Why You Should Have Been Watching NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (There's Still Time)

In response to "Why You Should Watch NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" by Jessica Peter. Read it here…

One could hardly ignore the rush up to "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip", be it Aaron Sorkin's return to television, the chance to see Matthew 'Chandler' Perry stretch his wings or just the amusement factor of it being NBC's other show behind the scenes at a sketch comedy show… with a number in the title. Yeah.

Jessica Peter's rather bubbly article came out only in time to discuss the pilot; since then, the show has come a bit further plot-wise, although it has slipped a bit ratings-wise, and the whispers of cancellation run up and down the halls of the Peacock. Here, then, is a response to Peter's points with a few more episodes under our collective belt. Read it quickly in case the show's gone before you finish.

Peter's first specific discussion is of Amanda Peet's performance as Jordan McDeere, the network president. While good eye candy, Peet doesn't bring much to the party, and Peter is in the minority of those who find her up to snuff, though it must be said that she gets a little better with each passing episode; Sorkinesque dialogue needs some warming-up to, perhaps. She functions best when the scene is not entirely about her, and early episodes, focusing largely on the studio politics at the fictional NBS network, threw too much too quickly on her unready shoulders. Even Peter admits she was prepared to dislike Peet: "I usually detest any one of her movies and find her mildly annoying." A brief glance over Peet's filmography will reveal why.

"[T]he show needs to get its funny back and that's what Matt and Danny are supposed to do," is Peter's summary of the pilot of "Studio 60". Make no mistake, it's Matt, not Danny, at the forefront of things, and as it stands, Bradley Whitford, the more talented actor of the pair, has been left in the quieter part for the time being. The show is carried not by he and Perry, but Matthew Perry and Sarah Paulson.

It is Sarah Paulson who stands to gain the most from this series; an unfailingly charming performer long overdue for the big time, her winning performance in "Down with Love" was enough to make your correspondent interested in seeing her on this show, and a smaller role in the sci-fi "Serenity" brought her to a new audience. As Perry's character's ex, a performer on the comedy show, Paulson brings charm, humor and big sad eyes under dark backstage shadows, and if "Studio 60" is scuttled, the crime will be the loss of such a public role for someone who deserves the limelight.

Does "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip"-the show-within-a-show, not the show itself, is everyone following so far?-get its, to restate Peter, "funny back"? Well. Sorkin's writing team is trying, but as much as they're able to write sharp dialogue for their characters, they haven't quite figured out good sketch comedy, and many of the show-within-a-show moments intended to be wildly funny fall flat. Or maybe they're just trying to be accurate with regard to real television comedy these days? Nonetheless, the promise of a recurring sketch of Nic Cage as a marriage counselor makes a fine prospect. It's funnier than anything SNL's done lately.

"Studio 60" will hinge on whether or not viewers like Perry and Paulson's chemistry, as the season thus far has been so deeply based in their characters' relationship. If you've liked their past work, give "Studio 60" a shot, because it's more about them than even about the comedy at this point.

The program offers stylish camerawork and a few interesting if marginalized side characters-the "Studio 60" control-room director Cal, played by Timothy Busfield, gets maybe five lines an episode, and more of the behind-the-scenes planning his scenes offer might be appreciated. He sees all, knows all, but doesn't get to say all. What better a way to learn how television is made than on television?

One hopes Sorkin and company will be able to get us inside this nitty-gritty area a little more, and lift us out of soap opera territory. Nonetheless, there is promise to this program. If it begins exploring a greater diversity of issues beyond the constantly retrod paths of its first episodes, we might have a chance to save it. Ultimately, like the show within a show, "Studio 60" will live or die by the ratings.