Goodbye, "Studio 60"
Posted June 29th, 2007 by Rich Heldenfels
Are we done? Please, please, tell me that's it. …
The burdensome, pompous, four-episode arc that ended the series told me two fundamental things. One, that all concerned had decided that no one was watching and the show could say and do anything it wanted. Two, that those episodes constitute Aaron Sorkin's admission that he wasn't very good at writing a show about television, so he might as well write about politics again until he was told to stop. And while I still enormously liked some things, including Matthew Perry's performance, I was way past ready for it to be done.
June 29th, 2007 at 10:49 am
Agreed. The whole episode (and a majority of the series) felt too heavy-handed.
June 29th, 2007 at 11:38 am
Thanks. And in my brief notes, I should have also mentioned Steven Weber, who was not only good but who played his character as if he was the embodiment of the meltdown of "Studio 60." As the show went along, he became ever more cynical, despairing and drunk, a mess incapable of holding things together, grasping at a last epiphany that should have come long before. And I lament for D.L. Hughley, who is a lot better than this show ever allowed him to be.
But now I'm giving the show way more space than it deserves.
June 29th, 2007 at 11:40 am
I've never seen such a bad show written about so much … If critics weren't intrigued with the shallow political messages Sorkin specializes in, they would have stopped writing about the show within a few weeks of its first episode. Politics are all 60 Rock ever had.
June 29th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
…60 Rock?
June 29th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
I just watched last night to see (a) how quickly things were tied up: Tom's brother, Jordan, and even Simon. Can't say I was shocked by any of the resolutions. But I hope this isn't a career killer for the good actors who thought they were signing on to something good.
Somewhere, Kristin Chenowith is laughing her head off….
June 29th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
At the start of this season, who would've thought that the show about a behind-the-scenes look at a late-night sketch show that would still be remaining would NOT be Studio 60?
I will be laughing hysterically at Emmy time should Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin receive Emmy noms and not Aaron Sorkin and his crew.
June 29th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
I still liked the show. The last five episodes were much, much better. I really appreciated the fact that Sorkin tied the show up, rather than hoping for some reprieve and leaving fans hanging.
June 29th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Regarding Larry's comment: I don't think this was about Sorkin's "shallow political messages." I think it was about Sorkin's being capable of greatness, however inconsistently. And in the early going "Studio 60" seemed to have possibilities that went unrealized — although there were some passionate fans, like Roger. If anything, the attention paid to the show underscores the fundamental optimism that afflicts many of us in the reviewing game. We want to see good work, are disappointed when an opportunity is squandered, and rejoice when something grand happens. Yes, Gus, like "30 Rock."
July 8th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
[...] Apparently people are still discussing Studio 60? Why can't we just all agree that it was a self-important, humorless (despite how hard it tried to be otherwise), narcissistic show with a misguided tone and unnecessary commentary? It wasn't influential or original in any way, so I'm always surprised at the excessive amount of concern this invokes. Aaron Sorkin is involved, but what does he have to his name other than the overrated, steaming heap of nonsense that is The West Wing? [...]
August 26th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
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