Writer's Note: Really? You don't already know what I'm going to say here? It rhymes with Shmoiler Smlert.

I wrote last week about my affection for entertainment that makes you feel good. Ask any Aaron Sorkin fan and they will refer you to the episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip when Tom's military brother is found and located after being kidnapped in Afghanistan, or the Posse Comitatus episode of The West Wing, and start to tell you about the goosebumps they got during those episodes. This week's episode of The Newsroom just skyrocketed up that list.

There is no one better in the world at writing "soapbox" moments than Aaron Sorkin. Whether it is Mark Zuckerberg telling his former friends to go to hell in The Social Network, President Bartlett helping the country fulfill the visions of our founding fathers, or now Will McAvoy informing the country that Osama Bin Laden has been killed, there is NO ONE better.

Even the critics of Sorkin agree. There is a reason why people get so fired up when discussing whether or not they like his work. He evokes emotion from the audience, which is the goal of every writer, entertainer or performer in the world. He can't control whether or not you agree with him, but even without knowing the man I can guarantee you that if you have a strong opinion on his work one way or the other, he will feel like he did his job.

The seventh episode of The Newsroom is entitled "5/1", and for good reason. The fine folks at ACN are celebrating at a party in their superstar's apartment. When Charlie receives an anonymous phone calling letting him know that there is a news story that they will all want to be ready to break coming in the next few hours the party quickly comes to a close as the staff shuttles their way back to the office.

The news as we all know, and the staff is quick to find out, is that American forces have killed Osama Bin Laden. They way the story unfolds is a beautifully written hour of television.

9/11 has always been an emotional topic for me. I wrote a post last year on the 10th anniversary of the attacks because I needed somewhere to keep track of being reminded of the way I felt on a Tuesday in September as a junior in High School. The way the country came together in the aftermath of that horrible day is something that I will never forget. Partisanship went out the window. It didn't matter if you leaned right or left (or in my world at the time, if you were a Red Devil or a Don - trust me, that was a big deal), we were all Americans. Entertainment like the seventh episode of the first season of The Newsroom reaches emotional levels that nothing else can touch.

I thought just about everything in this episode was the best it could be. The comedic relief of Will being stoned, Don and company being stranded with Flight Attendant Crazy Lady, and Neal's girlfriend being so closely effected by the events of 9/11 all were perfect fits in the story. I think the "romantic" scenes between the love triangle heard 'round The Newsroom (and also apparently on a United Airlines flight from DC-NYC) were a little misplaced. They certainly are playing a large part of the arc in season one, but this episode was so good, and will stand apart from the rest of the series regardless of what happens between Don and Maggie.

I am not sure what the remaining three episodes of this season have in store for us, but I have a really hard time seeing any of them matching this week's show. If they do... well, let's all just be grateful that we'll be along for the ride.

The Newsroom: 5/1 (Season 1, Episode 7)
Sorkin's Walk and Talk Tally thru seven episodes: Ironically still 1 1/2
Directed by: Joshua Marston
Written by: Aaron Sorkin
My Rating: 4.75 out of 5
Would Gene Pick it?: Oh Hell Yes!

Writer's Note: Because of a crazy work schedule followed closely by a much needed vacation, this review will be for two episodes of the best show on TV. Haven't seen either of them? Well, don't proceed.

There are certain times of the year that make it more difficult for me to get to the movies, or watch my favorite TV shows. Anyone who has read the blog over the last couple of years knows that June-September is at the top of that list. Unfortunately this meant it took me an extra week to catch up on episodes five and six of The Newsroom.

The fifth episode of Aaron Sorkin's latest television show is set in February of 2011. The streets of Egypt are filled with people trying to overthrow their government, meanwhile in Wisconsin the Governor is trying to flex his muscle and overthrow unionized employees in his state, specifically the teacher's union.

When the reporter sent to Egypt by ACN is attacked and is no longer able to do his job, Neal (Dev Patel) enlists the help of a young man known only to him as "Amen" (or the hidden one). The risks of sending an amateur into the streets of a country in the middle of civil unrest quickly plays out as Neal loses touch with his new colleague for longer than he is comfortable with.

