Update: Welcome to folks coming here from Wolcott, newcritics, memorandum, and Marginal Utility. The actual live-blogging post is here.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip returns from its holiday hiatus tonight with a new episode and we'll be there, live-blogging the aftermath of THE KISS and Danny's announcement that he's going to start stalking Jordan.
See you tonight. I'm opening the thread early tonight, around 9:30 EDT, 8:30 Central, to give my fellow obsessives a chance to comment on THE KISS and Danny's announcement that's he's going to start stalking Jordan. Those of you who have no interest in Studio 60, THE KISS, or Danny's announcement that he's going to start stalking Jordan can stop by to tell me yet again how I need to stop with the Studio 60 blogging and move onto something important like the State of the Union or Project Runway.
But I hope everybody, those of you who are interested in THE KISS and Danny's announcement that he's going to start stalking Jordan and those who couldn't care less about THE KISS and Danny's announcement that he's going to start stalking Jordan, will take a look at this post by Ken Levine.
Back around Christmas, the LA Times ran an article about how real comedy writers don't much care for Studio 60. Article quoted Ken. Aaron Sorkin read it and got mad at Ken. Got so mad in fact he rejected the idea that Ken's a real comedy writer. Which I guess makes Ken a fake comedy writer and all the shows Ken has written for fake comedy shows. Cheers, MASH, Almost Perfect, Wings, Frasier...
To Ken's credit, he stands up like a man and admits that AfterMASH might actually have been a fake comedy show.
Ken's post is a gracious reply to Sorkin and in it he points out what should be obvious to a professional like Sorkin---but which is so hard for human beings with feelings and pride like Sorkin to accept. Criticizing someone's work doesn't mean you want them to fail. And it doesn't mean that you don't admire them or their talent. In fact it often arises from admiration and a sincere wish that the artist being criticized succeeds.
Ken's sympathizes with Sorkin's frustrations, one pro to another, but he has another, self-interested, reason for hoping Sorkin turns Studio 60 around.
Networks and studios are exerting themselves into the creative process now more than ever before. It's like being eaten to death by moths. Very few showrunners enjoy the autonomy that Sorkin has. So if his show is a success, other writers can point to it and say, “See? If you just leave the creator alone he’ll turn out a better show.” If it's not a hit, you're up until 3:00 in the morning upping the stakes and making the actress they forced you to take more likeable.
So read Ken's post, What I really think of Aaron Sorkin. It's a good one, although I do have one criticism.
Ken forgot to say what he thinks about THE KISS and Danny's announcement that he's going to start stalking Jordan.
Maybe he'll drop by tonight for the live blogging and tell us.
Maybe Aaron Sorkin will drop by.
I hope not.
He'll probably tell me I'm not a real blogger.
That will make me cry.
Another update in case you missed the update up top: Live-blogging is underway here.
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