Letter to a TV critic
The Denver Post‘s Joanne Ostrow takes on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. And whiffs. So I dashed off a brief note.
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Wow – are we watching the same show?
I’d acknowledge that Studio 60 hasn’t hit its stride quite yet, but it’s a lot better than any number of legendary shows were after only three or four episodes. And I guess you’re seeing as ponderous some elements that I see as really smart. No, they aren’t playing it for a sitcom – the pacing and approach, while frenetic in spots, are clearly more of a hybrid dramedy model. And for a lot of us, who have had to wade through the dumbing down of TV for a very long time in search of something solid, Sorkin’s smart is awfully funny.
At this point, it’s by far the better show than 30 Rock, which did show promise last week, but little more. And even if it were better, what (aside from the subject matter) makes these two shows a fair apples:apples comparison?
By the way, aside from Whitford and Busfield, all the main players on Studio 60 are Gen Xers, not Boomers.
:xpost:
lullaby pit 
What it’s missing so far (and I’ll admit that I’ve only watched the first episode and a half–the latest episodes are still languishing on the TiVo), is the artful banter that characterized the first few seasons of “The West Wing”. And I dare say that a sizeable portion of the audience has followed Sorkin, Whitford, and Busfield over from WW and are holding the show to some fairly high expectations.
It’s not grabbing me yet, but I haven’t given up on liking it yet, either.
Have you checked out “Heroes” at all?
What it’s missing so far (and I’ll admit that I’ve only watched the first episode and a half–the latest episodes are still languishing on the TiVo), is the artful banter that characterized the first few seasons of “The West Wing”. And I dare say that a sizeable portion of the audience has followed Sorkin, Whitford, and Busfield over from WW and are holding the show to some fairly high expectations.
It’s not grabbing me yet, but I haven’t given up on liking it yet, either.
Have you checked out “Heroes” at all?
I think the pace and subject matter of S60 is never going to lend itself to “artful.” It’s going to be clipped and frantic at times, and it’s going to move a good 15 mph faster than something like West Wing. I wonder if that’s part of the issue here – Ostrow (and maybe others, including you) were expecting and hoping for something more West Wingish. Don’t know.
For me, it rocks. There’s a significant social comment to be made here (even past the obvious nard-trompling that TV has so richly earned). S60 is an ambitious project, and given what we know about TV, may be too damned smart for its own good (ref. Twin Peaks, Max Headroom…)
I’m liking Heroes, although there’s a deeper layer there, too. Somebody has been reading about Millennials and has concocted a superhero story that’s as meticulously tailored to the generation as anything that you’ll ever see coming out of the marketing department at Abercrombie & Fitch. So I’m enjoying it on a couple levels.
I think the pace and subject matter of S60 is never going to lend itself to “artful.” It’s going to be clipped and frantic at times, and it’s going to move a good 15 mph faster than something like West Wing. I wonder if that’s part of the issue here – Ostrow (and maybe others, including you) were expecting and hoping for something more West Wingish. Don’t know.
For me, it rocks. There’s a significant social comment to be made here (even past the obvious nard-trompling that TV has so richly earned). S60 is an ambitious project, and given what we know about TV, may be too damned smart for its own good (ref. Twin Peaks, Max Headroom…)
I’m liking Heroes, although there’s a deeper layer there, too. Somebody has been reading about Millennials and has concocted a superhero story that’s as meticulously tailored to the generation as anything that you’ll ever see coming out of the marketing department at Abercrombie & Fitch. So I’m enjoying it on a couple levels.