Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 10/16/2007 Rating: Nr

Aaron Sorkin, bless him, believes that "the people who watch television shows aren't dumber than the people who make television shows." He also believes that "quality is not anathema to profit." He puts these idealistic words into the mouth of Jordan McDeere (Amanda Peet), the new, impolitic NBS TV president whose first order of business is to revitalize the network's cash cow, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, a long-running live late-night sketch-comedy series reeling from the Howard Beale-esque on-air meltdown of its creator (Judd Hirsch, alas, limited to the pilot episode). With this Upstairs/Backstage look at Studio 60's tumultuous network politics and stormy personal relationships, Sorkin, the creator of Sports Night and The West Wing, once again tried to raise the bar of prime time fare. That he didn't quite clear it makes this one-season wonder a fascinating object lesson of great hopes and dashed expectations. Studio 60 was perhaps the most hotly debated series of the 2006 season and, love it or hate it, all its strengths and flaws can be savored and savaged anew with this complete-series set.

Pretty much above reproach is the ensemble. Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford head the cast as comedy writer Matt and executive producer Danny, former Studio 60 hands whom Jordan brings back to "save" the show. Steven Weber costars as network chairman Jack Rudolph, who clashes with Jordan over reality programming (he wants it, she doesn't), is embroiled in network negotiations with China, and must fend off angry affiliates offended by such sketches as "Crazy Christians." Jordan contends with becoming tabloid fodder after her ex-husband leaks scandalous details of their past. Meanwhile, Matt, a sardonic atheist, is in a whole Ross and Rachel thing with Harriet (Emmy nominee Sarah Paulson), who is devoutly religious and the show's galvanizing star performer (she does do a mean Holly Hunter). Studio 60 has much to say about comedy in wartime, the divided states of America, the creative process, and patriotism. Some of it is deftly handled, some of it is ham-handed and some of it patronizing. Most of it is delivered in Sorkin's signature chock-a-block style and with walk-and-talk urgency. But even at its most maddening, there are enough riveting moments (a performance by displaced New Orleans musicians in "The Christmas Show"), jaw-dropping developments ("I'm coming for you, Jordan," warns Danny, suddenly-turned romantic stalker), and indelible performances (John Goodman's Emmy-winning turn as a plain-speaking Pahrump, NV judge not impressed with the Hollywood types before him in the two-part "Nevada Day") to make Studio 60 a series worth revisiting, if only as a guilty pleasure. The pilot episode commentary by Sorkin and director Thomas Schlamme, as well as a behind-the-scenes featurette, were produced before the show was canceled, robbing this series' fervent fans of the opportunity for some closure. --Donald Liebenson

Adding my voice to the chorus of praise for this show is somewhat redundant. Anyone considering buying this DVD surely knows the affection the Sorkin/Schlamme team inspires in their fans. If Studio 60 is not overall as good as the West Wing series, it's certainly as good as West Wing's first season, and who knows how far the show could have gone had it been able to continue? Although the show-within-the-show was a sketch comedy, Studio 60 is more of a Dramedy. I don't think it was cancelled because people didn't know what to make of it - Desperate Housewives does very well and it's got a similar combination of drama and comedy. So where did this series go wrong?

The problem is clearly not with the cast. Sorkin alumni from the West Wing are abundant: Studio 60 regulars Matthew Perry, Timothy Busfield (who also directed some Sports Night episodes), and Bradley Whitford were on West Wing. Many of the Studio 60 guest stars are also old Sorkinites: Allyson Janney, John Goodman, Felicity Huffman (from Sports Night). The direction is sure-handed and knowing. The writing surely equals that on most of Sorkin's films and is second only to West Wing in intellegence. The conflict between the athiest Matt and the born-again Christian Harriet is surprisingly even-handed (although Harriet is perhaps not as articulate about her faith as President Bartlett). In fact, the second heart of the show (after the Matt-Danny dynamic) is the athiest-Christian conflict that so polarises the United States (and also France and other western democracies). The show handles the conflict as even-handedly as any I have ever seen, this coming from a Christian that also resolutely supports the separation of Church and State. There's also some race relations commentary when the (only) black cast member decides to take a young black comedian under his wing.