While the search is on for their new reporter, the rest of the News Night staff is focused on the elimination of the power of collective bargaining in Wisconsin. Will (Jeff Daniels) quickly finds ways to report about the happenings in Madison that may not sit well with those on the 44th floor of his building.

With the two "A" stories for this episode not keeping me enthralled, we were left with the "B" story of Mackenzie's (Emily Mortimer) new boyfriend causing troubles for the entire network that conveniently is uncovered by a company owned gossip website. Unfortunately this fell right in line with stories one, and two. Yawn.

I don't understand the principle of brining in more actors that I can't understand. I have no emotional connection with "Amen" other than my own assumption that he is Neal's long lost brother. When he disappeared I was just excited that there were other people on my flat screen that I could understand.

I have always enjoyed watching "feel good" television or movies. My goal for investing my time of 30, 60, or 120 minutes is to be entertained. It doesn't need to be mind blowing material, or something that is going to drive the conversation at your office water cooler the next morning, but just something that I am going to be able to sit back on my couch and enjoy. The "Rudy" scene at the end of this episode did just that. Unfortunately that was only two of the 60 minutes that aired in episode five.

Everything about this episode was predictable. It felt like it was built around the three weakest aspects of Sorkin's writing: family, love, and emotional scenes based on family and love. It makes you wonder if he has the energy and stamina to be able to create the level of TV that I (and his loyal following) have come to expect with out significant help from this writing staff. He was the only credited writer on this episode (yes, I get that they have a writing staff that helps him) and it makes you wonder if he did the right thing in changing over just about everyone on his staff for season two.

The Newsroom: Amen (Season 1, Episode 5)
Sorkin's Walk and Talk Tally thru five episodes: Still 1 1/2
Directed by: Daniel Minahan
Written by: Aaron Sorkin
My Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Would Gene Pick it?: Probably Not

Episode six takes us inside the mind of Will McAvoy. After falling over his words during the east coast (see: live) version of his broadcast, we quickly find out that he has been unable to sleep at night and this is causing his work to slip. After he agrees to actually show up for the weekly psychology appointment he has been paying for while not attending over the past four years, we are taken on a flashback of recent events in Will's life.

After changing some of the policies on the comments section of his website, Will receives a death threat complete with his home address. When Charlie (Sam Waterston) turns this information over the insurance company for ACN, his nightly news anchor is assigned a body guard.

Meanwhile, after returning from Egypt, Elliott is unable to host his 11 PM show (that follows News Night). Despite not being at the top of the list Sloane (Olivia Munn) is asked to fill in. During a pre-show interview with the spokesperson for the damaged nuclear plant in Japan, she is given some "off the record" information from her friend that the reporting of the seriousness of the radiation levels is not accurate. After getting some advice from Will, Sloane decides to take her interview to a level she is clearly not able to handle.

This was a very cerebral episode. From the advice Will receives from his Psychologist, to the way that Sloane was feeling while on the phone with her friend in Japan, you can see very deep into what each character is thinking and the effects it will have on their career(s). In one case the potential end to a career before it really gets started (Sloane), and in the other a change to the way they approach their entire thinking and how to do their job (Will).

The psychological analysis in this episode was fantastic. I have long been a fan of seeing the answer before asking the question. We saw hints of this with Will's conversations with his new body guard, and also through the revelations he makes to his psychologist.

The filler stories in this episode were just that for a reason. Don has gone from being the most unlikeable character on this show to number two in that category, but in good news for him his comment of "am I losing Maggie" has officially made him the dumbest person on the show. He is also quickly gaining ground on becoming the least attentive person in the history of television. So really it was a win for him.

It appears to me that the higher ups from HBO have the vision to look past the first season. It is being hit hard by critics for many things, the most common seems to be Sorkin's treatment of his female characters. It feels to me like he is dedicating season one to developing the characters while mixing in the things that make him great. My biggest hope for season two and beyond is that these two items swap places on his priority list.

Even with the hope of this show nearly turning itself upside down, I still find myself hoping it is Sunday night and a new episode is on my DVR. There is no bigger compliment I can give to a TV show or movie.

