I saw the pilot for
Studio 60 a couple of weeks ago. (God bless the Internet).
Now, I have to confess that while I didn't ever get into
West Wing, I did enjoy
Sports Night back in the day. So, I have to admit I was curious to see what Aaron Sorkin would do when he was unleashed back into the world of a show within a show.
So far, I have to admit that
Studio 60 has my attention. Yes, it's a bit derivative of Sports Night in that you've got the same kind of dynamic to the central trio of the show. But the characters are all so well drawn and all speak the way I wish I could on any given day (so intelligent, witty and always knowing the exact reference to pull at the exact moment...man, it must be nice to be a TV character) that I can forgive that, for now. It will be interesting to see where Sorkin takes this trio of characters (and the rest of the supporting cast, who I hope we'll get to see more of in the weeks to come) in the next few episodes.
The real surprise of this one is Matthew Perry. I liked
Friends and Perry was great in it as Chandler. The problem has been that Perry's chosen movie roles that are pretty much basically channeling Chandler instead of actually stretching his acting muscles...at least until here. For Perry to take over the show the way he did was great and I never thought I'd say that the acting likes of those around him would all be having to keep up with his performance.
As a random aside, watching
Studio 60, a thought struck me . I was flipping around the dial a few weeks ago and came across a repeat of
Wings. As I look at the TV and entertainment world landscape, it's hard to believe that of all the comedies from the 90s it would be the actors from Wings who are all rising to such prominence and acclaim these days. Think about it--we have Steven Weber here, Tim Daly, Tony Shaloub has won three Emmys as Monk and Thomas Hayden Church was up for an Oscar a few years ago. Not bad for a show that was, essentially
Cheers at an airport. Who'd've thought
Wings would produce such acting talent?
posted by Michael Hickerson at 9/19/2006 08:17:00 AM |
|
