"Studio 60" is done, but this near-valentine in the Los Angeles Times indicates that he still doesn't know what he did.
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Aaron Sorkin, Just Because
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
C'mon, Rich, just one sentence?
Studio Rock 20/20 has been off the air for weeks now and you know your readers are jonesing for at least one more column.
I liked the show and I'm a Sorkin fan, which is no surprise to anyone that has read the comments section of your blog. One thing I did notice was that the reviews were great at the start and hovered around mediocre until Sorkin's tirade against that writer from New Jersey (I believe, details are sketchy in my mind right now). From that second on, reviews went down. I'll admit, the shows in the middle of the season were pretty mediocre (at best), but it rebounded nicely. By the time it did, it was likely too late to save the show, but the media expressed a desire in watching it die a painful death. The guy at FOX wrote that it was canceled before it even went on hiatus, saying that the final 9 weren't going to be made. People were complaining about the show and (judging by the ratings) not even watching it anymore. Sure, it became preachy (which is part of what I like about Sorkin, honestly), but people acted like this was Gigli put to small screen on a weekly basis. It wasn't nearly that bad. It became the media sticking up for other media members that were offended by Sorkin's comments, IMO.
We're going to have to disagree about whether "Studio 60" rebounded. And about the impact of Sorkin's complaints, which extended far beyond that writer from New Jersey (Alan Sepinwall, my friend and colleague, by the way). No matter what good or bad will is created by people at a press conference, the show itself still has to measure up, and "Studio 60" didn't.