The TV Addict 

With the exception of the AMERICAN IDOL results show [which let's face it, can be watched in about fifteen minutes courtesy of my trusty PVR], there’s slim pickings on TV tonight. Which means it’s time for another installment of May We Suggest: TV on DVD. [How many hours until HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER returns?]

Tonight’s theme is “Brilliant But Cancelled” and features an eclectic mix shows we wish were still on the air.

Our evening kicks off at 8PM with FOX’s ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT and KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL, followed by our behind-the-scenes Hollywood hour at 9PM courtesy of Jay Mohr’s ACTION and Darren Star’s GROSSE POINTE. 10PM brings us a double helping of Aaron Sorkin. As we press play on the under-appreciated gem that was SPORTS NIGHT, finishing off the hour with a condensed version of STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP. All the Sorkin greatness minus the parts where he gets too preachy and condescending.

Yesterday, the few remaining fans of STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP took out an ad in the Hollywood Reporter ‘thanking’ STUDIO 60 as well encouraging donations to the Tipitina’s Foundation of New Orleans.

Encouraging donations to the Tipitina’s Foundation of New Orleans, most definitely worth the ad buy. But thanking STUDIO 60 for “intelligent, inspiring and compelling drama we’ll never forget,” well that my friends is a completely different story.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Aaron Sorkin and think he’s one of the most talented writers on the planet. Not only do SPORTS NIGHT and THE WEST WING both sit proudly on my DVD shelf, I quite literally never tire of THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT. But the unfortunate reality is that STUDIO 60 never lived up to the hype.

What started off as one of the most promising pilots in recent memory quickly devolved into a weekly Sorkin lecture on politics, religion, the war, censorship and pretty much anything else that Sorkin wanted to get off his chest. The show that should have been filled with snappy dialogue, fantastic characters and great writing essentially became that ‘very special’ episode of THE WEST WING where the cast dealt with the aftermath of 9/11. Which if you remember the episode, is not a good thing.

In the end, the thanks should really go to NBC. Not only did the network give Sorkin free reign to run a million dollar drama into the ground. It hopefully gave him enough airtime to articulate each and every one of his political views so that the next time he returns to television, he’ll remember that the medium should entertain first — educate second.

A quick heads up to our friends on the west coast. It just occured to me as I watch tonight’s episode of STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP that tonight’s guest host is none other than THE OFFICE’S Jenna Fischer. The bad news, tonight’s installment was no where as good as last week’s surprisingly funny episode (with the exception of the last few moments, very sad). Once again, Sorkin injected far too much ‘real life politics’ into the episode and illustrated yet again that he inexplicably has nobody on his writing staff who can put together a funny comedy sketch. Can someone please explain to me what’s funny about Nicholas Cage? I mean aside from his acting.

With May Sweeps officially over and rerun season in full swing (moment of silence please) we at theTVaddict.com thought we’d get in the spirit of things by re-running a post of our own. In honour of STUDIO 60’s triumphant return to television tonight at 10PM on NBC, we give you “What Went Wrong With STUDIO 60″

You can’t buy the kind of buzz NBC’s STUDIO 60 had in the weeks before it debuted. So why is the show now fighting for its life? We have our theories…

The show is too limited in scope. Could things have been different had STUDIO focused on the operations of the network as a whole as opposed to behind-the-scenes mechanics of a single show? Guess we’ll never know. But it seems hard to imagine that the president of the network and that company’s chairman of the board spend every waking moment thinking about their failing skit show, let alone that the fate of the network seems to ride on its success. If NBC’s fate were tied to that of SNL, the network would have gone under long ago.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE ain’t the White House. Sorkin’s previous hit, THE WEST WING, swept us up in an idealized version of politics. It gave us a president who was everything we could want in a leader and filled even the least politically minded of us with a spirit of unbridled patriotism. But with SNL as the ostensible backdrop, there’s no way to recapture that sense of unity. And more importantly…

… The skits aren’t funny. Sorkin is, without a doubt, primetime’s best dialogue writer. (For those curious, his daytime counterpart would have to be Patrick Mulcahy.) Unfortunately, Sorkin can’t seem to write a skit to save his life. And since STUDIO’s backdrop is a show specializing in skit comedy, that’s a fairly major flaw.

Too many plots feel forced. Are we really supposed to believe that a woman as smart as Jordan McDeere would allow herself to become a food-obsessed buffoon as a result of a pregnancy? Frankly, it would have made more sense for the show to explore a career-driven woman’s decision to abort a child she is not prepared to have. It’s far too early in the show’s run for Matt Albie to fall back into the pill-popping habit. And Danny’s attempts to “romance” Jordan came off as stalkerish.