The Newsroom: Bullies (Season 1, Episode 6)
Sorkin's Walk and Talk Tally thru six episodes: 1 1/2
Directed by: Jeremy Podeswa
Written by: Aaron Sorkin
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Would Gene Pick it?: Yes

Writer's Note: There are critics all over the internet that are falling all over themselves talking about what this show isn't. Do yourself a favor, just watch it and enjoy it for what it is. Oh, and this review will spoil episode four if you haven't seen it yet.

I have made no secret of my love for Aaron Sorkin's work. Whether it has been my ramblings on Twitter about The West Wing, or my review of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip that I wrote here, I'm not shy about promoting Sorkin as the greatest writer of my lifetime. With all of that experience you would think I would have been prepared for what I saw on this week's episode of The Newsroom, but as you're about to find out, I was not.

The fourth episode of the series opens as the staff of News Night is enjoying a party at the office for New Year's Eve. We quickly learn that despite the not so subtle hints from the first three episodes, Maggie may in fact have some feelings for Jim, (paging Carell, Mr. Steve Carell). Also from the not so shocking department, Will isn't the best at mingling with others at parties. We find him in his office avoiding small talk with those he works with, and perhaps more importantly, avoiding Mack and her new boyfriend.

Despite his best efforts Will is quickly sucked into a conversation in his office with his EP's new beau. As he begins to pitch a story idea to Will, Will quickly begins searching for ways to get out. As he does he is encouraged by Sloan to approach a female guest and just begin talking to her. Even with his awkwardness and terrible approach it is fairly evident that the women he has encountered is right up his ally, a sure thing.

Through the first 40 minutes of this episode we are shown Will's repeated attempts to help try and fix the women he encounters. This results in a tremendous waste of good alcohol as cocktails are thrown in his face. During my time watching The West Wing, I always felt that Aaron Sorkin wasn't the type to be able to write love affairs, or family dramas. It's not his forte so why was he trying to go away from what he does best? I had this same feeling for the first two-thirds of this episode before realizing that if he didn't show a side of these characters outside of work that it would feel like they are just news robots, and this show isn't going to last.

Sadly, this made me start to care about the relationship triangle with Jim, Maggie and Don. I began to root for Will and Mack to get back together. But perhaps most importantly, I began to root for Will to take the motivation from these events, make his work even better, and shove it in the face of those on the 44th floor, hello Jane Fonda.

The final 20 minutes of this episode were as good as anything I have seen on TV in a long time. I am continually amazed by Sorkin's ability to string me a long for 40 minutes and wonder "what the hell is actually happening here", and then absolutely blow me away for the last 20 minutes. I have to admit that I was nervous this show was going to go in an every other week pattern for decent episodes until a Saturday morning meeting about Bigfoot changed everything.

I talked last week about Charlie's constant drunken state. It appears that Saturday morning is his sober time which allows him to see the obvious, that his boss owns the company and she can do whatever the hell she pleases. Something clicked with him during a side meeting on that Saturday morning where he realized that unfortunately he and Will have people to report do, and they must figure out a way to "out-smart" them and continue to do their jobs at a level that no one has ever seen.

Another important part of this Saturday morning meeting is we learned that Don is no longer the most unlikeable character on the show. That torch has proudly been passed to Leonna's (Jane Fonda) son, Reese. One of my favorite parts of the 3rd episode of this seres was Charlie telling him to "get the f*** out" of the conference room, and his mom basically shrugging her shoulders and agreeing.

This show is only going to go as far as the lead character is willing to bring it. What Jeff Daniels brought in episode four was the total package. We saw his awkwardness when he was sitting alone in his office during the party. We saw his quick wit that fit perfectly with the dialogue provided for him when he offered to "fight the good fight" and educate women all throughout the Tri-State area. And we were also fortunate enough to see him on top of the news world during the breaking news segment towards the end of the show. He showed that he has true belief not only in himself, but in his staff, and that they will continue to do what they do best despite pressures from their bosses, and from themselves.

We are only four episodes in and we are starting to see the development of Will as a boss. He knows that in order to get the most out of his staff he needs to in tuned with things that are important to them regardless of how crazy he may think it is. Despite the interviews that Sorkin has given saying this show is not autobiographical, or his soapbox for political views, I think this is one area that does reflect on him. I have to imagine that at some point throughout his career he, and other Type A personalities, have come to the realization that despite the urge to do everything themselves, they need to rely on those around them to do their jobs. It makes me feel incredibly lucky that I am old enough to be able to grasp even a small portion of this, and hopefully apply it situations I may be in, in the future.

