NBC commits to "Studio 60" for a full season

Like other people, I had my doubts about whether Aaron Sorkin's new series about a sketch comedy show would survive the full season, but apparently NBC has ordered the production of the remaining episodes of the season. The network could still yank the episodes from the air after they're produced but in that case we'd still get to see them on DVD at some point in the future. (One of the best cases of this was Wonderfalls, which had a disastrous first season but a miraculous story arc that achieved a measure of closure on DVD some time later.) This is an act of faith and perhaps contrition on NBC's part; Sorkin wrote and produced much of The West Wing, which was one the best shows in NBC's history until Sorkin was abruptly forced out after its fourth season. The series never really recovered.

I think NBC is giving Sorkin the remaining episodes of the season in the hopes that he'll figure out where he's going with this series and how to make it entertaining. The story's central allegory - the relationship between the characters played by Matt Perry and Sarah Paulson and how they represent the different cultural factions of the United States – is an interesting one, but in the context of a sketch comedy show it doesn't have a great deal of weight. Maybe it could, but it's a lot easier to wring pathos from a scene when it's taking place in the White House. The hour-long format and moody production design may be a part of the problem – I feel like this could be a great half-hour comedy with fast one-two dialogue punctuated by moments of drama, but for whatever reason Studio 60 has been given the West Wing treatment instead of being produced more like Sports Night (Sorkin's first TV series).

Meanwhile, NBC's other "behind the scenes at a sketch comedy show" series, 30 Rock, continues to flounder a bit. (It continues to teeter on the brink of cancellation until NBC makes up its mind.) This is a little disappointing because I have a huge entertainment-crush on Tina Fey, but at least it makes me laugh more often than Studio 60 – which, given the fact that it's half the length, isn't good. Hey - Studio 60 = 60 minutes, 30 Rock = 30 minutes. I just noticed that. I'm a moron.