Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: The Complete Series – DVD Review

Available at Amazon.com

Created by:
Aaron Sorkin

Cast:
Matthew Perry… Matt Albie
Bradley Whitford… Danny Tripp
Amanda Peet… Jordan McDeere
Steven Weber… Jack Rudolph
D.L. Hughley… Simon Stiles
Sarah Paulson… Harriet Hayes
Nathan Corddry… Tom Jeter
Timothy Busfield… Cal Shanley

Let’s make things clear. When I initially reviewed the pilot episode of Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, I didn’t like it. I thought that the acting was average at best, that the story was a little hard to follow and it smelled too much like creator Aaron Sorkin’s other program (The West Wing). But then I saw the second episode, and I made time to watch the third. I couldn’t wait for the fourth and I cancelled an appointment to make sure I was home to watch the fifth. Make no mistake about it. There were very high expectations for Studio 60 even before it came out. It was expensive to make and was promoted by both NBC and CTV as being the most highly-anticipated new series of the 2006 season. And everyone knows what happened. The ratings weren’t there and the show was pulled off the schedule. But the truth is that Studio 60 was one of last year’s best shows and despite its massive critical-acclaim, it just never seemed to find its niche with a widespread audience.

Studio 60 was a behind-the-scenes dramatic look at a late-night sketch show. Let’s face facts. It was a fictional account of what happened on Saturday Night Live when the camera was turned off. The show featured a cast unlike any other. Matt Albie (Matthew Perry) and Danny Tripp (Bradley Whitford) take over as producers on a show that they were fired from years earlier when the current executive producer Wes (Judd Hirsch) cracks on-air. Matt and Danny are brought on by the network’s new head of programming Jordan McDeere (Amanda Peet) who ultimately reports to Jack Rudolph (Steven Weber).

In addition to the behind-the-scenes team of the show, the on-air actors include Harriet Hayes (Sarah Paulson), Simon Stiles (D.L. Hughley) and Tom Jeter (Nathan Corddry).

The show basically revolves around the plotlines that you would expect on a program that focuses on what happens behind-the-scenes of a Hollywood production. Matt is dating Harriet (a devout Christian conservative) and the “romance” was clearly the heart of the Sorkin story. Matt also battled a drug addiction which was complimented by the fact that his partner (Danny) just recovered from one. Jordan was in a constant tug-of-war with the network bosses, and her respect for Matt & Danny’s work. There was also the standard pregnant storyline that also used Jordan as its protagonist. Zack Rudolph’s complicated character was a tougher version of McDeere’s. If she was the good cop, he was the bad. While he clearly enjoyed what he did, he also struggled with it as well. There were problems with FCC script approval, trouble with sketches and nosy reporters trying to find out more about the show than the are supposed to know.

While some argued that the show seemed to offer an air of self-indulgence and that the dialogue was almost too intellectual for the average television viewer, this was only one of a series of obstacles that the show faced. The amount of attention that it received before it even debuted made for unrealistic expectation. Another problem was the fact that it was impossible to tell at time whether the show was meant to be taken seriously or as just a parody of the late-night scene. The “skits” that the characters on the show were working on were just not funny. In fact, they were almost embarrassingly bad but when they were juxtaposed with the strong writing of the actual show, it became clearer that they were not meant to be funny because while the show was about the production of a comedy, it was not supposed to be viewed as one itself.

Studio 60 was everything that television was meant to be. While the storylines appeared to be cliché on first glance, the writing on the show was so strong that Sorkin almost redefined the same clichéd storylines that he was using as a template. Everyone reading this knows that it deserved a second season. But at least there’s a DVD set.

The DVD

The Video:

The 22-episode and six disc set is presented in a widescreen anamorphic ration of 1.78:1. While the output seems dark, this is not to be blamed on the disc, but the show that was shot that way. No episodes appeared grainy and there was no evidence of edge enhancement.

The Audio:

The audio is presented in English Dolby surround sound. No complaints and having subtitle options available in English, Spanish and Chinese is a definite plus. Closed captioning is also available.

Special Features:

The DVD set is severely lacking in bonus material. Perhaps this is because the show ended much sooner than expected.

An audio commentary from Aaron Sorkin and director Thomas Schlamme is available for the pilot episode. The problem is that the commentary was recorded while the show was in production. While the pair offer great insight into the casting and set construction, it would have been better to have a more current commentary on what was the season finale and what is now the series finale.

There is also a featurette:

“In Depth: The Evolution Of Studio 60:” Essentially a tour with Tim Busfield around the set, this featurette gives the viewer a sense of what the production looks like and is also interspersed with various interviews with cast members. Like the audio commentary on the first episode, this was put together before the show was pulled and as a result, is missing what the crew and cast thought about the show’s untimely demise. It runs for about 25 minutes.

The DVD Lounge’s Ratings for
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: The Complete Series
CATEGORY
RATING
(OUT OF 10)
THE SHOW

9
THE VIDEO

10
THE AUDIO

10
THE EXTRAS

2
REPLAY VALUE

8
OVERALL
7.5
(NOT AN AVERAGE)

Murtz Jaffer is the world's foremost reality television expert and was the host of Reality Obsessed which aired on the TVTropolis and Global Reality Channels in Canada. He has professional writing experience at the Toronto Sun, National Post, TV Guide Canada, TOROMagazine.com and was a former producer at Entertainment Tonight Canada. He was also the editor at Weekendtrips.com.