Studio 60: Good Watchin'!

I'm not a big Aaron Sorkin fan. I didn't care much for SPORTS NIGHT and I found THE WEST WING to be more soap box than TV show.

But STUDIO 60 is good. Very, very good.

Sorkin's going to be skewering a few personal demons on this one. He's obviously drawing characters from some of the idiots in suits he's had to deal with at the networks over the years. But all the skewering isn't of other people. There's a character with a drug problem that's interfering with his ability to work - a situation Sorkin knows about firsthand. Kudos to him for being brave enough to include it in the collage.

And this show is quite a collage. There's an evangelical Christian - whom I hope Sorkin will be treating with great respect (it is possible to be smart, competent and evangelical) Matthew Perry's character spent the pilot high on Vicodin - something Perry knows of firsthand. Kudos to him as well.

These characters ring true. From Steven Weber's take no crap, take no chances network exec, to Timothy Busfield's director - you know, deep down, Sorkin knows these people.

The show is beautiful in high def. The camera moves well, but not unnecessarily - and the use of color is wonderful. At one point, I caught a few stray hairs on Amanda Peet's pretty head catching a bit of light from her backlight. There's no way they were visible in standard def.

Ah, but that's another post.

For now, STUDIO 60's season pass is locked in. As long as Sorkin continues to skewer the big business of TV, I'll be along for the ride.