TVSquad

Studio 60 is better (and gets better each time) than most of the stuff on network TV. I think it gets a bad rap unfairly. A lot of criticism seems to be based on not liking Sorkin. The network should let the show run the full season and maybe change the night it’s on. Nothing is on Fridays, Saturday that I can enjoy as much as this show. Its not West Wing but what is?

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You hit it right on the nail, Richard. These are all characters that work well together and they seem to have been doing it for years. Unfortunately it seems that the character Harriet Hayes was doomed from the beginning of the show. I really think if they hadn't tried to push the "Devout Christian" thing it would have worked better. Just that there was a long-term relationship between herself and Matt Albie that had recently ended would have been conflict that was believable.

I hope everyday to hear that they are renewing it for next season in a different timeslot (it is not a good match with Heroes at all) and a little tweaking in the characters.

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money, money, money, MONEY!

i have a feeling thats why this show might not come back (even though i think it will end up airing, maybe in the fox arrested development way as a mini-marathon to get it over with). the show may not be sports night but it probably costs as much in a few episodes as sports night was for a season. the cast is TOO star-studded and when you can get 3x as many viewers on a show like briefcase or no briefcase ... i mean deal or no deal, they will take the money and run. its not the bbc, they are in it for the cash.

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The Christmas episode was just about the best television I've ever seen, as was the Parumph (sp?), NV episodes, but then, the Episode on the Roof was possibly the worst excrement ever on tv.

The walk-n-talks on The West Wing had meaning & purpose, while on Studio 60 they just seem pointless and banal. I'm thinking in particular about when DL Hughley & the Tom Jeter character try to talk Harriet out of posing in lingerie. How long was that freakin' scene? It felt like an eternity!

The show is just way too inconsistent. When it's good, it's phenomenal, but I can't sit through excrement and banality hoping for a good show. I would like to see it succeed, but like so many of my ex-boyfriends, all I see is potential without any substance.

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I really wish Studio 60 had been a show on something like FX, HBO or Showtime. That they'd written all the episodes before they started and had been able to really decide where they were going with it and what they wanted both it (and the show they were portraying withing it) to be. As is, they've set up these huge expectations of excellence to live up to and I don't think that there is really any point to it. Sure there is some great dialogue, it looks great and it has a great cast, but it doesn't all fit together right.

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I'm still not sure why this show is so polarizing. Maybe because it was hyped up so big by the network and the critics before the pilot? Plenty of people don't watch other shows, but rarely write comments about them. Even in the Lost articles, where commenters routinely bash they show, they all still seem to be loyal viewers.

Personally, I recognized all the flaws but still thought it was an ok show. I'm not the least bit surprised at its failure, because... even as the West Wing was clearly to the left with a Democratic president, it's message was positive. People worked in the white house because they loved the country, etc. Studio 60 acknowledge it with the Pahrump, NV episode, so at least they were aware of it, but the show seemed to almost have a contempt for middle america, and alienating the average viewer is not the way for a network tv show to succeed.

http://popculturejunk.blogspot.com/

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What I'd really love to see them do is mirror what's happening to the real "Studio 60" on the show's "Studio 60." Let's jump a little ahead in time. The fictional show, which got huge advance publicity when Matt and Danny took over, has seen a gradual and then precipitous drop in ratings. Characters / actors are polarizing audiences. It's called "the worst show on television" by a national magazine. And suddenly Matt and Danny, accustomed to creative freedom and enough smarts to stand up to network intervention, have to come up with all sorts of ways -- some of them foisted upon them -- to "save the show," even emphasizing elements that they didn't originally intend ("romantic comedy," anyone?). NBC viewers know what's going on with this show behind the scenes -- and Aaron Sorkin's got a real opportunity, with a show set in this milieu, to USE that public perception. Could be cool.

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I love the cast but I will never believe that Harriet Hayes aka the Blonde Bitch and Mathrew Perry's charater would ever date, ever! Because of that I'm withdraw from the show considering that is the main storyline, which is the main problem.

I see the show failing in three huge reasons.

1. IS the main story is a shity love story that no one believes would happen. They just aren't right for each other. That takes away so much fro mthe show.

2. The other storylines are so cliche and old, being stuck on a roof, lying to a girl for no reason just to make a story, ect. Sorkin normally ads something new, but hasn't with this show.

