Don't get me wrong, I love ...
The cast of Sports Night
Question: Don't get me wrong, I love
Aaron Sorkin. Even bad Sorkin is better than a lot of the crap on TV these days. But while I like
Studio 60, I don't love it. I find it interesting that people are always comparing it to
The West Wing, when the more logical comparison is to
Sports Night. I loved
Sports Night, which was also about the behind-the-scenes happenings of a TV show. Any thoughts on why that concept worked so well on
Sports Night, but not so well on
Studio 60?
Answer: First, keep in mind that
Sports Night wasn't a ratings success, either. (I have bittersweet memories of penning TV Guide's "Best Show You're Not Watching" cover story on the show during its second, and regrettably final, season.) But you make a great point. In retrospect,
Sports Night does seem to be more satisfying week to week than
Studio 60 is turning out to be. Part of it, I think, has to do with the fact that the
Sports Night characters were underdogs, working for a struggling cable sports network, and you quickly came to care deeply about these characters. They didn't act like top dogs because they weren't. Whereas on
Studio 60, we're dealing with a show that's an institution and the characters are much higher-profile: an award-winning writer, glamorous stars who get quoted all over the media, high-powered execs, all of whom act like they're the center of the media universe. This smugness and self-importance can be a bit of a turnoff, even when the show itself is entertaining. I also feel more distance from these characters. With the exception of Matt and Harriet's turbulent on-and-off relationship, I don't feel I know any of them very well. That failing is especially notable in the
Bradley Whitford character, Danny. We've known from the pilot that he has a drug problem. How long are they going to wait to give us some insights into it? A far cry from the almost instantaneous way we got to know Josh so well on
The West Wing. For
Studio 60 truly to work, it probably needs to focus less on the show versus the world (and the Christian right) and more on the people putting on the show.
Here's a different angle, from Natalie: "Regarding Studio 60 and 30 Rock: Would you agree that you can make a comedy about a comedy show, a drama about a drama show and a comedy about a drama show, but you just can't make a drama about a comedy show? (Makes your head hurt, doesn't it?)"
Honestly, you have no idea how much my head hurts. During a sweeps month, I often feel it's about to explode. But I guess my answer here is that there should be no rules where these shows-about-shows are concerned. The main goal should be to get you to care about the characters and believe in what they're doing. On that count,
Studio 60 is lately coming up short in both arenas.
