Aaron Sorkin

is a Genius. I have been totally entranced by his most recent TV Show, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, just as I was with the West Wing and Sports Night. There are a lot of similarities between these three shows, which is part of the reason I appreciate all three as much as I do. Those of you that know me, realize that I have an obsession with the West Wing. This is do in large part to the excellent portrayal of the political world. Regularly taking on complex and controversial topics with care and sensitivity as well as thought and skill. Even though many of the actors, as well as the creator Sorkin are very liberal in their own life, they typically addressed both sides of an issue. Not surprisingly, the liberal point of view typically prevailed, which may be another reason for my fascination with the show, but both sides were at least mentioned. When the images from the West Wing are flashing on my screen, I am not totally rooted in reality. I sometimes get so entrenched in the show’s reality that I forget that President Bartlett is not actually the president, but rather a character that is played by Martin Sheen. There have been numerous times when I have had to remind myself that we actually are not led by a well educated, well spoken, well read president but instead by the disgrace that actually does inhabit the White House. Oh well, sadly fiction is usually better than reality, especially as demonstrated in this case.

Studio 60 takes on a relatively new field for me. Admittedly, I do not have much or any experience with late night comedy television, outside of the many episodes of Saturday Night Live I have seen in my life. That said, I am still captivated and enthralled with the witty and intelligent dialogue that has become a staple of all Aaron Sorkin works. The level of dialogue is so much higher on his shows than almost anything else of TV. This is the main draw of his shows and allows me to simply listen to the show. Last night, while “watching” Studio 60 I was busy doing other work. The rythmic bliss of the show’s dialogue kept me interested, even as I was looking at other things. This morning I watched parts of the show again and was even more taken with both the images and the dialogue. That is one of the best parts of his shows. They are highly rewatchable, in my opinion, much more so than anything else found on Television today. Unfortunately, the level of discourse is often so high that it goes over many people’s heads, resulting in bad rating and inevitable cancellations of his shows. Sports Night lasted a few short years to high critical acclaim and very, very low ratings numbers. West Wing lasted 7 years, but struggled throughout to have more viewers. The thing that helped keep the West Wing on the air was the fact that its audience was among the most affluent of any show on TV. I hope the same can be said of Studio 60. The ratings have not been great, but the writing and acting is phenomenal. I pray that executives for NBC will realize that good shows deserve to be on the air, even if they do not have the low brow appeal that so much TV seems to strive for. Studio 60 deserves your time. Please Watch.