In case you couldn't tell, I'm quite fond of the last 20 minutes of this episode. Although I think the most important lesson is that you should always have a spare change of clothes at work, just in case of breaking news.

The Newsroom: I'll Try to Fix You (Season 1, Episode 4)
Sorkin's Walk and Talk Tally thru four episodes: 1 1/2 (UPSET ALERT!!)
Directed by: Alan Poul
Written by: Aaron Sorkin
My Rating: 4.25 out of 5
Would Gene Pick it?: Yes, and then he might need to smoke a cigarette after

Writer's Note: Reading the following review will undoubtedly spoil the 3rd episode of The Newsroom. However if you have yet to watch it, you deserve to have it spoiled. So there...

Did you expect me to have my review of the third episode of The Newsroom posted by now? Whoopsie! You'll have to excuse me as it took me a few extra days to decide whether it was a mild upset, or a stunning upset that this episode did not feature any "walk and talk" sequences.

The third episode of Aaron Sorkin's latest television adventure takes us through a six month period where we find out that TV news anchor Will McAvoy is no longer "playing the game". He is doing the show that he and his new staff want to put on the air, and they don't care what the suits on the 44th floor have to say about it. This however is causing a little extra bourbon to be poured for Will's direct supervisor, Charlie.

The episode begins with the epitome of what makes Sorkin a great writer. The 6 minutes of straight dialogue by his main character delivering a passionate speech about the way things are going to be. Will takes shots at other networks, his network, his show, and the world in general. However he also points out that from now on his show will be honest, respectful and give you exactly what you need to know without telling you how to feel about it. By the time Will 2.0 is done with his speech you realize that you wish there were more people just like that in the world. Truthful, straight forward, and will give you everything you need with giving a damn how you feel about it.

Throughout the episode we flash back over a 6 month time period and learn how Will and the crew handled some specific events. This is being done as Charlie is in a conference room being questioned relentlessly by the owner of the network, Leona Lansing (Jane Fonda), and her son Reese (Chris Messina).

The flashback episode was a nice call back to the episodes of Sorkin's last venture in television, Studio 60, (I wrote a long post with my thoughts on that show, it can be found here). It was also nice to see that network executives from ACN (the network that airs News Night w/ Will McAvoy), meet in the exact same conference room as those from NBS (the network that aired Studio 60).

Here are a few of my notes from specifics on this episode:

#1- Dev Patel, you are a great actor I really enjoy your talents, however your accent doesn't lend itself to Mr. Sorkin's writing. It's too quick for anyone to actually understand what the hell you are saying. I think we had to rewind this week's show two or three times just to figure out what you said.

#2- Don (Thomas Sadoski) is clearly the most unlikeable character on this show. I can't figure out if this is being done to set up a character turn for him, or just to build up Jim as the nice guy?

#3- Speaking of Jim (John Gallagher Jr.), one of my favorite running subplots of this show is counting the ways that he is exactly the same as Jim Halpert from The Office. If Meg ends up engaged to Don, and then later Jim and Meg end up kissing and breaking the engaged couple up, I'm calling Steve Carell to intervene.

#4- I'm beginning to think that Charlie may have an alcohol problem. I think there are times that Sam Waterson forgets whether or not to act like he is drunk. He may take this on full-time, and I don't mind that one little bit.

#5- The uneasiness of Meg was much easier to handle in this episode in comparison to episode two. She is like an NBA bench player, great in her role for just a few minutes but if you try and extend her into a significant amount of playing time (or in this case screen time) she can't keep up and isn't effective. I'm glad that the writer's listened to my suggestions from last week.

#6- My biggest question from this episode: Is Mac's new boyfriend the same ex-boyfriend that she cheated on Will with? Can someone answer this for me?

After all of my ramblings that I have done about this show, I may need to invest in Neal's "speak and spell" headset. Period.

The Newsroom: The 112th Congress (Season 1, Episode 3)
Sorkin's Walk and Talk Tally thru three episodes: 1 1/2
Directed by: Greg Mottola
Written by: Aaron Sorkin and Gideon Yago
My Rating: 4 out of 5
Would Gene Pick it?: Yes!

