I share some of the ...
Question: I share some of the discomfort about Danny's recent stalking on
Studio 60. It was particularly creepy when Jordan asked him to back off and he said "no." What I'm surprised by is that people are acting like this is something strange for
Aaron Sorkin. It may be written a bit less artfully, but this story line is vintage Sorkin. We've got the one romantic subplot of the "will they or won't they" tension between Matt and Harriet, and then we've got the "If she doesn't give in at first, stalk her till she admits her love" story line of Danny and Jordan. These same themes were present in Sorkin's previous shows. We had Josh and Donna on
The West Wing and Casey and Dana on
Sports Night doing the "will they or won't they" dance. With the "stalking" subplot, we've had Charlie and Zoey on
West Wing and Dan and Rebecca on
Sports Night. Sorkin's shows have contained other expressions of stalkerish love, such as when Natalie on
Sports Night refused to acknowledge that Jeremy had broken up with her. I'm sure Sorkin thinks it's an expression of romantic love, but it just comes off kind of creepy. What's amazing, though, isn't that Sorkin put this stalking story line in
Studio 60, but that no one seemed to notice it on his previous shows.
Answer: Perhaps it didn't create such a stir then because, on his earlier shows, the characters were more likable and the context surrounding the romantic subplots more credible. Those shows worked. This one doesn't.
