TVSquad

Remember Studio 60? It was a little show that not many people had opinions about, and no one here really talked about it that much. But creator/writer Aaron Sorkin is talking about it, to GQ.

Sorkin actually feels guilty about the entire thing, because he knows he screwed it up. He tells Mickey Rapkin that the ultimately the show didn't work because he made too many mistakes:

I was too angry when I wrote Studio 60. The show became like the cover of Abbey Road. Everybody was trying to figure out who this character was in real life or what that incident was trying to be.

All of these lists are starting to get more and more specific. This one is a list of the ten best sitcoms since 1980. Soon we'll have the 8 1/2 best hour long dramas that appeared between 1988 and 1994 on Sunday nights (that start with "J").

But lists always get us talking and this one has some great picks. Arrested Development fanatics will be glad to see their show on the list (I won't tell you where you'll have to click the link above), along with shows like Scrubs, Cheers, and Sports Night. But there is one show that is obviously missing. There might be more than one show that isn't on the list that should be, of course, but this show stood out to me immediately. Can you guess what it is? I'll name it after the jump but don't click ahead until you read the list and guess yourself.

Who says you can't learn anything from television? We talk about a lot of things here on TV Squad each week, and it's amazing what TV Squad and TV in general can teach you about life.

TV ... it's like the Bible!

1. America likes making a point rather than rewarding talent. Let me say upfront that even though I wrote this, I still think that David Cook is a good singer, and it was great that the American Idol final came down to him and David Archuleta. But I'm baffled as to why he won by 12 million votes! It's almost as if viewers were voting for Cook not just because they liked him, but because they didn't want to fulfill the predictions many had weeks and weeks ago that Archuleta would win (as if the kid could control any of that). They didn't want to prove to everyone that American Idol is predictable, or that Simon's comments about Archuleta winning the final night of singing meant anything. And what about that night? Come on, Archuleta clearly won that night, but it's almost as if they don't even have to have that final night of singing, because fans are clearly voting for other reasons. The Archuleta backlash has to be one of the weirder things that has happened this TV season. I have a very good friend who is a Cook fanatic. Nothing could make her say anything bad about him and I think she broke her phone calling in to vote for him, and even she admits that Archuleta did better that last night. I think fans convinced themselves that they had to vote for the "rocker" (cough cough) and not the kid who sings well (and I have to disagree with my cohort Debra - there's nothing "unique" about Cook).

Last month Bob Sassone mentioned a rumor that a 10th anniversary Sports Night DVD set was in the works. Fans will be happy to learn that the anniversary edition of Sports Night: The Complete Series has a release date of September 30. Shout! Factory is releasing the eight-DVD box set, which includes all forty-five episodes of the series as well as two discs of new bonus features.

The box set costs $69.99 and contains a 10th anniversary book, behind-the-scenes featurettes, new interviews, blooper reels, commentaries by the cast and creative team, and deleted scenes. A complete series box set has been available since 2002, but that version had no special features.

This news could make Sports Night fans go crazy like ... well, people who go crazy and stuff.

TV Shows On DVD is reporting that a 10th anniversary set for the short-lived ABC comedy is in the works, to be released this fall. As fans know, a complete DVD set for the show was already released a few years ago, but it didn't have any extras on it at all (and I remember that some of the first DVDs had a lot of problems with skipping and freezing, though I've never had a problem with my set). This set is rumored to have extras on it, and we can only hope that includes commentaries by the cast and Aaron Sorkin.

No word yet on who is putting it out or even why this set is getting the anniversary treatment (other than it's a great show and deserves it!). Maybe the success of Felicity Huffman and Brenda Strong on Desperate Housewives helped.

Veteran actress Paula Marshall is joining the FX show Nip/Tuck this fall. She'll play Dylan Walsh's love interest for at least four episodes.

I call her a veteran actress even though shes not that old (her birthday was last week - Happy Birthday Paula!). She's been on a ton of TV shows over the years. Some should have lasted longer than they did (Sports Night, Veronica Mars, Cupid), and some probably lasted longer than they should have (Out of Practice, Snoops).

A few weeks ago, AOL Television editors and TV Squad bloggers teamed up to name the shows they wished could come back from the dead.

Many of you wondered, "Where's Arrested Development? Freaks and Geeks?? Sports Night???" You took issue with some of the choices -- especially shows that had long runs, like The West Wing. For others, our picks were too edgy, like Keen Eddie.

