Monday is the new Friday

09.26.06 - Monday is the new Friday

I don't think anyone I know would mistake Aaron Sorkin for Woody Allen. It's just not possible. One is a writer fascinated with the chemistry and conflict of groups who do and the other is a self-indulgent filmmaker obsessed with failure and loss. While both will go down in film in television history as incredibly talented men, it would be hard to substitute one for the other.

And yet… Watching the premiere of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip last week something struck me as similar about the two. Bradley Whitford's character, "Danny Tripp" is a cocaine addict. As a fan of the West Wing working my way through season two I was immediately turned off. We've done this already Aaron, I said. You remember Leo, the alcoholic? Isn't this addiction thing kind of played out? And then I started wondering if Aaron is working through something the way that Woody seems to in his film, his flimsy autobiographical re-representations of his life. In the second episode of Danny confesses at a press conference that he tested positive for cocaine use. Explaining his action later to the studio chairman irate at his unnecessary confession Danny replies, "I'm an addict; honesty is good for me." Is it still honesty if you're saying it through a character? While I'm not accusing Aaron Sorkin of cocaine addiction, it's becoming clear that he, like Woody Allen and insecurity, has something to work out.

The other intriguing thing about Studio 60 is its level of meta-ness. Now, I know that with that word I've catapulted myself (Wheeeee! THUMP! Oh god, it's coming through the skin!) into the realm of the academic, but be patient, I plead. The interesting question to me is: Could NBC get away with being as racy in reality as it is in fiction? Because "Studio 60" the variety show on fictional network "NBS" is nested inside "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" the drama on real network NBC there's a buffer protecting both shows from actual viewer response. While viewers may think both shows are trashy, there's no "real" reason to get upset about what happens on "Studio 60" the variety show, because it's a show within a show.

None of the content on "Studio 60" the variety show ever "really" happens; NBC is merely showing another television station showing a variety show where the LA Philharmonic Orchestra sings "We'll give you the intellectual reach around." That's not the same thing as actually having the LA Philharmonic Orchestra sing it on Saturday Night Live. It's a plot on a show, not the show itself. How can you get upset about something that happens in a fictional world? That would be silly, like saying it's inappropriate for Itchy and Scratchy to lop off each others' parts on the Simpsons. They're not really doing, they're presenting it as a form of social critique. As long as the show is merely re-presenting television for its viewers in a satirical fashion, and no one could ever be affected by satire because we're all smart enough to know the difference, right?