Writer's Note: If you have yet to sit and watch episode two of The Newsroom I would recommend not reading the review below as it will give away the story lines in this episode. I would also recommend seeking help as to why you are not watching this show on Sunday night's. Thank you.

I'm not sure that I can put into words how excited I am to have a television show that I am looking forward to again every week. Ever since The Office jumped the shark, and 24 went off the air I have yet to have a show that I am anticipating on a weekly basis. Thankfully, The Newsroom has filled that void.

The second episode of my latest obsession takes us a few weeks into the BP oil spill, and behind the scenes of News Night 2.0 first disaster episode.

While trying to move on from constant talk of the disaster in the Gulf, Will McAvoy and his team are beginning to move on to the controversial immigration law (HB 1070) that is being debated in Arizona. After being guaranteed an exclusive interview with the states governor, Jan Brewer, the staff seems ready to continue their hot streak and stay ahead of the curve.

During the pre-screening for the interview with Gov. Brewer, we are exposed to what is one of the biggest flaws in Aaron Sorkin's writing, the weak female characters. As Maggie (Alison Pill) begins the process with a member of Brewer's staff we quickly find out that she had a relationship with him while in college. And because she is a weak, young woman (at least that's the impression this episode gives you) she of course could not put her personal feelings aside and immediately had to take a dig at her former college fling which promptly ended any chance the primetime news show had at an exclusive opportunity to discuss one of the most controversial bills in Arizona's history with its Governor.

We are also clued in a bit more as to why Will and Mackenzie (Emily Mortimer) are no longer an item. It seems like there was some extra circular activities taking place, but not from the side you would think.

I obviously thought the pilot episode of this show was brilliant, and it almost seems like Sorkin spent years researching, and outlining the script for it, before only having a week to put together the script for episode two. Everything seemed rushed. As an unabashed Sorkin homer I can only say that hopefully it was setting up future character developments rather than just being lazy.

There has been quite a bit of chatter among internet reviews of this episode bashing Sorkin's handling of women in his scripts. While I certainly don't think that is the case, his lead male characters seem to be extremely superior to their colleagues, and Will McAvoy is no different. Rather than me saying this is the fault of the writer, I tend to give him credit for creating such great roles and finding the perfect actor to play the part (again, see: Homer, Unabashed).

Jeff Daniels has been head and shoulders above everyone else on the screen through the first two episodes. The way he carries the scenes with the "younger" staff has been marvelous, unfortunately we didn't see enough of him in this episode.

Other than Daniels dominance of the screen in his scenes, the other main point that stood out to me this week was the desperate need for Maggie to grow up and act like someone who is working at a major cable news show. Her insecurities are too predictable and her character is not nearly cute enough to be able to play the innocent pretty girl. It took 57 minutes, and apparently a strong martini for her to come out of her shell and that led to the first decent scene with her in the series. It's quite possible she may just need to be drunk the entire time she's on my television.

Two questions came to mind while watching this episode:
#1- Did Mackenzie really win awards for her coverage of the war in Afghanastan and Iraq, yet she doesn't know how to send an e-mail properly?
#2- Why did Jim Harper (John Gallagher Jr.) steal Jim Halpert's wardrobe and facial expressions?

With all of my negativity out of the way, I should point out that this mediocre episode is still better than anything else I've seen on television in a long time. Any time I watch an hour of Sorkin's work I feel like I'm an athlete getting pumped up before a big game, I know I can talk my way through any situation and am armed with a full repitore of biting sarcasm.

The most exciting part of this week may have been the preview of what is to come later on in the first season of The Newsroom. It was almost like they were answering all of the questions I had after this episode.

Hmmm... maybe they've done this before?

The Newsroom: News Night 2.0 (Season 1, Episode 2)
Sorkin's Walk and Talk Tally thru two show's: 1 1/2
Directed by: Alex Graves
Written by: Aaron Sorkin
My Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Would Gene Pick it?: Yes... but watch ep. 1 again after to make yourself feel better.

Writer's Note: Hopefully I will be able to provide weekly reviews for this show. It is likely that they will be posted sometime between Monday and Wednesday following the show, and in the future will probably include the plot line. Today's review does not spoil anything, except for your day when you realize that you haven't yet seen this show.

