a pistolfinger gesture and says "Show me something" - the closest he gets to acknowledging the possible existence of a God. And in the final episode, after the various plot threads are resolved, he again finds himself seemingly alone, sits down, breathes a sigh of relief and says "Thank God!" In the end the challenging relationship between Matt and Harriet is also resolved when a character tells Harriet that if the two of them really love each other - which they clearly do - the religious difference is merely a trial or test, not important enough to stand in the way of their happiness. I'm not sure if this implies either side is a winner - non-believers might see this as a way of establishing that religion is unimportant, while it might also be interpreted that Love Conquers All, which ought to be a triumph for a religion based on love. don't'cha think? Cool user name, by the way, ASM1978. I was not aware that Amazing Spider-Man had run that many issues. Now I feel really old. -
...by a lot of people. Including the schadenfreude-loving trolls who enjoyed reminding those of who liked well-written TV that its days were numbered.
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Ending everything happily was probably the best way for Sorkin to finish it up (though we should have been given at least one more appearence by Judd as Wes Mendel)and I think once the box set hits the streets, people will see it as a complete piece of work and it's rep will grow in time - maybe not as revered as The West Wing (it'll be best remembered as a noble failure) but as a big 20 hour story about art, commerce, politics, entertainment, belief and love - I honestly think it'll find a more devoted audience on DVD. Shame that C4 are gonna relegate it to a graveyard More4 slot here in the UK as I genuinely believe it'll find a decent audience here.
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...anyone who slams someone elses favourite show(s) as a (poor) way of defending their own fave tv show is an utter tool. Taste is subjective. Having an opinion on a show, good or bad, and expresing it is one thing. Hating on a show for no other reason than to do so, or in order to feel (deludedly) superior is just being an ass. Me, I really enjoyed Studio 60. And amazingly, I also enjoy the hell out of Rescue Me, The Shield, The Wire, Lost, 24, Battlestar Galactica, House, and a couple more besides, without feeling the need to fall into petty "my show is better than your show" bullshit, so, you know, it is possible to like a variety of different things. Scary, innit?
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Poorly written, badly concieved/acted shows continue but this is cancelled. I'll miss it.
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...with the "GAY". Of course you can watch RESCUE ME and Studio 60. What I was saying was people here only seem to want to watch man-child TV shows about men who represent every male sterotype there is instead of watching shows with male characters who are smart and funny, and talk smart and funny. Yet, they call others "gay" for perfering the latter kinds of shows. I think, if you get so upset that a show with smart men is on the air, that you go on something like talkback and bash it as much as possible, because it isn't THE SHIELD, or 24, or RESCUE ME, or another show where things get blown up or beat up, then, you're trying to over-compensate for something ...maybe your homosexual tendencies.
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I watched every episode live, looked forward to it each week, and didn't mind overlooking Sorkin's politics and ridicule of religion. The portrayal of Harriet's Christianity was about as honest as I've ever seen on TV. Human, humble, fallable, but with an abundance of faith. Faith as in, "I don't have all the answers, but I know who does, and that's good enough for me." No matter how silly Sorkin tried to make her look, he failed, because he just doesn't get religion.
And I don't hold it against him at all. He's great at what he does, I fell in love with all the characters from the very first episode, and hung on every word of dialogue. Personal differences aside, the man is golden, and I can't wait to see what he does next.
Shame on NBC for their blinders made out of dollar bills.
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Why no Sarah Paulson in that ad? The 'fans' just conveniently erased her? Herc can't even give her a mention in his last show column? That's just BRUTAL.
I like Sarah and felt she got knocked around by the bad writing. -
Thank God it's over. Sorkin is so pretentious, preaching about God and Country while using a a sketch show as his platform. No, the country wasn't too stupid to get his portentous drivel, they were just smart enough or had the good taste to realize that it was pointless navel-gazing twaddle. Who the fuck really WANTS to watch a show that derides and insults a good portion of the country and audience? Fuck this show, fuck Sorkin and praise the Lord it's gone.
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It was a lame show. Come on!!!
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Well I'm going to miss it. There are very few shows on TV with even a tenth the ambition and wit of this show. I hope that the next thing that Sorkin writes has a setting with a broad enough canvas to tell whatever story he wants to tell. Studio 60 failed not because it was bad, but because a lot of people couldn't accept 'backstage at a comedy show' as a setting for serious minded drama.
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"No matter how silly Sorkin tried to make her look, he failed, because he just doesn't get religion" - don't you mean he succeeded in making Harriet's Christianity realistic? It's not like someone else created the character and he tried to bash her. This was just an odd statement.
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