No, I think the show failed in trying to rise above its genre. People watching the West Wing would expect things like the Israeli-Palastinian conflict to arise, or school shootings, or terrorism. That a show about comedy writers and performers should cover topics like the Afghanistan (and Iraq) War, the Patriot Act, and Red State-Blue state conflict might turn off viewers who watch TV for escapism (especially as the news itself covered enough of this material to sate the average viewer). It's not denigrating the national audience to point out that light fare does better in times of conflict.

For me, the show definitely goes off the rails for several episodes in the middle of the season. When Amanda Peet's pregnancy became incorporated into the storyline, something strange happened. The most important relationship in the show - that between Danny and Matt - became subsumed to the Danny-Jordan and Matt-Harriet relationships. I think the show's writers recognized it, and the last episodes (the 4-part K&R) were easily the equals to the earlier episodes. The contrast can easily be seen in the three multipart shows - Nevada was very good, The Harriet Dinner was awful, and K&R was back to very good.

So what else is there to say? I can echo the praise of the show as a whole ("You definitely should buy this DVD!"). I can echo the disappointment at the lack of extras (but the West Wing DVDs were equally disappointing). But the bottom line is that I haven't enjoyed a show this much since the West Wing was cancelled (and that includes the recent seasons of the Simpsons), so add my voice to the chorus of praise for the show.

I am a huge Sorkin fan, and this season was no disappointment. The only reason I am not giving it a perfect rating is because it is hard to get excited to watch a season 1 when you know there will not be a season 2, and a lot of things will be left unresolved. I wish this season had done better, because it was classic Sorkin, with a lot of ex-West Wing actors/actresses returning with new roles.

Overall, you will enjoy it, but you will be disappointed that there is no follow-up once you are done with the one and only season.

I am currently living in Australia and wasn't able to watch this while it was airing. I actually purchased the show on iTunes to watch while on the airplane during a trip back to the states. I really wished I had the meager extras provided on the DVD set because that would give me just that much more. Watching it was very hard, because I knew that every episode that I watched was one less till the end.

As with all Aaron Sorkin scripts, the dialog is very fast and dynamic. It is very intelligent and assumes you are as well. The show doesn't feel as polished or as snappy as Westwing but you can easily see it was going there. I understand that the show was very expensive to produce, but was pretty obvious that it was just taking a beat to find its rhythm. I believe I read somewhere that the show had the highest increase in ratings numbers if you include people who used a DVR to record the show to watch later.

Although a lot of my political beliefs are opposite of Aaron Sorkin, as with West Wing, I never really felt he was treating my position unfairly. His characters were all well done. I especially liked that Matthew Perry showed he isn't still Chandler from Friends. I also think D. L. Hughley did a great job.

The actual endings of the show was a bit of a let down. It felt like a quick, "Well the show is ending, quick lets tie off all these ends." Granted, I guess that is better than just leaving us hanging. But with the quality of the rest of the writing, I expected that 'tie off' to be handled better.

I thought the name of the show was a bit off. When I first heard about it, I pictured a 90210-ish type show set in a night club ala "Studio 54." I imagine Aaron Sorkin's first show, "Sports Night" had the same problem. Seeing either of these shows listed in the TV guide, I wouldn't have watch them because of assumptions I would have made about them based on their name.

It is still one of my all time favorite Shows. My favorite episode is and will always be the Christmas show. I play it over and over and over!!!!

I knew ten minutes into the first episode I watched (the third broadcast) I would be adding this set to my DVD library. And I expect I also knew it would become a great 19+ hour movie; no network was likely to order another season on something so perfectly reflective of the precise reasons it could not endure in primetime during the W years.

Do not miss this "film" then. Sociologists will be using this show in 25 years to illustrate that there were TV writers able to dramatize how and why America went so horrendously off-the-rails in the first decade of the 21st century. All of our post 9/11 core issues are dancing here, enacted with wit, invective and charm.