Don’t get us wrong. STUDIO 60 is brilliant television. At its worst, it is better than practically anything else on the network airwaves. But as we’ve learned time and time again, being good – or even great – isn’t all it takes to succeed in television. If it were, VERONICA MARS wouldn’t be fighting for its life and THIRTYSOMETHING would have lived long enough to require a name change. Something at STUDIO isn’t working for the audience. We’ve told you why we think that might be… what’s your theory?

Historically, when the television season comes to an end, theTVaddict can generally be found curled up on the floor slowly counting the days until the Fall season begins.

Yet this summer, thanks to ever-increasing competition from the internet, video games and DVDs, networks have finally gotten their act together and come to the realization that they have to provide viewers with quality programming if they intend to keep us watching come June, July and August. (Note to networks: Reality television is not considered quality.)

As a result, fellow TV addicts not only have new seasons of HBO’s BIG LOVE and ENTOURAGE to look forward to. TNT returns with a third season of THE CLOSER and the new Treat Williams drama EVERWOOD 2.0 HEARTLAND.

Add to that, NBC just announced that STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP will be returning to burn off its final six episodes starting Thursday May 24.

Looks like the summer might not be so television free after-all. ‘Getting a life’ and interacting with the outside world will apparently have to wait!

Check out LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O’BRIEN’S take on Aaron Sorkin’s STUDIO 60 “Aaron Sorkin: Studio 6A on the 6th Floor of Rockefeller Plaza”. Not only is the clip hilarious, it hopefully will remind the suits at NBC that they have yet to broadcast the second half of STUDIO 60’s season. Yes NBC, we haven’t forgotten. And in case you haven’t noticed, audiences aren’t finding THANK GOD YOU’RE HERE very funny.

Thanks to TVTATTLE for the tip!

Dear Fellow TV Addicts,

For over a year now theTVaddict.com has been providing you — my beloved reader — with television news, reviews, commentary, cartoons, podcasts and video without asking for anything in return. Tonight, I’m calling in my chips, I need a favour.

Please tune into STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP this evening at 10PM on NBC. Next week, a new series, THE BLACK DONNELLYS will be airing in its place, and the peackock network has yet to say when (or if) STUDIO 60 will return. The Aaron Sorkin drama deserves a far better fate and love it or loathe it, the show is far better then 75% of what’s on television.

Variety is reporting that NBC has decided to premiere THE BLACK DONNELLYS a week sooner than planned, pulling STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP from its Monday night timeslot and premiering the new mobster drama on February 26 (instead of March 5). Looks like I probably should have watched the last two weeks of STUDIO 60 instead of letting it sit on my PVR. Damn you Neilson Ratings!

If there’s one thing I learned from THE WEST WING (aside from the fact that I wish Martin Sheen were President), was that if you have bad news to deliver to the American public, release a press release on Friday afternoon when the media is focused on weekend fun rather then work.

Well fortunately for you [and unfortunately for NBC] theTVaddict never stops working! Subsequently, I’m here today to pass on some bad news for fans of quality television everywhere — specifically fans of STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP and 30 ROCK. According to an NBC press release:

NBC’s new mid-season drama “The Black Donnellys” will premiere on Monday, March 5 (10-11 p.m. ET) — following the hit drama “Heroes” (9-10 p.m. ET) – while the new comedy “Andy Barker, P.I.,” starring Andy Richter, will debut on Thursday, March 15 (9:30-10 p.m. ET), it was announced today by Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment.

“Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” (currently Mondays, 10-11 p.m. ET) will return later this season on a date to be determined. “30 Rock” will return to its previous Thursday (9:30-10 p.m. ET) day and time with original episodes on April 19 after “Andy Barker” completes its slate of episodes.

Regardless of the fact that NBC promises that STUDIO 60 will return, the fact that the date is ‘to be determined’ is not a good sign for die hard Aaron Sorkin fans such as myself. Oh how I wish Jordan McDeere were President of the network. (see tshirt!)

Sketches like this make me wonder why I’m always PVRing SNL over MADTV. Check out MADTV’s Parody of STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP. And in case you’re watchig this in a public area, say your office, turn down the volume as there’s some pretty ‘adult’ language!

And proving yet again great minds think alike, hop on over to Give Me My Remote for more funny MAD TV takes on your favourite shows.