Pilot

I enjoyed the "Pilot" pretty well. I will not lie, I am a huge fan of Mathew Perry and tuned in just for that fact. I have enjoyed just about everything he has ever been in (except of course for "The Whole 10 Yards")

I won't lie, I'm not a huge fan of Anti-Christian television which the whole first episode seemed to revolve around. But I have resigned to the fact that if I am going to watch any new prime time dramas, I can count on 3 of 3 things. 1) If you are a Christian, take EVERY word with a grain of salt, 2) If you are a Red state, anything is fair game, and 3) If you have ANY conservative views, you are stupid.

That being said, the show hopefully will eventually turn toward the interaction between the characters (which is what all the promos showed) instead of turning into a "West Wing Part Duex". That show (The West Wing) was a good show, especially for the first few seasons, but it has run its course and I didn't tune in for that. I tuned in for a funny drama without any obvious political/religious prejudices as a main story line. I'll be watching to see, but only time will tell if this is a true "new" show, or if it follows the same pattern as most all of Sorkin's other shows.

The pilot episode of Studio 60 is the best pilot episode of anything I've ever seen. It introduces every character with ease and leaves you wanting more. The chemistry between Whitford and Perry is already there and believable, Peet and Weber's characters set the tone perfectly. Schlamme's direction drops you in a full world you understand, and Sorkin's dialogue is superb. There are few pilot episodes that achieve this, some of the greatest shows take many episodes to get to their best and most are clunky or feel long, but not Studio 60s. It is a masterclass in writing.

In the first few minutes of the pilot, you can tell that this is the crew that brought you the west wing. The bustling crowds and flowing crane shots will be familiar and comforting for fans of the previous show. The mock studio that Studio 60 is shot on is both a visually interesting backdrop and a way of clueing you in that you are watching a show within a show, a drama about a sketch comedy show ala Saturday Night Live.

Then during a heated exchange between the show's current producer Wes Mendell (Judd Hirsch) and a Standards & Practices guy, you are reminded why the first few seasons of West Wing were so good: Rapid fire dialogue that is both witty but not so overly technical that the layman gets lost. Wes Mendell, having been humiliated by Standards and Practices, hijacks the "live" show to deliver a Chayefskyian screed that accuses the network of lobotomizing television because they are afraid of nutty religious cults. This speech is also an example of excellent television writing.

The cast is phenomenal. Totally an ensemble group, Schlamme and Sorkin are playing with a deep bench! Bradley Whitford, Matthew Perry, and Amanda Peat seem to be the triumvirate that will 'run' the sketch comedy show. These three 'leads' exhibit a wonderful chemistry. Perry manages to be snarky and sweet without rehashing a previous "well-established" character. Whitford is the quiet , strong guy whose rough past and self-destructive tendencies simmer beneath the surface. Peat plays a mogul who feels that commercial success and artistic integrity are not mutually exclusive and has the talent to walk the fine line between them.

Fans of the West Wing should really pay attention to this show. Writing like this should be rewarded, and I sincerely hope that Studio 60 has a long and healthy career.

Aaron and Thomas (and even Snuffy) back together again and creating another smart-funny-visually exciting show. Television is always better with Sorkin. The characters are compelling. And after the first appearances of Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry you forget about their previous roles. DJ Hugley (I hope I have't misspelled his name) and Amanda Peet and Steven Weber are all excellent. And Judd Hirsch was brilliant as the beleaguered creator of Studio 60. I believe that this series should be a hit (if middle America is at all interested in what makes television run) Already some of the lines have stayed with me as was often the case on West Wing. Looking forward to this series.

I was a little worried that this show would fail to live up to its hype. After all, no other new show will have as much to live up to this fall. The show did not fail to please and this is the beginning of a very promising run. Fans of the West Wing will rejoice at the return of Sorkin to NBC primetime and long for the days of the great West Wing seasons. The cast is talented and deep. It would seem that there are half a dozen characters that could carry an entire episode (much like West Wing). I am looking forward to more great things but I am curious how the sketch comedy show will play out in the series. Will they show a full sketch from beginning to end? Would that hurt the dramatic nature of the show? Will "special guests" be a constant on a show that would need a host for each week's variety show (Felicity Huffman was the first)? These unanswered questions might be large considering they were not addressed on the pilot but I cannot wait to see how they are resolved.