Monday, September 18, 2006

Why I Heart Studio 60


How much do I love Studio 60? About as much as I love avocados. If that metaphor doesn't clarify things for you, consider this: I used a whole avocado between the two sandwiches I ate today.

Amanda Peet makes me want to become a lesbian. Her character is a combination of a surprise party that actually surprises the guest of honor, and the naked hit-woman she played in "The Whole Nine Yards."

Speaking of "The Whole Nine Yards," Matthew Perry succeeds in not playing a re-vamped Chandler. Sure, he's still the comic relief on the show, but he's harder. He announces that he's hopped up on pain killers through out the show (a nod to his own former addiction, perhaps?) and he doesn't hit his jokes as hard as he did as Chandler. He even managed to tell himself to stop talking at one point (a classic Chandler move) and only make me think of Chandler a little bit.

Sarah Paulson= a long awaited break in stereotype. She plays a comedic actress who prays before each show. She makes a cameo on The 700 Club and backs up a skit called "Crazy Christians" all in the same episode.

The only worry I have for the show is this: can they live up to the precedent they have set for themselves? Within the first ten minutes of the show they beat their industry to a bloody pulp. Bam. They smack the Studio 60 logo on the screen. It’s the final, knock-out punch for the fight and thesis statement for the show. Granted, their ratings probably skyrocketed through the roof during those ten minutes, and even the entertainment industry is willing to take a few seemingly genuine jabs at themselves if it will make them popular (as Amanda Peet showed us through out the rest of the show) but how long can they keep up the act?

For a long time, I hope. I hope they take risks, and if they take it farther than their network wants them too, I hope they go out with a knock-out punch.

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