Not a lot has changed on the TV landscape since the last Studio 60 a month and a half ago, but with 11 more episodes in the season (merciful NBC) and stagnant ratings along with tone, Studio 60 returns tonight a changed show.And I liked it. Even if the changes were crazy obvious.
Mr. Sorkin has, from my knowledge, always been anti-personal stories. At least that's what I remember his statement being back when Amanda Peet's pregnancy first became public. The guy who said "this show focuses only on business" just got handed a pregnancy that had to either be answered with lots of flowy coats and tight shots or, gasp, a dive into the personal story pool.
And tonight Sorkin dove right in. Straight in the deep end. The man is drowning.
Danny loves Jordan (stalky!), Matt loves Harriet (obvious!), Tom loves Lucy (huh?), it's all new territory for the show and tonight big advancements were made. I, for one, enjoy all three relationships and am glad that they're being pursued. After all the Big Issues the show obsessed over in it's first few weeks, it's a relief to see the show mellow out. 30 Rock is nearing genius because of its whimsical tone and I'm glad to see Studio 60 follow suit. Plus, any storyline that gives me more Lucy Davis (yay Dawn!) and the nickname Boss Sexy for Matthew Perry, I'm a fan of.
In a shocking guest appearance, Kurt Fuller plays an asshole in power. Just like on Alias and Desperate Housewives and pretty much anything else he's ever been on. Except Big Day. But I don't think anyone has seen Big Day to notice how he isn't playing an asshole in power. But he does it well.
So this is the new Studio 60, which seems to be borrowing a lot from the current soap-apalooza that's sweeping prime time. Never was this more evident than during Harriet and Jordan's gabfest (Harriet's making good on her agreement to be Jordan's friend) and the line of the night delivered by The New Head of Illiterate Programming, "there's another pretty girl at the dance and she's not pregnant." I've never yelled "oh snap!" during this show before. But that deserved it.
If Studio 60 is all about complicated love and sassy one-liners now, that's fine by me.
RATING: **** (out of 5)
1 comment:
Agreed. Good change for the show. It's still too smart to pick up a huge audience, unfortunately. Hopefully they'll give it another year!
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