So, we gave you the chance to strike back: We asked fans on both sites to nominate the shows you'd resurrect from the graveyard of television. Boy, was there a long list. We gathered together some of the best posts and here are the results.

Keith Olbermann has a new gig.

Or should I say "another gig," as he'll still be host of MSNBC's Countdown. But he's going to add a co-hosting position on NBC's Football Night In America, the pre-game show that airs at 7pm on Sunday nights before the NFL game that NBC telecasts.

Olbermann has a long history in TV sports, having hosted ESPN's SportsCenter with Dan Patrick years ago (he was one of the models for the characters on Sports Night) and his own show on FOX Sports Network that was good but didn't last too long. This will be his first job in network sports in several years, other than what he does on Dan Patrick's radio show. Olbermann will join Bob Costas, Cris Collinsworth, Jerome Bettis, and Tiki Barber, who started on NBC this morning.

[via TV Newser]

"Bush-bashing accidental liberal hero." "Keith the Impaler."

Those phrases were used to describe MSNBC's Keith Olbermann in a New York magazine profile of the cable talker who first earned fame as the wise cracking sports guy on ESPN's SportsCenter, which later inspired Aaron Sorkin's SportsNight.

The article -- which describes Olbermann as a "world class agitator" and "sworn enemy" of Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly -- says Olbermann appeals to liberals like radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh appeals to conservatives.

Well, this is interesting. I'm not a big fan of David Foster Wallace (1), but anyone who attempts to film something that he has written has my respect.

John Krasinski, Jim on The Office, is directing the movie version of DFW's (2) Brief Interviews With Hideous Men. Not really sure how the movie will be structured, since the book is a collection of short stories, but it's a daring choice for a first time effort. The movie stars Timothy Hutton (3), Rashida Jones (4), Josh Charles (5), Will Forte (6), and Bobby Cannavale (7).

1. He's a smart, interesting guy, but sometimes you just want to throw his books across the room.
2. I can't remember if you're supposed to call him "Foster Wallace" or just "Wallace."
3. From Kidnapped.
4. Karen on The Office.
5. From Sports Night.
6. From SNL.
7. From Will & Grace.

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 . . .

One of the constant complaints from both fans and critics of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is that we never get to see much of the actual sketches that make up the show-within-the-show. I always felt this was kind of a silly complaint since we also never saw much of the actual show-within-the-show on Sports Night but I guess expectations are different for Studio 60. Bob disagrees with me but points out that shows like Entourage, which is about a great actor who we never see actually acting, have the same issue.

Well, if you've been wondering about what those sketches mapped out by Matt Albie, Harriet Hayes and others might look like, the Employee of the Month sketch comedy troupe in Los Angeles is trying to provide a theoretical glimpse. They've taken the snippets of "Crazy Christians," "Nancy Grace" and others from the fictional show and expanded them to full length form. Check out "Employee of the Month Celebrates The Comedy of Studio 60" starting Friday the 17th.

If any of our LA readers go see this be sure to send in reports.

1. The Dick Van Dyke Show: This timeless classic not only revolved around the domestic lives of Rob and Laura Petrie in New Rochelle, but also around the writing staff of The Alan Brady Show, a hit variety show out of New York City. I think this show still holds up, even compared to classic modern comedies.

2. Sports Night: Before The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin created this really well written and snappy look behind the scenes of a Sportscenter-like TV show. Basically, it was The West Wing at a TV station, which is one of the reasons I'm so looking forward to Studio 60 this fall.

In search of information about the absolute, total, non-return of Love Monkey, I came across an interesting article in, of all places, The Calgary Sun. The article, written by Kevin Williamson, counts down the top 25 best series that were canceled before their time.

Some of the entries on the list are those that many others (including those fabulous writers who post on this fantastic site) have mentioned as dying premature deaths. For example, the recently departed Arrested Development falls in at number two on the list. Aaron Sorkin's Sports Night appears at the number 12 spot.

 

Amanda Peet will play Matthew Perry's nemesis on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, a new series that Aaron Sorkin is creating for NBC. Peet and Perry co-starred in The Whole Nine Yards and its awful sequel, The Whole Ten Yards. Studio 60 is set behind the scenes of a sketch comedy show, and Perry plays the genius head writer who butts heads with the newly appointed president of the network. Peet plays the new president.

Also signed up for the show are Steven Weber and D.L. Hughley. Nate Corddry is also listed as a cast member, he'll play one of the actors. He's currently working as a reporter for The Daily Show and is fellow reporter Rob Corddry's younger brother. This is looking to be a damn fine cast.