Customer Reviews

Pilot

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When NBC backed the program they knew what was planned for the program and Green lighted it anyway. Great ratings & outstanding reviews. Controversy. NBC didn't like the show complaining about the way a Network runs.

Eventually NBC shoved this show from slot to slot, hiatus and finally killing it. Producer vs the Network in real life and on Studio 60 caused the cancellation of the show.

Studio 60, an irreverent comedy show with a brain, comes from the people that brought you West Wing. Fast paced, tacky, inappropriate, sharp and funny. The smart writing in this program requires your attention. You can't just glance. You have to watch. If that isn't your style, then you won't like this show.

The program is about the making of a show like Saturday Night Live. The pilot brings most of the cast together. But the show after the pilot sets the "stage" for the series. The CLOCK resets and mocks. Guest stars in the short lived series are varied and surprising. Even John Goodman appears as a Judge. No topic is sacred in this series. Race, religion, politics, drugs, unwed pregnancy, friendships, former lovers and all are open game. Some of the "comedy sketches" in the show inside the show are not as funny as they should be. And the last few episodes they tried to tie up story lines that were meant to take years to resolve so they feel a bit forced and rushed. But by that point, fans of the show wanted to see "how does it end" and the writers did a decent enough job doing that. If you haven't seen the series. Take advantage of the online opportunity and do it now.

I own the DVD set (from Amazon) but am thrilled to have it available on Instant Videos to see it on PC anytime.

Rather than go on a tear about weaknesses of the show or personal attacks on the writers of this excellent show, I will focus on the actual work-product of the writers and production staff. It is unfortunate that some people view writers as people to teardown instead of accepting and lauding the differences in style between one show and another. Studio 60 is NOT West Wing, nor does it try to be. By assuming this, you would assume the producers and writers and actors are myopic, one-note performers and talent.

This show provides an insiders' perspective on TV with no hold "barred" assessement and critique of the very TV medium it portrays. Some shows are like popcorn...it tastes fine, it's salty and leaves you thirsty. A show like Studio 60 is appetizer, main course, soup, palate cleanser, dessert, aperitif and a doggy bag for leftovers all in a "Wonka-eque" gumball of GOODNESS. Keep chewing through these episodes to discover the never-ending satisfaction of this amazing (and sadly, cancelled...) show. Snap! This is what ALL television wishes it was - without heavy-handed pompousity or judgment. Real characters...real quality! Buy it and then write NBC and tell them you wish it was still on the sked!

Studio 60 is one of those well written well-acted well thought-out shows that gets amazingly cancelled. It was never promoted correctly or never found its audience or the production costs were too high but for some reason this top notch show didn't make it. I found the show by accident shortly before it was cancelled. I had never heard of it but was stuck watching it for a few minutes then I was hooked.

I am grateful for the chance to see all the episodes that were made including many I haven't yet seen. I am sorry that it is off the air. I would put this in the category with "Sports-Night", and "Firefly" the British version of "Coupling" and a few other top-rate shows that didn't catch-on. If you like this and other well written-well acted shows, you may want to give those a try, too.

Intelligent and hilarious. No wonder it didn't last long in the wasteland of network television. The writers create the characters with an honest, slightly dark sense of reality in their flaws. It was a breath of fresh air among the trash that permeates the stations. I am sad it didn't last much longer.

Better than SportsNight. Better than West Wing. And each of those is a significant compliment.

I loved seeing Amanda Peet in such a whip-smart role.

Well-written, well-acted--quintessential Sorkin.

Studio 60 gave me hope for TV after West Wing ended. It was about the only thing other than SNL that I ever watched on the three major networks. But, alas, like most great shows, it got axed and replaced by inane reality shows. At that point I decided my TV was going to St. Vincent De Paul. Never bothered to get another one. The struggle between art and commerce continues, of course, as it always will. It's a never ending battle between creative people and the greedy mf executives who rob artists of their dignity and talents and then hoard their money and laugh. But now, thanks to Amazon, who I don't believe are the mf of the world, have given me my show back that I can watch on the computer, and I say thank you very much! And I hope to see something of these two brilliant creative talents, Tommy Schlamme and Aaron Sorkin, again very soon. We need them to speak up for the artists and keep trying to raise the bar like Studio 60 did!

The acting in this show is high quality. I can't believe I'm saying this, but even DL Hughley and the guy from Friends come across as respectable artists. The director must be masterful.

But Aaron Sorkin wrote this the same way he wrote The Social Network: each episode is a slowly unfolding drama with no discernible climax (except the first and the final episodes) wrapped in flashbacks to an even more boring parallel drama from a few years prior. This is blue balls as television - over and over again you become enthralled in suspenseful rising action, but then it just fades away without reaching fruition.

Also, the dialogue is on the same level as Gilmore Girls: the characters constantly pummel one another with witty parlays at an unrealistic speed, often spitting out the perfect rejoinder before the other character has expressed his thought. This unnatural conversation separates the characters from the viewer. This may help Sorkin feel superior, but it gets tiring within the first three episodes. The desperate attempts to weave relevant social issues into the plot do not humanize the characters.

So if you like The Social Network, Gilmore Girls and/or the sensation of blue balls, you might enjoy this show. Otherwise, I recommend only watching the first and last episodes, skipping the mushy middle.

Great show. No, it's not quite "West Wing"...but what is? Smart and funny, with some strong performances. We are hooked.

I'm a giant West Wing fan. That said, I didn't like this show as much as I thought I would. It's still good, but it seems to meander a lot. I'm not really sure what the point of it was.

A former employer once rejected a recommendation stating "if those changes are necessary, there are better businesses to be in." Such is the philosophy of Mr. Sorkin, the creative half of Team '69. He just can't resist the compulsion to show everyone he is the smartest man in "the room" and still owns the patent on glib. He and Mr. Schlamme were given the opportunity to present real insight and courage (e.g., a Jeopardy parody with Jesus, Mohammed and Moses). Instead they gave NBC nothing more than a Public Service Announcement with commensurate ratings.

Nevertheless the effort is not totally without merit. I believe one actor will rise to "A List" heights from the long forgotten ashes of Studio 60. Sarah Paulson where have you been? You deserve better, don't be afraid to ask for it!