Heroes to save NBC + Studio 60 wears thin
Early in August when I rented Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip from Netflix I was certain that the buzz behind the show would make it a huge hit and could (potentially) save NBC from its current status as a last place network. I think I was way off the mark. And, while I’m not yet ready to start king-making again (and the fact that I actually have little power and influence), it definitely seems like Heroes is aligned to save the day [groan]. I promise there won’t be any more puns after the jump…
If only I’d liked the pilot. It was shown last night on NBC in its usual time slot (9:00pm ET), with “limited commercial interruptions.” The problem was I kept waiting for something to happen. Something that was going to set the series into motion — the show is called Heroes — but my excitement was never elevated much beyond a general curiosity. I get that all these strangers have powers that they might not fully understand. I get that they will all end up in New York City to battle something in order to save something else from the horrible likes of something entirely different. I get that the name of this episode was “Genesis” and while I might have been hoping for a 16-bit video game system by Sega, what I really got was an origin story. And while I get that the origin story is a necessary aspect of any super-hero mythology worth its weight in spandex, I still wanted to see someone, somewhere kick some ass.
The closest we got to that was a stripper who blacked out (and whose power may or may not be the ability to give herself mysterious looks while walking past mirrors), and woke up discovering that she had apparently murdered two thugs (possibly disemboweling one?) all for reasons far too mysteriously-important to reveal.
Yes, the episode’s end was good and provided plenty of cliffhanger to get me to watch next week, but they (and when I say “they” I mean not only the creators of Heroes but any of the myriad Lost-like shows that are currently airing on the networks) have to give us something to get wrapped-up in during those 57 minutes between the “Previously On…” , the cliffhanger and the inevitably exciting “Next time…”. I’m all for mystery, but I’m not watching for a pay-off that may or may not ever come. I’m watching for entertainment.
ENTERTAIN ME!
Still, Heroes shows much promise, and all of the fanboys and fangirls won’t be disappointed.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is a whole different set of issues. The second episode confirmed my fears that the show’s great pilot might not actually translate to a great show. Make no mistake, it is definitely interesting to watch, but for all of its clamor it’s starting to seem vaguely inauthentic. Sports Night and The West Wing seemed real because their setting was never what the show was about. This time around, Studio 60… is exactly what the show is about, and as I watch I get the feeling that Sorkin doesn’t really have a clear vision for the titular character of the show: Studio 60 itself. It’s weird that this is suppose to be a show that actually competes with Saturday Night Live. How can it really be so much of an institution if it isn’t the institution? I’d be like creating a show about someone trying to save MadTV. Who cares?
Thank god the cast is so good– especially Matthew Perry, who I’m beginning to love. I’m also thrilled to see Carlos Jacott (Otis from the real “Kicking and Screaming“) in there as one of the ‘hack writers’. It almost makes up for the fact that he was killed off in the pilot for Firefly.
I’ll keep watching Studio 60… I could definitely see it being a show that I’m not watching by this time next year.
September 26th, 2006 at 6:32 pm
I stand by my prediction that Studio 60 will be a flop.
Free Otis!
September 28th, 2006 at 7:09 pm
I also don’t know if “Studio 60″ is going to be a long-term hit. One thing, though: I kinda think that “The West Wing”, too, was all about its setting, at least when Sorkin was still writing the episodes. After he left, they got into interpersonal relationships between the characters and delved into story lines about characters falling in love with people/having babies/dealing with chronic illnesses, etc. In the early years, though, each episode was about the “sausage-making” of helping the President run the country, and plots invariably centered on some political/governance issue the “POTUS” and his staff had to deal with over the course of a few days or a week. We barely saw the characters away from their West Wing offices and the Oval Office. It seems like this structure is more similar to last night’s “Studio 60″ look at the issue of coming up with a “cold opening” and producing the first post-Wes show.
Also, I gotta say I do like Matthew Perry on the show. Something happened the other night that I never though would: I flipped through the channels and saw a bit of a “Friends” episode, and I had to remind myself that “Chandler” and “Matt Albie” were/are played by the same guy. I always thought that those “Friends” actors would be type-cast in my mind forever.
September 28th, 2006 at 7:22 pm
wait– i may have misunderstood what you meant by shows being about their “settings”. so, my above post might make absolutely no sense. sorry ’bout that. oops.
September 29th, 2006 at 12:24 am
There are no wrong answers here at MagneticMediaFed. Everyone wins.