Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: The Complete Series Review

  Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip  was a first class show with a strong point of view.   It captured with often accurate details, the barely controlled chaos that goes on behind the scenes of a successful television comedy ensemble program like Saturday Night Live.   Unfortunately it was at times too soap-opera-ish with its story-lines concerning characters' drug problems, politics and medical emergencies,  and too corny and borderline maudlin with its love stories.

Ultimately the fickle public wasn't interested in sticking with the show. This was a show that asked us to care about fictionalized celebrities and fictionalized t.v. producers and network executives.    We live in a world where we get up to minute reports about actual celebrities and network executives and then we have celebrities who have their own reality t.v. shows as well.    

I guess I understand the viewer apathy.

I thought is was one of the best network television series of 2006.   Producer Aaron Sorkin of West Wing, brought his A game to this show delivering chatty interesting characters, lots of sharp updated Preston Sturgess dialogue and a real understanding for both the creative and political insides of a television show.    The cast was rich with talent and few people were better last year than Bradley Whitford, Matthew Perry, Sarah Paulson, D.L. Hughley and Steven Webber.  Nearly as good were Amanda Peet, Tom Jeter and several others. 

If you're a conspiracy theory type, you can easily tell yourself the show was cancelled for political reasons.  Heck Ed Asner had a part in the show and well know what happened to his Lou Grant program right?  You make political statements and commentary on an entertainment show and you get into big trouble right?   Well Sorkin did a lot of this in the very successful West Wing program, so I don't believe the show was pulled JUST because of politics.   I wonder however, if the show wasn't given al the chances it might have been given. 

The program was moved a couple times and then sudenly pulled off the air for several months before returning for the final 6 episodes which were also the most controversial and political of the series.

What was it about?   It's about some of the cast and crew of a very successful franchise network television program that resembles Saturday Night Live.   The problems of producing a show with a large cast, week after week.  The ongoing battle between the conservative politics of the network and the executives who must enforce those politics, and the creators and performers who run the show.    In addition several characters' lives were explored and romance blossomed in several places.    The show tried to do too much and television audiences didn't stick with the program, but made up its mind and didn't give it much  of a chance..

I thought there were a lot of flaws.  Yes the romance story lines, were predictable, very manipulative and corny-but they were also quite sweet.   Maybe Sorkin and company spent a little too much time developing the romance, rather than simply throwing it  in the mix in a more cynical fashion (like say CSI has done).    

Maybe some of the lines were at times too clever and smart and the politics obviously biased and liberal-I thought it was handled very well  drifting from comedy to drama and back again in an effective and mostly believable mix.

I want shows to be ambitious, try too hard to be better than television usually is.   Studio 60  was that kind of show and I was very sorry that it got cancelled after one short season.

Now it's on a 6 disc DVD set  to join Sorkin's other shows  The West Wing and Sports Night  which have done very well in their DVD afterlife.    The extras are pretty modest.  There's a short feature about making the show, which is a very positive promotional piece.   There's also a pilot episode commentary.    What would have really made this set something special was if they was at least an interview with Sorkin and perhaps some of the writers and performers talking about how and why they feel the show didn't generate ratings and interest enough to stay on the air.  I would have loved to see Sorkin answer back to some of his critics and discuss the show in more depth.

It was a very good show while it lasted.  Check it out.

Studio 60 on Sunset Strip  2006   Various directors