A Viper, A Ferret, and a Coyote Walk Into a ‘Studio’…
Last week, I was pissed off at the writers of Studio 60. I was indignant. I wanted to stand up from my seat and start yelling at the TV, scoffing, “Clearly, a man wrote that. A woman would never write that. Why lie? Why not just tell the simple truth? Why why why?”
I saw a cliché-riddled version of the age-old battle of the sexes played out before me, when Tom’s boss–his boss!–advised him to lie to Lucy, and make up an excuse for breaking their date.
It may seem that the show can do no right, in my eyes. It has swung from being a drama about a comedy show–not overtly funny in a slapstick-y way, nor particularly funny in a cerebral way–to playing up the lowest common denominator: clichéd sitcom humor.
Last night, the writers redeemed themselves.
By the end of last night's episode, it was clear that the use of "obvious" plot twists was a deliberate storytelling device, not the result of lazy writing. This wasn’t frat-house humor, it was closer to the plotlines of a Shakespeare comedy. Of course, when Tom burst into the room and began talking about Kim, her parents would be standing behind him. Of course her father, who’s had a translator in each episode, speaks perfect English. Of course
Cal had no recourse but to rip up the stage; it was clear from the middle of the last episode that he would have to. There was a viper, a ferret, and a coyote under the stage. That’s…that’s…well, that’s pretty funny, actually. I loved it. Studio 60 as farce.
What I’ve come to notice with Studio 60 is that you can’t just watch one episode and be happy with it. The storylines are laid out to be enjoyed in a serial format, a cross between weekly or monthly written installments of novellas (something the NY Times Magazine has recently resurrected) and the individual acts of a play.
I think viewers would enjoy Studio 60 so much more if two episodes were played back to back each night, as Fox does with the first couple of weeks of 24. Maybe Bravo could air the previous week’s episode before the new one airs on NBC, though that would take away from the big Heroes lead-in.
So, here’s my tip. In order to really enjoy this show, I’m recording it each week and watching the previous week’s episode again on Sunday night, so I’m ready for the next installment on Monday. I think it’s worth it.
By Guest Blogger Liz McKeon
no complaints here commented:
The show is amusing as hell. Even when I think it's headed off somewhere boring, I can't help but keep watching. I ran into a marathon of it on Bravo - all episodes I had already seen - and I still checked it out again. I think you nailed it that it needs to be enjoyed over time and not as a one off with a random episode.
As for CantWatch... he/she should learn to use semi-colons correctly before using them while trashing shows, reviews, blogs or anything else for that matter.
WheresJack commented:
It has become Three's Company with smarter dialogue. The jokes are stolen from Fark. And Sorkin's forgotten Aristotle's advice about "better a plausible impossibility than an implausible possibility" that he quoted so deftly on West Wing. Goodnight, ladies.
thawtful commented:
As an enormous aficionado of all things Sorkin, I want to say thank you and kudos to you for daring to give your own opinion instead of posing like an ''in-crowd'' critiquer who feels they need to knock the show down.
Yes, I''m tired of Matt and Harriet. But based off last night''s episode, I think that Sorkin has truly grown as a writer - he''s leaving the land of heroic idylls and entering a phase of brutally honesty in his stories that will make us think, they''ll make us uncomfortable, and on occasion make us laugh.
Sally commented:
"By the end of last night's episode, it was clear that the use of "obvious" plot twists was a deliberate storytelling device, not the result of lazy writing. This wasn’t frat-house humor, it was closer to the plotlines of a Shakespeare comedy."
You nailed it. This is what I've been thinking for a while now; this isn't ordinary TV. This is art. :)
Sally commented:
"By the end of last night''s episode, it was clear that the use of "obvious" plot twists was a deliberate storytelling device, not the result of lazy writing. This wasn’t frat-house humor, it was closer to the plotlines of a Shakespeare comedy."
You nailed it exactly. That''s what I''ve been saying for a while now - this isn''t ordinary TV. This is art. :)
CantWatchAnymore commented:
I dont care what you think about this, cause its a DOG, with fleas; in fact, its an EXPENSIVE Dog w/Fleas! Put a fork in her, its SOOO done!