6/28/07 -- I have just finished watching the final episode of one of the best drama series on television, a series that most people in this country missed out on because they were too busy watching Monday Night Football and National Bingo Night.
"What Kind of Day Has It Been?" was episode 21 of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. It was the final episode not only of the series, but also of an intense six-episode story arc that showed how good this show truly was, and could have continued to be, if only the American viewing public had a brain and had watched it.
The series started out with high expectations and raves from critics (they sometimes have brains). But its timeslot (Mondays at 10pm against football and CSI: Miami) was a major detriment. Why NBC didn't move it to another night, paired up with another intelligently-written show (like Tuesdays maybe, before or after Law & Order: SVU -- one of only two other NBC shows I watch), is beyond me. They obviously had a lot invested in the show, between cast and producer salaries and the money they spent on marketing at the start of the season.
Why more people didn't watch is also beyond me. The cast was incredible, led by Bradley Whitford, Matthew Perry, Steven Weber and Amanda Peet. My parents said they didn't get it. Someone else told me it wasn't funny. Umm... it was a drama. Granted it was a drama about a group of people working on a sketch comedy show, but the sketches were just background noise. The show, brilliantly written by Aaron Sorkin, was a character study focused on high-strung, creative, sarcastic, all slightly-crazy-in-their-own-way individuals in the entertainment industry who become a family. People who spend 60+ hours of their lives per week together locked in a building, getting involved in each other's business for good or bad.
Maybe that's why I got it -- because I live in that environment of high stress and high expectations? Hmmm. Maybe. Or maybe it's because I stuck in there past episode two, and let myself get emotionally invested in the characters' lives. The characters are why I sat glued to my television at 10pm on Monday, especially during those last six episodes when Jordan and her baby were in danger... when Danny the control-freak was beside himself having no control over the most important thing in his life... and when everyone else rallied to help and protect Tom when his brother was taken hostage in Iraq. (It was an Aaron Sorkin show, after all. Political commentary was inevitable.)
Sadly though, I think this show failed to garner an audience is because it was too smart, and the American public is stupid. Shows like Studio 60 can't buy an audience, yet shows like "National Bingo Night" and "The Singing Bee" get renewed for second seasons. It also failed because network television executives have no patience. Shows no longer have time to get their footing before getting the axe. But you'd think that when you are in last place and have a great show that critics love, you might give it a chance. Who knows... All I know for sure is that I'm going to really miss this show. Luckily it comes out on DVD in October, so I can watch it instead of getting invested in whatever unlucky show NBC puts on air in its old sucky timeslot next season.
