First, let me say that I LOVE the power of TiVo! It lets me watch what I want, when I want, and, unlike those of you with other "recording" devices (read VCR or DVD Burner), I got to SKIP every damn political ad that ran over the past 6 months.
Sometimes, though, I'm amazed at what people watch on television. I bring this up because I just watched an episode of what I think is an amazing show. I'll get the name of the show in a bit, but what amazes me is that the show isn't necessarily doing gangbusters in the ratings. It doesn't surprise me, but it does amaze me.
Why is that? Maybe its because the show isn't explosions or bloody corpses laying on a metal slab in a morgue. Maybe its because the show requires some semblance of knowledge of the world and doesn't spoon feed the viewer with easy to digest lines that are comforting. Maybe its because the show, many time, is simply talking head... People walking around, doing their job, and having discussions.
The show is Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. NBC carries the show on Mondays after Heroes, another favorite, and if you haven't seen it, you might give it a try. Here's the thing though. If you aren't a fan of The West Wing, or the movies The American President or A Few Good Men, you might watch the first five minutes and change the channel over to the Monday night game on ESPN. Its what I call a "Thinking Man's" show and if you are not ready to listen up and pay attention, you're not going to get it.
So, what brought about this desire to post about a show too many Americans are not going to like. Simply, I watched an episode on my TiVo today (Yes, I have a day off today) called The Wrap Party. That's what is was about... The wrap party that they have after the "show" goes live on the East Coast. Not the episode I watched, but the show the show is about. See, Studio 60 is about a show similar to Saturday Night Live, except it is on Friday night, is broadcast from the West Coast, and is on the NBS network... but everything else is the same... except that these people have complicated lives, and families, and relationships (and the actors on SNL may have the same) that we get to see played out before us.
Anyway, this episode hit some interesting points. There's the plot line about the mid-western raised comic whose parents come to visit and don't understand him. These the plot line about the black comic who drags the head writer to the Improv to see another black comic and ends up being disappointed by his stereotypical routine only to be surprised by the on stage dud that writes great biting satire. There's the plot line about the lead female comic who is still in love with the head writer, but is dating a professional baseball player, who is still playing the field (if you know what I mean). And then there's the plot line that Aaron Sorkin, the creator the show, throws in just to get us thinking... A seemingly senile man is found wandering the halls of the studio and the story that follows is one of McCarthyism, blacklists, World War 2 veterans, and the ruining of lives. And if all that doesn't seem deep enough, there the idiot pretty girls that wonder what it really means to be the head writer.
Sure, it's not everybody's cup of tea, but, if you're looking for something that isn't the same old dreck that clogs up the airwaves, you might want to check it out.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip airs Monday nights at 9pm Central on NBC.
Technorati Tags: Studio 60, TiVo
Sometimes, though, I'm amazed at what people watch on television. I bring this up because I just watched an episode of what I think is an amazing show. I'll get the name of the show in a bit, but what amazes me is that the show isn't necessarily doing gangbusters in the ratings. It doesn't surprise me, but it does amaze me.
Why is that? Maybe its because the show isn't explosions or bloody corpses laying on a metal slab in a morgue. Maybe its because the show requires some semblance of knowledge of the world and doesn't spoon feed the viewer with easy to digest lines that are comforting. Maybe its because the show, many time, is simply talking head... People walking around, doing their job, and having discussions.
The show is Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. NBC carries the show on Mondays after Heroes, another favorite, and if you haven't seen it, you might give it a try. Here's the thing though. If you aren't a fan of The West Wing, or the movies The American President or A Few Good Men, you might watch the first five minutes and change the channel over to the Monday night game on ESPN. Its what I call a "Thinking Man's" show and if you are not ready to listen up and pay attention, you're not going to get it.
So, what brought about this desire to post about a show too many Americans are not going to like. Simply, I watched an episode on my TiVo today (Yes, I have a day off today) called The Wrap Party. That's what is was about... The wrap party that they have after the "show" goes live on the East Coast. Not the episode I watched, but the show the show is about. See, Studio 60 is about a show similar to Saturday Night Live, except it is on Friday night, is broadcast from the West Coast, and is on the NBS network... but everything else is the same... except that these people have complicated lives, and families, and relationships (and the actors on SNL may have the same) that we get to see played out before us.
Anyway, this episode hit some interesting points. There's the plot line about the mid-western raised comic whose parents come to visit and don't understand him. These the plot line about the black comic who drags the head writer to the Improv to see another black comic and ends up being disappointed by his stereotypical routine only to be surprised by the on stage dud that writes great biting satire. There's the plot line about the lead female comic who is still in love with the head writer, but is dating a professional baseball player, who is still playing the field (if you know what I mean). And then there's the plot line that Aaron Sorkin, the creator the show, throws in just to get us thinking... A seemingly senile man is found wandering the halls of the studio and the story that follows is one of McCarthyism, blacklists, World War 2 veterans, and the ruining of lives. And if all that doesn't seem deep enough, there the idiot pretty girls that wonder what it really means to be the head writer.
Sure, it's not everybody's cup of tea, but, if you're looking for something that isn't the same old dreck that clogs up the airwaves, you might want to check it out.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip airs Monday nights at 9pm Central on NBC.
Technorati Tags: Studio 60, TiVo
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