After viewing the frighteningly accurate parody of Studio 60 that MADtv performed I got to thinking (which is always a bad thing). I can't remember a producer/creator of any television show in recent history who has carried so many of his or her trademarks from one program to another. I guess you could say Dick Wolf does this from show to show, but the Law & Order series is probably considered a franchise. Aaron Sorkin has produced three different shows that have had similar structural elements, including actors and actresses. When viewers watch these shows they anticipate those features and are disappointed when they don't see them.
So, with that in mind, here are the five trademarks that Aaron Sorkin puts in his shows.
The walk-and-talk: Others shows have people walking and talking all of the time, but usually slowly down a straight hallway. Aaron has taken this concept and perfected it, making it all his own. His walk-and-talks feature characters going up-and-down stairs, through security gates, behind bleachers, and around corners. He sometimes makes these strolls seem like a relay race: two people will talk for a while, then one person will tag-out and a new conversation will begin with another character. Meanwhile, as they walk they begin and end conversations with so much information that you need to record the show so you catch everything missed. And, speaking about those conversations . . .
Fast talkers: Yes, Gilmore Girls and Scrubs have their fast talkers, but no one can pack dialog into a one hour program like Sorkin and his writers. Characters in his shows speak in machine gun bursts of conversation. Sometimes they only say one or two words to each other that actually speak volumes. Many times a character belts out a practical soliloquy in a span of 20 or 30 seconds. If anything it's economical because this allows for the maximum amount of plot to be added for each program. Now, about those who start those quick bursts of conversation . . .
Characters display freakish recall of obscure facts and literature: It's like they're all channeling Dennis Miller!Look, I know a little about a lot, and I retain a good portion of what I hear. But, by God, these characters all have photographic memories! How many of your friends can spout bible quotes, or references to when Jesus was born, or what Socrates said at any given time. Gosh, West Wing's President Bartlett was constantly rattling off all kinds of references, and he had a nation and world to worry about. For once, I'd like there to be a character who will quote Homer Simpson saying 'D'oh' rather than quoting the Greek poet Homer.
Hiring from within: Please, this could be a separate post on its own. There are creators and producers out there who have a set of players they rely on and use at regular intervals. But, it seems that Aaron uses everyone who has ever had a line on one of his programs (once again, he's economical). For instance, Bradley Whitford, who plays Danny Trip on Studio 60 was Josh Lyman on the recently canceled The West Wing. Matthew Perry, Matt Albie on Studio 60, guest-starred on The West Wing. Felicity Huffman starred in Sorkin's ABC comedy Sports Night and she guest-starred in the pilot of Studio 60 . The most reused actor it seems is Joshua Malina. He was on West Wing, Sports Night, and Sorkin-produced movies The American President and A Few Good Men. I expect him to be cast on Studio 60 any day now.
Even the most conservative characters seem to lean towards the left: Maybe it's me, but in the seven seasons that The West Wing was on the air I never really saw a hard-line conservative. There were conservative representatives, that's for sure, but they all seemed to lean more towards the middle than the extreme right. Heck, Alan Alda portrayed a Republican presidential candidate who was definitely towards the middle. The same thing can be said for characters on Studio 60, in particular Harriet Hayes. She's a devout Christian who isn't quite as conservative as one thinks.
HONORABLE MENTION:
He uses his shows as a podium to express his personal feelings: Heck, why have a show if you can't inject some of your personal opinions into it. He's not the only one who does this, of course. David E. Kelly, creator of shows like The Practice and the current ABC dramedy Boston Legal does this all of the time. In the case of Boston Legal he uses the closing arguments of attorney Alan Shore to sum up his feelings. However, Kelly isn't as, um, heavy-handed as Sorkin can be. Just look at The West Wing and the first few episodes of Studio 60.
Bosses always yelling for their assistants: White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry always yelled loudly for his assistant Margaret every time he needed help. Josh Lyman was the same way when he needed assistance from Donna Moss. Just recently Matt Albie was shouting for his new assistant's attention. Don't any of these people know how to use an intercom?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-27-2006 @ 11:32AM
Dorv said...
MRS. LANDINGHAM!!!!
Good post, spot on. However, as a huge fan of his work, I LIKE all these things :)
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12-27-2006 @ 12:33PM
Will said...
Good post. Studio 60 is the only of his shows that I have watched. It makes me want to check out The West Wing.
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12-27-2006 @ 12:40PM
Alan said...
To be fair, I think he was trying to avoid the stereotypical pure black vs. pure white rep/dem battles by avoiding the easy trap of making uber right wing characters. It's to his credit that he made Alan Alda's character more centered. It makes bad guys more interesting if they're complex, not characatures.
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12-27-2006 @ 1:32PM
Lemon Lyman said...
Alan Alda's character wasn't created by Sorkin. Vinnick first appeared in season 6, while Sorkin left the show after season 4. And talking about strong right-wing characters in his shows, what about President Walken in The West Wing and the judge from the Studio 60's two-parters, both played by the great John Goodman ? Heh, should have mentioned him too in your fourth point. ;)
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12-27-2006 @ 2:10PM
Brent McKee said...
