Wednesday January 23, 2008

On the lot

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip has intelligent storylines, quick-witted dialogues and ‘real’ characters.

AFTER 10 years of playing an adorable smart-alecky loser on one of the most successful sitcoms ever, Matthew Perry returns to form on TV as the talented but slightly insecure writer of a comedy sketch programme, Matt Albie.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is one of the most interesting – but, unfortunately, short-lived – TV series that is currently airing in Malaysia.

The show premiered in the United States in 2006 and received a lot of positive reviews from both critics and viewers. It was also nominated for several awards including the Emmys (one of which was won by John Goodman for his guest starring role) and Golden Globes. Nevertheless, due to unforeseen circumstances, it only lasted one sad season (that’s 22 episodes).

The show was created by Aaron Sorkin, who is also the creator of The West Wing and Sports Nights, which many have compared Studio 60 with. If you are familiar with either show, then you would get an idea of what Studio 60 is like. Fast-paced and intelligent storylines, quick-witted dialogues and “real” characters – you can find all these on Studio 60 and frankly, these are the things that will get you hooked to the show.

Studio 60 starts with the threat of a late-night sketch comedy, also called Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, being cancelled because of the on-air rants of its executive producer as a result of his mental breakdown.

NBS (the studio that produces the show) chairman Jack Rudolph sends newly-hired network president Jordan McDeere to settle the problem.

McDeere, a woman who looks nothing like one of those stereotypical “women of power” characters, comes up with a daring solution – re-hire the producing/directing-writing team of Danny Tripp and Matt Albie.

Rudolph and a string of network executives are unhappy with the move, but McDeere reasons that they were the ones who made the show a hit in the first place. It was such scenes that show McDeere, with her pretty floral skirts and cute pastel cardigan tops, as a no-nonsense executive.

Still, Tripp and Albie don’t come easy. They have their demons to tackle and fear that going back to the show will make these problems bigger than they really are.

So, in a bold but smart move, Tripp comes clean about his drug abuse at a press conference announcing their return to Studio 60, which coincidentally takes some of the heat off the show.

Meanwhile, Albie’s biggest worry about coming back to Studio 60 is Harriet Hayes, the woman he loves dearly, but recently broke up with.

Hayes is one of the “Big Three” (what they call the three main actors of the sketch comedy), so she and Albie would be bumping into each other everyday at work. It is obvious that both parties still have feelings for one another, and this little storyline is slowly being played out on the show.

In last week’s episode (only the fourth), Albie gets a slap in the face when he sees Hayes kissing her admirer, a popular baseball player.

There is no doubt that the show is well written. More than that, though, is how perfect all the roles have been cast. Bradley Whitford, as Danny Tripp, complements Matthew Perry’s Albie very well. While they don’t necessarily finish one another’s sentences, they do finish each other’s thoughts.

Amanda Peet, in what seems like her biggest role both on TV and film, plays McDeere to perfection. On the surface she’s the quintessential pretty girl who prances about in her skirts and dresses in a man’s busy world. However, when it comes to work, McDeere is as ruthless as anyone can get in showbiz, and she does it with a wink and beautiful smile too.

Sarah Paulson is all right as Harriet Hayes, but show reviews note that Paulson gets better as she gets more airtime. The same goes to D.L. Hughley (who plays actor Simon Stiles), one of the most under-used actors around.

Other commendable actors include Steven Weber as NBS chairman Jack Rudolph and Timothy Busfield as writer Cal Shanley. Incidentally, Busfield also directed a few episodes of Studio 60, including last week’s nail-biting episode, The West Coast Delay.

The show also features numerous guest stars appearing either as themselves – like Felicity Huffman in the pilot – or as characters.

Studio 60 is really an interesting show that one would easily get hooked on. The only two complaints that I have is that there is only one season, and that it is not given a better timeslot because frankly, at 11.45pm on most Saturdays, during which a big percentage of the show’s target audience is most probably either out or just not interested in watching TV.

Hopefully, Ntv7 plans to air re-runs of the show after all the 22 episodes are shown.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is on every Saturday at 11.45pm over Ntv7.

eCentral

Wednesday January 23, 2008

On the lot