Studio 60

Saw the pilot last night. So, yeah, I did enjoy it, but I'd enjoy anything with Matthew Perry in it. He may be the funniest guy on the planet. I didn't really not like anyone in the show, but only Perry's Matt really stood out. I think Amanda Peet's Jordan has promise. And I'm a sucker for any cast member of "Wings", so I'm happy to see Steven Weber again. I was slightly annoyed at how Sarah Paulson's Harriet was handled. Why is it that any character that's Christian has to be All-Christian-All-The-Time? Hopefully they'll spoon out the references to her faith a little more judiciously over the course of the season.

So I like it, but it's not "The West Wing".

I figured something out a few years back about what I like on TV. I like my comedies to be free of big ideas, about people with small problems that I can laugh at. Friends. Frasier. The Office. My Name is Earl. (Scrubs doesn't fit this criteria... but it doesn't fit many criteria at all.)

OTOH, I like my dramas to be about people with terrible, stressful, insanely important jobs that make my life seem simple. 24. ER (back when I watched it). The West Wing. House. (Even Lost, assuming that not pressing the button causes as much trouble in the wide world as it seems to.)

While Studio 60 is well directed/written/produced/acted, I just don't know if it's gonna be destination TV for me. Is there something in this world less important or less relevant than the success of a late-night sketch comedy show? I know the pilot got kicked off in grand fashion by Judd Hirsh and a tirade against censorship, but, really, in the grand scheme of things I'm not too worried about the ability, in the age of the internet, of varying points of view to be expressed.

I guess if I feel like Studio 60 is a big, splashy, hour-long sitcom, I can fit it into my TV-world-view. But right now, it's merely good, not great.