Felicity Huffman also appeared in an episode of "The West Wing".
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12-27-2006 @ 3:29PM
Diana said...
Don't forget characters disappearing never to be seen or referenced again. Otherwise known as Mandyville.
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12-27-2006 @ 3:56PM
Erika said...
I love this show - yes, all the characters seem smarter than they should be - but it's still entertaining and witty. I hope they don't cancel it.
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12-27-2006 @ 5:07PM
Mike said...
The "OK...". In every show, but especially The West Wing and Studio 60, someone will give some shocking or surprising news, and the person they are saying this to will say "OK..." in an accepting way, sort of indicating that they can take anything in stride.
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12-27-2006 @ 6:33PM
Malfoy Roark said...
Sorkin wasn't a part of WW in season 6+7 with Alda which is why he was tolerable. When Sorkin was around, we got GOPs like Richie which made me sick. Sorkin has a problem with the right. He displayed it with decency in the WW and shows no restraint in studio 60. My only real issue with the show other than its not as good as WW.
Disclosure: Im a conservative and respect WW as the greatest show to grace TV.
Oh yea, the walk and talk is the best thing to grace tv. When they first got it right in studio 60, I exclaimed WOOOOOOO finally! I love the fast talking which is probably why I considered the Gilmore writing the second best on tv to Sorkins.
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12-27-2006 @ 7:18PM
cress d said...
The walk-and-talk & fast talkers: I agree 100%. I'm relatively new to the Sorkin universe, but these two things have stood out like a "sore thumb". Not that it is bad, but it just seems... too rehearsed. Too "ready to respond."
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12-27-2006 @ 8:47PM
elf said...
As for Sorkin characters having "freakish recall of obscure facts and literature"...
On Sports Night I expected all the lead characters to be veritable walking encyclopedias of sports facts. It made sense as sports was both their job and their passion.
On The West Wing I didn't mind that the characters were hyper-intelligent fact spouters because these are supposed to be some of the smartest and most accomplished people in the nation trusted with the business of running the government. I'd like to believe that the current occupants of the real West Wing (with one huge glaring exception) are of similar mental calibre.
And then there are the characters on Studio 60. Some of the characters are supposedly very highly educated (didn't Matt graduate with honors from Yale drama school or something like that?) but having the characters be surpreme experts on a wide range of subjects just seems out of place. Sure, each character can have their own field of itnerest and personal expertise. Maybe Simon is a closet horticulturist and can comment when the set designed uses a plant not indiginous to the area the skit is supposed to take place, but too much stuff like that will strain the show's already stretched credibility.
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12-27-2006 @ 9:04PM
John Hewitt said...
I wasn't a big watcher of West Wing (Leave it to me to avoid the one successful Sorkin show) but I can definitely say that one element of Sports Night that I am seeing repeated on Studio 60 is the gruff boss who turns out to be a sweetheart. In SN, Isaac Jaffe started out as a pretty hard-line boss but turned into a lovable father figure. Now we have Jack Rudolph turning from the insensitive jerk of a boss who forced Danny and Matt off the show the first time into the noble Network President who is willing to risk his job for both people and principals.
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12-27-2006 @ 9:20PM
Cynthia said...
Like you say, I love the walk-and-talks and the massive chunks of information spat out rapid fire thus enabling many plots in one episode.
I absolutely hate all the dialogue recycling. I was a fairly rabid The West Wing fan and A Few Good Men is one of my favorite movies, and every time I hear a line or phrase or situation that seems to be lifted directly from one of those scripts it completely pulls me out of the Studio 60 moment.
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12-28-2006 @ 4:08AM
Mark Rabinowitz said...
Sorkin (almost) always has a character named Dan, Daniel or Danny:
Tom Cruise is Daniel Kaffee in "A Few Good Men"
Josh Charles is Dan Rydell in "Sports Night"
Timothy Busfield (another recurring Sorkin actor) is "Danny Concannon in "West Wing"
Bradley Witford is Danny Tripp in "Studio 60"
And BTW, Sorkin didn't produce either A Few Good Men or The American President. He wrote them, only.
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12-28-2006 @ 11:47AM
Dorv said...
Again, as I stated in my first comment, I love all of these things. However, my favorite 'Sorkinism' is the use of the term, 'the thing.' The unspoken thing (ha!) that anyone can speak of, and everyone know what you're talking about that.
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12-29-2006 @ 12:19AM
David004 said...
Each thing listed grows with each show he does. Sports Night they speak fast but it's not super human and the references are too odd. West Wing moves really fast and the references are fine. Studio 60 is just talknig super fast with references that would make President Bartlet go "What the hell?".
I predict in 2 years when Sorkin makes a new show about the behind the scenes look at a sports bar they will talk so fast we can't understand.
I figured this season Studio 60 will be canceled and then a year break before something new... West Street Night 60 by Mr. Sorkin.
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