Yes, I am an Aaron Sorkin geek. I love all of his work and have my opinion skewed by his awesomeness. At least I am not a bitter critic who buries someone's work based on past relationships, or vendetta's against an actor or show runner. Now on with the review...

After waiting for a year and a half for the debut of Aaron Sorkin's latest television project, The Newsroom made its long awaited debut this past Sunday on HBO.

The show is a look behind the scenes at a fictional national news broadcast starring Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels). With brand new executive producer, Mackenzie MacHale (Emily Mortimer), now calling the shots for one hour a night, McAvoy's outlook on what's important and how he is going to broadcast seem to be changing.

The pilot episode begins at a local University as McAvoy is among a panel speaking to broadcasting students. After spotting who he thought was MacHale in the audience, the "Jay Leno of newscasts" goes on an epic rant on the state of the country he loves so much.

Returning after a multiple week suspension vacation, McAvoy quickly finds out that things are not the same around the office. His executive producer and majority of his staff are moving on to 10 PM show leaving him with a skeleton staff, and more importantly, a staff he is unfamiliar with.

When an off shore oil rig explodes and begins leaking into the Gulf of Mexcio, McAvoy decides to take a gamble and follow the lead of his new senior producer Jim Harper (John Gallagher Jr.), who has sources indicating that this story may be larger than just an explosion.

I am not here to give away what happens to anyone who hasn't seen the show (what are you waiting for? HBO uploaded for free on YouTube), I am here to let you know that if you haven't yet watched this show, you need to.

I spent the first half hour of the show worried, wondering why I should invest my time into any of these characters, but as soon as Jim Harper's cell phone rang you began to see the geniusness that is the writing of Aaron Sorkin. You quickly find yourself emotionally attached and rooting for the characters to fill the lofty expectations set for them by their boss.

For me it is going to take some time getting used to the accent of Emily Mortimer, however the "tensious chemistry" that she and Jeff Daniels have on screen make for a great relationship between two strong minded characters who are at the top of their game.

It also might take some time for me to get used to Sam Waterston playing the comedic role in any television show. Waterston plays Charlie, Will's boss, and provides the one-line jokes that are so desperately needed in Sorkin's heavy writing.

I love the way that Sorkin has used the same actors in different shows. You probably know that Bradley Whitford has starred in two of Sorkin's television shows, and of course we have seen Josh Malina in Sports Night and The West Wing, but seeing characters like John F. Carpenter are what makes him special. He knows that only certain actors can handle the "glue" roles, and unfortunately for us as viewers Timothy Busfield was so amazing in The West Wing and Studio 60 that he is almost too big to play a role as a producer/director in The Newsroom.

As previously mentioned I've been waiting 18 months for this show to debut. After working exhaustively through the first 3 weeks of June, and concluding a week where I worked around 100 hours I turned on the pilot, watched the show, and became so amped up by the time the closing credits roled that I immediately wrote 3 pages of notes for this review.

So yes, you could say it lived up to my hype.

The Newsroom: We Just Decided To (Season 1, Episode 1)
Sorkin's Walk & Talk Tally thru one show: 1
Directed by: Greg Mottola
Written by: Aaron Sorkin
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Would Gene Pick it?: You better believe it!

As you could probably tell from the gushing in my review of The Social Network, I am a big Aaron Sorkin fan. About 3 months ago I found myself looking for something to watch while browsing on Netflix. I came across Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. I absolutely loved this show when it was on the air, and have actually had the DVD’s in my house for a couple of years. Why I decided to watch everything on Netflix I don’t know, but it was well worth my time.

This is the first TV review that I have written for the blog it will be a little different from my typical movie reviews, as I plan on getting much more in depth with 22 hours to discuss as opposed to just two. As per my rules, I will not be spoiling the show, while I may discuss a couple of storylines but nothing that gives away any of the central plot.

The Writing:
In my humble opinion this is the most well written show that I have ever watched on television. A pretty bold statement I realize, but nothing has ever caught my attention, and had me so invested so quickly.

The biting sarcasm that Sorkin has trademarked shines at its brightest. The quick wit that he is able to bring out of his characters is second to none. It is the perfect style for a “dramaedy” on network television.

