It's hard to believe that we're a full year removed from the glorious mess that was Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. It seemed that the split between "liked it" and "hated it" was about 50-50, but everyone wanted to comment. One thing I noticed in those comments was that, even among the people who liked it, there was a strong sentiment against the performance of Sarah Paulson as Harriet Hayes. Most people just didn't like the chemistry she had with Matthew Perry, and she didn't manage to make us care enough about the plight of the über-religious comedian to root for her to connect with anyone.So, for anyone who's looking forward to the revival of Rob Thomas' Cupid, the news that Paulson's been cast as the female lead on the show has to be disheartening. She's playing Dr. Claire Allen, the same role Paula Marshall played in the original series, opposite Bobby Cannavale, who is taking over the Cupid role from Jeremy Piven.
The only possible saving grace about this news is that, because Cupid keeps himself celibate, the sexual tension between the doctor and Cupid might be light at best. However, if that was the only issue people had with her turn as Harriet on S60, this wouldn't be so much of a problem; her performance was often so light and inconsequential that you were just aching her to stretch beyond "annoyed" and "less annoyed." Maybe she's learned her lessons from that disaster; she's also going to be in the movie version of The Spirit, a comic with a lot of darkness and emotional resonance. Hopefully she'll bring some of what she learned there to the set of Cupid.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-11-2008 @ 11:51AM
Enrique said...
Her name is Sarah Paulson. Her name is Sarah Paulson!
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6-11-2008 @ 12:00PM
0megapart!cle said...
Oh know, don't say her name again, or Bloody Sarah will come to get you!
6-11-2008 @ 12:10PM
Fred said...
I didn't think the character or chemistry worked very well on Studio 60, but honestly, that was among the least of the show's problems. I like Paulson and am not at all disheartened by the news. Seriously, one role (good or bad) does not a career make.
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6-11-2008 @ 2:08PM
Holly said...
Hey!! I like her lol. Not on that show but in general from her other performances.
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6-11-2008 @ 12:10PM
lucyfan62 said...
I liked her as the ghostly sister on American Gothic, and she was okay in the movie Down With Love - although she seemed much too young for the part she was playing. Don't hold one bad show against her - and yes, S60 was bad! I'm sure she was directed to act in a specific way on S60 because that's who the character was. People seem to forget that actors have show creators and directors telling them how they want the character to act, react and behave. It's not always the actor's fault!
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6-11-2008 @ 12:49PM
R.A. Porter said...
And in this case, the poor girl had the completely whack-job Aaron Sorkin telling her to act like an insane version of Kristin Chenowith.
I think Paulson is an excellent choice and I look forward to seeing her chemistry with Bobby Cannavale.
6-11-2008 @ 12:47PM
dt3 said...
think 50-50 is being a little generous... think it was more like 50% of people hated it, 47% percent of people had never heard of it, and than 3% were fanatically obsessed to the point of no return
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6-11-2008 @ 12:55PM
Omar said...
i think her character sucked more than she did. if shes half as good as paula marshall i'll be happy. she was great with piven (and the show was shot in between the three blocks from my office to my apartment).
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6-11-2008 @ 1:23PM
Drew said...
I love Bobby Cannavale, he's great. Studio 60 was awful. Who cared about the show behind the show. The writing was a little "we're better than you are" too.
And Sarah Paulson is very mediocre. Paula Marshall was great in that role as well as incredibly adorable. Sarah, not so much.
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6-11-2008 @ 1:59PM
Jon said...
This is looking to be the fifth ring of suck. She was so poorly cast in Studio 60. I wanted to throw something at my TV every time she was on it.
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6-11-2008 @ 10:41PM
beth said...
I completely agree. I came to the show for Matthew Perry but almost hated his character b/c of their relationship. She's just not believable to me..I'm not sure if it was the character or SP herself that bothered me, but everytime she opened her mouth, I wanted to rip my arm off just so I'd have something to throw at her (Friends reference anyone?)
6-11-2008 @ 2:04PM
Jay Black said...
Those of you speaking disparagingly of Sarah Paulson: are you forgetting her Holly Hunter impression? I think everyone is forgetting her Holly Hunter impression!
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6-11-2008 @ 10:38PM
beth said...
That was funny. And I liked the Nancy Grace impression.
But I still couldn't care about her character.
6-19-2008 @ 11:32PM
Jennette Floyd said...
I loved her Holly Hunter impression; otherwise, I thought she was terrible. No chemistry with MP, and nothing about her so-called "Christianity" was believable. Lousy actress, imho.
6-11-2008 @ 3:22PM
Edd said...
I liked her a lot! The only problem was her stupid character, they should have left the Christians at the door (or in the bin!)
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6-12-2008 @ 5:09AM
gooby said...
I like Sarah Paulson but why not cast Paula Marshall for the role?!!!! She's not doing much these days and it would have been great seeing her on telly again. But I guess she is a bit of a kiss of death to tv shows, isn't she? All her shows get cancelled.
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6-12-2008 @ 7:36AM
Joel Keller said...
Gooby, Paula is starring in the upcoming CBS sitcom "Project Gary," so she wasn't available. Also, she's ten years older than she was the first time, so I'm guessing they were looking for someone a bit closer in age to Cannavale.