There haven't been many network TV shows for which I'd make it a point to be home to catch, but Studio 60 was one of them. (Two of the others were The West Wing and Sports Night, and it's no coincidence that all three were created and mostly written by Aaron Sorkin.)
Sorkin is a writer's writer, is why. People don't talk in real life like they do on his shows, but they should. His dialog sparkles like an opal mine in the midday sunshine.
Studio 60 never found its audience, and I'm not surprised. Disappointed, but not surprised. The shows I really like always get canceled. My weird sense of taste.
The character-driven stuff always has a harder row to hoe than those that are plot-driven or slapstick. Nothing wrong with those, but I'm gonna miss Studio 60. Nothing else on network TV comes close for that level of writing. Boston Legal used to have some nice chops, but they are firing some of the actors who made it work, and it's getting a little stale. I see the shark out there in the water, only a matter of time until somebody goes to find the water skis ...
There are a couple shows on cable I enjoy, Entourage is one, and when it shows up, Tripping the Rift, on SciFi. Reruns of Deadwood. The new version of Battlestar Galactica.
Outside of Mystery! when they are running the best of the Brit stuff -- Prime Suspect, Foley's War -- nothing I'd hurry home to catch.
Me, I think Sorkin should link up with Showtime or HBO. Whatever he came up with would blow The Sopranos reruns clean off the air.
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