The Directing:
This is not something that I usually hit on, because quite frankly I am usually not intelligent enough to notice these things. Thomas Schalmme, and Aaron Sorkin do a lot of the directing in this show. Having the two co-creators of any series will make you take note of some of the smaller items on a show. The different angles and shots that are used are fantastic. They did a really good job of capturing the beautiful set that they worked on (the set incidentally was so big and so nice that it ended up being one of the reasons the show was cancelled as it was too expensive to keep on the Warner Brothers lot).

Speaking of the set, is there anyone in America that wouldn’t want Matt Albie’s office? A fully stocked bar, a fridge full of water and Red Bull, overlooking the stage with balcony seating. Not too shabby.

After I plowed through the show on Netflix, I popped in my DVD set to watch some of the extras. There is a small behind the scenes feature on the pilot episode featuring a brief cameo by Schalmme. He mentions that some of the shots that they use (and he makes a special point to reference a specific shot in the pilot episode), took nearly 3 hours to light, and shoot. The scene itself is maybe 5-8 seconds long. (Off topic, but how did they not realize that budget decisions like this wouldn’t allow the show to continue for multiple seasons?)

The attention to detail by Schalmme, Sorkin, and all the other directors are something that is very clear to viewers of the show. There are also numerous scenes that feature the trademarked Aaron Sorkin “walk and talk”.

The Acting:
Matthew Perry plays the role of Matt Albie, the head writer and co-executive producer of the weekly sketch comedy show. This is one of the few times that you are able to see the star of a 10-year sitcom do another show, and not once think about him as Chandler Bing. For actors in Hollywood this might be one of the toughest things to do – trust me, I’ve been to Hollywood… once.

Danny Tripp is the other co-executive producer with Albie, and is played by Bradley Whitford. Prior to Studio 60 I was not real familiar with Whitford’s work (I had yet to watch The West Wing), but he seems to play the role perfectly. He has the appearance of a leader and seems to have a presence about him when he enters a room on the show that is convictive of being the boss.

The producer of the show within the show is Cal Shanley. Timothy Busfield turns in his Minnesota Twins jersey for a headset and the most powerful finger snap in Hollywood. His character is probably my favorite on the show. His timing in delivering his jokes is perfect. Shanley seems like the glue that holds the show together each week, and I think the same can be said about Busfield.

Amanda Peet plays the female lead, and President of the National Broadcasting System, Jordan McDeere. Considering the only other role that comes to mind when I think of her is from Saving Silverman, I’d say she changed the way I thought of her acting skills. Peet played the role of the no nonsense boss pretty well, although when her character tried to be “cute” her skills as an actress shined through, which is not necessarily a good thing.

***Quick Spoiler***
Just a few weeks into the filming of the show, Peet announced that she was pregnant to her then newly wed husband, David Benoiff. Aaron Sorkin and his team decided to write her pregnancy into the show, which in the opinion of many, helped lead to the demise of the short-lived sitcom.
***Spoiler End***

The remainder of the ensemble cast plays their supporting roles in a way that is just that, supporting. While they may play a large part of the storyline of specific episodes (or 3-part episodes), the job done by the actors is not worth getting their own paragraphs. Sorry D.L. Hughley.

The producers of the show did an unbelievable job of working in extra characters, the same way that Gregg Popovich seems to have someone on his bench always capable of scoring 35 against the Jazz. In a fast paced show like Studio 60 these roles cannot be overstated. Characters like Suzanne (Matt’s assistant), Ricky and Ron (heads of the writers room), Lucy and Darius (staff writers), helped the show move along in ways that the ensemble cast could never have done.

Sorkin and his crew were so good that they even managed to get an Emmy win for John Goodman. That is saying something.
While poor budget decisions and a set that was too large to hold on one soundstage helped lead to the demise of the short lived show, the acting, writing and directing were in a word, brilliant. The show has been off the air for over 4 years now, and yet a lot of the topics discussed remain relevant today, making Studio 60 a great watch either via Netflix or through the DVD box set.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Created by: Aaron Sorkin
Starring: Matthew Perry, Bradley Whitford, and Amanda Peet
My Rating: 5 out of 5
Would Gene Pick it?: YES!