Director: Christopher Misiano
Cast: Matthew Perry (Matt Albie), Bradley Whitford (Danny Tripp), Amanda Peet (Jordan McDeere), D.L. Hughley (Simon Stiles), Nathan Corddry (Tom Jeter), Sarah Paulson (Harriet Hayes), Steven Weber (Jack Rudolph), Timothy Busfield (Cal), Ayda Field (Jeannie Whatley), Simon Helberg (Alex Dwyer), Lucy Davis (Lucy), Nate Torrence (Dylan Killington), Camille Chen (Samantha Li), Bayani Ison (Concerge), Wendy Phillips (Shelly), John Ennis (Denny), Rob Reiner (Himself), Rob Nagle (Focus Group Moderator), Mircea Monroe (Crystal), Michael Hyatt (Maisie), Tom Ayers (Participant), Kirstin Pierce (Marilyn Rudolph), Nathan Dana Aldrich (Fan), William Stanford Davis (Floor Manager) & John Carpenter (Herb Shelton)
A scare arrives from the results of a focus group, showing Studio 60's ratings success might be shortlived...It's clear that Studio 60 is going to split audiences. Some will find its good-looking cast, slick production and polished dialogue an irresistable cocktail of showbiz drama. Others will just giggle at how seriously its characters take running a sketch show (that's not even on during primetime), and balk at how overpaid and spoiled everyone is.
It seems that every episode is going to showcase an element of US television production; we've had "the cold open", so now it's the turn of "focus groups". The episode opens on a presentation room, full of people twiddling dials and staring at a screen, unwittingly being spied on by some suits behind a two-way glass window. You'd be forgiven for thinking this was a FBI procedure, or some kind of secret experiment... but, no... it's all to determine audience reaction to the first episode of Studio 60. The focus group.
Such clinical seriousness for frivolous entertainment isn't really the target here, which is unfortunate. The characters all seem to dislike the focus group aspect of TV production, more for its ability to unnerve and disillusion performers than anything else. Nobody really kicks up a fuss about creativity being manipulated and the balls of comedy being cut off by conservative morons twisting a dial. For Brits, that seems to be the natural angle to go down. But Sorkin plays things quite straight; refusing to consider the process is anything but a slight disruption to morale.
Already, Studio 60 is clearly playing to a different audience here in the UK. A quick glance through some US reviews for The Focus Group show a lot of adoration, but I just can't take it seriously. It actually annoys me that the characters of Studio 60 treat comedy so coldly at times; it's a job to be done because they have execs breathing down their necks, not for the love of it.
The culture is just such a mirror opposite in Britain, where Monty Python worked because it was five guys trying to make each other laugh in a room. Did the BBC care that the show would be "too wacky" for certain demographics? No. Decades later, The Office became a global phenomenon purely on the merits of two men's belief in a "docu-comedy" that was ignored at first. The only British sitcom that is anywhere near the US mentality is My Family (created by an American), and it's snubbed by the comedy fraternity here.
Matt (Matthew Perry) is the show's lauded head writer and, while his professionalism and enthusiasm is great, you never get the sense that he just loves making people laugh. Surely that's the reason anyone would get into comedy? Likewise Danny (Bradley Whitford), with both men mainly using their wit to battle corporate interference and flirt with network president Jordan McDeere (Amanda Peet) or star Harriet (Sarah Paulson).
The thing is, while I wrankle at the nature of Studio 60's conception, it's more a reaction to real-life US culture. I can believe that it's an accurate pastiche of Saturday Night Live's behind-the-scenes goings-on, and it makes me cringe how comedians take themselves so seriously in America with all that self-congratulary bullshit.
Does anyone else want to punch the screen when the SNL (and S60) cast hug and kiss each other at the end of episodes? They seem to think they've just delivered a cancer cure to the nation, not starred in a series of weak sketches like "Science Schmience"!
But, despite irritations, there is something very watchable about Studio 60. The acting perfectly serves the material and the dialogue is never without sparkle. Aaron Sorkin knows how to construct scenes and make an episode flow. It's not his fault late-night sketch shows take themselves too seriously and survive on corporate approval; but it's a shame he's not doing more to show how ridiculous the culture is.
The Focus Group just didn't work for me, as it's becoming clear I have nothing in common with these people. They're comedy performers/writers that act like slaves to a system, yet are happy to quaff champagne at glitzy after-show parties instead of give viewers some originality. Seriously, the Studio 60/SNL format hasn't changed since the 70s!
Oh, and would teenaged girls really clamour for the autograph of a show's executive producer? Would they?
Only in America.
9 August 2007
More4, 10.00 pm
