Friday, November 10, 2006
Studio 60 Survies; Insurgents In Space
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip has been picked up for 22 episodes this season. There has been an incredible amount of speculation about whether this show would be picked up for the whole season, or be cancelled before Thanksgiving. There seems like there are a lot of people who want it cancelled, and these people aren’t network executives at CBS, ABC or Fox. It seems that just the thought of this show antagonizes them. So you kept reading all of these death watches or gleeful announcements that the show was finished. I personally like the show but I can understand why a lot of people hate it. The show can be smug and patronizing at times, and the comedy sketches for the show within the show are generally unfunny. The episode where Tom’s parents from Columbus Ohio had never heard of “Who’s on First” made me want to throw something at my TV (and I love my TV) so I can understand where the haters are coming from. I like the show because it’s generally well written and I really love the cast. I hope Sorkin will get the time to fine tune the show and bring out the show’s better attributes. Even though I can see the weaknesses of the show the hostility towards this show still blows me away. Why do so many people want to see this show cancelled? If you don’t like the show, here’s a novel suggestion, just don’t watch it. A lot of people have decided to do that and they probably haven’t given the show a second thought. If the show’s cancelled, how does it make TV any better? Is the show keeping some better show off the air? I wonder if some of this anger is from conservative viewers who hate Sorkin imposing his liberal views on them. Like I said before I like the show, but I’ll admit I don’t love it, so if it’s not renewed next season, I won’t be leading any letter writing campaigns for it. Of course if the show really improves between now and May, then I reserve the right to change my mind.
Another show that seems to be polarizing people this season is Battlestar Galactica. The polarizing issue is the Cylon occupation from the first four episodes this season. A lot of people see it as a direct parallel to our occupation in Iraq. Many people see the humans representing the Iraqi insurgents and the Cylons representing the good old USA. They think that the producers of the show are trying to make the actions of the Iraqi insurgents, like using suicide bombers, sympathetic. The humans on New Caprica are using these tactics and we’re supposed to automatically agree with everything they do. I think these critics overlook the fact that the producers of the show are also drawing on other conflicts in world history, like the Germans occupation of France during World War II, or the Algerian War of Independence and others I can’t think of right now. My take on this is that the producers aren’t a bunch of terrorist sympathizers but they just want to examine what each side of a conflict like this feels and how they justify their actions and react to what their opponent does next. So as the insurgents hit an occupation target and the occupation force cracks down on the insurgents, forcing the insurgents to escalate their retaliation, creating a never ending cycle of violence. There’s a lot of grey area in all this, and the Galactica writers are exploring this grey area by placing our heroes in some murky moral grounds. For me it makes for riveting drama, some of the best on TV.
One other thing about Battlestar Galactica I’d like to address. It’s not with the show itself, but with some of the critics and fans who endorse the show. One of the things these critics write in their publications or what fans write in blogs and message boards is how this show transcends its science fiction roots and is a great drama despite taking place on spaceships, and how they generally don’t like science fiction but were surprised to find out how great this show is. They always feel like they have to insult the science fiction genre to keep their street cred. Well as someone who likes Sci Fi and other genre type programs, I wish you would CUT IT OUT. If you don’t like science fiction or fantasy shows, that’s fine, but don’t try to wear it like its some type of badge of honor. It might not be that you’re so sophisticated that you don’t like Sci Fi; it could be that you just lack the imagination to enjoy it. Yeah a lot of it isn’t that great, but that can be said for most dramas and comedies too. If you cut yourself off from genre shows, you could be missing great shows like Galactica, Farscape, Supernatural and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s your lost.
Another show that seems to be polarizing people this season is Battlestar Galactica. The polarizing issue is the Cylon occupation from the first four episodes this season. A lot of people see it as a direct parallel to our occupation in Iraq. Many people see the humans representing the Iraqi insurgents and the Cylons representing the good old USA. They think that the producers of the show are trying to make the actions of the Iraqi insurgents, like using suicide bombers, sympathetic. The humans on New Caprica are using these tactics and we’re supposed to automatically agree with everything they do. I think these critics overlook the fact that the producers of the show are also drawing on other conflicts in world history, like the Germans occupation of France during World War II, or the Algerian War of Independence and others I can’t think of right now. My take on this is that the producers aren’t a bunch of terrorist sympathizers but they just want to examine what each side of a conflict like this feels and how they justify their actions and react to what their opponent does next. So as the insurgents hit an occupation target and the occupation force cracks down on the insurgents, forcing the insurgents to escalate their retaliation, creating a never ending cycle of violence. There’s a lot of grey area in all this, and the Galactica writers are exploring this grey area by placing our heroes in some murky moral grounds. For me it makes for riveting drama, some of the best on TV.
One other thing about Battlestar Galactica I’d like to address. It’s not with the show itself, but with some of the critics and fans who endorse the show. One of the things these critics write in their publications or what fans write in blogs and message boards is how this show transcends its science fiction roots and is a great drama despite taking place on spaceships, and how they generally don’t like science fiction but were surprised to find out how great this show is. They always feel like they have to insult the science fiction genre to keep their street cred. Well as someone who likes Sci Fi and other genre type programs, I wish you would CUT IT OUT. If you don’t like science fiction or fantasy shows, that’s fine, but don’t try to wear it like its some type of badge of honor. It might not be that you’re so sophisticated that you don’t like Sci Fi; it could be that you just lack the imagination to enjoy it. Yeah a lot of it isn’t that great, but that can be said for most dramas and comedies too. If you cut yourself off from genre shows, you could be missing great shows like Galactica, Farscape, Supernatural and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s your lost.