3. What's her name getting pregant. I know she did in real life but they should have just fired her. That would have gotten rid of that whole mess.

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I've watched all but three or four episodes and I love Sorkin, Perry, Peet and Whitford, but cannot get into this show. The story arc and characters are boring. I cannot identify with any of them or the story. I killed it off my DVR for the last time a few weeks ago. I'd much rather watch Medium, Crossing Jordan, and Law & Order CI or SVU.

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Here's the problem by analogy.

Before 1st date: Girl comes highly recommended. A few mutual friends say she will be perfect for me.

1st date: Girl vascilates between boring and obnoxious, but she's cute and I keep thinking about what everyone said.

2nd date: Exactly the same as first date.

3rd date: Exactly the same as first two dates.

4th date: A little more interesting, a little less obnoxious. I've met someone else.

And that's about how it went for me. I loved the Christmas episode so much I watched it twice, but after a few weeks of out-of-sigh-out-of-mind for reruns, I never came back.

Punt, Sorkin. Learn from your mistakes. Come back '08 with a pilot behind the scenes of a daytime soap opera that is a real-life soap opera, which is what "Studio 60" should have been to start with.

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Amy,

Banal? Excrement? The fact that you used both of these words TWICE in a single post tells me that you must have just learned them. Well congratulations,.. we get it,.. now let's move on.

Personally, I think that S60 is a great show with one of the best casts ever put together. (Yes, even Harriet) And while I doubt it will return, I anxiously await the day that the studio execs realize what a mistake they just made.

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Studio 60 exudes the same kind of "too hip for the room" vibe that Love Monkey did during its short run. Sorkin's political views show through, and that's not always a good thing. Yes, the character of Harriet Hayes in completely unbelieveable - but there's more there.

The problem is that there aren't enough funny parts with the "big 4" characters. They're too busy taking themselves seriously. All the funny stuff is left to the supporting players. They need to bring the funny to the big 4.

--*Rob

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It was astonishing how it was the critics' darling and then two weeks later it was being panned! The acting of Perry and Whitford has been amazing, especially since they both had well known characters to disspell. I don't watch any of the other mind numbing goop on tv.

I'm still hoping there is a chance for this show, but it all comes down to money and NBC doesn't own this show. They own most of the other shows that haven't had the success they hoped for and will probably keep them. Studio 60 is owned by Warner Bros. so NBC will probably dump it.

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Did you notice how twice you mentioned Whitford and another actor as having great chemistry? Honestly, Whitford is underrated - this guy can have chemistry with a door!

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HERE HERE! I like most of the show EXCEPT Sarah Paulson. She's always bugged me. She's not funny, she's not a good actress. I don't believe she's a comedianne. If they had just let her storyline die after crazy christians then that'd be ok. but they keep pushing it to death. and what's up with her playing Mick Jaggers gf? Yeah uh huh - i believe her as a coked up groupie? uh, noe

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I didn't like this show when it first came on. There were a lot of characters and the stories didn't seem that compelling to me. But the show has grown on me. I am interested now to see if Matt and Harri get together. I agree with whoever said that holiday show was one of the best ever. Also, how nice to finally see Bradley Whitford (Danny Tripp) actually going after the girl and getting her right away after all the years of Josh's "foreplay" on West Wing with Donna. I hope they'll bring the show back and give it a chance. Steven Weber/Jack Rudolph is becoming more human. I've loved his scenes with the young man who plays Tom and the slapstick they've done over the young Korean girl, Kim. D.L. Hughley is awesome, funny and smart. I hope Sorkin gives him a real storyline soon. Thanks for a great article. I hope the network brass will listen to the fans.

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It's a pretty safe bet we'll see the rest of the episodes this season. A second season -- I have my doubts.

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anyone who watched Deadwood should know Sarah Paulson is a shitty actress. She's not attractive, nit funny, not convincing of any role and really has no talent. Really a horrendous choice which drowned he whole season and Series.

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Rob in No. 11: "And while I doubt it will return, I anxiously await the day that the studio execs realize what a mistake they just made."

Maybe I'm being too literal, but what day would that be, actually, and why are you so anxious for it?

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I saw one episode, one where the power was going out. I didn't watch West Wing but was a big fan of Sports Night. This show just didn't click for me. I have wondered how the show would've been if it was 30 minutes like Sports Night was.

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