THE poster child for that very concept--"Firefly."
Posted on 10/29/2006 6:05:52 AM PST by edpc
Here we go: despite receiving an order for three more episodes on Friday, the Aaron Sorkin NBC drama “Studio 60 on Sunset Strip” is about to be put out of its misery.
Cast members are already confiding in friends that the end is near. It’s likely NBC will pull the plug shortly I am told by insiders.
Last week, Studio 60 had 7.7 million viewers. Compare that with competing "CSI: Miami," with 17.5 million. That gap cannot be closed.
But ‘Studio 60’ has trouble internally at NBC, forget its intramural rivals. According to ratings stats, the “Saturday Night Live” behind the scenes soap opera loses almost half the viewers delivered to it a few minutes earlier by another new show, “Heroes,” which has become a surprise cult hit.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Hey! Leave Amanda alone! One of her first TV shows named Jack and Jill on the now defunct WB network lasted for two seasons. She was as beautiful and funny back then as she is now.
If there is any curse, it should be called the Curse of the Sorkin. The guy has been subsidized by lefties during his whole ho-wood career. Sorkin has delivered no Return on Investment on those subsidies, so they are now coming to an end.
I really liked "Smith", it was fast-paced and well written and acted...unfortunately I don't recall any bashing of Bush, conservatives or Christians in it, so it's not surprising it was cancelled.
When you produce a TV show that is about producing a TV show, you can't expect much. Basically, it is about ho-wood portraying ho-wood. If people don't care for ho-wood in the first place, then a show like this has a snowball's chance in hell of pulling them in.
That's very sad, good intelligently written shows usually don't last too long. Shows like Walker Texas Ranger seem to last for more than a decade.
...but just can't we just be Friends?
Waterfront, with Joe Pantoliano, got canceled BEFORE it even got on the air. Several episodes were in the can.
I like Shark too, because of Woods's character. I also like Heroes, even though I really didn't expect to. Prison Break is still excellent this season, and I also like House. The Office is the only comedy I watch. I have more or less given up on most other shows. I may see a CSI each week, but if I miss all three, no big deal. Amazing Race is the only good reality show.
There was already a great "behind the scenes of a variety show" show. It was called The Dick Van Dyke Show.
It had steamy relationships (Sally was always dating somebody new), and nasty conflicts (did you know that Alan Brady was bald?).
-PJ
For example, in one episode, the gang inadvertently appropriates another comic's material and makes it part of the show. Then they are apparently running around like crazy to "rectify their mistake" before the show is shown on the West Coast, and making all manner of ironic quips along the way.
How realistic is that? In the real world of television comedy, would anyone notice? Would anyone care? Maybe a few would notice and not care. Maybe one person might passionately want to "set things right," but the others would probably think that person crazy and want to get on with their work. Remember, the program is about show business, not the ministry or charitable work.
I may be wrong, but I gather things were the same in The West Wing: the same narcissistic flattering of the Sorkin's own demographic, and the same unrealistic plots.
Oh tut tut! You have it all wrong! In hollywood-speak, they use their own special vocabulary for these sort of discussions:
| Hollywood Lexicon | |
|---|---|
| Hollywood | Rest of the world |
| "Edgy" | Offensive |
| "Irreverent" | Blasphemous |
| "Cutting edge" | Lots of immorality |
"I think that I must be the only person who watched the premiere and you and I are the only ones who watched the second."
Hubby and I watched Smith too. We liked it. He liked that "kidnapped" or whatever it was called too, but I think that was cancelled too.
We just discovered Friday Night Lights, I hope they don't cancel that one.
Shark is OK, but I agree the daughter is a drip. Shades of the daughter in 24.
THE poster child for that very concept--"Firefly."
The show's quite well written, and it's one of the more realistic portrails of back stage show business. If Sorkin had been able to resist the temptation to spend half of each episode taking shots at the President that the majority of his potential audience elected, he might have been able to avoid turning them off long enough for the storyline to catch on.
Another of those "writer's shows", Boston Legal, is taking a lame turn this season, rapidly segueing from 'off the wall' to 'just plain silly'. Too bad.
bttt
Good news! Sorkin sucks. Ditch the mushroom muncher. Never liked Peet, either. Something about her just rubs me the wrong way.
The only new shows I'm enjoying this season are Friday Night Lights and Heroes, with Natalie Maines's husband. LOL.
They've spent thirty years dumbing down the audience. Now they're serving the audience they created. It's richly deserved.
I'd been touted on the show by a friend who knew I'd worked in the industry. I had to call her back, and tell her that one aspect was pure fiction, namely the role Peet was playing, a network executive with integrity. The last one of those died when Tartikoff passed.
[quote]We just discovered Friday Night Lights, I hope they don't cancel that one. [/quote]
It's don't think it's on solid ground, but the studio is confident enough that they apparently ordered more episodes recently.
They better hurry up, looks like the season is almost over for them!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.